Margaret Falls, Shuswap, BC

The bench of the picnic table was a perfect table for him!





Running downhill...not his forte...










Bennett took the next two photos:

Shayanna took the next two photos:

The one among us with the shortest legs was banned to the stroller for the last few minutes of the hike; he immediately protested by ripping off and throwing both of his shoes and both of his socks...he then threw his hat, but quickly regretted this and was very fast to replace his new appendage back on his head upon its return. The only time he took that hat off the entire weekend was when he was sleeping. It has a picture of "Monkey" on it, you know!

Upon collecting his socks and shoes, I noticed the random, toppled over stop sign in the woods; what an appropriate spot for toddler's tantrum...

Happy May Day Everyone!

Oh Baby!

Congratulations to Laurie & Joe on the birth of their son,
Tolan James! April 13th @ 10:05 a.m. MST, 9 lbs, 23" long.
(AB)

Good Friday: Easter Egg Hunt & 7th Birthday Bash for my Pumpkin

Birthday Boy...

Hunting with his Birthday Balloon in tow...

Note the Tasmanian Devil on a Hog...there may have been some coersion from the Mama when it came to balloon selection...

Baby's First Easter Egg Hunt...

Yes. We still call him "The Baby."

No. I don't look forward to the day that he catches on and says,

"I'm not a baby!"

Team Toddler Trouble

Hunt in Progress...

Not a bad turnout!

Candy Consumption in Progress...

I love her expression here!

Torturing our children by asking them to look into the sun and smile...

And they all try to cooperate! This cracks me up!

It donned on the camera person that better results may be achieved by selecting a different local...

Slightly better local...

Brothers from Other Mothers & the Sorority Sisters

The tickle monster cometh...

~ 2 ~7 ~5 ~ 4 ~ 1 ~ 3 ~ 4 ~

Models:

Luke (BP2, Godson, Pumpkin's Baby Bro) - 27 mos

Bennett (Birthday Boy, Pumpkin, My Boy!) - 7 yrs

Shayanna (BP1, God-Daughter, Pumpkin's lil' Sis) - 5 yrs, 4 mos

Sunshine M - 4 yrs, 5 mos & Miss K - 20 mos

The Niece! (Turkey Liver, Cousin to the Pumpkin) - 3 yrs, 6 mos

AO (God-Niece...yah, I coined that term!) - 4 yrs, 2 mos

My Baby Brother & his Lady...

This boy did well in the Birthday $$$ dept.

Post Party...

Heza & Pumpkin

*Photos by Maranda Schwarz

Monsters vs. Aliens

Bennett and I went to see a 3D flick on Easter Sunday; a first for both of us!

Before we exited the theatre, Bennett was asking when we could go back and see it again! He carried his glasses around with him for three days...

right now

Right now, at this moment, I am listening to my son play with his sister in the backyard. They are both laughing hysterically! The baby is asleep after running and playing all day. We had a fantastic Birthday Party/Easter Egg Hunt for Bennett today, with tons of friends and family and more friends showing up for the event. I have just started going through the pictures and they are making me smile all over again. The weather is beautiful and our weekend is off to a fantastic start! Right now, at this moment, life is sweet.

Happy, Happy Easter Weekend to all! May you be surrounded by loved ones, laughter and sunshine!

SEVEN!

My baby is seven today.

He had two thoughts on the matter:

1. He would rather be eleven, because that is his lucky number.

2. Perhaps he is seven because there are seven letters in BENNETT.

It occurred to me last night, that I won't get away with merely hosting a 'family & friends of the family' BBQ & Egg Hunt, as is our tradition, when my son started talking about all his friends that were going to be at his party....shit! So I whipped up a stack of invites and had the lad dictate me a list of pals from school and daycare to address them to. This morning was spent feverishly delivering invites to classmates that get a whole 24-hour notice on a party being held on a holiday weekend. Meanwhile, I'm stuffing more plastic eggs and crossing my fingers that at least a few of his friends can make it!

2008 - 2007 - post party '07
Many more memories of parties past on the pumpkin's blog.
(msg for url)

Why you wish you could shop with my kid...

My son noticed two people looking at this display and wondered...out loud...loud enough for said persons to hear him,


"Why do those fat people have money to buy that fat menu? Is it because they are fat?"


Charming, isn't he?

It's that time of year again...

Washing Plastic Eggs from Easters past...

Drying in the sun...

Yes. I typed SUN! Here's hope that this lovely weather can stick around for the long weekend! Now, is this enough eggs for an Easter Egg Hunt, or do I need to buy more? Estimating 6-8 kiddos of basket bearing age...