Block Party 2006

September 16th - the block party of all parties! 4th Avenue West held a rocker. The weather was perfect, we had food, drinks, a bouncy castle for the kids, an AWESOME band and so much fun! Fantastic way to meet all your street neighbours. By all accounts everyone had a great time and the planning for "Block Party 2007" has already begun...

Update - So I have absolutely no idea how to make these photos larger - any help? Chris? This has been sitting as a draft on my blog for awhile now, so I am posting it as is - sorry!

Marina's new buddies

We have a group of Stellar Jays that have decided our back yard is a great place to hang. Marina has been leaving peanuts out on the gate every morning on our way to school/work and she is fascinated that they are gone when we get home. Today she put her peanuts out and then sat on a chair and watched the Jays come and pick them up - she was so excited to actually see what was happening to her peanuts. To top it off, there were a couple of big deer in the back yard eating the grass - what a show!

Summer

It is hard to believe it is almost over. Summer is a busy time for us, disappointing that we do not get away more during the summer months. No camping this year, that is a bit depressing. We are already booked for one month in Hawaii from Feb. 17-March 17th, so that will help me feel a bit better about missing summer! Marina was in day care full time and was able to get outside a lot. This photo is our afternoon at the carnival a few weeks back. She was afraid of the rides at first, but one trip on the Ferris Wheel with mommy and she was hooked! She rode all the kiddie rides by herself, ate cotton candy, won a stuffed toy all by herself, and got to pee in the grass because she could not hold it (I actually think that was her favourite thing)

We enjoyed a ten day visit with Chris and Jim in early September - They were able to spend tonnes of time with Marina. Chris cooked for us every night (I am calling her my wife now) and Jim did lots of odd jobs for us. It was so great to see them, and for Marina to have such quality time with them.

Busy Weekend

Saturday we had a visit from Janet (our social worker)as it is time for her to file a report with the Russian Consulate on Marina's progress. Marina was really good, although the first words out of her mouth were "goo goo ga ga" (she has just recently started with the "baby" talk.) She then told Janet that she was too shy to talk - that lasted about five minutes and then we could not shut her up! Marina is really into playing with babies right now. Her special baby is named Russia and I am "grandma" and John is "grandpa", so she was explaining all of this to Janet. Janet said she was very happy with her progress, that her vocabulary is fantastic for her age, as is her actually understanding of what is being said. Marina was 9.5 months before she even heard an english word, it is sure hard to believe that when you hear her talk now. Since I have no recent photos worth sharing I have added this shot because of its sentinmental value to us. The very first photo we took of Marina about five minutes after we had met her. It seems like so long ago now.

Tuckered Out

Even Marina was exhausted on the 29th. She had a big sleep on the couch (first time ever!) and no, she did not have any gin and tonic!

The day after...

The 29th of July was a tough day... Marina had me up at 7:00am. I gave her a box of Dora bandaids and brought her back to bed. At 7:30am I heard "mommy, I am finished playing with my bandaids..." my cue to pull my ass out of bed. The day got much better. John Maunder was staying with us, and Sheryl came by to help clean up. The clean up was really slow until we started pouring gin and tonics!

Wasn't that a party

It was a great night.

BBQ

So we always have known how blessed we are with friends, and they managed to surprise both of us during the party. They all got together and bought us an AMAZING BBQ with all the extras. John loves to BBQ, and it was the perfect gift. So thank you everyone!

You say its your birthday...

Cake time! John did some weird karate move and whacked all the candles on the cake instead of blowing them out. They shot in every direction, hitting people as they flew! Apparently he thought they were completely wax - but they were actually wood. Nice!

Chubby Bunny

During the hunt, Sheryl had every one come back to the house. They had to shove as many marshmallows into their mouth that they could fit while saying "Chubby Bunny" Travis won this part - no question... 16 marshmallows! Imagine!

Scavenger Hunt

Our friend Sheryl organized a scavenger hunt for the party. She had us all running around town in birthday hats and hawaiian leis! It was extremely creative and ALOT of fun. The jury is still out on who actually WON the hunt - I personally think both green and blue cheated (hah it is my blog and I can say what I want!) Prizes consisted of gift certificates for things like... a complimentary lawn mow from John Grey, a complimentary car wash from John Grey... Please people - make sure you collect on those!

Johnny's 40th Birthday

Okay, so I know this post is extremely delayed but I was having a bit of trouble getting our photos of the party loaded. July 28th, John turned 40 - the next few posts are some of the fun things that went on that day. These two photos are what his old pick up looked like parked in front of the hotel when he got to work! Our friends Kevin and Sheryl decorated it with big signs telling the entire town that "John Grey is 40".

Sunny Summer Day

Today John and Marina took a trip to Port Ed. It was nice here today - not too hot, but still sunny and warm. Marina got out to have a play at the park before heading home. Sundays are family day and usually very relaxing. We feel blessed to have a quiet day to just sit back and enjoy life and each other.

Pink Toes!

We had a great visit with our friends Troy and Alison about a week ago. Pat and Shirley (Troy's mom and dad) and his brother Michael and his wife Shelly were all visiting from New Brunswick. They are all great people and so much fun to be around! Alison is such a dramatic person (fitting that she is a drama teacher!) and she had Marina dancing around the living room, singing songs - Marina had a blast. Shelly and Alison both had freshly painted toe nails, and Marina was VERY interested. So, you guessed it... Alison had her in the bathroom choosing what colour she wanted! Marina came home with beautiful pink toes, that she is still showing off one week later. She will be telephoning Alison when it wears off I am sure!

Big Fish!

Uncle Bill is here for the weekend! John and Bill went fishing today - and Bill caught an 80 pound Halibut. They had a great day, and tomorrow Uncle Bill and Marina get to hang out. He leaves tomorrow night, way too quick of a trip. It is nice to have family around.

Poop - glorious poop!

Define a true friend... today my friend Chris reminded me what a great friend she is. I had invited her for breakfast. John was out fishing with his brother Bill, and Marina and I were home alone. She accepted and arrived at about 9am. The three of us had breakfast, and great conversation. It is what happened after breakfast that is the significant part of this story. Marina had left the table to watch Christmas Barney (yes, even in July!) and Chris and I were sitting in the kitchen. Mid conversation - I realized that the family room was awfully quiet. No christmas carols being sung, no noise at all. Further investigation found Marina with her hands in her pants - she pulled a piece of poo out of her pants and presented it to me like one would present a trophy that had just been won. I must admit it has been many months since she has activated my gag reflex - today, she did just that! I whisked her away to the bathroom to clean up as best I could, and we immediately flew upstairs to have a bath. Chris was downstairs, upon further inspection of the play room - she discovered that the poop had not only been a trophy, but also a new form of finger paint and the door was Marina's blank canvass! Chris took it upon herself to clean up the play room - no sign of poo when we emerged from the bath. THAT is a true friend! :)

Our little Canadian

Hard to believe - on July 7th we celebrated Marina's citizenship day. She has been a Canadian for one entire year. Time slips by so quickly.

It is all new to me

Bloggs - wow it is all new to me. Thanks to my friend Chris for introducing me to this interesting internet tool. What a great way to let friends and family stay connected to your family. First post - no idea what I am doing. Stay tuned....