Homework

The kids learned about measuring and the teacher had a great idea to teach them the concept; they put together a recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

At the end of the lesson, the kids took the mixture home for us to bake and to see how they turned out. The results were great, soft and moist, not too salty and a good texture. My only critizism is not enough chocolate chips!!

Gordon Ramsey would have been proud.

Addiction

You are addicted to a Blackberry when:

1. Last thing you do before you go to bed is to check for new messages.
2. If you wake up in the middle of the night, you check for new messages.
   
3. First thing you do in the morning is to check for new messages.
4. To avoid talking to someone, you pull out your Blackberry.
5. You are in a state of panic if you forget to charge your phone up over night.
6. When you get your phone bill, you are afraid to open it.
7. You have tech support for your Blackberry.
   
8. You have a picture of Jim Balsille on your fire place mantle.
9. Word association: Blackberry....personal communication devise essential for business; Apple....fruit.
10. You would rather text than talk.
    

Contraband material found!!!

Visited Andrew's school the other night for a "meet the teacher" event. We did what a normal nosy parent would do and that was to peak into our son's locker. Much to my husband's surprise, Andrew checked this book out. We just laughed hysterically!

Back to School

After a nice break, back to school for Andrew. The uniform is nicely pressed and clean, all the kids looked sharp. They do this row call at the beginning of the year where the kids sit patiently waiting for their names to be called. Mean while, the parents are scrutinizing the placement of the students by the school thinking "hmmm, I don't want my child hanging around this kid".



It was nice to see Claudia again, one of Andrew's original kindee friends, in the same class as our son. It seems they renuited the kiddy class from 3 yearsago. She is such a positive influence on him. She just loves reading, I heard she read "War and Peace" over the summer...and finished it too.

Where did the summer go?

The summer was unbeliveable. The weather here was great and the time just flew by so, so fast; its been almost three months since we blogged. During this time, we managed to go on a nice holiday, enrolled the kids in a bike camp and spend a few days just hanging out.




The boys have grown this summer (literally before our eyes). Clothes they started in the summer wearing, no longer fit. Andrew and Caleb are still each other's best friends, sworn enemies at least once a week but mainly, they are each other's companion each day!

Coke Anyone

Have another swig of coke you two!

It's the Weekend

Caleb: "This is how tall my cousin Ali is"
Andrew: "If I had a kink in my neck and pointing to the sky, this what I would look like."








The number of times I was asked to clean my room today.








Caleb: How I will dance if the Canucks win the Stanley Cup."
Andrew: "The finger I used to poke my eye."

Pine Car Derby II

Well, today was the day. All the pine cars have been submitted, weighed and checked off to make sure they complied with all the rules. Our car passed inspection, let the race begin.

But first, lets do our memory verses.

Our car didn't do very well. During the first three heats, we finished third, second and first. The top twelve cars advance to the finals. In this fourth and final heat for our car, we needed to finish 2nd to advance. Sadley, our car finished fourth.

Wait, there was the design competion. I mean, anyone can put four wheels on a car and hope for the best. The workmanship, the attention to detail and the detailing really separates the men from the boys. Yes, I'm happy to say we finished 2nd in the design category. Simply amazing.

Feels great! Obviously they know a good lookin car when they see one.

Pine Car Derby

Recent conversation with my hubby:

Two months ago:

Hubby: "I am really going to enjoy spending some time with Andrew building his car for this year's AWANA car rally."

Me: "That's great! You haven't spent much time with him lately, being so busy with work. I know he'll be really excited to be doing this with you."

Hubby: "Andrew and I will sketch out the car on the block of wood and we'll get this going."

Me: "Sounds good. You don't want to rush it and wait till the last minute."

One month ago:

Me: "How's the car coming along for the rally next month?"

Hubby: "Great. It's coming along fine. I have a few ideas floating around in my head."

Me: "Have you talked to Andrew about it?"

Hubby: "Not yet, he's been busy with school. I'll narrow it down to a few choices for him. I want him to be proud of his work."

Me: "Ok, but let's not leave it to the last minute. Remember what happened to the Christmas tree."

Hubby: 'Yeah, that worked out great."

Me: "你以为你很聪明"

Two weeks ago:

Andrew: "Dad, how's our race car coming along? Are you ready for me to work on it with you yet?"

Hubby: "You bet, son. Just let me finalize a design and we'll get it going. Remember, there may be faster and better cars built by the other parents. The important thing is that we have fun building this together."

Andrew: "Ok, dad. Is that like showing sportsmanship?"

Hubby: "Yes, now go play with your brother. I'm doing some research on the internet on these pine cars and how to make them go faster."

Three days ago:

Me: "You need to start on that car, you know. It needs to be submitted this Saturday."

Hubby: "Ok, we'll work on it tonight. I'll sketch it out for Andrew while he does his homework. We'll just go with the one design. I'm sure he'll like it."

Two days ago:

Andrew: "Dad, the car is due in two days. Can we start on it?"

Hubby: "Ok, let me get my scroll saw out and we'll start now."

Andrew: "Can I help?"

Hubby: "You're kind of young to be near these power tools. They can be very dangerous. Let me do the preliminary cuts for you. Now, why don't you go play with Caleb while I cut the pattern out for the car."

Andrew: "Ok Dad, but remember the rules - I have to build it."

Hubby: "I've got the scroll saw on and I can't hear you; can you go play with your brother?"

Later during the day:

Andrew: "Can I help now?"

Hubby: "Sure, just let me do some sanding for you. I'll use my electric sander. I don't think they want kids playing with power tools so how about if I just sand it for you. Why don't you go see what your Mom is up to?"

Andrew: "Ok Dad."

Much later:

Andrew; "Can I help now Dad?"

Hubby: "I'm just about finished. I'm just doing some fine detailed sanding work. It's quite tricky. Why don't you get ready for bed and we can work on this tomorrow? You can paint it. That's a really important job. It has to look good."

Andrew; "Ok Dad. I'll go get ready for bed now."

Yesterday:

Andrew: 'Dad, can we work on the car today? We have to hand it in tomorrow!"

Hubby: "Ok, I finished sanding last night and I did a first coat of paint. Let's let the first coat dry. Why don't you watch some TV or play with your DS."

Andrew: "Ok Dad."

Later during the day:

Me: "Wow, Andrew, the car looks great!"

Hubby: "While you were out with the boys, I put on a second coat of paint and did some detailed trimming."

Andrew: "Looks good Dad! Wasn't I supposed to help you do this?"

Hubby: "You did a great job with Mom cleaning up the bits of wood from the cutting and the sanding. Uhh, please don't touch the car, Andrew. It's not a toy."

Hubby: "If they asked, tell them we worked on it together."

Dinner Conversation

My husband had some friends visiting from Australia. There were seven of us all together as the spouses got invited too. One of the spouses was having a chat with my husband. Their conversation went something like this:

Hubby: "Hi David, how was your flight in from West Perth?"

David: "Very well, thank you. We did encounter some wind sheers as we were taking off, but once we reached cruising altitude, it was great. Those Boeing 757 with the enhanced fuselage and new weight ratios have made them very efficient; over."

Hubby: "Oh really, I didn't know that."

David: "Yes, the new light-weight metal composite wings really help too; over."

Hubby: "I'll take your word on that one. How was the walk over from your hotel?"

David: "Really good; the walk was quite refreshing with unlimited visibility and no precipitation. It was ideal take-off weather; over."

Hubby: "That's a really nice watch that you have!"

David: "I copy that; over."

Hubby: "Right."

David: "It's a great watch; I have it programed to tell me the time in 48 different cities; over."

Hubby: "Uhhhh ... wow, my brother would like one of those."

David: "Did you know that it's 6:30 am in Moscow right now. The airports are just opening up; over."

Hubby: "Wow, really?"

David: "And it's 8:00 am in West Perth; runway 3 is just opening up; over."

Hubby: "Let me guess - you're an air traffic controller."

David: "Affirmative and I copy that. Did you know that it's 9:00 pm right now in Chicago? Weather is good, north-to-south east winds; smooth sailing. Over."

Happy Belated Caleb

It's been quite busy around the household these past few weeks and finally, we are able to catch our breath a little. The first order of business is to acknowledge Caleb's birthday. His b-day was actually on March 10th.



We let Caleb choose the cake for his special day. A cheesecake with fresh strawberries and real whipped cream. Good choice, Caleb.





As you can see, it was so, so good. It was a nice small celebration, just the way the kids like it, at times.

Happy Birthday

I turned a year older today. My wonderful husband cooked us all a nice dinner. The lamb chops were delicious....we tell the kids it's veal so they will eat it. Believe it or not, the whole family loves brocolli!


This was a wonderful surprise I really wasn't expecting, especially on a school night. The black forest cake for dessert was delicious. I love chocolate and the kids loved the fruit topping.




To top it all off I got to chat with my friend in Australia! Hi Toni! It's always a blast talking to her.






The kids sang their hearts out. Even though they were out of tune, I loved it!

Olympics

We went for one last trip downtown yesterday to savour the Olympic spirit and enjoy the atmosphere at the various locations. We ventured down towards Canada Place to check out the action. The boys were having the time of their lives. There was so much to see!

We met some American visitors. Their spirits were good yesterday. Little did they know their team was destined for only a silver medal. I hear silver tarnishes; gold doesn't! Sorry guys, maybe in four years in Russia!

Next we met some friends from Switzerland. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and were enjoying the games. Vancouver has so much to offer and the Olympics was a great way to showcase the city to the rest of the world. The streets were packed full of people and everyone was enjoying themselves....that is the spirit of the games!

Our goal was to get a picture of the cauldron.

What a wonderful sight!

Vegas is Good

Back to the M&M's store to check out what's new. Lots and lots of the candy coated treat that melts in your mouth, not in your hands. So many colours to choose from!





Next door is the Coke Store. The kids don't need any caffeine (unlike we adults) to keep them alert and active, so Sprite was the only thing they were allowed to try (in moderation, of course).



After a few episodes of the Food Channel, my husband is now a big fan of Bobby Flay. He loves the show "Throw-down with Bobby Flay." I see a request for a subscription to the Food Channel for Father's Day when we get back home.

Bobby, if you are reading this, you need a kids' menu in this restaurant!


Delicious!

Shopping in Vegas

We spent the day at the Las Vegas Outlet Center hunting for bargains. This time around, the shopping was for the kids. They loved the shopping and I think they genuinely enjoy hanging around us.


They have this one fried chicken store that serves the best chicken we have ever had. The chicken is so tender and juicy - hands down over KFC, Church's or the other fast food chains! Andrew certainly enjoyed it. If you are ever in Vegas, check out "Chicken Now."



Caleb continues to enjoy these little rides they have at all malls. They're basically all the same and the ride offers very little creativity. He keeps wanting to ride them; funny, they all seem to be broken when he wants to ride them. Next time Caleb!



Here's big brother helping little brother on a motorcycle. Unfortunately, this ride was also broken. We're into our third day of our vacation and so far they are still best friends. We're keeping our fingers crossed for the harmony to continue between them.


We didn't buy this, but my husband remembered the game "Rock'em, Sock'em Robots." This was a great way for the two of them to vent out their frustrations. I didn't think they made this game anymore.

Catching the Olympic Spirit

My hubby has been working hard these past few weeks and wanted to spend some time with the boys while I did some work around the house. The boys were treated to a trip downtown to catch the Olympic spirit. As you can tell,Coke is an official sponsor.

That is one huge flag wrapped around the ole' Hotel Georgia! It's at the corner of Howe and Georgia. This is where the riot will start if Canada doesn't win the gold medal in hockey.

The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Olympic count down clock. Only 12 days, 3 hrs, 22 minutes and 49 seconds until the opening ceremonies. We saw tickets on sale for the opening event....$1,000 each, now that's what I call the Olympic spirit!

They had so much fun walking about. The fountain in front of the art gallery seems so peaceful. In 12 days, 3 hours and 22 minutes, the place will be buzzing with people.

Andrew is doing his best imitation of a snowboarder here. So much of downtown is changing to get ready for the Olympics. You can't help but get into the spirit of the games with all the venues being built around the city.

We then had a leisurely walk down Granville street. They blocked off the area so no cars were going through. The boys had so much fun running around; hardly any people too.

After a few hours of walking around, it was time for a break. A Tim Hortons's hot chocolate really hit the spot. The boys and my husband had a nice time with their little adventure. As for me, I enjoyed a little solitude in the house while doing a few loads of laundry in peace and quiet!

Let the Games Begin

Hubby is excited about the games!

Bring it on.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

It is Andrew's birthday today and we had a nice celebration dinner to cap off his very own very special day. We let him choose what he wanted to eat and of course he chose good 'ole Italian food. We let him think we were going to have dinner at home so he was quite surprised that we went out to eat, especially on a school night. First course.....calamari!



Caleb loves going out for dinner too. He didn't care too much for the calamari. Instead he drank some water while waiting for his dinner.






Dinner arrives and Andrew gleefully digs into his spaghetti dinner. The only disappointment was that they didn't have meatballs! Caleb didn't care too much for the spaghetti, so he kept sipping his water.

Notice the scratched skin under Andrew's eye? During recess, he tripped and landed hard on the concrete. The sidewalk fared better than he did. He told us how his friend Isabel and "Ms. Turn" comforted him. We are so amazed at the level of care they teach and practise at his school!




After dinner we went home to have some cake! Andrew wanted an icecream cake this year. Great choice - chocolate icecream in the middle surrounded by a vanilla ice cream topping. Blow out the candles quick before they melt the cake!


Caleb didn't care too much for the icecream cake so he drank some more water.