May 2016

May was a FULL month! Spring officially brought in beautiful weather and we wanted to make the most of it!

 Ben and Jon competed in a Kung Fu tournament; Jon won a trophy as tall as the kids!

 We enjoyed a visit at Gramma and Grampa's house where the kids sat on the bike and visited Gramma's "She-Shed".

 We visited a home from 1815 and learned about the daily life of children at that time.

 Jake discovered that our backyard has lots of visitors!

 We enjoyed a few lunches at our favorite resturaunt. Ellas goes for the drinks;)

 The kids belong to a book club that celebrates with a theme activity based on the book. We raised money for the Humane Society after we read Shiloh with a bake sale at the park and visited the humane society to give them the donation.

 Mom broke her foot at the worst time (as oppose to a time that is a good time to break a bone?...) and we had to postpone our Niagara falls trip.

 Onnika and Ella LOVE when they get together!

 We played at the new natural play ground. There is a real water pump in a sand pit that the kids love and the parents...do not;)

 All I asked for, for Mother's day was a photo of me with the kids, of which there are not many. It took about 20 minutes to get all eyes on the camera but in the end we had some success!

 Matthew was a little excited;)

 When our book club read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe we had a Narnia party... the kids made swords and crowns and ate food from the book, they had a great time!

 Matthew discovered the joy of corn on the cob, BBQ and patio dining.

Our little baker!

 A cute breakfast date!

 Ella wanted to have a sleep over with the boys. As most slumber parties go... this one went a little late but they had fun.

 We got to the beach as early as the weather would allow! This is going to be a great summer!

April 2016

The kids really wanted to play an April fools Day trick on Daddy so we covered a balloon in a cereal box and made it look like a cake. When he cut into it would theoretically blow icing all over him. It WOULD have had two little boys not giggled and jumped under the table right when he put the knife in;)

 Our incubator of chicken eggs arrived. It was very exciting to count down the days until hatching!

 We got the playroom furnished...

 And we heard the first little chirps inside the eggs. Watching them hatch was very exciting!

 Playing with the baby chicks was even more fun. We kept them for about ten days before they went back to the farm.

 We enjoyed a class at the butterfly conservatory and got to hold some interesting insects.

 The kids all began swimming lessons and progressed quickly. Matthew and Daddy did a class together and we have quite the little water baby!

 Ella has been practicing her letters and numbers.

 Ben participated in his first martial arts tournament and did quite well!

 Who knew play structures come in that many pieces?!
Yikes! Jon and Ben spent a whole weekend putting it together!

March 2016

 We are loving our new home!!!

This was worth the wait. I didn't know in the end if it would be but from the first night we really felt like this was home!

We have been so motivated to get unpacked and settled in because the contractors were coming in only a few weeks to finish the basement.

Ella loves her bedroom, Matthew loves the sink big enough to have after dinner baths. Ben and Jake love living on a court so they can ride their bikes around the circle. Our mild winter continues and we have been able to check our new playgrounds nearby.

 Jacob took this beautiful photo while we were walking in the woods.

 Ella and Onnika looking beautiful at Easter!

 Grandad and the boys!

 We saw how they used to collect sap from the trees and make maple syrup at the sugar farm.

 Happy Easter!

 Jake earned his next belt in Karate!

 Ben and Jake participating in a construction project at a local hardware store.

 We ate at our favorite restaurant. A woman came over to tell us "what wonderful children we had" and Ella grinned afterwards at me -"you have wonderful children Mommy!"

 We got our Easter Photos taken...

 The basement got started!

 Matthew eats everything!

And done! What a month!