Horse love!

Today we went to a place in Ladner called Crescent Stables. We met the very nicest horses ever, and had a great time. We will be going back very soon for Maddy's first ever riding lesson! Lots of pictures will be taken of that.

Something happened to Seb's face in this picture, so I included the original down below somewhere... I LOVE this shot. Seb was giggling hysterically at the horse.

This horse and Seb made very good friends right off the bat. At the end of our visit, the horse was staring forlornly at Seb as we left.

Seb didn't seem to mind the uh, mucus (?!) and drool from the horse at all. (I keep hand sanitizer in the car. Yay!)

Ah, yes, the original shot of Seb laughing with the horse.

Meanwhile, back at the farm (snicker) Maddy was gathering up horsehair to bring home to commemorate her visit.

Patiently waiting to see the horses in the paddock. (I think that is what they called it. Or maybe the ring. I am not really up on the horse lingo, here.)

Still waiting patiently, and trying to pry a strand of horsehair from the wooden beam.

The coolest place ever! Can't wait to go back!

Thanks Thea, and Crescent Stables for a GREAT morning!

Spirit...

Last night, Miss Maddy had a little accident with her foot and an exercise bike. The bike would have won, but for Maddy's spirit. Her right pinky toe, and side of her foot were squashed in between two unyielding, and still moving parts of the bike. We carried her, still crying a little, to a clinic nearby, where we were told they had seen their quota of patients for the day. (um, yeah, quota this.) So we turned towards our local hospital. On the drive home, Maddy quietly began teaching our new student english. Once we arrived at the hospital, Maddy's cheerful spirit and charming personality shone through again, and the doctor did not offer pain meds, or examine her foot. So we left that fine institution, and headed for the Vancouver Children's Hospital. Amazing people populate this hospital, but I digress. By this time, it is eleven o clock at night. Maddy is delighted that the hospital had a Tinkerbell movie. So she sat, and watched the movie. Leaning against me every so often, for comfort, and reassurance. Each time the doctors would call another child, she would smile at me, and say "Maybe we are next, mommy!" and finally, we were. As we waited for the examination, the x ray results, the pain medication and all the other little things you hurry up and wait for at the hospital, we read together, and played look and see games. She chatted with the doctor, telling him about her life, and the various x rays she has had. He asked if she knew what a pediatric radiologist was. She said "What's pediatric?" he laughed and said "What's a radiologist?". She answered. And was correct. He hung out with us off and on for a few hours, and each time, he was laughing as he left the room. The final time, at 2:30 am, he came in with the good news. Her foot is not broken. Lots of ice, and take it easy for a few days. As we were leaving, he smiled tiredly at us, and told Maddy she was "very charming". We arrived home at 3:00 am, and she cheerfully headed off to bed. This morning when she woke up at nine, a scant six hours after she fell asleep, she came into my room and said "Mommy! I am so excited! My foot! The color of my foot is my FAVORITE color!! It is JADE!!!" I love this child's spirit!

Mother's Day (really late!!)

On Mother's Day, we went to a lovely park to play with some cousins. We had a fabulous day. My kids kept trying to sneak up on me to scare me... they are not very stealthy though, so I kept catching them in the act. Here is the Boy's attempt. *note the mouth, hanging partly open to allow for the hilarity issuing at extremely high volume* Nice try, Buddy... caught you again!

More hilarity... he just can't stop giggling! I found out later he was laughing and saying "Mommy! I'm going to get you!!". Poor kid. A Ninja he is not.
Then it was the girls turn. She is MUCH stealthier, but really should have moved over a little so that I could not hear her runners. Also, yelling "Mommy! I am coming to get you!!" is something she may want to work on, if she is going to become stealthy.
about here is where the giggles start... again, my offspring is not so much the Ninja-stealthy-type.
Then I heard this strange, terrifying sound. You know the kind of sound that triggers your fight or flight response? Yeah... that kind of sound. I swung around with my camera, and started clicking... this is what I saw.











He was hollering "Hooooonnnnneeeeeeeeyyyyyy" the whole entire time he was er... running (?!)... towards me. This is his version of what the kids were doing. I am so glad I married a man who thinks our kids are great targets for mocking. Happy Mother's day to me!

Proof that two wrongs DO make a right (or two!)!

Who doesn't love a spring storm!!!

After dinner, the kids wanted to go outside and play. We said yes, and off they went. Ten minutes later, we looked out the window, and saw sunshine, hail, and Maddy and Seb.

run, Maddy! run!

WATER FIGHT!!!

splashing in the puddles

catching the ice

basking in the sun

run Maddy! run! someone stole your pants!

hey, buddy. are you a little damp?

just a little damp. time for a bath!

Look Ma! No Hands!

Sebby is thrilled that his sister is playing baseball, because for him it means that he gets to go to the play park twice a week, for at least an hour! This is his latest trick, accompanied by much hooting and hollering.

I will try to get some more pictures of his wilder exploits on the playground equipment over the next few months. I find myself torn between feeling the need to stand under whatever equipment he is doing his daredevil stunts on, and wanting to record the moment forever with my camera. What's a mommy to do?

Baseball girl!

On Saturday, April 10th, Maddy had her opening ceremonies for baseball. It was great! They got to wear their uniforms, cheer their cheer, practice skills, and eat hotdogs! All very important Baseball-ey type things. What a great time, and Maddy is loving having some new neighborhood friends!

Miss Maddy in her uniform.

Jumping through hoops!

Nice catch! Try to keep your eyes open though...

SLUGGER!! Uh, keep your eyes open, honey!

The Sprites, far and away the CUTEST team, with the BESTEST banner, and the FUNNEST cheer! GO SPRITES!!!!

On a side note... this was A VERY BIG THING for the mommy. You see, the mommy played baseball as a child, and has very, very fond memories of that time in her life. The mommy was very careful to not push the girl (or the boy) into playing baseball, because she didn't want to be one of THOSE parents. You know, the ones who sort of re-live their favorite times through their kids? Even if the kids are not interested? Wanting to be the opposite of those parents, baseball was rarely mentioned in the household. When the girl announced that she was completely uninterested in baseball, the mommy was sad, but okay with it. Then the girl went on to explain that T-BALL would be an acceptable, and even fun thing to do, the mommy quietly rejoiced, and signed her up in the next two minutes. And then the next day, they went and bought a pink bat, a pink helmet and a pink glove. Does it get any better? The mommy is going to seriously enjoy this baseball season!