Happy 80th Birthday, Poppa!!!!!!

What a terrific occasion to celebrate! P's dad is eighty years young and grandkids from near and far came to partake in the festivities and cake.  There was also fruit which on a hot and sunny day was a delicious treat.  

These cousins don't get to see each other very often because two of them live in Texas, far, far to the south. This heat wave is nothing for them. In fact, I had to convince them that parkas and Sorels weren't necessary.  


After the birthday cake, the kids sat nicely on the couch and let me take a few photos of them all together.  Thanks for not goofing off, guys!  

Four Score and Twenty Years ... or more accurately One Score Minus 4 Years ...

Today is the birthday of our eldest son, a milestone after which he'll be able to drive a car, become a life guard,save lives. He'll begin to narrow down what he would like to do with his life.  

Perhaps he'll join the rodeo.

 

 Or become a bear hunter.

 Or start to shave.  Oh, right. He's got that one covered.

 

We're looking forward to seeing what exciting adventures will unfold!

Con- grad-ulations!

From a wee four year old lad on his first day of school, our youngest monkey has grown up, acquired heaps of knowledge, matured in ways too many to count, and has conquered grade 8 with confidence and competence.

    

And he has the diploma to prove it.  (I know because I've seen it!)

Congratulations, J!  

School's Out!

As the school year winds to a close, I was the grateful recipient of many home-made cards from students, usually last-minue and hand-made. This one was memorable and is worth sharing.  Am I really the best teacher?  Um, judging by the spelling, no.  But judging by the creative use of phonetics, um, maybe I've had a modicum of impact. 

I love it. 

Almost as much as I love the mall.

The Grass is Always Greener

With so many acres to trim, the grass cutting becomes almost a full-time effort in the summer months, and calling in all the bairns is necessary to get the job done before sunset. We need to buy another mower ... or have more children.

Adverbity

Shaggy Scooby, in need of a hair cut, sits prettily in the living room, his eyes pleading deeply with me to make an appointment with the groomer.

The kids jump noisily on the trampoline, tirelessly working off the build-up of wintry months indoors and stagnant hours of school drudgery.

 In mid-air, S spins expertly with enviable nimbleness (nimbility?).

Scooby preens proudly post-clipping for the camera, with the shirtless wonder, J, our exhausted wonderkid.

Sadness on the porch ...

Our front window is a danger zone for lots of birds. They're attracted to it because they can see right through to the backyard and think it's a short-cut. Sadly, they crash head long into the glass, then are stunned and dazed, breathing on the window ledge until they feel well enough to try it again.  Until today, they've successfully shaken off the trauma and flown away, but this little guy wasn't so lucky.  We buried him in the field next door.

 

 RIP, yellow bird.

Hats Off!

S is in the drum line at high school, and part of their new uniform includes a baseball cap with an awesome design on the front.  He hasn't taken it off all day.  The competition is tomorrow ... fingers crossed!

High Fliers

When the phone rang I didn't imagine that we'd be 2000 feet in the air before the day was through, but that's exactly what happened. A friend with an airplane was coming to our local airport in a Cessna Skyline so we piled in the car and met him there. Other friends were staying with us (check out cutie C with S&J) and they came too. It was so gloriously sunny and clear, a perfect day for flying. We killed some time waiting for the plane to arrive, rolling around on the grass and climbing rocks.

Then we climbed into the little plane and put on the headphones. The engine roared, the plane shimmied, we lifted off ... !!  My stomach lurched, my head swam, then I totally got wrapped up in looking down and trying to identify the places I knew, and I completely forgot about barfing.  

 J loved it! 

The view of the city was amazing! Seeing the farms and creeks and schools from above was so interesting and thrilling. It all looked like a miniature play set, complete with cows and cars and other planes flying around us.  What a wonderful adventure!  

The Circus Comes To Town