Knee high by July

As you can see the corn is much taller than where farmers want the crop to be at this time of the year.....according to the saying: if the corn is knee-high by July, it is going to be a good year.

Check out how high the corn is in the field behind us.  I wonder what this will mean for farmers?!

Cheers to a good year!

Ciao
R-xo

Lesson Learned!

I despise the words "lessons learned"  it is used so much at my work.  The concept is a good business practice I'm sure, but really??? who pulls out the old lessons learned log and actual changes the way they handle something because the lessons learned log told them so?

Well...I am about to eat my own words on this subject......

I did learn something this weekend about my dear Emmy....like the old adage states..."never trust a dog to watch your sandwich".  Well....I can now add this:  "Never let Emmy watch your sushi"  That little monster can pop those rolls like they are candy. 

I guess this is my lesson learned and I will log this for next time!

Ciao
R-xo

"Go WILD"

We packed the truck up and headed to African Lion safari today. "Rrroaarr - that is what the lion says mommy, I wish I hear a lion at the animal zoo today mommy"   The girls were excited to see all the animals, but I'm not so sure they knew what this all meant.  Up til now they have only seen animals in their books or on TV. 

The whole ride there, we were entertained by all the different sounds the jungle animals can make.  We asked them what animals they were excited to see and the list grew long, but the top four were elephants, giraffes, zebras and monkeys.  Oh no, not monkeys....I do not want those thieves to make off with half my truck.

I have not been to the African Lion Safari in a long time, but my memory was quite clear on the monkey part and so was Dacy's.  He said he remembers when they went as a family and his dad somehow missed the monkey bypass road, only to panic, turn the car around and baahaa through the grassland towards the exit with the park rangers in tow...he could hardly tell the story without laughing his butt off.  Funny the things we remember so vividly when we were younger.

kisses!

 We let the girls out of their car seats and started our safari.  The girls were silent and fascinated by all the animals.  They recognized all of them but kept asking us if they were safe in the car.  I rolled down my window to get a good pic of the rhinoceros and Sophia freaked out. " mommy roll up your window so he does not get us"  I guess I should adhere to the rules!

The elephant swim was a bit hit with all of us.  Those huge mammals kept us all in awe.  Sophia was happy to see they were taking a bath, cause they were dirty and needed to clean off. 

sprinkle water!

We headed to the splash pad for lunch.  They girls were excited to play in the water, but alas...water bugs they are not.  They enjoyed playing, but the sprinkling water caused more frowns then smiles.  What was a hit were the baby swings.  They love the baby swings cause they can fly high "up to the sky and touch a cloud"  so Emily thinks!

playing in the bouncy balls

"Hi Buddy"

We took in one of the bird shows and the petting zoo.  If you ask the girls what they remember about the bird show they would say - The dead bat (it was not dead, but hanging upside down and Sophia thought it was dead), the green birds singing "O Canada" and the blue bird riding the bike.



It was a great educational trip, just how Darcy likes it.  He is always showing the girls how to do stuff, teach them about life and this trip was right up his alley.  This was also part of Father's Day - getting to do what he likes best, spending time with his family and making it an educational experience!

Ciao
R - xo

We are 3!

How did 3 years come and go...I will never know, but the girls were ecstatic to be 3 years old!  They have a whole list of stuff they think they can do now that they are 3, as was evident in a previous post When I am Bigger. 

I am excited that they are becoming very independent, but sometimes that Independence pulls at my last nerve.  Why is it that toddlers have no concept of time and decide to stand their ground when we are running late?!?

***PARTY TIME***

The party was a  pink princess bonanza, complete with a candy coated cake and pinata!  It was a great day to spend with family and friends, so what better way to end the day then with some fireworks.  Sophia was not a fan of the noise and Emily screamed with giggles at all the pretty colours in the sky!

We were so thrilled that the weather was great.  Happy 3rd Birthday my Princesses!  Mommy and Daddy love you to the moon!
xo

The Girls and the Great Outdoors!

Finally I can say that I am toasting to the arrival of this warm weather – Playing outdoors! Woo Hoo!

It’s so nice to tell the kids to go outside, or have them ask to play outside, and have them actually enjoy it. This means less mess inside, hours of play outside and it all means that they are tired for bedtime.  So I would think.  9pm bedtime is becoming common Urgh - must nip that in the butt!

What really tickles me pink, is the fact that the girls can "pump." They can swing themselves on their wings - no more "mommy will you push me?"  Fia is soooo excited to show me, that I think she is going to fly off into the sky and the whole time she has the biggest "I have do it all by myself" grin. 

Emily likes to play in the sandbox, making roads and sand castles.  No matter to me, just as long as they are playing and I can watch them from my kitchen window!

I’ll toast to that!

Cheers
R - xo

"Who's flashing a flashlight mommy?"

I woke this morning to the flashes of lightening and the sounds of thunder.  I seriously cannot believe it is March 15 and I had to drive home with the A/C on yesterday...crazy.

Storms are not my thing.  I must admit I get a bit freaked out when it comes to storms, sometimes BBMing friends with a play-by-play just to feel like someone is with me. (oh, the scariest storms seem to happen when Darcy is at work)  My husband on the other hand sits on the front porch or stares out the back window watching every streak.

It then dawned on me that the girls may freak out.  Last year they slept through all storms, so we did not have to explain what was going on.

What was I going to say?...quick, cause they are going to get up.  So, when I heard Fia say, "who is flashing those flashlights mommy, they are so silly"  I knew I had to mask my nervousness.  Not an easy thing to do...hide my inner fear of storms.

I explained to them that it was thunder and lightening and that the boom was just a noise outside, not scary.  To my luck they bought it!  Emily, went to their bookshelf  and retrieved a book that showed thunder and lightening and the sounds they make.  "boom! and splatz!" 

For the ride to daycare they talked about boom and flashlights, how they are not scared and that it is just a noise we know where it comes from, the sky.

I thought  I was free and clear until bed time...then the questions started about why there are storms and then Emily broke the ice...."Mommy if we are a little scared we can come to your room right?"  she said this with a smile on her face like she just found a way to sleep with mommy that she might agree to...and I did. 

To date, we have avoided having the girls sleep with us all night.  They try and talk me into it when daddy is working, but I cannot sleep when there is a super hot, washing machine glued to my side...so we have just cuddled in the morning or when they are sick....and now when there are storms.

This will be the first year the girls will remember "boom and flashlights"  Lets hope there are not too many this season as I think our bed will get cramped pretty quickly!

Ciao
R - xo

The winter that wasn't! - Our 1st snowman

Crazy winter, crazy weather = some crazy fun this year for the girls.  This was the first year the girls really played in the snow and made their first snowman! 

Emily put the arms on and asked for a hat and carrot for the nose...dad added the eyes.  I was very proud of them!  I looked out a few minutes later and it looked like Emily was giving the snowman a kiss...but she was actually eating his carrot nose! 

Crazy.... Silly.....Fun!

Ciao

R-xo