So they take the kids skating.

Once every three weeks they walk over to the arena and all these kids whip around on the ice have way too much fun. They ask for any parents who are brave enough to come along and help supervise. Last time I fell once and Ben fell lots. He clung to the boards and was very disappointed that he was not an expect skater after an hour. This week he fell much less and went around holding onto a pylon. All in all he's making great progress!

We love visiting the ROM!

GRADUATION!!!!

Back in my day this wasn't a milestone we celebrated.
It was almost too much cute. The best part was when each of the children said what the wanted to be when they grow up. Here are my top three:
"When I grow up I want to be a rock star!"
"When I grow up I want to be a cashier!"
"When I grow up I want to be a paleontologist!" (sp? My son wants to be it and I can't even spell it lol)
Also, the parents and their mad picture taking rush really put me in mind of the paparazzi Especially when the principal had to come out and tell us all to sit down and we could take pictures at the end.....

"Don't I look scary Mummy?"

"No darling you look adorable."
"But I have fierce dinosaur feet and a scary Halloween costume on my head....Grrrrrrrrr!"
"Nope. Still adorable."

Me: Go stand by the cannon so I can take your picture.
Ben: But Mummy! I'm not allowed to do that! Can't you see there's a chain around it?!
Me: It's okay.
Ben: really?
Me: Yes.
Ben: Are you sure?

March break day trip to Niagara Falls

We went to the butterfly conservatory, rode on the skywheel and went down to the falls. the weather was great

Halloween Dance-A-Thon

Thanks to everyone who donated to Ben's school's Halloween fund raiser! Ben went dressed as Elroy in the costume I made for him (See the shoes?!!) The school went all out with decorations, and even hired a professional DJ. It was tons of fun for everyone. Nothing better than seeing so many kids so happy.
Here are the best pictures of Ben dancing.
The pumpkin is his best friend.
Happy Halloween everyone!!!

In preparation for Halloween! -Reinforcing the mistaken idea that Mummy can do anything.

We can't afford to buy the boy a Halloween costume this year. They are just too darn expensive, and we don't have the money.
I resigned myself to the fact that he probably wouldn't get to be want he wanted and I would have to make something he probably would be happy with.
Imagine my delight when he said that he wanted to be Elroy!!
For anyone who doesn't know, Elroy is the toy Ben sleeps with and has slept with since he was a small baby, he's also a bit of an imaginary friend who gets up to all kinds of crazy things! Here is "real" Elroy:
I thought, this is great! I can sooooo make an Elroy costume!! I don't know why I thought this because I've never actually sewn a Halloween costume before, and didn't have a pattern or even know how to make something from a pattern.
But I rushed right out an bought two meters of light blue velor, plus a tiny bit of white for inside the ears. Then I lost all my steam and for a couple of days was thinking "But how the heck do I actually do it?" Then it came to me last night as I was falling asleep. It was just like that scene in snow white when they make the dress (only without the enchanted scissors and pretty birds.) I would just fold the material in half, cut a hole for the head put it on him and pin the shape of his body. It would be a tunic style costume. I would make a hood with ears. And I did just that. Andrew was absolutely amazed that Ben stood still long enough for me to pin the entire thing as it was a very long process. I guess I've just gotten used to the fact that my boy is super amazing. Here the documentation of the final pinning, the sleeves, before I attached the front of the hood to the tunic:
And here (insert drum roll) is the finished product! Ta-Da! One Elroy costume!

As you can probably tell from the photo, Ben is absolutely thrilled with his costume. And it really is much better than anything I could have bought because of this.
So, lesson learned. Next year regardless of finances, I'll be making his Halloween costume!

September camping, so many milestones!

This trip was so amazing in so many ways! We all had a blast. The weather was completely perfect and we had something new and exciting to do every day. From taking a hike along the Bruce Trail, to sitting in a canoe, to just chilling on the shores of Cypress Lake Ben was a joy and a wonderful companion. He has the makings of a true outdoors men. This trip was chalked full of first for him and they were all great!


First sight of a wind turbines on the drive up!


First time in a canoe! We saw a water snake who Andrew picked up of the end of his paddle so that Ben could have a better look. Thereafter whenever we saw an animal Ban demanded Andrew pick it up on his paddle.


First time staying up to see the moon! We tried to wake him after he had already fallen a sleep one night but it just wasn't happening, so the next night we decided to keep him awake until it was dark enough to see the big beautiful full moon, and a night time camp fire. It was really special.


First open air fire! Also the first time eating food cooked over a fire.


First smore! He like the chocolate and the marshmallow. The gram cracker? Not so much.


First time sleeping in tent! (For Ben not Andrew, but I didn't have a picture of Ben in the tent!)


First time in a hammock! He loved it so much. It was great for us too because he was completely contained and required almost no supervision. Occasionally he would demand a new book.


Longest ever car trip! We were planning to stop many more times on the way up for bathroom breaks and to stretch our legs. But we only had to stop once! He was a really pleasure in the car on the way up. On the way back, however, after only about an hour on the road he threw up all over the place. (It was a rental car *sigh*) But nobody's perfect right?


Longest ever hike! He didn't really need a lift but I was willing to indulge since we were walking for such a long time. The funny thing is, after the first long walk, and then playing for hours in the rocks by the Georgian Bay, he didn't even ask for a lift on the walk home! He ran most of the way back.

All in all it was a pretty perfect trip.