bits and bites

I thought I'd take a few minutes to bust off a quick blog just to reassure my few faithful readers that we are, indeed, still alive and kicking out here in Vancouver.  The weather has been great, we've been loving being so close to the beach and parks.  Life is full and good.

We are headed off a bit later to some friends house for a little visit.  Yes, we are making friends.  We've actually met quite a few really good people.  I've been thinking about how, in all the moves we've made the last years (and it's been many) people are generally really sweet and worth knowing all over the place.  This time too, with 3 kids in tow and family in the area, we haven't had time or felt lonely.  We do miss friends "back home" and the easiness and familiarity of those friendships but don't have the spare time to feel lonely.  That's a good thing, I think.

I went through a bit of a dark week last week.  Just thought I'd share this quickly.  I had started the minipill - nursing mothers will know what this is.  I had heard that some people had really weird emotional reactions to it, like going down in the dumps and getting snappy and grumpy, but I usually don't react to medicines anyway so I thought I'd try it.  But I got really cloudy on it.  I was grumpy, had the tiniest amount of patience and was just feeling dark and gloomy.  I didn't like it one bit.  So I stopped and the world got sunny afterwards.  No more mini pill for me!

And on that note, my sunday afternoon rest time is quickly coming to an end with 2 boys screaming from their beds.

Polish chocolate

Just needed to let you all know that although my blogging has been non existent lately I do have a few future posts stewing in my brain. I had a bummer of a summer cold this week and life is just full. I'm sure many of you can relate. By the time evening and quiet rolls around the idea of exerting energy to blog is just too much.

But just so I don't forget the ideas stewing may be posted under the following titles:

- the lean years
- provision in disguise
- let them eat bread

So please stay tuned.

Ok, oe funny story about something that happened while I nurse Owen before sweet sleep time.

There is an old Russian physicist, Nikolai, who is living 2 floors above us for the summer. He says hi and smiles at the kids. Russian accents are so fun. Jonny helped him carry a tv up to his flat and he consequently a few evening later invited him up for some vodka. He's lonely here. So over vodka shooters in a mug, caviar on bread, pickles and fruit jonny got to hear about Russia, physics and what have you. Sweet guy. Lonely.

So, just tonight, I was muttering under my breathe as I tried to wrestle a very squirmy 7 month old into his pjs, ' I would give my left arm for some chocolate...mutter mutter mutter...'

Then out the window I spot nikolai toss something onto our patio table and stealthily walk away.

It was polish chocolate!!!

Perfect timing and it looks liked he's become a friend.

He just must never discover how dumb I am at physics. Ratio over time plus distance to electro magnet.....what?

To learn more about how brilliant old nikolai is check out jonnys Facebook page for a link concerning his accomplishments.

Just a Typical Family Picnic Around Here

Today we become those parents.

You know, those kind of parents.

You know, the kind of parents who take their kids to a nude beach for a supper picnic.

It turns out the path down the stairs and the small forest path near it all lead to the same place - and that place is all naked.

Ok, it wasn't that bad.  We walked down the 300 stairs through a beautiful forest - the kids got to see their first BC slug - and then we came to the end of the trail and Amy said,  "Mom, I spy with my little eye .... a boat."  But my little eye spyed something much different that a boat.  A man in his, maybe 60's?, sauntered by and well ... it wasn't his boat that was showing. 

Then another to the left standing on a rocky out cropping.

Oh my.

But, by the time Jonny and Ben came along down the stair there were no more nude sightings so we settled in for a nice picnic.  Other un-nudey people came down the path to enjoy the view too.  Ahem, the view of the ocean, of course. We actually didn't see any more naked bums other than the two shockers at first.

It is a beautiful beach.  And we can walk there from our house.

It was paradise for Ben.  It's all rocks and he seriously threw rocks into the ocean from the time we got there until we left.

If you come visit us we promise that a trip down the stairs to take in the wonders (of all kinds, apparently) will be on the to-do list.

Crazy Baby Owen

This is particularly for all the grandma, gramps, aunties and uncles out there. 

Owen is crazy.  He just started crawling 2 weeks ago and is now pulling up and this morning trying to go up the stairs.  Wild, but very cute, child.

A quick vid for ya'll.  This is last night.

Rainy Days

Today is bright and sunny but already we've had our share of rainy days.  So far they are still a bit of a novelty for us.  It's a fun challenge to get all rain geared up, put the cover on the stroller and tromp around outside.
Last Saturday Jonny had the kids put on a rainy day puppet show for our morning coffee entertainment.  Here's a sneak peak.  The problem is that the kiddos know when they are being filmed and don't act natural.  Drives me crazy.

Bonus of this movie us you get a glimps into our 875 square foot townhouse.  It's cozy enough.

We just laugh and laugh when Ben pops up.

Of This and That

This is a shot of the Rose Garden that we love to frequent for an evening stroll.  It's about a 8 minute walk from home.  The kids love it and so do we.  We visit it a lot.  This picture is from a look out above it, and although it's hard to tell beyond is ocean and mountains.  Very nice on a clear day ... or a cloudy, rainy one for that matter.  To get down to it with the stoller there an elevator.  So taking the kids there is like taking them for a carnival ride.  Win win.
Lately I've been very aware that when we go out and about on campus with the kids we are often the only people with kids in tow.  I went to the Student Union building today with Amy, Ben and Owen and was painfully aware that no one else hanging around had one kid, much less 3.  We make quite an entourage.  Our building has lots of kids though, and I meet other families at the playground so I know we're not the only ones, but it feels like it sometimes.  Saying that, I have been very impressed with UBC letting us use the grounds as a huge play field.  Ben and Amy love running around the Rose Garden, dipping hands in fountains we find everywhere and just being loud kids and we have never once been shushed, or told we can't be where we are.  Good on you, UBC!

Amy has had quite the 2 days.  She was literally taking time out to smell the roses last night on at the Rose Garden when she was swarmed and stung by a bee.  She flipped, and I mean, FLIPPED out.  And rightly so, bee stings, well, sting.  Then today she was stung again at the castle playground where we were having a supper picnic. (No rain today!  Kind of a first around here.... well, not a first, but it has rained a lot.  A nice old man at church told me, "Well, we aren't this green for no reason!"  Touche.
Anyway, after she got stung today I told her maybe the bees thought she was a flower and that's why they land on her and not the rest of us.  To which she replied that from now on she would wear her nice, colourful clothes in the house and change into plain old boring clothes like the rest of us wear when she goes out.  Problem solved.

She does look a bit like a flower in what she picked to wear today, I'd say.

A few posts ago we rejoice that Amy had made a new friend.  Sadly, that little friend has already moved away.  But here is a picture with a new new friend, Nion, a very sweet 5 year old from down the lane.  Amy also received an invite to another girls birthday party this weekend - she is very excited.  Living in this little community here has some funny quirks, but a lot of perks.  Hmmm... I see a post perculating in that sentence.

One more but of Amy news : today I got a call from University Hill Elementary School and Amy is officially enrolled to start in the fall!

I attended 2 evening speakers this week at Regent.  Both were good.  Monday's was The Economics of Enough.  I do like the idea of simple living and when I got home just wanted to pull out the good old WMPL handbook and read up on their stance on living simple.  Love good ol' WMPL mentality!  Tonight the lecture was Divining Spiritual meaning in Modern Art.  It made me wish I could paint.

Jonny has a Hebrew midterm tomorrow and is right now buried in vocab flashcards.  University summer Hebrew (known around here as "suicide Hebrew") seems very hard from what I can see.

And guess who is pulling up on furniture?

 Oh my gosh, I almost forgot.  Tonight walking home what do you think crept out from under the hedge?

A raccoon!  I know!  I don't think I've ever seen a real live one before, and let me tell you I was quite terrified.  They are sinister looking at dusk while walking alone.  Maybe it's the black mask they have.  I was expecting raccoons to jump out at me from every bush and tree after that and glad to get home.