Recap of Birthday

I worked for most of the morning - so much prep ahead yet but had set aside the afternoon for my daughter Aimee's birthday. We had "A"-shaped pancakes for breakfast thanks to the creativity of Wendy and the plan was unveiled to AJ that we would be going to Tinkertown & she could bring along her friend Piper. Aimee was so stoked! We spent almost 3 hours enjoying an assortment of rides and Zach actually went on a few as well. I'm not sure why they insist playing that crappy country pop stuff - pretty annoying music. It was a cooker too - 28 degrees C. We of course snacked on the famous donuts & some ice cream treats. Then it was off to Applebee's - Aimee's favorite restaurant! Nothing fancy for the girls - grilled cheese but I enjoyed the Lime Chicken & Wen had some Chicken Fettuccine. We followed that with a driveby to get a castle cakepan at a store, then off to ToysRUs for a birthday gift and party supplies. Wen will host a "princess" party next week for Aimee & some of her friends - this week just slipped away on us and we weren't able to get it all going. So there ya have it 08.08.08 - a great day for a birthday escape!

08.08.08

Interesting numerical date today - start of the Olympics in Beijing and also my daughter Aimee's birthday! Lots planned for today!

Quote a Three Year Old - Amazing Stuff!

Our little AJ has some amazing quotes: today she told me I should maybe close my laptop so it doesn't get dried up. "Don't get it all dried out daddy - because then you can't press things." I asked her why i wouldn't be able to press things & her response was, "Because God made it, painted it, cleans stuff for us too, and makes stuff for us, and papers for us to draw on, boots, Dora,..." I'm not sure how the two are connected.

July Holiday Images

The summer has been a good and for me with the beginning of prep now for college it means I won't be escaping as much with the family out on outings (at least during the weekdays). But I wanted to display some of the images of our summer. I actually posted the shots of Tinkertown & Grand Forks tonight but changed the dates to when they were actually taken. The cottage & home shots in this portfolio are mainly from July. SO here they are!

Our three kids: Chelsea, Aimee, & Zachary!

Zachary - the target of many, many photographs.Zachary & his lovely mom!

Aimee with her pooh bear towel after a run through the sprinklers.

July means long hot days and weekend at Star Lake as much as possible. Here are a couple shots from the Whiteshell park: Gotta love them sunsets!

Fireworks from the dock on July 1st - tradition rules at the Friesen cottage!

Sprinklers are a great way of entertaining kids and they actually keep the grass green!

Zachary can be quite the charmer with his smiles and coos!

Another grin from the Z-man!

My precious Aimee!

The girls love our play structure and are quite proficient in their swinging acrobatic routines already!

Kyle & Laura brought a couple kittens to the cottage last weekend and Chelsea enjoyed playing with them - she's got a soft spot for animals (once she gets over her initial fear).

Zach again all-smiles!

My free spirit dancing daughter complete with her gypsy wear!

More shots of my wandering Chelsea!

Roasting marshmallows at Star Lake.

Aimee exploring the shoreline at Star Lake.

Chelsea enjoying the view of some nearby ducks.

Aimee & her mom enjoying the play structure at the lake.

Chelsea sliding...

Aimee swinging...

Another close-up of Chels

And more swinging at Star Lake...

Getting Back to Blogging

Wow - okay apparently it has been awhile since I've posted! Not sure why that it is other than the valid excuse of being pre-occupied by summer and spending time with family. My musings of course continue, as do my random thoughts & wanderings...but I admit to being a complete slacker for the past few weeks. We've done some traveling, cottaging, yardwork, cycling, photography, swimming, exploring the great outdoors and visiting local parks. I'll try and post some pics from the last month which I'm still sorting through...I know I've deleted well over a hundred (I do make some mistakes) and probably have about 400 shots that have survived my judgment (I am tough on my photos).

Wendy and I are loving our family: Zachary is continuing to be a growing joy in our lives (he's taken up karate or some form of martial arts along with smiling, cooing & wooing? to whoever he meets), Aimee is still my sparkling wonder who loves to be hugged, carried around, or pushed on the swing, and Chelsea loves exploring the limits of her balance, strength, & speed in whatever sport she's attempting (namely swinging, runbiking, swimming, & climbing). It is still hard to believe we are a family of 5 persons right now and it is admittedly yet more of a challenge loading up the Escape for our infrequent escapes to the cottage, the city, church, or visiting friends & family.

So yeah - August has arrived and my escape from the office is coming quickly to an end. I'm going to try and transition it all, already doing some reading & research, but yeah this ship is about to set sail for another year of education with a touch of revolution & hopefully inspiration!

Grand Forks Escape: Canad Inn & Waterpark

We decided to do a family trip to Grand Forks (July 10-13th) because of our amazing exchange rate for the US dollar, do some shopping and check out the new Canad Inn & their amazing water park. We were not disappointed! Here's a few shots taken with my cheaper point & shoot Optio digital:Aimee enjoying Grand Fork's Canad Inn's waterpark - amazingly kid-friendly!

Chels & me shooting some hoops at one of the pools at the waterpark.

Some of the cool decor at the water park - sort of a "island theme" - very cool!

The family in the hot-tub - Zach is a little stunned apparently - not the most flattering shot but hey not all my pictures are amazing ha!

A shot of our arctic theme room for the kids - kind of cool as they had their own space as did we!

Chelsea modeling one of the bunkbeds - complete with amazing painted walls.

Aimee beside her favorite penguin!

First week of July Pics - Holidays!

One of our favorite aspects to our place is the backyard and of course the inflatable kiddie pool is a must with our Manitoba summers of heat & humidity! So here's a few shots of the kids enjoying the backyard pool!Zachary's first plunge with his doting sisters Aimee & Chelsea.

I'm not convinced the hat is a great fashion choice but it kept the sun off his head.

Zach's surf shorts are pretty rad from my perspective!

Aimee with her gorgeous eyes!
Zee chillin'

Chels & Zach

The pantry at the Star Lake cottage has this cool glass door that I discovered the girls playing in when they were supposed to be getting ready for bed. It just so happened there was some cool light shining into the cottage from the sun setting & it just illuminated the girls well - so a little artsy but I think the results are cool!Chelsea peering out in discovery mode!Another more artsy shot of the girls in the pool - they play with water while I play with light!

Exploring Tinker Town

One of our best entertainment options for kids in Manitoba - is Tinker Town. I was pleasantly surprised as to how well-run the place was - much more kid-friendly than the Morris Stampede or any of the Shopping Mall amusement ride events. For one the ride operators aren't escaping a warrant or under the influence (as far as we could tell). Here are a few shots (again taken with my cheap Optio as it is easier to stow away than my SLR).

Chels & Aims enjoying a boat ride at Tinkertown.A sign of future teenager-dom & drivers education?

Chelsea & Aimee absolutely love riding horses - especially on the musical carousel.

First time for Aimee & Chelsea on a Ferris Wheel.

I snuck aboard the carousel without a pass so I could take a few shots of the girls in motion.

The girls speeding off in fun!

Latest Pics

We had another fabulous escape to Star Lake and we have full intentions of spending as much of our summer there as possible. Check out explore play for some further photos with more of a nature emphasis.
Zach has made our family more complete and we are totally digging the guy! He's fairly agreeable most of the time although he is a bit of a grunter sometimes...and the boy knows how to fill diapers but we won't blog about that!
Chelsea does her best to not pose and I think she pulls it off - she's loving her role of big sister.

Here's a shot of him asleep on my shoulder...so peaceful!

A self-portrait - I don't look impressed but I'm not a smiley guy when it comes to photos - it's serious business...
Wendy & I feel so privileged to be parenting these kids - Zach fits right in.

Chelsea enthused about holding a giant Luna moth - amazing beauties! I should note that explore play has some more shots of some bugs - enjoy!

My little Aimee - not hard to take a good picture of her!

Amazing shot - captured by my lovely wife Wendy!

Another great shot of siblings - Chelsea & Zachary!