Party Day for April

April 30th was party day at preschool for this month. Our dear friend Joelley was not able to come to the party and Nate missed her energetic encouragement. As you will notice in the clips, he is not very engaged and keeps yawning, but underneath a smile sneaks through every now and then.

Training Wheels For Sale

Near the end of summer last year, Nate started to adventure out on his bike (with Daddy very close at hand) without training wheels. This spring, he has mostly used his training wheels until this week when he asked Brent to remove them. Yesterday, he was biking with Brent running really closely beside him to catch the wobbles and stops. Today, Nate begged Mommy to take him biking. Having not supported a new cyclist before, Mommy was very nervous and had a really hard time letting go of the seat and the handle bars. Our retired neighbour was chuckling, encouraging Mommy to let go as "He's got to learn sometime!" Well. the next pass was somewhat improved. I was able to let go of the handle bars which Nate probably was thankful for as he had slightly more control. All of a sudden, the kid is cycling the length of the lane, with Mommy panting behind him. When Brent came home, we took Nate to the soccer field near our home and you can see for yourself his progress. He has taken flight.

Delta Triathlon

The first triathlon of the season felt good


It started in waves in the pool...9 people swimming per lane



I may need to work on my transitions a little...the arm goes in the arm holes right?




I always look forward to the bike



Well maybe it didn't feel good the whole way.... the legs were a little wobbley after the bike



About here it sure felt good to see some familiar faces cheering.



I met Keith during the run who helped me kick it up a little at the end.



Vince started a little before me so we didn't get to race together this time. Great job Vince!



Total time: 1 hour 20 mins 42 sec... good for 114 out of 360 ish.

California 2009

We enjoyed a fabulous family vacation over spring break with Brent's family. Grama and Grampa, Uncle Vince & Auntie Lynette, along with Alex and Tyler travelled with our family to California. We stayed in Oceanside which is a nice little town along the ocean, just north of San Diego. For some reason we flew into Los Angeles (must have been the flight costs), rented a mini van and drove to Oceanside. We spent 3 days in Disneyland, 1 day at Sea World, and Brent & Nate (along with Vince & Lynette's family) spent a day at Legoland. The highlight of the trip was spending time all together and just observing the pure excitement on the kid's faces. We were able to meet some key "characters" including Tigger and Mickey Mouse. Although Jadon can not necessarily articulate his favourite moments, I believe meeting Tigger would be one of them. He was just enthralled by all he saw and fully energized to make the most of his vacation. Nate mentioned that his favourite moments were riding on the roller coaster and going on the Jungle Cruise. I had a little chuckle today when he was recreating the Jungle Cruise with his friends. He turned on his microphone and was describing what his friends were "seeing" (bears, sharks, jumping fish, waterfalls, etc.) and even tried inserting a joke or two. It brought back precious memories for me.

Each day we drove to Disneyland included about an hour journey, part of which passed through Santa Ana (or at least we saw many signs indicating where one should turn if one wanted to visit Santa Ana). Nate surprised us by recognizing the sign. We still don't really know if he read the sign or just remembered what we were talking about, when, on each day of our journey. He has a good friend named Anna, and well, still quite enjoys the thought of Santa, so the word was important to him.

Jadon, particularly, although Nate as well, lapped up opportunities to spend with Grama or Grampa. Special, special memories.

Nate LOVED any opportunity he got to drive! Being a passenger was a bit of a wild ride. It was reassuring to have the "track" keeping you from hitting other cars. Regardless, he was actually a pretty good driver for a 4 year old.


Nate and Alex had a great time exploring Tom Sawyer's island (at Disneyland) full of trails, caves, tree forts, pirates' treasure and other things little boys love. It was challenging to keep up with them (particularly in the small cave tunnels!)

I had to BEG the boys to go on rides with me (Nate more so than Jadon). I'm not that unadventurous! But when you have such a great selection of ride "mates" to choose from, Mommy is a bit too ordinary.

Jadon's curls came to life in California. SO CUTE! He also could have spent much more time at the beach. I had some great one on one time with Jadon along the beach when everyone else went to Legoland. A fantastic day!

Legoland was a big hit for the bigger boys. They loved building, experiencing the rides, meeting Bob the Builder, and shopping for more lego! Truly inspirational.

Nate asks daily when we will return to Disneyland. What a great time we had with many special memories.

Fish, Friends and Fun in the Sun

What a beautiful, sunny day in Vancouver! We spent a fantastic day with our good friend Lucas at the Aquarium. What made the day even more special, was meeting Joelle, Susanna, and Robynn there too (of course, accompanied by "Auntie Lynda"). The kids braved an overflowing aquarium full of 7 school districts worth of kids on a Pro-D day (OK - maybe not every student of the 7 districts was there, but it sometimes felt like it!) The children in our care were on their best behaviour and were an absolute joy to be with. We capped the date with some play time in the park. Ahhh, if every day could be this enjoyable!

Families who run together....

The boys ran in their first race on the weekend. Nate played the "big brother" role very well, ensuring that Jadon made it around the track. They seemed to enjoy themselves, although the real highlight was the giant "kitty". JRFM was sponsoring the race and sent their mascot to entertain the children. The boys were pretty excited that he chose to sit with them on the bench. They were even more excited when he came the next day to watch mommy's race too. Sunday's race (The Historic Half) was in the sun and wound through some enjoyable scenery plus up and down a hill or two. The legs were a little stiff the next day, but it felt so great to accomplish a goal and even better to have a supportive family cheering from the sidelines. Brent hauled the kids around in the bike trailer and provided encouragement at a few points during the race, plus rode alongside me as close as he could to the finish line! (my apologies for the order of the pictures. I've played around with them long enough and they aren't behaving!)

Dance-a-thon

Nate's preschool celebrated Valentine's Day by participating in a Dance-a-thon to raise money for World Vision. Last year, Wind and Tide school raised enough money to build a school in Africa. This year, the children were raising money to fill the school with supplies. Thank you to everyone who donated money for such a fantastic cause. If anyone wishes to still donate, you can still do so (https://www2.worldvision.ca/famine/20381703). Jadon and I were able to spend a little time at the beginning and end of preschool to join in the dancing. I completely forgot to bring my camera, but my dear friend Lynda snapped a few of Nate bustin' a move. All I can say is he MUST have learned his dance moves from his dad! He sure is handsome don't you think!