Playhouse!

When we built the addition onto our kitchen, we built a small deck with stairs to access the backyard.  We had to close in the back side under the deck as a safety precaution as we have stairs going to an storage room under the addition.  As we finished closing in the one side, we decided to keep going and close in the entire thing and make a playhouse for the kids!  It turned out so cute (no bias here)!  Lennard even framed out the window and we're hoping to put some outdoor carpeting in it soon.  I'm going to make curtains for the window and we finished the door this afternoon while the kids were sleeping!  This evening, after dinner, they were in and out of the playhouse all night!  It was so cute to watch them.  I love when you can make something that doesn't cost a lot, but that they will get tons of playtime out of!!!

 This is what it looked like a couple days ago without the door.

Emma and Ben looking out the window!

Benny playing with the door (his pants were wet from playing in the pool).

Happy Canada Day!

We didn't do much on Canada Day itself.  We went to church, had nice long naps afterwards and then drove to Waterton for the evening.  We had planned on taking a picnic dinner, but we got rained out, so we called my mom and dad and ended up having our 'picnic' at their dining room table!  It all worked out though, as it was still quite chilly in Waterton.

This morning we headed to Raymond for the parade there.  It was a beautiful day to sit out, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed gathering the candy thrown to them!

Ben and Daddy waiting for the parade to start!

Mommy and Emma - trying to get a picture with a very wiggly little girl!

We didn't take many pictures of the actual parade, as most of our time was keeping the kids out of the way of the floats!  They quickly figured out that people were throwing candy and were quite content to run and grab what they could!  Definitely a fun day.

Party in the Park

Because July 1st falls on a Sunday this year, our town decided to hold it's Canada Day festivities today.  My mom and dad came over for some barbeque and then we all headed down to Lion's Park to check out the fun.  The kids were amazed at all the activity going on and both got to go in the bouncy house for the little kids.  Emma had a blast jumping, but Ben wasn't too sure about the whole thing.  He wanted to be in there, but he love all the bouncing.  They weren't impressed when they had to get out, but we were able to distract them with the little area with animals to pet.

They both loved the bunnies!

The best part of the evening for them was the swings though!  They would have stayed there the rest of the night if we'd let them!



Pool Time

We set up the kiddie pool and the kids have been having a blast!  The lawn is getting lots of water, as their favorite thing to do is fill a cup and dump it out!  Lennard and I had to sit back and laugh when Ben discovered that it was lots of fun to dump the water on Emma's head too... though Emma wasn't a fan! 

Say Hello To My 'Little' Friend!

For months now, every time we've gone in to Costco with the kids, they have been enthralled with the huge teddy bears for sale.  Each time we pass them, they had to give them hugs and kisses (numerous times).  It was quite entertaining, but I really didn't think we needed to spend money on such a huge stuffed animal.  Well, we finally caved today.  The kids were SO excited!  They kept leaning back in the cart to lay on the bear and on the way home, we had to pull it out of the back so that Emma could 'hold' it!  As soon as we got it in the house, they were climbing all over it and giving hugs.  It was so fun to see!

P.S. - This was taken a few days later (on the 29th)... as you can see... they still love it!

One More Thing Off the 'To-Do' List!

It's done!  Well, almost done. (We've got to cut the posts down to the right height.)  We got the rest of the fence done today!  What a good feeling to have another project done!  We even got the gate installed!  I love knowing that the kids can play in the backyard now and they can't 'escape'! 

We've still got a lot of landscaping to do, but we're one step closer to getting our backyard to where we would like it to be!

Cardston Kids Marathon

Lennard was asked again this year to set up the bucket truck so that a photographer could get some pictures of all the people running in the Cardston Kids Marathon.  I have gone in the 'marathon' in the past (you run the last km together), but this year I didn't feel like I would make it there and back, so we decided to cheer the runners on instead. 

We showed up early as Lennard was getting set up. Of course, Emma wanted to get in the bucket with daddy, and when that didn't happen, she wasn't very happy.

The kids both thought it was great fun to run into the street before the race started, so by the time the kids got to where we were, they were both watching from inside the truck!  Ben loved hanging out the window and yelling, "Go, go, go!".

Not a great photo (all taken on the iPhone), but it shows Lennard up in the truck with the photographer and a bunch of the people running!  Such a good idea to get everyone up and moving!  Maybe next year I'll be in better shape so I can participate!