Beating the heat...

This weekend has been a hot one! It seems that summer has finally arrived, no sooner than we are flipping the calendar to July :) 

A month or two ago we purchased a new kiddie pool for Melissa, so this weekend's weather certainly allowed us to put it to use. The first day I set it up, it was far too cold to sit in, (even after adding buckets of hot water) so we used it more as a wading pool and sat on her little chairs in it. 

A few nights ago a neighbor girl gave Melissa some nail decals, and we put them to use during our last pedicure session!

Melissa insisted we do our nails the very same! She is so proud of her flowers on her toes :)

Preschool Jr. Finale

Today likely marked the end of our Mommy & me classes with the completion of Preschool Jr. In the coming year Melissa will be going to Preschool at Wind & Tide, two days a week, all by herself! 

Last week we had a "Party in the Park" at Mill Lake, with her Preschool Jr. class. You can tell by our clothing (long sleeves & pants) that the weather wasn't all that warm. But at least it wasn't raining as we had to cancel it the week prior due to bad weather!

Shortly after we arrived, we went on a walk in search of some ducks.

Melissa and Kiera, excited to see each other again, separated from the pack!

Walking the yellow line...

A portion of the class poses for a photo with teacher "Miss Simone".

Melissa on a treasure hunt...

Showing Miss Simone her bag of found items...

Craft & snack time combined! Beading Fruitloops on a licorice string!

Relay time... balancing a ball on a spoon!

And lastly playing with the parachute!

Father's Day

This past weekend we celebrated Father's Day at my side of the family. The weather cooperated and we enjoyed lunch outside in the sun. 

Gift opening with the grandchildren...

Melissa & Xander both love helping Papa feed all his pets. First the fish...

They gave in to the paparazzi's requests for one posed photo...

Next stop, the chicken coop. Petting a chicken...

Throwing scratch for the hens...

And next a little swing time...

After swinging they moved on to feed the dogs some doggie treats. I didn't take any more photos after the swings for some reason. (Possibly was caught up in a good conversation, even though I didn't have a voice!)

Thanks for being such a great father & grandfather Dad! 

We appreciate you :)

Dominick's Birthday Party

This weekend we went to Williams Park to celebrate Melissa's little friend Dominick's 3rd birthday. We enjoyed a smokie bbq right next to the playground, so the kids were kept busy trying out all the equipment!

Here is Dominick... the birthday boy! Ask him how old he is, and he still says "2"! Here he is doing what boys do best! It would be a totally different mindset having a boy.... he was having a great time throwing this pea gravel around, all over himself, filling his shirts and pants! 

The king of the slide! No fear what-so-ever!

Melissa wanted to try to. She had no problem climbing the ladder, just when she got to the top, pushing off was a little scary. But once she did it many times she was okay to do it all by herself!

A little teeter-totter fun with a new friend Crystal.

Dominick's cool "Cars" cake. The black icing was a really messy treat!

Some of the kids looked like they were ready for halloween as they were covered in black icing. I only managed to get a picture of Dominick. He was a little concerned, probably cause the adults were all taking photos and laughing! But the cake was really yummy... so who cares how messy it is!

Being at this park brought back childhood memories, as I had been there on occasion with my family. I remembered this staircase that lead to a whole different area. So after the party the three of us went on a little hike - Melissa's first hike! At the beginning she lead the way... but by the end she was saying, "My legs are sore!"

We stopped by the stream which runs through the park, and Melissa tossed rocks in.

We found a photo opportunity with a cool, old tree.

And Melissa enjoyed a little father/daughter time watching the fish while I took some more pictures (which were later to be used on his father's day card!) 

So nice to see our shadow friends out again! Hopefully the summer is here at last :)

Little "Helper"

I haven't forgot to blog.... I just haven't been taking any photos lately. The last week we have been bogged down by a big of a 'bug' around the house. Melissa has pushed through just fine, it seems to slow me down more than her! 

Here is a photo of Melissa "helping" out around the house. She is very insistent on doing anything and everything that we do... even if it is impossible. There seems to be no telling a three year old! Amazing how young they "know everything". And Missy can be quoted for saying this!

Bobs & Lolo - Live!

Yesterday we took Melissa to the Surrey Children's Festival to see her favorite musicians - Bobs & Lolo perform live! 

Before the show started we did a craft "create your own wand"...

Melissa got her face painted... for the first time!!! I have been trying at every event we go to and she would outright refuse, so this was a big step.

Melissa remained very serious while getting her face painted... I couldn't get a smile out of her!

Next we witnessed a very loud parade.

We made our way to the tent where Bobs & Lolo were to perform. We caught a bit of their warm up and Melissa got a little time with Bobs. She had a hard time enjoying the moment as an extremely loud drum procession was coming within feet of us.  

The loud drummers...

The show underway, and Melissa warmed up and got into the actions! 

(Melissa is the kid on the far right)

I took much video footage, as Melissa was so cute. She knew much of the words to the songs! Bobs & Lolo even mentioned they noticed this when we talked to them after the show :)

"Shadow Friends"

"I Love Bugs"

"Wish for a Fish" (a toddler mosh pit!)

After the show Bobs & Lolo handed out stickers. We bought Melissa a souvenir - a Bobs & Lolo DVD to watch them over and over in the comfort of her home!