Agrifair

The Agrifair landed on the weekend after Brody arrived. We had bought passes ahead of time, and Melissa was very excited to go, so she & Dad went two days (Brody & I went for a few hours on the second day). This year it was mostly about rides for her... so that is where they spent most of their time (and money!)

Sitting on the hillside...

Laughing after she had be rolling down the hill...

High in the sky!

She talked Dad into going on the spinning strawberry ride with her (her favorite, but not Ken's!)...

She tried going on the roller coaster, which in the end wasn't her favorite :P

To finish off their last night, the two of them went together on the ferris wheel...

Announcing the Arrival of Brody

We had an early arrival of our new baby boy to our family this Sunday - July 24th at 3:39 am. Brody David Thomas weighed in at 6 lbs 14 oz. Here are a few pics of our little miracle :)

Maan Farms with McMillans

We went on a last playdate to Mann Farms with our friends the McMillans - who are moving to Edmonton in August. Over the years we have spent lots of time together and it certainly is sad to be loosing them to the distance. First thing the kids wanted to do was go on the barrel tractor ride. I was quite pregnant at this point, and did get in one of the barrels, but was far to uncomfortable to go on the trip around the farm. So I took pictures instead :)

After, the kids played on the playground, and then visited the animals in their petting zoo...

A favorite was the baby bunnies which the kids loved holding...

Waterslides

We spent the day at the waterslides with Uncle John & Luca. Everyone had a blast!

Melissa going down the big slides for the first time with Uncle John catching her...

Thumbs up!

After a few times down she got brave enough to do it by herself...

Three thumbs up!

Watching from the sidelines, I get the 'I Love You' sign as she passes :)

Still having a great time :)

After many hours, and much energy spent, she had a sleep on the ride home!

Berry Festival

We went with Luca & Uncle John to the Abbotsford Berry Festival this summer..

The kids played a little mini-golf...

Got their faces painted...

And had snow-cones...

GV Zoo with Uncle John & Luca

A huge highlight this summer is our out of town visitors... Uncle John (Ken's brother) and cousin Luca who came from Toronto for just over a week. Our first outing with them was to the Greater Vancouver Zoo...

Pop, Nana, Melissa & Luca...

Luca documenting the animals as we went along...

Luca navigating...

the kids were always on the go to the next animal ahead of us.

Heehaw...

Shadow the bear went swimming for apples...

At the giraffe look-out...

They brought out a few trees for a "giraffe snack"...

Brothers and their kids...

It was a hot day... and we had a much needed cool down with ice cream treats at the end.

Canada Day Parade 2011

This year we celebrated Canada Day in much the same manner as we have for many years now. Same piece of sidewalk (in front of The Reach) with the same people (this year minus my parents as they were at the cabin). Unfortunately this looks like it will be the last time we are sitting there with the McMillan family as they are moving to Edmonton :(

Melissa with her flag and lollipop...

Melissa & Kiera enjoying the sights...

Just before I took this photo, the water was aimed right at our feet... the firefighter either has impeccable aim, or we were very lucky. One inch higher up and we would have been soaked!

Out of the blue Melissa's Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Carroll, walked past handing out balloons...

She's such a great teacher, Melissa had a great year with her...

The parade went on for 2+ hours, and the kids lost interest... but found other ways to entertain themselves...