Our Preschooler Gets a Lot of One on One Time

Ever since her two siblings started school a few weeks ago, our preschooler has benefited from a lot of one on one time with both her Mama and Grandma. All week, we played dress-up; well, she dressed up as Skye from Paw Patrol, and I pretended to need rescuing.

On Thursday, a field trip with grandma to the apple orchard proved to be fun-filled for both.

And on Friday, gym and swim restarted, and she just couldn't wait to get back into the water.

While our four-year-old does attend part-time preschool, she really seems to have embraced her new role as the only remaining preschooler.

Our 4-year Old Starts Preschool and Fun Day

Our four-year old started school on Tuesday. I thought she would be happy to return to a familiar place and reunite with her teachers. Yet, she was the only one to hold onto Mama's leg for dear life. Her teacher finally convinced her to enter the classroom, whereupon Mama drove to the elementary school where her school-aged children were celebrating fun day.

She had signed up to be a volunteer, and she was stationed at the inflatable structures, or as the kids call them, bouncy castles. Her kids were happy to see her, but rather than entering the inflatable structures in single file like the other students, they pushed, and shoved each other, entering simultaneously, and raced to the finish line. I guess everyone has their own idea of fun day.

First Day of School

With much anticipation, the first day of school started on Wednesday. I was so excited, I did not sleep much the night before. I was a little worried about our 5-year; only a few months ago, she was adamant that she wanted to stay in preschool "forever". 

They both had a terrific first day. Our 7-year old met some new friends, and reunited with some old. She had positive things to say about her home-room teacher, and although you wouldn't know it from the photo, she is very excited about grade 2.

Our 5-year old had a progressive week, with only one and a half hours on the first day. She had a big smile on her face each time we picked her up. Although she did not speak much in class, nor had much to say about school, she seems happy to have graduated from preschool.

Our 4-year old starts preschool next week, and I don't know who is more excited, her or I!

A Visit to the World's Largest Log Cabin

This week, we headed to the Chateau Montebello for a few days of much-needed rest and relaxation. The children were very excited to visit the world's largest log cabin. They were well-behaved on the short drive there.

Upon our arrival, too early to check-in, we headed to the large indoor pool. There, the girls alternated between swimming, swinging in the hammocks, and dipping into the hot tub.

There were many activities for kids and adults alike, including paddle boating, and bicycling. The kids also went on a treasure hunt, met the mascot, a dog named Bello, played in a Wigwam, and decorated cookies with a real chef!

Every evening, the kids were treated to a kid-friendly movie night. At one point, our #2 exclaimed "this place is amazing", echoing our sentiments. No one, including the parents, wanted to leave.

A Day at the Zoo

My cousin invited us to join them at the zoo last Tuesday. I did not think we could go as the kids had swimming lessons until 12, and our 7 year old had gymnastics at 17:30. With an hour drive each way, we didn't think it would be worth while. Alas, there was a thunder storm on that same morning, and swimming lessons were canceled. The weather had cleared by the time we got to the zoo, but there were few visitors that day. In fact we almost had the entire zoo to ourselves.

First, we headed towards the "stay in your car" safari. We had purchased a few small boxes of food for the animals, and much to our surprise, they came right up to our windows, poked their heads in, and readily accepted the food. We saw all sorts of animals including water buffalo, ostriches, and camels. The girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves until a camel poked his head in, and grabbed an entire box of food from my 7 year-old. She cried. Within a few seconds, another camel stuck its head in through another window and grabbed another box of food right from a lap. My 5 year old screamed then cried. Shortly thereafter, we closed our windows, and simply enjoyed the view from our car without feeding any more animals. After all, we had no food left!

Once we exited our car, and as we waited for the cousins to arrive, the girls got their faces painted. Little did we know that all of that would wash off in the large wading pool. We saw many more animals while on foot, including monkeys, gorillas, lions and bears. Overall we had a wonderful time and agreed that we would be back next year...

The Little One Turns 4!

It is hard to believe that our last child was born 4 years ago! I remember her birth like it was yesterday, and at the same time, it feels like an eternity.

We held her party a little over a week in advance, and for once we actually had a party with formal invitations, and attendees other than our immediate family.

We rented a local indoor pool, and the kids had a blast:

#2 on the slide

We then ate in the party room, and the kids simply could not wait to eat the Elsa and Anna cake made by my sister.

On her actual birthday, her gymnastics suit arrived in the mail. And as soon as she finished her swimming lessons, she changed into the suit, then promptly went around to all of the lifeguards to show off!

Summer arm Wedding

We just returned from my cousin Lili's wedding. The event took place on farm land, out in the open, and under a lovely tent. The girls had a great time: They saw horses and cows, ran around and yelled to their heart's content, dressed up in some pretty wild outfits, and even received some surprise bags filled with treats to occupy their time. Now if only I had foregone the heels, I could have run around with them...