Well I set this up for your mom to start blogging, but that lasted about a day or so (you know our mom and technology) . . . so I decided that maybe I could use this as a way to capture some of my thoughts about our Everyday Adventures. I really don't know when you will see this or read this, but I hope that you appreciate and enjoy reminiscing our time spent together. I love you always and you make me so proud to be your dad. I look forward to the many adventures and memories that we will share together.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Dance Party

One of the things that Emma loves doing is dancing to Cody Simpson. Gee, I wonder where she gets the Star Performer attitude from?

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Trick or Treating

The night started of with a Halloween Dinner of spider pasta and festive plates. 



Booooo!!!

Michelle has to hide this from me on the weeks leading up to Halloween.
Although it was a bit windy tonight as the kids trick or treated with their cousins, it was a great time had by all. Emma did a great job walking for most of the night carrying her bucket full of candy. You know those times when as a parent all you are trying to do is help your children out because you think you know best, when clearly they don't want your help, but you persist anyways . . . well, let's just say that I had one of those moments. Emma's bucket was clearly getting too heavy for her as she was straining to carry her bucket full of treats. You know the signs, body leaning to one side to counter balance the weight, the constant need to put the bucket down to rest her arms, and the gradual slowing down of our five houses every twenty seconds pace. So what did I do you ask . . . well, I simply tried to empty her bucket to make it lighter. Common sense right? No, not even close. Not in the eyes of a two year old, as Emma thought that I was taking her candy away for good, therefore leading to water works, hysterical crying, and the classic sit-in protest on the side of the road. What did I do you ask? Well, I tried to reason with her first, which was as useless as trying to reason with Michelle when she doesn't get her morning latte. So, I did what any normal parent would do . . . panic and throw even more candy into her bucket to simply appease her and stop the crying. So, I can honestly say that I filled her bucket in more ways than one.

"I am ready to go!"

"My boys"

Constable Josh, reporting for duty.





Three Police Officers, a Bat Girl and a Cat Burglar?
Yes, we still believe in the honour system.
On the other hand the boys, ran around from door to door with their cousins taking turns ringing the doorbells. There were three police officers, a Bat Girl, and a cat burglar? It is amazing how they can't walk around the mall for twenty minutes without being grumpy and whiny, yet they can run from house to house collecting candy for two hours (stores could make my life so much easier if they had incentives for children to come to their stores - happy children = happy parents = more spending, sounds logical enough). Anyways, it was fun to watch the boys as Josh would get them to crouch down and pretend that they were a swat team ready to pounce on the unsuspecting owner as they opened their door. I think Jamie said it best as one home owner opened the door.
Jamie "You are under arrest!"
Owner "Uh oh"
Jamie "You need to come with us"
Owner "But then I won't be able to hand out the candy"
Jamie "Then bring the bowl!"
Let's just say that the man was left laughing hysterically as he watched this five year old walk away with his candy.
As we have been doing for the last few years, we went and met some other friends at the park for some Halloween fireworks. The kids are always very entertained by the colorful lights and the noise that they make. Sometimes, Jamie surprises me as he can be so confident in so many situations, but at the fireworks, he really did not like the "loud ones". For the first few minutes he was attached to my leg and finding comfort behind me. As the show went on, he became more confident about the loud ones and would venture out from behind my leg . . . not going to far. Sometimes I forget that he is only five. When we got home the kids spread their candy out onto the floor checking their loot and sifting out the bad ones. I can still remember doing this as a kid sorting it into different piles and counting up how many treats we got. I think the next few days are going to be candy filled as they look for any chance they can get to have a treat.

So, what does a successful night of trick or treating look like you ask . . . well?

Pumpkin Carving

In preparation of our pumpkin carving party, we take the time to take the "guts" out of the pumpkins before heading over to our friend's house.  It is a good chance for the kids to get their hands dirty and to squish the guts all over the place. 





For the past few years, we have been getting together with some friends to carve our pumpkins. Generally, the night consists of kids playing together, carving the pumpkins (well, usually it end up being me taking over and finishing the pumpkins for them),dinner, and then me rushing off to soccer. This year it was slightly different as the boys did a great job carving their pumpkins by themselves. Josh was very determined to finish his pumpkin by himself and I must say that he did a great job. I was pleasantly surprised by Jamie's determination as he carved everything except for the mouth of his skull. Usually Jamie will start something and quickly get distracted by something else . . . I wonder where he gets that from? Michelle stayed clear of the pumpkin carving, but probably had a harder job of helping Emma decorate her pumpkin.

"Use the Force Rick"

Josh did a great job from start to finish on this one.

Jamie's is the one on the left.  I am pretty amazed by his carving this year.