Back to School Photo Shoot

September is a time that brings mixed emotions to our family as we say goodbye to sleeping in (well me sleeping in as Mich deals with the kids in the early hours of the day . . . thanks Mich), living day to day with little timetable except the internal clocks of our stomachs, and spending time together as a family sharing in our experiences and creating long lasting memories.
September also brings with it the "New Year".  Since becoming a teacher, I have always felt that September signified a new year in my life, anxiously waiting to find out whose class the kids will be in at school, meeting and beginning a ten month journey with my students, soccer and hockey starting up, earlier bedtimes and mornings, packing lunches in new lunch kits, organizing schedules, and creating a plan of attack to get everyone where they need to be on time.  This is the chaos of September!!
As we have begun to prepare ourselves for the first day of school, Tatum invited us over to take some back to school photos at their place.  So we got the kids dressed in their school outfits for their photo shoot . . . lets just say that our kids are definitely not shy in front of the camera.  Thanks again Adam for the amazing pictures!

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schwartzchronicles

schwartzchronicles

schwartzchronicles

schwartzchronicles

schwartzchronicles

schwartzchronicles

schwartzchronicles

schwartzchronicles

Lynn Canyon

What?  Back to back trips to the North Shore!  Yes, two days in a row we decided to head up to the North Shore, but this time we decided to make our way to Lynn Canyon.  I can't remember the last time I was there or even if I have ever been up there . . . so we kept an open mind and decided to go with the flow and figure out where to go once we arrived.  To be honest I was a little surprised as to how busy it was . . . but what was I expecting as we headed up there on the long weekend.  If you know Mich, she does not like taking kids on suspension bridges (our kids didn't even know that they could go out on the Ferry deck when we go to Victoria) so I was impressed that she agreed to go.  The kids had a blast rock hopping up the creek, wading in the water, and playing fetch as Emma would throw sticks into the stream for the boys to get.

Mich has got a tight grip on Emma

The water was chilly!

Rock hopping around the creek.

Ahoy There Matey!

The kids are very lucky to have such loving grandparents that will do anything and everything for them, even if it means spoiling them from time to time.  When Ji-chan and Ba-chan visited us in West Bank they noticed that many of the kids there had a rubber dinghy to play in, so what else would be the first thing that they would do when they got into town?  Well, buy the kids a rubber dinghy of course!  Since then the kids have been bugging us to go boating and test out their paddling skills.  We met up with one of Michelle's friends at Cates Park in North Vancouver, which has become another place that we all would revisit in the future.  It was great to reconnect with Andrea's family and catch up on things as well as hang out at the beach looking for sea creatures and paddling around.

Thanks Ji-chan and Ba-chan

This is like seeing the Ogopogo . . . Mich is in the water . . . well kind of!  Even Emma helped row the boat.

Just call me King as the kids paddled me around . . . all I needed was a latte in my hand.

As we were saying good bye to our friends, we heard Emma calling us and this is what she found.  Beach combing for crabs, sea stars and shells.  Since we have spent so much time around the water this summer the kids have become very confident swimming and picking up everything that they see.

It is always great to be introduced to another place that we can visit as a family - a great beach and a fun playground.

2012 Family Olympics

I love when the kids come up with an idea that they just want to do . . . I am not sure if the Summer Olympics had something to do with this one or the fact that Josh is going into grade three and this will be his first year to participate in the District's Track and Field Meet.  As we drove past Minoru Josh and Jamie wanted to go and practice running around the track.  Our first event was the 400 m and the contestants were in Lane #1 Josh, Lane #2 Jamie, Lane #3 Michelle, and in Lane #4 Emma.  Josh was so proud that he beat his mother around the track.  Jamie was close behind and Emma did a great job stopping only a couple of times.  Our second event was the 100 m dash.  Michelle managed to redeem herself by beating Josh by just a hair.  In the second heat, I raced against Jamie who can really move for a little guy . . . look out Usain Bolt!  Our final event for the day was the long jump.  I loved how Emma wanted to do everything her big brothers were doing at the track.

We are going to have to work on Emma's long jumping technique.

Look out below!!!

I think they get their vertical jumping abilities from me.  They are vertically challenged because of Mich . . . and me!!

99 Cents of Fun

The kids were heading off to Janice's house for their End of the Summer BBQ where our kids get to hang out and play with the older kids that come.  They love it!  This year, Michelle was planning some fun games to play which included blowing bubbles.  So how else should we spend an hour of our day?  . . . practicing and learning how to blow bubbles.  These are the little things in our day that I love doing as a family . . . being silly and being together.

Mich was like totally getting back to her Valley Girl roots, chomping on gum and showing the kids some of her bubble gum tricks!

For what ever reason Jamie learned how to not only whistle at an early age, but also how to blow bubbles.

Josh learned very quickly how to blow bubbles . . . some were more successful than others!

Emma loved how mommy would blow her a bubble and she could pop it in her mouth.

Hey I made the blog.  I feel like Wilson who is Tim's neighbour from the TV show Tool Time

Don't ask me why I included this photo of me.

Take 175 of this shot and this is as good as it gets.  Bubbles deflating, gum being spit out, bubbles not blown when the timer went off . . . hey at least we didn't have to worry about everyone smiling!!

Giddy Up!

Over the last few years we have been taking the kids to the Richmond Nature Park to ride the horses when they come.  This is one of those things that we don't have any connections to so we like to go and give the kids the chance to ride a horse.  Although the ride is relatively short, the kids enjoy it all the same.  This year - Josh rode Apache, Jamie rode Filla, and Emma rode Shiloh.

No Emma does not have a black eye!  As the kids were waiting for the horses to arrive they got their faces painted by some volunteers.  Emma wanted a dog painted on her . . . we did not think that they would try to make her into a dog.  

Josh was a little unsure if he wanted to ride the horses this year as he felt that the horses were too slow . . . he wanted them to gallop around the park.  Josh enjoyed the ride around the park.

"Come on Buddy . . . Lets go Man Tracker!"

Beverly Hills Camping

When we looked on Google Maps the drive from Portland to West Bank looked like a good idea . . . with three extended stops and about 11 hours later we pulled into West Bay RV park tired, a little delirious, and with five numb bums.  One of the great things about staying in Papa's and Grammy's trailer is that we just get to show up, unlock the door and start relaxing . . . or in this case, get ready for bed!
This year we decided to spend ten days up in West Bank enjoying our time together and taking advantage of what the area has to offer.

1.  Went to one of our favourite pools H2O in Kelowna.  There are water slides, a wave pool, a river run, diving boards, and a flow jet.  Emma loved splashing me in the water park as she turned the different knobs and dials.  This year the boys did a great job on the surf simulator as they were able to stay in the surf with their body boards.

2.  Spent the day at the water park / skateboard park.  For the boys first time riding in a skateboard park, they did fairly well riding up and then down some of the ramps.  Emma must have gone up and down the little water slide about fifty times.

I don't think Emma is having much fun!

3.  Took the kids to see a working orchard in Vernon called Davison's Orchard Country Village where we learned a little bit about the area's history and the orchard.  The kids enjoyed playing in the kid's zone where they got to play mini golf, play in the corn box (like a sand box, but filled with corn), tricycle races, duck races, tractor ride, and petting farm.  One of the highlights was feeding apples to the sheep, goats and the donkey.

I like d'em apples.

4.  West Side Go Carts needs a lot of TLC, but the kids had a blast anyways.  Josh and Jamie were allowed to drive the Kitty Carts around a smaller track which they both really enjoyed.  Emma who was Josh's passenger was smiling from ear to ear as she pretended to help steer the go cart from her seat.  Josh wants Jamie to take Emma next time as the added weight appeared to slow him down. 

The boys had a dilemma on their hands as they struggled with being a passenger in the faster carts or driving themselves.  Josh really thought about this as he decided to drive his own cart since he never gets to drive himself at most go-cart centres.  The boys made a great choice as they had fun racing each other around the track.

5.  We found a crocodile sanctuary online called Croc Talk that has tortoises, chickens, a variety of species of crocodiles, and a couple of African big cats.  The kids learned a lot as we were a part of a guided tour of the different animals that they saw.  They all were brave enough to touch one of the crocodiles, but they really enjoyed watching the owner interact with Carlos the African Caracal.  Lets just say that the cat was not happy about him playing with his stuffed gorilla and being woken up from his sleep.  Connection!!!  I know someone else who is not a morning person and does not like to be woken up . . . I've been know to hiss and take swipes at people as well!!!

6.  The boys were super excited about participating in a free skateboarding camp that was put on by West 49th and Disney XD.  Mich received the Mother of the Year award from the boys as she was able to register them into the camp in Kelowna.  The boys had a blast learning to ride the ramps and on how to do an ollie.  Oh great . . . now my boys want to be professional skateboarders.   

6.  And of course hanging out at the lake and the RV park with the kids swimming, playing deck wars, running and doing dock jumps, playing in the sand, and fishing off the docks.

Every time we drove by Wendy's after this treat, Emma wanted to go in for another Frosty.  Another summer tradition

Yes folks, Jamie caught his first fish using his fishing rod.  He was not excited about it or anything.

Although we missed having S'more Day at our friend's house, we did manage to have our own little celebration at the lake.  Mich made the s'mores using a shoebox and tinfoil . . . of course she did . . . doesn't everyone do this?

Even Ji-chan and Ba-chan came up to visit us for a couple of days.  They were really good sports about playing a little beach volleyball with the kids.

We met Mich's friend Tiff who introduced us to a new beach in Kelowna that had a cool zip line that went into the water.

Thanks Grammy and Papa for letting us stay in your trailer . . . we had a blast!