Excuses, excuses...

So, my husband tells me I'm a boring blogger. For some reason, his definition of interesting means I actually have to blog ;). Anyway, here I am...back with some more photos - this is August's bunch of excuses. Jason also likes when I post more photos than talk because he says he knows what's going on around our house, anyway. Ha ha. So, this post is mostly photos but I'll be sure to narrate a bit for the rest of you!

Well, first off, we got to spend a little bit of time meeting this guy...he's my newest nephew (I can still say that for a month or two anyway) and he goes by the name of Jari. You can't really tell in this photo, but he has the biggest, brownest eyes...they're quite adorable.

Then, we also had to spend some time dealing with this much less fun aspect of the summer. It really is a pain to have a b&e and mostly, it's not even the stuff, it's just the fact that, for a month and a half, we couldn't use our front door. Next time, they should use the side door.
Still, there was more swimming to do, too. This was a trip to the pool with aunts, uncles and cousins. As the kids get older it's more fun to take them to do things as they don't need the constant attention anymore.
We enlisted a little help from our friends...Buzz and Woody, that is. It was/is potty training time in the Berkan household.
Once in a while you just gotta treat yourself. This was near the end of swimming lessons and we treated all the kids to Blizzards in between. Jonathan adores ice cream and it was very kind of Evan to share!
Those swimming lessons seem to have worked wonders...Xander's getting fairly proficient.
The storms come, the trees fall, the saw comes out...it's amazing what a 5 year old can do!

Finally eating solid food!! Such a fantastic thing...now if we could just get him to stop shoving ALL the food he gets into his mouth at once!
Practise makes perfect!
There seems to be a spare kid that wandered in from somewhere...
Jason's attempt at taking Xander to a ball game...wrong day, wrong amount of sleep, not the best combination!
Ha, ha! Look at me, Mom...aren't I cute!? Seriously, the other kids never got into this much stuff!
Then I got to make a beautiful wedding cake...it had been awhile and it turned out way better than I thought it was going to!
It seems that, once he decided to eat, we just couldn't stop this guy. Here he is devouring his first ice cream cone! (You can't even say the words ice cream without him running to get some).
As always, there are games to be played and words to be learned. I'm pretty sure this is one of Xander's photos (since I'm in it ;) ).
Then, I had the privilege of watching as every paper in this stack morphed into the face of a child at our annual VBS!
Seriously...that is one giant balloon. It was given to Xander and, unfortunately, popped by Evan shortly after arriving home. Sigh.
We got to spend a little more time with this new guy...and I finally get in a photo.
Dress up day at VBS! It was knights and princesses...here is my knight in (sorta) shining armour.
My goal every year is to dress up without really dressing up (since I'm not a big fan of dressing up). It means that I have to get creative with my descriptions. This year, I went as Cinderella BEFORE the ball...see, I'm still a princess!
So, a random draw of 700ish names picks out no one other than MY son to win the long board at VBS. Seriously, it was almost as tall as he was. Can you tell how excited he was, though? The very first day of VBS, he had to tell me about this really cool prize...it was a skate board!
My son and all of his crafts from VBS...seriously - he loves to craft and let me tell you, the lady who has done the crafts the last couple of years has had some seriously FABULOUS ideas!!
We've all gotta give the new long board a try.
Now...we all look like Cinderella! Time to wash the car. The first time my boys have gotten then experience. They were excited to "help" Dad!
Old blue eyes got into it, too! Don't you love the expression?
It was a big day, since Xander finally decided that he wanted to ride his bike and he did a pretty good job of it.
My little artist was also very excited one day at church when he told me, "Mom, did you see? You can draw a picture and they'll HANG IT ON THE WALL!" So we did...here's his Noah on the wall at church.
And, of course, little brother had to participate, too. That's also Noah (though Jason says it looks like a golf hole with a flag).
My poor baby had to go for a blood test. Seriously, that kid is tough. They dug around in one arm for a bit and he only started to cry after a minute or so. Then, they stuck him in the other arm and he didn't even cry for that one. I hate it when they're so little!
Here's your "how not to". When a wasp sits on your nose, don't pick him up with your hand to get rid of him. Poor Evan did and he got stung. This photos not so good but it was hard to get it not blurry with my little boy on my lap! His thumb swelled up good!
Then it was time for a birthday party - can't go too long without one of those! Here are my three boys giving Dad their present (The Incredibles!).
Then, the most exciting thing for young boys...construction started RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR WINDOW!!! They began to tear up Parliament Ave in order to repave it.
And, since we had to either drive across that or park on the street across from our house, I got to use my double stroller to haul groceries from the car across the street.
My baby learns to play the iPod. Seriously, it amazes me how young they are when they begin to figure these things out!
We even managed to fit a bit of relaxing in there, too.
Then, school started!! Xander is in grade 1 this year and he has the only male teacher in the school...M. Dube. He was very excited to get him, too, so I think it'll be a good year.

There you go...my August in photos! It's really late now and I'm tired so I think it may be time to take a break from this blogging thing.

Until next time...

Why I Haven't Blogged...

Sorry for the last totally random post :). I was trying to show my Mom that photo and it was easiest just to make it my most recent post...don't you love talking over the phone and showing things over the internet?

Anyway, this is a photo laden entry with just a part of the explanation about why I haven't blogged much this summer. Here are my excuses for July...

Had to take these three monkeys to see some real animals!

Had to take this kid to his candy store!

Had to introduce my kids to the joys of roller coasters (which they loved)!

Had to view some of God's gorgeous creation.

Had to make sure we didn't get too used to summer - though it was fairly hot for being the Columbia Icefields.

Had to step back in time at Fort Edmonton Park (we even learned how a switchboard works...those girls must have been quick!)

Had to get some omelettes...oops this egg doesn't work!

Had to spend a fabulous evening at the beach!

Had to learn how to drive one of these (really, my sister MADE me!)

Had to see how the open road was!

Had to make sure this one got his chance to eat sand (others chose to build with it rather than eat it).

Had to try out tubing to see what kind of daredevils my kids are.

Had to spend some time learning about God.

Had to check on the plants that he planted back in April.

Had to experiment with new modes of transportation.

Had to check out the local curling scene (yes, that is my family and yes, this is July - in fact, this rink didn't even put ice in last winter my Mom tells me...just in the summer ;) ).

Had to learn to make snowballs (isn't summer fun? This was actually the scrapings from the curling ice).

Had to help Grandpa mow the lawn.

Had to help Grandma bake.

Had to sail the seven seas with Buzz and Woody.

Had to check out a museum with a really cool caboose.

Had to take photos with Grandma & Grandpa & Great-Grandma.

Had to sample some tasty treats. (My friend from New Zealand came for a visit and brought these. They sound odd but are fantastic - and very addictive - so Kelly if you're reading this...next time you come visit - these are a great gift!)

Had to see if good would triumph.

Had to check out some more powerful transportation.

Had to fulfill that need for speed.

Had to learn to swim with some awesome cousins!

Had to spend time playing with same cousins.

Had to witness some nuptials.

So, there you go (if you're still here). Those are my excuses for July...do you think they're good enough? Soon I plan to get up my excuses for August!

Until next time...

This page

Real Mom Moment

Well, readers of my blog (however few or many of you there are) can I be honest with you? This week has been a new challenge. Xander is now in grade 1 and I had been warned (by many people) that the adjustment to all day school can be rough. They aren't used to going for that long and they get tired and it can take 4-6 or more weeks to adjust. So, I was trying to be prepared for this, especially since Xander was still napping every couple of days during the summer. I tried to steel myself to be patient and compassionate and yet not let him get away with everything because he's tired. The week actually went better than I had expected, though, there were definitely moments where I really wanted to just lose it. My usually obedient and mild mannered child showed more attitude than he ever has. However, mostly we made it through those moments without too much trouble. Then came this morning and church. I was sitting with the kids while Jason ushered and when my dear son was asked to do something by me I got nothing but attitude. So, we left the service to have a little chat. It wasn't the best start to the morning since I now had a headache and still had to sit through a sermon and teach 2's & 3's. Of course, the sermon was on perseverance - I guess that was probably a good thing since that is really what I need to do right now! It was also communion Sunday and as I sat there before communion I was just praying...I'm trying, I'm trying...what can I do? Then I heard it...maybe that's the problem. There's an awful lot of I's in there. It was one of those "ah ha" moments. God promises to take care of us - Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. If that's not a promise that a mom needs to hold tight to, I don't know what is! After that, 2's & 3's were no problem...and even enjoyable!

Until next time...

Happiness is...

...the little things. Like realizing that, while your front door is still annoyingly out of commission, you can take the screen out of the window next to it to get the mail and meet the bus.

I promise I'm working on some photos. I've got about half of them edited!

Until next time...

You Learn Something New Everyday...

...sometimes whether you want to or not. I don't have pictures ready to post yet but we had an eventful weekend. We attended my cousin's wedding (sans children) and got to see several relatives we haven't seen in a long time. It was quite fun but exhausting. If that wasn't exciting enough, we came home to find out that our house had been broken into. They didn't really take too much...a couple little things but we obviously didn't have what they were looking for. Unfortunately, we now have a door that really needs to be fixed. I am thankful that no one was home at the time and stuff is all just stuff. That truly is clear to me. Today we had the first of the door guys out and he was trying to determine what needed to be replaced and what didn't. This is my something new...I had to un-barricade the door and used a drill for the first time in my life. Apparently you don't have to be handy to give quotes on doors so I had to actually phone my husband at work to figure out how to work the drill!! We also had company on the weekend (more than one set) so it was really an eventful few days. I met my newest nephew for the first time, too! I'll post some photos a bit later...I'd forgotten how snuggly newborns can be! Anyway, almost everyone is gone now and life is sorta back to normal (plus swimming lesson fun!).

Until next time...