Davidson Orchard

A trip to Vernon ain't a trip at all without a visit to Davidson Orchard!! We go every time. And every time it's too hot to stay long, but we go anyways.

Ellie with Uncle Tom. Or is it Daddy? She only got them confused a couple times.

Joshua trying to stay cool.

Uncle Farzad getting in touch with the farmer within.

And the child within.

Rob has never lost touch with his inner child. :)

Rob and Ellie played on the playground...

...While Joshua tried out his first fresh strawberry lemonade slushy!

Joshua wanted to swallow the whole cup. His hands and face were covered. I declared slushy time officially over.

He was devastated.
We went home.

Dogs

One thing about a holiday with my in-laws...there are always a LOT of dogs around! This holiday is no exception. Ellie loves it! She didn't hesitate to jump into bed with Grandpa and Grandma the first morning after we arrived and get to know their most recent addition to their family - "Little Buddy".

Little Buddy has also been renamed "Snips" by Ellie who shrieks and doesn't know quite what to do with herself when he 'snips' her fingers.

Rosie is Buddy's big sister.

Here's Uncle Farzad and his two boys, Orbit and Skid, babysitting Little Buddy and Joshua.

Orbit (a.k.a. "Ringworm")

Ellie learned a thing or two about taking care of dogs while her uncles were here. Uncle Farzad tried teaching Ellie how to call Skid up onto the couch in a firm voice, but Skid wouldn't listen. Ellie decided to try out this 'firm voice' again suddenly at dinner time. The dogs were sitting by a barrier outside the dining room, longingly looking inside when suddenly Ellie loudly yelled out, "ORBIT! SIT DOWN!!!!" We all burst out laughing, stunned at this new tone of voice. After our laughter had subsided Ellie gently said, "Good job, Orbit."

Swimming

Vernon is HOT. And I mean HOT. We've already had a record-breaking 40 degree day. And my in-laws have a very beautiful, but un-airconditioned home. All I can say is, THANK GOODNESS FOR THE POOL!

Joshua's first swim in a real pool! He has mixed emotions about it...depending on his mood.

Check out that drool. Unfortunately Josh has just begun another bout of teething and is not the happiest camper we've ever known.

Can you tell which twin is which?

If you guessed Tom is in the red trunks, you were right! Here's Josh bonding with his uncle.

One more story...

I just realized I forgot a little story I was going to mention about Ellie today. On Monday mornings Ellie and I go to church where I attend an amazing women's bible study, and Ellie hangs out with her friends and a babysitter upstairs. We both love it. But getting out of the house by 9 can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. Well this Monday was no exception. I was feeling particularly tired and a bit overwhelmed and ended up responding to Ellie in a snappy, unkind sort of way when she was slowing things down too much. I immediately regretted how I had spoken to her, and sat her down to apologize for being so uncaring. After telling her that I was wrong and I was sorry, I told her that I had been feeling a bit "stressed" about getting out of the house on time. Being a child, she demonstrated her forgiveness immediately with a big hug and a kiss.
So we arrive at the church and our bible study leader stops Ellie on her way upstairs to have their regular little Monday morning chat. Ellie remembered that last week Rosel had talked with her about her trip to the zoo, so she brought it up again, with just as much as enthusiasm as the first time. After discussing the sounds that all the animals make, and after Ellie boldly declared that the calf in the barn had indeed been the color PINK, she found herself with nothing left to say. So, being a bit like her mother, Ellie simply switched to another topic. "That's Mommy," she said, pointing to me. Rosel is one of those people who always has something good to say about everyone, so she added, "Yes, isn't she precious and beautiful?"
Ellie looked at me thoughtfully for a moment and then back at Rosel. Then she declared, "She's STRESSED."

Well, it's Wednesday!

I love what a break from the internet can do to a person. I woke up this morning (at 4 am...that's a whole different story but it surprisingly doesn't have to do with Josh :) and realized it was my day to blog and kinda sighed. Mostly because we're leaving for BC on Friday and I don't really have time to blog. A break definitely takes the momentum out of blogging, so if the following posts seem random and awkward, well, that's probably why. That, and the fact that I got 4.5 hours of sleep last night.

Tyler and Doris

On Sunday our friend Tyler (who was Rob's roommate in Bible school and also one of our groomsmen) came over with his wonderful new girlfriend, Doris, for supper.

Rob and Ellie dancing to pass the time while we waited for their arrival. Ellie was very excited about having "Uncle Tig" and "that girl" coming over.

Doris was very obviously a lover of children. Ellie of course picked up on this and made a new best friend.

Then again, letting Ellie wear one's sunglasses automatically puts anyone in her good books.

As Tyler would say, "Good times".

Update on Josh

As Joshua nears the 6 month mark there actually isn't a lot new to report. He's pretty happy to stay the same, in fact. His one new 'trick' is pushing himself with his feet while laying on his back. He's quick! I leave him on one side of the room, and before I know it he's crying because he's smacked his head into a piece of furniture on the other side of the room. Besides that, he likes to practice his sitting...but topples over every time. He refuses to bear weight on his legs, and is pretty content to stick with his one word, "Bwa bwa bwa" (spoken in a very masculine voice). No, this little guy is in no hurry to achieve new skills, which gives me a bit more time to savor who he is right now!The jolly jumper is still his very favorite place to be. He gets some pretty good air time!

Oh. The jolly jumper AND the high chair. This kid looooves his food!

"Oh com'on daddy! Just one bite!"

The one thing that stays the same about Josh that I love the most...

....his smile!

"Fluffy"

Ellie's never been very dedicated to her stuffed animals (her blanky is the only 'sacred' object in the house), but in the last 2 months this little stuffed sheep she got from one of her Grandma's (I can't remember which) has become very dear to her heart! He used to be called simply, "sheep", but last week Ellie asked me and Rob, "What's sheep's name?" So for lack of anything better to call him, we named him "Fluffy". So now he's Fluffy. And she does everything with this sheep. From the time she wakes up until the time we leave the house in the morning (about 2 hours) Ellie will do everything with the sheep. Feed it, change its diaper, put it in the exersaucer, talk to it. One day we were reading stories together when Ellie suddenly jumped off my lap with a little gasp and said, "Sheep's crying!" and ran over to where sheep was lying on the couch. She tenderly picked it up and said, "It's okay, little guy. It's okay!" HA! I love her imagination. Anyhow, here's a few pictures of Ellie and her "Fluffy":Yesterday I found sheep like this on the couch, all tucked in.

Ellie said she was coloring a "Mother's day card" for Fluffy.

How come I didn't get a mother's day card?

Pool Party at the Clark's

One day last week the kids and I went over my long-time friend Lisa's house (see sidebar for her new blog) to check out her new deck and "swimming pool" (which is more like a large tupperware container, but water is water to a child). We had a blast! Thanks for having us, Lisa!




(Joshua was there, but I only managed one photo of him while he was on Lisa's lap. She was wearing a bathing suit and I gave her my word that I wouldn't publish it. So I won't. But he was there. )

Summer Vacation

So I've been feeling for quite some time that, even though I try to go on the computer just three days a week, I'm STILL spending too much time blogging and going on Facebook. There are so many things I'd rather be doing - cleaning (I actually mean that!) baking for my husband, reading, suntanning, Bible study, etc.. So I'm taking a summer holiday. For the rest of the summer I've decided to make Wednesdays my only computer day and I can easily go the rest of the week without. So for all my faithful blog friends out there (and especially mom and dad Balfour), please keep checking back - just check on Wednesdays, when I'll do one big post for the week. Love you all!!