Mid evening at our house

Here is what it typically looks like around 8pm at our house.

Abby napping, this time in the “man chair”.

Riley thinking about sleeping. Have I mentioned how much she loves toothbrushes?

Hendrik acting out “Bob the Builder” or “Thomas the Train” stories. Here he is with “Travis the Tractor”, complete with “Silly Spud” in the hay bale.

"Bare Necessities" as sung by a 3 year old : )

Look for the bear necess-a-nees, simple bear necess-a-nees
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necess-a-nees
Why a bear can ress-a-nees
With just the bear necess-a-nees of life
(I like bein’ a bear.)

We’re big “Jungle Book” fans around here right now.

I love this picture!

I snapped this while walking down the path with Riley at the Snake Pits. I didn’t know if it would turn out but it actually wound up being my favourite picture from that day.

Heralds of Spring

This week we went to what is affectionately known in these parts as “The Snake Pits”. It is a favourite picnic spot officially known as “The Salt River Day Use Area” just inside Wood Buffalo National Park. It is a fine example of karst topography and there are lovely hiking trails that range from 700m to 7km. We often picnicked here when I was growing up – winter, spring, summer, and fall. Hopefully our little family will continue with that tradition.

We decided it would be fun to take Dwayne’s parents to see the snakes. We had to take advantage of it while the garternsnakes were still at the caves. It’s not something you can plan or schedule. The snakes’ migration is completely weather dependent and so each year is different.

These little guys are a sure sign that spring has arrived. They venture out as the snow melts and the weather gets into the double digits to sun themselves on the exposed rocks and brown earth. After a week or so of sunning and snuggling up to potential mates they make a several kilometre trip to their summer grounds. I didn’t realize garter snakes swam until today. They actually go down a steep cliff, swim across a small river, go up a cliff on the other side, and then slither on down the road to their favourite vacation spot.

After viewing the snakes we had a hot dog roast at the fire pit and the older kids had a great time running around the flat area overlooking the Salt River. We brought a ball along and Hendrik and Riley had great fun chasing it and each other around. Abby had a good nap.

While we were there several other families we knew arrived with their little ones to see the snakes. We were lucky enough to be there when one of the park wardens (who was fittingly named Birch) arrived, excited to talk with the kids about the snakes. He picked one up and let the kids touch the snake if they wished. One of the kids asked if the snake had a name. The park warden said he didn’t think so. Hendrik piped up, “His name is No Feet.” (No Feet is the snake from the “Little Bear” series.)

After several trips up the trail to see the snakes it was time to go home. Hendrik was heartbroken. He did not want to leave the snakes. He sat beside me on the benches by the fire pit sobbing and sobbing. Mid cry he looked up at me with a very serious face and said, “This is no laughing matter,” and then resumed crying. Oh my!

The kids were pretty exhausted at the end of the afternoon and we thought that they would likely fall asleep in the van during the first few minutes of the drive home. Wrong! There was a great deal of sadness from Hendrik about not seeing the snakes again that day and some sympathy sounds added by Riley. We stopped at the drug store on our way to Mom and Dad’s for supper to pick up diapers and these little guys as a suprise…

Hendrik has named them “No Feet” (from “Little Bear”) and “Kaa” (from “The Jungle Book”), respectively.

The Many Faces of Abby

These pictures were all taken over the period of a minute or two!

Backyard visitors

Dwayne has been clearing trees around our house to open things up a bit and also as preventative measures for the upcoming forest fire season. We have cleared all of the coniferous trees within a 30ft radius from the house so far and will clear more as time allows. It also means we get a start on our firewood for next winter.

Since cutting down the jack pine and spruce trees we have had some extra company around here. Spruce grouse have discovered us! They are happily eating the needles from the tree tops which are now lying on the ground. This saves them having to fly into the trees to eat the needles. There are 6 of them that we have counted so far and they are quite content to stay around despite all of the noise we have been making and the activity in the yard. (The black poles you see are the start of the towers for our wind turbines.)

A male spruce grouse

A female spruce grouse

The grouse are not afraid of us and we have been getting as close as about 5 or 6 ft away from them without them even flinching. I imagine we could get closer but I don’t want to scare them off. Each time we venture to the outhouse we do a quick head count to see who is around. So far there are 2 hens, and 4 roosters in the batch.

First kiss

This evening I got my very first kiss from Riley. It was totally unprompted and entirely her idea. She was tired and needed to be held a lot this evening while we were at Mom and Dad’s for a farewell potluck for some friends. On one of the many times I picked her up throughout the evening she leaned forward and gave me the sweetest kiss on the lip. Melt my heart!

Riley and I had never been apart before for longer than a few hours until I had to go to Yellowknife suddenly and stay for those 3 weeks. It took double that time for things to get back to normal once we were home. It makes me feel sad for those children who are tossed between parents at such a young age or are taken from their families for whatever reason. It must be very disruptive and confusing for them. I am so glad she and Hendrik were able to stay with Mom and Dad while we were away and I know they had a wonderful time together but the time apart from us really did have an impact on her. Riley was grinding her teeth for a while around the time we had to leave town to have Abby and I wonder if it wasn’t her way of showing stress.

It is only in the last few days that I have felt that Riley and I are back to what we were before Abby was born. Those 3 weeks that we were apart we tough on both of us I think and it took a while for her to be as free or trusting with me as she was before. I wondered if it would ever be the same and I am so happy that she and I are interacting the way we did before Abby was born. Thankfully she loves her new baby sister too and often joins Abby and I for a cuddle in the chair when I am nursing Abby.

Hooray for first kisses!!!

Happy Earth Day!

The Simple Woman’s Daybook meme

A Monday meme from “The Simple Woman” blog. For other daybook entries click on the link below.
The Simple Woman

FOR TODAY ~ April 21, 2008

Outside My Window…tiny little snowflakes falling, forcasted to turn into a winter storm. Freshly cut firewood, cut this afternoon in our yard. Firewood for next winter and land clearing all in one!

I am thinking…silliness is underrated sometimes.

I am thankful for…family and good health.

From the kitchen…nothing too exciting today…Cream of Wheat, KD, hot dogs, applesauce, assorted munchies.

I am creating…a semi-permanent craft space in our mail living area. If I can leave things set up there might be a chance of my getting a project completed.

I am going…to inquire about Airmiles flights to Ontario for a visit with my extended family.

I am wearing… jeans, thigh high cranberry coloured socks and a matching waffle weave Henley hoodie.

I am reading…Middlemarch by George Eliot and Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery. I am craving something Jane Austen but my books are outside buried in storage.

I am hoping…that warmer weather returns soon. I’ve had enough of April snowstorms!

I am hearing…the washing machine, the dishwasher, children playing, the Muppet Show.

Around the house…lots of laundry hanging to dry, a pile of papers waiting to be tackled, children’s toys strewn across the living room, my little people, my hot hardworking husband.

One of my favorite things…the cast iron teapot my parents bought for me “just because”. It is a beauty. I’ll have to post a picture.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: sorting/downsizing/organizing ALL of our clothing, friends coming for supper and coffee, a farewell potluck, hopefully some sewing.

Here is picture I am sharing…

THOSE kind of friends

Do you have THOSE kind of friends? You know, the ones who you don’t necessarily see than often, but every time you see them you can pick up exactly where you left off and it’s as though you just talked with them yesterday? I am blessed to have 2 such friends here. We all have busy lives and preschool age and younger children so between cold season, vacations away, this meeting or that, or life in general, we don’t connect as often as we’d like. Last night we were able to get together and it was great. We all remarked at nice it was just to pick up where we last left off. No hurt feelings or anything, just excitement at seeing one another and easy conversation. Ahhh…