Friday, July 31, 2009

Early Morning Walks

The last few days here have been very chilly, rainy and wet. ( I've started to think that we've moved to Scotland!) This hasn't stopped us from going outside since rainy days mean lots of puddles.

In fact, I've made a point to go out for walks as much as possible. The early morning walks have been very fruitful. Izzie is taking a shine to finding rocks, twigs and various forms of animals and insects.
We set out. The red vest makes its' way back into our regular clothing rotation.

What do you see, Izzie?


Yup, that is what she found. A super small rock. She wants it back!

Then we went to visit one of our neighbours and I gave Izzie the camera.

Feet!

Finger!


Then we set off for home so a very sleep little one could take a nap.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

A Few Pics..

...from the weekend.
No bike ride is complete without Izzie's Dog and Cat books. Man, that is one full bakfiets.

In the park, Daddy/daughter time while I...
..watched the sunlight through the trees.
Then I was attacked by my little dinosaur!

A very lovely weekend, if I do say so.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Saturday, July 25, 2009

It sure is windy in here!

Off

On

Study the aspect of 'off'

Learn to turn 'on'

Weeeeeee! All she needs now is a kite.

We're off for the rest of the day, to Assiniboine Park and then to a bar-b-que. Hope you are all having a great day as well.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Picnic Pictures

Yesterday we had planned to bike to Assiniboine Park and have a family picnic but overcast skies and the constant threat of thunderstorms canceled those plans. Ever the resourceful family, we made other plans. Backyard picnic!

Flip flops? Check

Pre-cut veggies and pre-cupped ranch dressing because Mommy is too lazy to do it herself? Check

Double check!

Jealous cat sitting in window glaring at the scene before her? Check

Blueberries for the little one to gorge herself on? Check

First taste of celery that lasted about two seconds before being shoved into Mommys' mouth? Check

The only part of broccoli that the little one liked? Check

Huge bag of chips that the little one can munch on and then pass off? Check


First taste of sugar free lemonade? Check (Sweetened by apple juice. Very interesting.)

Little one getting bored with sitting and wanting to adventure? Check



Daddy's home! Finally the picnic can start....for him.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Lollipop Love

Yesterday, while at The Forks, Phil, Izzie and I ate at a restaurant. And that restaurant gave us lollipops with our check. The lollipops were shoved into my bag and forgotten about....until this morning.

Can you see it? No? Oh, maybe that's because you're horrified by the supreme amount of laundry hanging and sitting everywhere that I have yet to deal with...
How she found it and opened it, uh, that's for me to know and for you to never know.
Early morning sugar. Nothing like it.
Her reaction to me asking for it back. Sigh, she better not eat the entire thing. She'll never nap!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Jam

We rose early this morning, and I decided it was high time to make our jam. Strawberry jam.

So I cut up the strawberries and rinsed them like they were dirty little buggers.

Boiled the jars and told only clean jokes to make sure they were sanitized.
Stirred an insane amount of sugar into the strawberries and lemon juice....and dropped a bit of the pectin on the floor. Whoops. (And I didn't swear! I'm so proud of myself.)
Remembered that I had to put paraffin wax on top of the jam to preserve it, and scrambled like a mad woman to melt it.
And then....

Jam. It suffers from a severe case of floating fruit and I thought it was too watery, but it set and can be stirred.

I am Suzy Homemaker. Look at me in my apron and pearls! Dang, fine, I'll admit it. I'm still in my p.j.'s.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

We went to the Farmers' Market

...in St. Norbert, and I totally forgot my camera. I probably wouldn't have been able to take pictures since I was balancing chocolate milk on top of my tea while holding onto Izzie and feeding her strawberries. But we made away like bandits!
Lots of strawberries. I think it might be time to make jam. And since I've never made jam before, it should be interesting.

Dinner! Phil is excited for the bison sausage, and I'm excited to try Swiss chard for the first time.

Huh, lots of firsts today. I'll let you know how they both turnout.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Fun with Water

I'd like to thank Green Mamma for giving me this idea.

It's been pretty miserable, weather-wise, for the last few days. We've been going out as much as we can, but the wind has been too strong for Izzie to walk easily. So I've been racking my brains on ways to keep Izzie from getting bored while we mostly stay inside. After I read Green Mamma's blog, I realized it was high time that I teach Izzie how to pour water.


I grabbed her recycled tea pot, cup, spoon and one of my old cookie sheets. And then the fun began.

She's not crying, she's squealing in delight...

...see?
This was at the "put the spoon in the water and taste it." Lots of nom, nom, nom sounds made.

Then the vigorous "hitting of the water with whatever I'm holding" phase began. And then more sqealing in delight.

Pouring the water on the cookie sheet and into the cup lost it's lusture. So she poured the water on herself. I tried to get a picture of her wet butt, but she wasn't having any of that.

This was a big hit, one we'll hopefully be able to do outside. Hmmm, maybe in the pool.....

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Sunday in the Zoo with Family


W. and E. start off our zoo pictures. E. had just looked over, hence the look on her face.

Phil tells the girls all about donkeys. Well, all he knows about donkeys which is repeating "Donkey" over and over again. The toddlers look amused.

Poppa catches Izzie's attention once again. Donkeys have nothing on him.

Imagine my shock and delight when I saw that the zoo was surrounded by trees. Trees people! I'm in the middle of the North Dakota prairies and there are trees surrounding me! They were cottonwoods, and there was cotton floating all around us. If you look closely at the walkway/ground, you can see some.

W. loves the horses, so naturally we spent a while with them. I don't know what Izzie thought of them, but....
...everyone sure seemed interested. (I love the line of noses in this picture.)

Ducks. Izzie loves ducks. Not as much as she loves parks, but close.

The otter habitat. We got there just as he climbed out of the water. He didn't climb back in, even after I offered to be his life guard. Jerk.

Phil's parents treated all of us to a zoo train ride. I look a little stressed (I can see my pinched mouth from here) because Izzie just saw a park (which was beside the train) and I'm trying to keep her in the train. We had to buy popcorn to keep her satisfied.
Last shot. The cousins on a sewer grate. They climbed up there, but once the cameras were brought out, Izzie changed her mind. Kudos to Poppa for trying to keep her on there. But once she's decided, there's no stopping her.

Well, that is all. I hope you enjoyed our vacation photos as much as we enjoyed our vacation.