Author: Lowell

Easter (in the Snow)

Spring is somewhat shy this year, meaning that Easter was celebrated in the snow.  At least it wasn’t too cold.

Uncle D had the idea that a rope should be attached to the saucer and the uncles should try to spill the nephews.  Nephews were spilled, but not before making the uncles really tired.

L had lots of fun getting pulled by Grandpa L’s quad.

And K spent some time with Uncle M trying to overcome her fear of animals that are bigger than cats.

Yellow Belt

L had the opportunity to practice courage yesterday.  As his sensei has been saying, everyone is nervous before a test.  But that gives you the opportunity to be courageous.  L was nervous, but he overcame his fear and did really well on his test.  Here he is with his classmates preparing to do his kata.

 Here he is demonstrating good form on his rising block.

Dressing Up

As you know, it has been quite a while since we posted to our blog.  Hopefully, some of you are still checking it.
Our kids like to dress up.  Not that anyone could blame them.  They have a mother who is handy on the sewing machine and likes to make costumes for them as much as they like to wear them.

I would have posted some pictures from Christmas, but Christmas is so long ago now that it seemed wrong to do so.  These will have to do.

In other news, my supervisor has informed me that I have all of the original content I need for my dissertation.  (Do I hear three cheers?)  I am now working on putting all of the pieces together in to a single document.  Hopefully, I can get this done soon.  If things go as planned, I will finally have a summer without the dissertation hanging over my head.

Celebrating a Birthday with…Fish

About two weeks ago we made the trip to Riding Mountain to help Grandma celebrate her birthday.

After having some cake, Uncle B took “the menfolk” to a prime fishing spot.  We kept about a dozen fish, but threw back a bunch more.  The fish were so keen on biting that you could see them just beneath the surface following the lure.
Being a rather inexperienced fisherman, Uncle B then had to give me some instructions about how to fillet the catch.
L, K, and T had a great time together.  At one point, K and T decided that Grandma’s treadmill could also be used in place of monkey bars.

Summer is for Camping

This last weekend we went camping for the first time this summer. We were a bit worried earlier in the week when the forecast showed a high of 35 degrees for Saturday. Although it was certainly warm and sunny on Friday and Saturday, everyone tolerated the heat really well.  Of course, a swimming pool always helps. We endured a bit of thunderstorm on Thursday as we were having supper and setting up camp. There were several puddles in our tent when it stopped raining. Fortunately, we hadn’t unpacked our bedding when the torrential rain rolled in. L, K, and T had great fun pulling each other around on the wagon, especially when they were able to work up a bit of speed on the slight incline beside our site.

Aunt C’s birthday is coming up, so we made sure to celebrate it.

Who needs a portable game console when you can play that old classic, Battleship.

Grandma and Grandpa found revels and treated us all.

Aunt C (yes, there are two of them) came prepared with bubble-blowing equipment.

When we woke up Sunday, it was raining.  The rain didn’t want to stop, so I’m currently drying tarps and other camping equipment in our backyard.

Beating the Heat

It’s been a real summer in Manitoba for a change.  Last weekend, we got out the sprinkler so the kids could cool off in the front yard.  At first, neither L nor K seemed to know what to do with a sprinkler; they played around it rather than with it.  This meant that someone had to show them how things are done.