First sleepovers, lost teeth and sweet moments

Lots of fun things happening around here these days!  Here are the highlights.

Maren lost her first tooth on January 22nd! And another just last week.  Beckett is anxiously awaiting his first loose tooth...

And, Beckett had his first sleepover at Beavers!  He had a blast and can't wait for the next one.

And, finally, a sweet "twin" moment I don't want to forget...Beckett was sad on Friday and had a teary moment shortly before I picked him up from Excel.  Unbeknownst to us, he was brewing an ear infection so really wasn't feeling his best.  When we did our usual "round the supper table" questions, including "Who filled your bucket today", Beckett got up walked over to Maren and hugged her for coming to comfort him when he was upset.  Such a sweet moment!

All aboard for school!

Last thursday marked the first day of school for EVERYONE! We're one week in and all is going well.  Much better than expected. :) Let's hope the "shine" doesn't wear off too soon!

Broken hearts (and snow globes).

My sweet boy had his heart broken today when he accidentally dropped one of his prized souvenirs, a snow globe from Jamaica, and shattered it into a million pieces.  More than anyone else, he meticulously picked out each and every one of his souvenirs on our vacation, proudly displaying them when we got home.  They lived on his shelf, admired every night before bed.

But today, he carefully packed them into a basket and brought them downstairs to show his friends. All was well until he picked them up to show someone, and one slipped from his hands.  He immediately looked to me, and I picked him up as quickly as I could knowing his heart was breaking.  He grabbed onto me, pointing towards another room ,urging me to take him away from everyone. My poor boy sobbed for what seemed like forever, so sad that this precious souvenir had been broken.  After many minutes, he looked up at me and said "it will take me ten years to get another one!!!"

Oh my sweet boy. Mama is off to scour the internet in hopes of mending your sweet little heart.

Preschool Graduates!

It's hard to believe, but Maren and Beckett are off to "big school"next year.  And, their preschool is closing after 30+ years.  So, their graduation was bittersweet on many fronts!

Onwards and upwards!

100 hugs and 100 kisses

I never, ever want to forget these moments.  Every day that I work, Beckett must give me 100 hugs and 100 kisses before I go.  His sweetness melts my heart.  I hope he never outgrows this sensitive side. :)

All good things must come to an end, but what a great summer we've had! Part 1.

Wow - September 1st.  Not sure where the time has gone, but I'll do my best to recap here, more for my own sake than anyone else's.

We started the summer with a membership to Senobe, on lake Banook.  Maeve was eager to paddle, but nervous as well.  As you can see in these pictures though, she had SO much fun and really took to paddling.  She and Athena spent the better part of July mastering the kayak, and tackled the canoes in August.  Maren and Beckett also had fun at Kiddie Kayak, learning to paddle with some great teachers.

It took us a couple of weeks to really get into the groove of packing a million snacks, setting up the tent, towels, bathing suits, beach toys, etc., but it was a great way to spend the summer and we'll definitely do it again. :)

And then we had Maeve's 7th Birthday.  The Maritime Reptile Zoo came out and did a great show. :)

And then with August came a 3-night trip to Liscomb Lodge.  So much fun there, we will be back again!