Last Two Days

Days 9 & 10

Yesterday Miles and I walked over to check on Stanley and the kitties in the morning, Miles was actually able to have a snuggle with this one on the couch for a couple of minutes.

After lunch the boys and I went on a little outing ourselves, first stop was at the 7-11 to get slurpees.  Bennett had to fill me in on where the 7-11 store was as I went two places first that were wrong!  From there it was on to my office to see the jail cells but unfortunately they were just bringing a prisoner in so we couldn't go down there.  I promised them I'd bring them back next week though as they were quite keen to check it out.  

Then a place that Bennett and I have in common that we like - Walmart.  He was scoping out the newest Lego set and he managed to find one so it was a good thing he brought his wallet!

In the evening we went out to the front yard to try a science experiment using Mento mints and Coke - as soon as the first Mento went in the Coke started foaming up and out until most of it was gone.  We were hoping it would spray far up into the air but no such luck.

A couple of monkeys hanging out in our tree out front!  Nice work guys.


Day 10 - last day

We've had a pretty good run here all four of us, with only a couple of 'incidents' - we'll call them.  This morning was the final opening from the 'surprise every day' bags Mom left them.

They traded and shared extremely well, it was something for them to help count the days.

Bennett's going to Jester's Theatre at Northview Church this week in the mornings so after dropping him off I went home to organize and pack their things.  Jen, Rick and Ruby are home this afternoon from their European vacation - they'll be so happy to be all together again.  We've had a great ten days with Bennett and Miles here, we'll definitely sign up to do it again!

Fun and Games

Day 8

Okay well the day didn't start off great, but after the bout of sickness was over things improved dramatically.  Bennett was able to go to his Jester's Theatre by lunch time as he was feeling considerably better, and he even went to his Fitness Lab in the late afternoon.

Miles likes to sit at the island in the kitchen while I get dinner ready, bird's eye view.  Barry and Emanuelle were both supposed to be coming for dinner but unfortunately Barry was sick today too.  It was so great to have Em over though, we always love having her here.

Mastering the game of Crokinole!

Magic Markers, a tennis ball on a string, whirly rings and more...then it was bedtime for Milesy and another late night outside on the sundeck by the fire for Bennett.  

Big Kids Now

Day 7

The boys are definitely each getting older and more capable of doing things.  Miles has been wistfully watching Bennett climb up into our Crimson King maple tree for a number of years now, wanting to be able to get up there himself.

Guess what - he did it!  It took determination and a lot of energy but he was successful.

He's officially the ant destroyer

Sweet success!

Grandpa loves to get the lawn looking good so he's hoping to pass this along to Bennett.  They went over to mow the lawn so it looks good when Rick, Jen and Ruby get home in a few days.

Ready...

Set...

Go!

And after all the hard work and effort they put out they ended the day with ice cream and Smore's - I'd say that's a pretty good reward.  Good job you guys!

Blueberries & More

Day 6

We went in search of a U-Pick blueberry farm that was close to home, first dropping Stanley off at his place first - wouldn't want to leave the pooch in a hot car.

After checking out a blueberry farm on Hwy 7 that I'd found online we chose to drive over to Abbotsford instead to go where there was a little more happening.  


We've taken the grandkids to Maan Farms before so we knew it would be a hit with them.
First on the agenda was the actual blueberry picking, and both the boys loved it!

The blueberries were huge, and we picked 14 pounds in about forty-five minutes,and yes there was a bit of competition with Gpa on who was picking the fastest!   Then it was back over to the main building where the entrance to the animal farm and playground is.

The huge air pillow was a hit!

Both the boys loved the zipline and had numerous rides, I thought Miles may be a bit hesitant but he couldn't wait to get on it.  The various sized bikes were fun too, there was even a double one so they could ride together.  

After that it was back home to clean and freeze blueberries - it was a successful trip!  

Abbotsford Adventures

Day 5

After their leisurely morning Gpa and the boys went on their own adventure to Abbotsford while I was at the office. Their first stop was at Castle Fun Park where they played a ton of games, and had a race on the cars.  Bennett won, but I did hear he may have had an illegal start!

They figured out a way to get a ton of tickets out of this game, I think Gpa and the boys teamed up on it ... not sure that was legal either!


From there they went over to the Birchwood Dairy, which as Miles pointed out when they got there - he knew that would happen sometime!  Yes, he knows Gpa well.

Who doesn't love Bubblegum ice cream??

So since they didn't have one of Gpa's favourite flavours available by the bowl/cone, he had to buy a big bucket of the Tin Roof Sundae and bring it home.  I think ice cream outside after dinner is going to be a nightly routine now for the next little while, but I don't think there will be any complaints from any of us about that!

Everyday Things

Day 4

I went into the office early so when the boys got up they started the morning watching Dragon training cartoons until Gpa woke up - I don't think they minded!  After that Gpa took them to the tennis courts and they practiced their stroke using the ball machine which they thought was pretty goodl.

Bennett has been faithful taking Stanley for his walk every day so far, today we walked from their house to ours in the sunshine so the pooch was pretty tired and thirsty afterwards.

Miles finished his swimming lessons today and he has passed with flying colours and is moving up into Level Three which he starts in a couple of days.  Great work Miles!

Both Lego and art work have been pretty popular around here too, lots of creativity on display for us.

Cartoon drawing of Harry Potter's place

We've established a pretty good routine for things every day, Miles gets tucked around 8:30 and Bennett is enjoying being the eldest here and staying up for popcorn and TV rather late each evening - but it's summer so it's all good.  

Rainy Day

Day 3

It's a heat wave in Paris, yet we woke up to rain this morning.  I'm glad we went to the Zoo yesterday!  We stayed home most of the day and did a few fun things here, starting with making play dough.  Miles wanted to use multiple Wilton dye colours so it ended up being an interesting shade.  

Bennett has been teaching me the finer points of playing Pokeman, I'm a bit of a slow learner but he's being very patient and helpful.  I may even be getting the hang of it now...

Miles had a great time printing and cutting out letters of his name, and drawing a picture for his Mommy - he wanted to make sure you saw what he made for you Jen!

Tonight we went to see the new Lion King movie, it was pretty good - at first I thought it may be a bit scary for Miles but he persevered and it all worked out fine.

That's French for 'The Lion King' 

I'm working the next two days so Gpa is on deck, the boys will each be going to their activities so they're busy - Bennett to the Fitness Lab with his friends, and Miles to his swimming lessons.  I feel a S'mores night coming up soon as the weather's clearing up...

A List

Days 1 & 2

Day 1 - Miles has swimming lessons this week so he and I walked over to the pool in the sweltering heat, no complaints from him though so that was good.

Look at how much air he gets!!

However on the walk home he did mention to me in passing that he won't be walking to swimming lessons anymore, he'll just go in a car instead......  :)

I went to bed last night and didn't think a thing about Stanley the dog, or of course the two cats we're looking after.  I did however wake up abruptly at 5:00am realizing that poor Stanley hadn't been let outside for about 20 hours!

If anyone had seen me driving over to let him out at that time in the morning with my crazy hair and nightie on - they would've thought I was nuts!  

I looked all over their house and didn't find one wet spot or anything else - unreal Stanley!!!!!!!  I won't do that again, I promise.

Day 2

After a good sleep last night the boys got up this morning at 7 and 8am respectively, Miles being the first up.  We were in the car and at the zoo before noon which was not too bad timing as we were able to fit in a few of the talks by the Zoo staff.  I liked the animals we saw but I was more interested in watching the boys enjoying it.

Petting Zoo baby goat

We did see live animals too but these guys were fun to climb on.

 

The train conductor advised us all that we would be going over a bridge with a drop on either side so we should hang onto our loved ones - Miles immediately put his arm around Bennett.  So sweet!

Once we'd watched the Raptor show, heard the lion, baboon, giraffe and lemur talks we wandered the grounds on our own.  We saw the creepy displays of snakes, geckos, and other lizardy things, then after the train ride we were ready to go.  It was a great day! 

10 Days at Gma & Gpa's - Gkids holiday here

We Got 'Em

So Jen has gone to join Rick and Ruby in Paris, she left today out of Abbotsford airport so we officially have Bennett and Miles to ourselves for ten days!

Jen is such a great Mom, she left goodie bags for the boys with wrapped and numbered gifts for them to open each morning that she's gone.  After leaving them with that her and I headed to Abbotsford airport so she can board the plane to join Rick and Ruby for ten days.

Have a wonderful time, and don't worry - we got 'em!