October Birthday Jeopardy Art

Our birthday beauties!

Pictured above at the age of two.

Our family jeopardy game was this months Art debut for all our budding new sketching skills.  We watched a sketching video and got to work.

A picture says a thousand words... sketching pictures of these birthday beauties said plenty more than a thousand words.  Awe at those with natural artistic talent.  Interest in what features stand out when you are scrutinizing a person's face for sketching.  How varied the sketches can be from the same subject matter.  

In all it was a delightful evening of laughter and light-heartedness and we have these delightful treasures forever as a memento.

Jill - Oct. 1st

Jill by Duncan

Jill by Sadie(top right), Duncan (bottom left) and Sarah (bottom right)

Jill by Nova

Jill by Emerson

Adriana - Oct. 10th 

Adriana by Nova

Adriana by Patrick

Adriana by Emerson

Adriana by Duncan

Adriana by Sarah

Derek - Oct. 21st

Derek by Patrick

Derek by Sarah (top right)

by Whittaker (1st attempt left. [after lesson], 2nd attempt, right

Derek by Caleb

Derek by Channa (Derek on right)

Maude - Oct. 26th

Maude by Ava

Maude by Caleb (top), Duncan (bottom)

Maude by Whittaker

Maude by Sarah

Maude by Grandpa Jim

Maude by Rhyanna

Long before I blogged... there was a time....  things happened. 

I even have photographic proof of it. 

It's time to drag them out of archives and make them real... because if there is a photo and it gets blogged with a few words here and there... it really happened. 

One of such things was:

• Caleb used to be little. 
• Patrick used to have dark hair
• We made a trip to Canada... with only one child. 
• Photos used to be a little grainier
• Patrick used to wear sweats in public... until I put a stop to it!
• I used to bowl with style.. (okay it wasn't graceful style... it may be my own style)

What better than a bowling throw to bring back Throwback Thursdays!!

whew, another preserved.

It's Forties File Friday folks!!

It's about time Forties File Friday returned!  We'll start out simple and easy.  Choose your preferred method.  Answer the question in the comments, send me an email, a text, a photo (with or without a write up!) an old fashioned letter, or a carrier pigeon, give me a call and tell me what to write, post your own blog and link up to the file.  It really doesn't matter. What matters is that you reply in some way... long responses while enjoyed are NOT necessary!

So on with the show.

As a shout out to this years Graduates!!!  CONGRATULATIONS!!

Adriana and Johnny; June 8th, and Caleb; May 31st. 

Graduations.  Either your own, your children, your high school, college, university or primary if you like!  For that matter it can be your opinion of all the pomp and circumstance.

Photographic Follies

I was a bit snap happy with the camera.  Lots of reasons.  First, we don't see Paige and kids much and I was sorely lacking in photos of them.  Second, Paige is the reason my blog gets as many hits each day as it does and apparently it isn't a real blog without a photo so I knew I had to have photos of anything I wanted to blog.  Third, I've been reading a lot of photography books and webs to try to improve the photo taking.  (So far I've learned to get closer to my subject and to not use the flash all the time.  It hasn't been simple.  I'm often zoomed in when the action requires a wider angle and as for the no flash... that's a technique that is going to require a lot more practice!)  And lastly, I have a bad habit of snapping a lot of photos.... or none at all and they managed to arrive during a period of snap happy time!

I tried in the five days that they were here to get a group photo.  I wasn't very successful.  Not for lack of trying though.  These are the most infuriating four photographic subjects.  They don't like their photos taken and they were incredibly kind to indulge me with the photos that I did get... well some of them were! 

There was one that was near impossible.  But I'm a smart cookie!  I'll just piece all the parts of her that I captured together to get a Paige collage! HA HA!

As for a family photo?  Daddy Carlos was not with them and the closest I managed was to include the petting zoo van with it's 'sleeping bag hidden driver' in a group shot!

I did catch all but Whittaker in a cousin photo.  (Whittaker was asleep, and I wasn't waking him, even for a photo op!)

These little piggies went to the Spa!

First a quick haircut. 

Then on to the good stuff.  We indulged in some great massage chairs with pedicures for almost an hour.  It was definitely a girly afternoon.  We came away feeling pampered and silky soft.  Now the problem is keeping it up!

Such pretty piggies!

Bowl-a-rama

Kids bowl free all summer long.  Paige and her kids have been bowling a lot.  We just began.  We got some great deals on some old bowling shoes so we don't even have to rent them... a truly free activity now!

Aren't we stylin'?

We arrived early one morning and had to wait for them to open a lane up for us.  We checked out the arcade... without any coins among us.  Who needs coins?

Once we began to bowl... the game was on!   I was a difficult contender to beat.  I took it easy on them and only bowled an 87 the first day.  I let Tree win with a 113.  After three days of bowling, I knew they couldn't handle it if I trounced them each time... so I let them each take a turn winning.  I'm sure my confidence building techniques are what helped everyone to improve their game!

A  quick bowling tutorial

The object of the game is to knock down the ten pins.  In one roll it's a strike, in two rolls it's a spare.  Get lots of either of those and you'll win the game.

How to bowl a Nova

The term 'bowl a Nova' is a relatively new bowling term.  It's when you 'purposely' leave just one pin standing after your two rolls are through.  

Technique is very important.  Don't worry... I've included a video at my own expense for teaching purposes.

Yes the dance is an integral part of the technique.  Without it, you could accidentally get a spare or even worse... a strike!

Children everywhere are in awe of the new technique!

Except some children who have been lured into a false belief that spinning the balls on the rack when it isn't their turn is more exciting than observing master bowlers for the purpose of improving technique.

Footprints make me smile

Look what happens when you request sidewalks in the neighbourhood.....!!! 

Don't get too excited.  They aren't sidewalks.  NOPE... Instead I guess they learned that there's nobility at the end of the road.  Now I'm getting a moat!  YUP!!  A MOAT! 

Wait, maybe it isn't a gift for the Nobles, perhaps it's a message... Yes... it must be... I mean I'm getting it loud and clear.... how about if they make my life miserable by making it impossible to even park on the street where I live while I have visitors for the week, I'll lay off on the sidewalk campaign.  100 degree days and we have to cart kids and stuff back and forth to the car a block and a half away and then at the end of the street just in front of my house there's a moat that has to be LEAPED over. 

Or perhaps they're just inconveniently fixing the grade of the road....

After construction workers pour a new driveway, the right thing to do is NOT to leave the teenagers home alone while it dries.... unless you want a permanent reminder that some fun lovin' teenagers got barefoot and ran across the driveway.... Now every time I LEAP across the moat I see the fun footprints on the driveway and I smile. 

 The adventures of Tuesday!!

Games.  Games.  Games.  Monolpoly, Wii, Family Feud, Apples to Apples, Tetris competitions and more!

Whittaker has a new best friend.

We headed to the park for a picnic lunch.  After we ate, some thought they'd try rolling down the hill. 

Some needed a lot more encouraging to roll down the hill.

Some roll down the hill in style!

We're a crowd.  I love that although it's years sometimes between visits, they can pick up and hang out like they're best buds who see each other every day.  They get along..... most of the time... I mean they are kids after all.

Next we went swimming.  Fun in the Sun.  Whittaker loved splishing and splashing for over an hour and then we decided we had planned our swimming outing without sunscreen so we tucked him away inside the stroller.  The rest of us fried!

Miles had one private swimming lesson this summer.  Now he has extreme confidence!  He loves that he can swim with his head under the water now.  I think a little form work is still needed.

The big kids were too cool to stay in the kiddie pool for long so they took off to do tricks in the big pool!

The big kids had fun diving.  Sarah suddenly became a big kid.... tough for Mummy but cool for her.  She even attempted diving off the high dive!

We ended the day with Caleb's birthday dinner of Macaroni and Cheese, Greek Salad and chocolate cake with ice cream! Who needs to throw a party when you live with one?!!

Some of the faces of our fun day!  (Someone must have grabbed my camera in order for me to be in this!)