Kid Free for the Week-end

Mom took the kids for the week-end and they probably had more fun and excitement than their parents! Nicole and I did some cleaning and intended to go to a movie but we never did get there. Oh well, maybe next time the kids are away for a few days we will party it up.
Poppa showed Jacob how to ride the 4 wheeler and they did a fair amount of "4 wheeling". Each of the girls also had a nice long bike ride.
We do not have any "climbing trees" in our yard, so Rachel and Erica took full advantage of this tree.

Easter...Past and Present

This Easter was a wet affair; lots and lots of rain. We had planned on going out to a Maple Sugar farm for breakfast but the weather squashed that idea. I was not too disappointed as I worked last nihgt 7pm-7am so I was a little sleepy this morning. As the pictures show, the Easter Bunny did drop in.
Easter 2002
Easter 1998, Jacob and Rachel

Nanny and Lisa come to visit

I was not too pleased to hear the phone ring this morning at 9am as we arrived home late last night and only hit the sack around 1. Someone answered the phone after only one ring so I guess the kids were not as tired as I was. Nobody shouted anything out so I figured it must have been a friend of the kids calling.
Eventually Nicole and myself made it out of bed and eventually Jacob got around to telling me that nanny called and she and Lisa would be coming over around 2pm. This shifted our plans a little and I did a quick cleanup and we were set for visitors.
Mom and Lisa (my sister) stayed the afternoon and had a good visit with the girls. Jacob was at a friend's house working on a project so he was away most of the afternoon. Nicole and I snuck out for an hour and picked up some groceries and then just did odds and ends around the house till suppertime.

After supper we went for a bike/walk. The kids wanted to get their bikes for the first ride of 2006 and Nicole was to sore to bike so we walked behind them. Jacob cut Erica off and she went for a tumble into the ditch. Fortunately, the ditch was not full off water so she did not get too wet, but she was rather upset!

Rachel & Jacob at the Provincial Chess Championship

Jacob and Rachel both attended the provincial chess championship this weekend. The host committee seemed a little surprised about how many people showed up - I suppose they thought the children were going to drive themselves to the event. The high school was way too small to accommodate 350+ kids plus their parents and siblings. The lack of tables and chairs made for a long day.

But, on the plus side, Nicole won the 50/50 draw ($230) which meant we broke even for the week-end. The kids had fun and Jacob and Rachel had identical records of 3 wins and 2 losses - which placed them both in the top 8 or so of their divisions. I was surprised that they did so well as neither had played a lot of chess this year but they still enjoy playing so that is the main thing. I think this was Jacobs 4th straight trip to the provincial and Rachel's 2nd; now we jsut have to convince Erica to start playing!

Ice Age 2 - The Melt Down

After spending a day with 300 screaming kids we decided to spend the evening in the provincial capital and go to out to dinner and a movie. Well, guess which one cost the most?? It cost us $55.00 (including the tip) to eat at the Swiss Chalet (Jacob orders from the adult menu) compared to $69.75 for the 5 of us to go to see Ice Age 2. (Admission was $37.25 and drinks and popcorn came to $32.50) Now I know why our kids don't go to a movie every week like I used to when I was their age....Oh oh..I am going to start reminiscing about the good old days, the Uptown and Vogue theatres...No, I'll save that for my blog.
Ice Age 2 is probably better than the first movie and it is definitely funnier. Scrat stole the show again and the ending of the movie is hilarious. I would go see it again, even without the kids. Now I'll try and convince Rachel to give you her review - Michael.

The movie was vary good.It was funny.I like the movie. By...........ERiCA.

Ice Age 2 I found was a lot better then the first. Scrat came up a lot and was very funny. The movie was hilarius and I would definatly buy it once it's out on DVD. -Jacob

I think the movie was great, and funny! Scrat I find was the funniest! - Rachel

Introducing the Taylor's

This is a picture of our gang taken in March, 2006 while we were on a Caribbean cruise (see link).
Front left is Rachel (10), then Erica (71/2). Jacob (12) is in the middle and Michael and Nicole are in the back.

We presently live on Canada's east coast. One of the parents is an Registered Nurse while the other is an Engineer; it is amazing how many people still cling to the tradional view of which sex should be in certain professions.