A day with Maman

Since we do not have a babysitter for the summer and I can not bring them along to the hospital (like I did to the store last summer)we had to improvise. Nicole took the day off, or rather, worked on the laptop, and I worked a 12-hour day. Tomorrow I am on nights so I am home with the kids and as long as Nicole gets home before 5:30pm everything will be ok.

The kids said they had a good day but many details were not forthcoming, so I guess I will leave it at that.

A day with Aunt Lisa

I forgot to take soem pictures of the kids with their Aunt, well, I didn't forget per say, I was gone from 6:30am to 7:30pm so that made it difficult to take some pictures.

The kids had a good day. They played scrabble with Lisa and her caregiver for a few hours, walked to the mall where Lisa let them each pick out a gift. The girls went went with dolls and Jacob a new game for his GameBoy Advance. They stopped for icecream on the walk home and for supper they feasted on Chinese food. Apparently they were well behaved (as usual) and everyone enjoyed themselves.

We finally made it back home at 8:30pm and the kids wanted to sleep out in the tent again, which they are going to do apparently. We had rain during the day but it may hold off tonight.

Work was crazy today, but I did get permission to work an extra shift this week and have Sunday to Friday off next week. GGGGREAT!

Kids not happy with Daddy....

Today was cloudy with a few rainshowers which meant the kids always had an excuse why they did not have to go outside to play. I did manage to convince Jacob and Rachel to jump on their bikes and go pick up the mail. They came back with package and they were very enthused when I told them the package contained a book for each of them. They were not, however, as enthused when they opened the package and saw..


I know, I know, summer vacation is supposed to be a vacation, but I hate that the kids will try and spend half of their summer vacation on the computer. If they complete their books we will come up with an appropriate "gift" at the end of August. Plus, it will help keep their skills sharpened and ready for the fall.

We also went to the library and joined a summer book reading club. This was their idea, not mine, so no more comments from the peanut gallery. They each signed out a book and I think Erica has finished hers already.

I was off today and Nicole worked, which meant I had to prepare lunch. I hate making lunch! Rachel helped and we had eggrolls and instant noodles in a sauce. I need to buy some Kraft Dinner.

We don't have a regular babysitter and Nicole has meetings tomorrow so my sister (Lisa) has agreed to look after them tomorrow. Rather than trying to wake them at 5:30am I am going to bring them out tonight. As an added bonus, I will only have to get up at 6:15 tomorrow.

A lawn mowing day

Well, it took me almost 5 freaking hours to mow the lawn today..what a way to spend a Sunday. The sun bore down on me from 11-3pm and I have a nice burn to show for it. I can normally cut our acre lot in about 3 and a 1/2 hours but the ditch was overgrown and I spent way too much time re-starting the mower. At least it is done, and hopefully the grass will slow down a bit - this was my fourth straight week-end mowing.



The girls spent the day across the road at their friends pool and Jacob's friends were away so he just milled about. No, he did not volunteer to help mow the lawn either!

We went for a walk after supper and then I washed the kitchen floor and the kids headed out to the tent for another night.

Summer Vacation - Day One

Today officially began the kids summer holidays and the weather is certainly cooperating. It was a beautiful 28 degrees and sunny. Fortunately, there was a bit of a wind which kept the bugs away.

Another busy day at the Taylor household. The kids slept out in the tent last night and were a little noisy when they came in/out/in/out this morning. I could not sleep through all the racket so I got up and went the store till 1pm. Nicole was up around 10 and took the gang grocery shopping.

The afternoon was rather laid back. Our neighbour helped me fix Jacob's bike chain so now I am able to use my own bike again. Nicole had a mid-afternoon nap so the kids and I went for a bike ride to the community centre....



and down to the river where we found two bikes that someone had pushed off the cliff.


We rented "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" which was just like most sequals; awful. Still, when it only costs 99 cents to rent a DVD at NIKKO's automated store who can complain too much. After the movie, we made popcorn and the kids headed out to the tent. I wasn't sure they were going to want to stay out as the neighbours were having a bit of a party and the country music was pretty loud but the kids insisted it was no big deal, so out they stayed.

School's Out for Summer

The kids are now officially on summer holidays, and I must say they seem to be very pleased with the ending of the school year. All in all, it was a good year. Jacob was on the honour roll; all A's. Rachel and Erica did excellent as well. Looks like I better start putting more money into the kids RESP's for university!

Here they are this morning...



And last September (2005)...

Father's Day

While Father's day is supposed to be day of relaxation, maybe watching a NASCAR race, it certaily wasn't for moi. After planting Nicole's garden we drove to her parents place for lunch and then at 5pm went over to mom and Ken's for an hour. Then, an hour drive back home, supper, a few gifts and bedtime. Maybe if I wasn't always the first one up I would get breakfast in bed?

Planting the Garden

We are a little late getting Nicole's garden in this year; too much rain the last two weeks. This is the first time I helped out as I was usually at GNC when Nicole planted. It feels nice not to have to work every Saturday!

I am not sure of what we planted; carrots, string beans, radish, tomatoes and cucumbers for sure. I wonder if our groundhog will make a surprise visit in a few weeks.

Tenting season has begun

A few days of hot, hot weather and our home is an oven. The forecasters are calling for a long, dry and hot summer and I am going to miss the central air unit that we had in our home in Ontario! The kids were complaining about the heat so we put up a tent in the backyard and they slept outside...well, two of them did. Rachel came in at 2 because Jacob was hogging all the blankets.

Family Day at School

It was a warm and sunny day and we spent a few hours at the girls school for "family day". There was hot dogs and pony rides; I guess I should have volunteered and at least organized sack, or wheelbarrel or three-legged races. Oh well, next year.

Rainy, Rainy Week

April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, I woner what May showers will bring...weeds and more dandelions? The last two weeks have been very wet, in fact, there was some flooding in the southern part of the province. When I work, it rains. I have two week-ends off in a row coming up so maybe the sun will cooperate and I can spend my days off mowing the lawn etc etc.

Review of "Over the Hedge"

As a reward for helping out with the yard work on the week-end, we took the kids to a movie tonight. "Over the Hedge" wasn't a bad movie, but it certaily wasn't great. The theatre was practically empty which meant we had great seats! Hopefully the animated movie "Cars" will be better.

More fun at "The Camp"

The kids slept well and I think I only had to kill two blackflies all night. The new futons were much more comfortable than the old pull-out beds.

Erica once again was the first to catch a trout.
Jacob had hooked a 12 inch trout but wasn't able to land it. Rachel struck next with her big catch.
Jacob finally caught a trout and he ate it a few hours later.

Week-end at "The Camp"

The weather was great and the flies were out in full force so we packed up the car and headed off to "The Camp". The camp is a little part of heaven; high up on a bank overlooking a salmon river and no other camps for miles around. No television, no radio, no telephone! But, it does have a regular washroom and shower along with a generator to run the lights and propane for the stove. Here is some pictures from the first day.

Lobster time again

We are a little late this year with our annual spring lobster feed. The season starts May 1 and Nicole's father usually combines Nicole's birthday on May 8 and Mother's Day together and treats the family to a lobster feast during the first weekend in May. This year there were some scheduling problems and it got pushed back a few weekends. But, we finally made it to Nicole's parents and the three lobsters I devoured were delicious. The kids enjoy lobster as well although they do not go crazy about them. I suppose they eat them often enough that it is no big deal.

Rachel Onstage...Again

Rachel is quickly overcoming any stagefright which she may have and embracing her new role as "entertainer." Today she performed two songs - Blowing in the Wind and You've got a Friend - at a local supermarkets Karaoke competition. Rachel enjoyed the limelight and won a couple of prizes.

Graduation Day at UNB

Finally, after 4 long years, I have graduated with Bachelor of Nursing degree. There were many times since 2002 that I questioned why I was putting myself and my family through such turmoil. However, thanks to their patience and support I made it through and am looking forward to my new career.
The ceremony was 2 hours long and somewhat dull. Our "guest" was not that interesting nor was the valedictorian. The kids read through most of the ceremony! Afterwards, we had a nice lunch, stopped at the mall for an hour and then drove the 250 km home. The kids were a little upset that we did not have time to go to the hotel pool but we arrived late last night because we had to leave after Rachel's performance ended at 8pm.

Rachel's Musical Debut

Rachel has made her singing debut in her elementary school's mucical "Clowns". She sang a short solo and did very well. Nanny, Poppa, and Lisa came up for the first performance on Tuesday night. The musical lasted 45 minutes which was just about the right length. Great job Rachel.

Michael turns..gasp...41

I don't feel it, I apparently don't look it, and I certainly don't act it, but today I turned 41. Yikes! I worked at the hospital from 7-3pm and then came home for a quick supper and then met mom, Ken and Lisa at Rachel's school for her musical stage debut. Then we came home for presents and cheese cake, and a yellow sheet of paper. A wonderful day!!
Rachel asked me what I wanted for my birthday so I told her that I wanted to go on a ride in a hot air balloon, so she made me one.

Nicole turns....

Nicole turned 41 today...but she does not look it! I picked up an ice cream cake at Dairy Queen but I only put it in the fridge when I got home and not the freezer..whoops. I can not remember what was so funny in the second picture but it must have had something to do with Rachel.