Pocket Gophers

Yesterday we went to the Zoo and had a wonderful time. I didn't have a free hand so I didn't take any photos, but maybe we will see some on K-E-Household's blog when they are back home to update it.

There is that Mads and that Ike again. So happy.

Now on to the title of this post. Pocket Gophers. We have them in our backyard. At first we thought it was an ant hill... and then after poking around, I thought maybe it was kids playing a practical joke. Then I realized after googling "unexplained mounds" that we don't have moles in Canada, but we do have pocket gophers. This gopher has really made a mess of our backyard. We had weeds earlier in the year and spent money on Nutri Lawn service to come by and remedy it. Now that our lawn is looking much better, we have this gopher.

BBQ

We had a BBQ this evening and some old friends came over. The weather was really hot. We don't have air conditioning in Calgary as it is only needed for about 2 weeks each summer.

Ike sat in the highchair outside and ate a whole bowl full of avocado.

Everyone was happy to hold and play with babies and kids.

Tomorrow we are headed to the Zoo. Jamie will be back at work so we have invited a cousin of the K-E-Household to join us (and help us).

Bobs and Missy are still getting along really well and we are so glad they are.

K-E-Household Visits

Missy and her family made it to town on the trip home from Kimberley. We had home made chicken strips, corn and sour dough bread for dinner and then we played in the backyard.

We plan on going to the Zoo and to Ikea in the next few days. Tomorrow we are also having a BBQ in honour of Noah so friends in town can come visit and catch up.

Rock Star

Ever since watching Raffi and the Wiggles on youtube, Bobs wants to play the guitar and be a rock star.

Mommy and Mads

Bobs went to the Zoo this morning with Mormor so Mommy and Mads went for a long walk. I asked Bobs which animals he wanted to see, and he named off Owls, hippos, elephants and butterflies.

Keeping Busy

After the Stampede breakfast yesterday, we went to Alyssa's house for an afternoon BBQ. This morning I went to Superstore for a 7:30am grocery shop. I didn't realize they were open that early. It was great. There is so much fresh produce in season.

Then we met up with some old coworkers and their kids at South Glenmore park and the kids splashed around and played on the playground while we had a picnic. Bobs absolutely loved it and tired himself out.

Danish Canadian Club Stampede Breakfast

We went to the Danish Canadian Club's Stampede breakfast this morning. For those that don't know, you get free pancakes and sausages and coffee and juice.

Bobs got his face painted. Mormor mentioned to the facepainter that Bobs likes ladybugs so he got one on his arm.

Bobs was funny. He loved standing in the short line-up and getting a free pancake so he did this four times and had about 5 pancakes. He also danced to the country music.

The weather was perfect. Our friend Ujal lives right behind the club in a condo. We didn't have our cell phone or else we would have called him down to join us.

Dancing

Stolen Photos

Missy's Popi has a really fancy camera, and he even took a course so he could snap some nice photos like these. Bobs and Missy had tea parties with cheerios and water. They really look like they get along well, which they do for the most part.

I was colouring and drawing dresses with Missy. She decided it was more fun to just draw on herself as you can see on her arm.

We look forward to the K-E-Household's visit to Calgary in a few weeks on their way back home.

AMK and I "relaxing" by the water. Do you see little Mads in his hammock?

Kimberley

We went to Kimberley, a small quaint town in the BC Kootenay's where K-E-Household's Nana and Popi live. Bobs and Missy got along nicely most of the time, and Ike and Mads had a few good conversations.

We went to Wasa lake and found a nice beach to spend the day on saturday. Bobs doesn't want to go in the water much, but Missy loves it.

On sunday, the toddlers went on a small train ride while the babies went shopping on the main Platzl. The town has a little Bavaria theme.

The backyard of the house is still not completed, but the toddlers still got to have their outdoor bath that they loved every night.

A water table was set up on the back porch to keep them busy and cool. It was a hot weekend.

It should be interesting to see how these boys will play together in a year from now.

Bobs found Nana's guitar and seemed to know how to play it naturally. Maybe he has been watching a lot of Raffi and figured it out that way?

It's getting Hot!

We are cooling off by sitting on the shady side of the house and drawing with chalk on the sidewalk. I know it is not as hot here as it is on the east side of Canada, but it is still hot for me!

We found Mads' twin. His name is Theo and his granny is one of Mormor's best friends. They were at the CBC Stampede breakfast with us this morning.

Theo has an older brother Zack that Bobs can play with.

Bobs really does copy what his parents do. We had fish on the frying pan last night for dinner so he made the same thing for himself.

Baby Legs

Have you seen "Baby Legs" before? Mads got them as a gift. They are pretty handy to go with a diaper shirt onesie. They also fit Bobs and can be used in toilet training. I know they are kind of girly. Jamie was a bit taken aback when he saw Bobs wearing them last night when he came home from work.

I am getting things packed up for our long weekend in Kimberley. We hope to get to a lake beach while we are there so we can feel some semblance of being on summer vacation. Many of our friends are vacationing right now.

B&M

The Zoo

We went to the Zoo today as a family because Jamie had the day off. Bobs knows the Zoo better than we do because he has been many times with Mormor. He kept shouting "butterfly!" when we entered glass buildings, so we had to find out which glass building the butterflies were in.

We talked to a few moms who were eyeing up our double stroller. One already had the same one and the other had hers on order. They were curious about how we liked our etc... it was funny. Some people bond over their love for the same car, and us, the stroller.

We hope to go again at the end of the month when K-E-Household visits.

Erik shouted very loudly "here kitty cat!! Kitty cat!" When he saw the tiger. Daddy told him not to do that if he ever saw one in the wild.

Happy Birthday Jamie

Uncle Tim came over to meet Mads and play with Bobs. He also brought a nice birthday cake for Jamie. We looked at Tim's recent travel photos from Europe. I really had to laugh at Tim... I told him to definitely try some Danish ice cream, a hot dog from the hot dog stand, and most definitely a Danish from a bakery there. So what does Uncle Tim do? Well, he got my e-mail of suggestions right after finishing his supper at McDonalds in central Copenhagen. So he went and found some ice cream at.... Ben and Jerry's!! That is not authentic Danish. Sheesh!!

We had been to the library earlier in the day and Bobs is always looking for "truck book" that he once read when we were there and I didn't bring it home. He was upset with me for not bringing it home that time... We did find a train book very similar to truck book so he is now happy with that.

Another new favourite past time is play dough.