Canada Day @ Clear Lake

We went up to Riding Mountain National Park for Canada Day. It is so beautiful up there and clear lake is my favorite place to be. The lake is deep and a beautiful colour. The beach was crazy busy but it didn't matter.  We packed a picnic for lunch and spent the afternoon in the sun.

I am pretty sure that Everett ate his weight in watermelon.

 Rawley faced his fears and went out in the peddle boat through the waves

 So beautiful, view from our peddle boat

 After supper the beach was almost empty so we stayed a while and played int he sand.

 Cut elittle sandy feet

 Rawley is always building or inventing something. 

Just the day to day

Everett just being cute.

 Everett just having a blast in his little pool in our little yard

 Blowing mommy smooches

 Static from the trampoline. 

It Happened

Rawley has had a bit of a rough go lately. I am not sure exactly what we are going to do at the moment.  Last week he was suspended from school. I get repeated notes home about how he is out of control. Last weekend he scrubbed the bathroom (toilet, tub, floor, sink) He swept and washed the floor, he vacuumed, he did laundry. I thought that might teach him a lesson.  He didn't change so now he has no tv privileges, no game privileges, then he lost his books, then his Lego, then everything he owns. He does not get anything back until his attitude changes. At that point he will earn everything back slowly one by one

 Nothing in his room but clothes, fan, radio, bible,  mattress and blankets. 

Over the past few days Rawley has done a lot of writing, this is something he hates doing.  He has had to write a page about each of the following
-how i treat my mom and dad
-how i should treat my mom and dad
-why i act the way i do, do the things i do
-how i feel before i do things, and then how i feel after i have done something.
We are waiting to hear back from Rawley's counselor because we have a lot to talk about. Hope something we do helps.

Track & Field

Rawley may not have won any of the events at city but he was good enough at school to make it to City's to represent his school in three different events. I am proud.

To make matters worse he was teased so much at the starting line of the relays. One boy called him midget. The other told him he was just a slow small little loser.

he is my little trooper.

waiting nicely (so unusual)

 Long Jump

 Nice jump for those little legs

 Relay Race

After his events we sat in the stands together and cheered on the rest of his school. I wish all days could be that nice with him. 90% trial and frustration 10% fun happy time.  Parenting is such a hard jib, but in the end it is worth it.

Happy Birthday Everett and Rawley

So it is a little late, but here are some pictures of the boys birthdays back here in Manitoba.  Since they each had a party in BC, they had to share their party here.

 Rawley received money for his birthday from his Papa, Grandma & Grandpa Jenkins and a few friends so he bought himself this bike.  It should fit him for a few years yet.

 Everett also got a bike for his birthday. this is a balance bike (or run bike). It has no pedals and trains them mostly to balance on it, so they never need training wheels. Unfortunately Everett is still on the small side and even with the seat all the way down, he cannot reach the ground. he still loves it though.

 Everett wearing Uncle Al's glasses. Both boys love Uncle Al because he is kind of like a big kid. He will always play with them. I love him to because I usually get a bit of a break hen he is around.

 Blowing out the candles on his cake. I cannot believe they are 10 and 2. Where has the time gone?

 And this picture i am just adding for good measure. Just to show off the cuteness of my boy.

BC Trip 2012

It has been brought to my attention by a few friends that I have not blogged in a while. 
I guess that means it is about time to post.
Bonnie, these pictures of the Jenkins clan are for you.
Rachel, the update on my crazy life is for you.
Everyone else, please enjoy what you like and skip what you do not.

In May we flew home to BC to visit many friends and family. I think it is the best trip we have made so far. The plane rides were tolerable. the visits were amazing and the stress level was low.

We stayed at My grandma & Grandpa's place which worked out so well, it is clean, we all had our own bed and bathroom and the fridge always had food in it. A little different than trying to stay with my bachelor dad. Love you dad, but your a house is not very accommodating to a family of four.

We went for dinner and to the park with my very best friend, Lindsay, from the theatre (where Ryan and I met) . I had not seen her since before we had moved. It was such a pleasure to spent time with her and Everett instantly fell in love with her. As you see below.

We got to spend a few days with My brother, his wife and our niece and nephew. The pictures are truly worth a 1000 words. It is sad that we do not get to spend more time with them but i certainly cherish the time we had. Owyn & Rawley were so happy to see each other again and they played hard.  Everett and Maisie played as well, Everett was so kind and gentle and made sure to share with her.  Sweet little kids.

Rawley met up with all his old friends from his elementary school. He even got to spend a lunch hour with them. He got lots of hugs and many kids were happy to see him. It almost made me cry.  Rawley had his 10th birthday with his bc friends. Nine 10 year old boys at the bowling alley during glow bowl was about all i could handle. The energy in our corner was overwhelming. Rawley had the best night ever though so it was all worth it.

 We held Everett's 2nd birthday at my grandparents house and many many family and friends came. I think there was 40 in total there.  I was so proud so show off my tough little guy. Last time most people saw him he was a very sick little boy and now he is a happy healthy boy full of energy and love. It made me so proud for everyone to see how far he had come.  And we left loved to have so many family members and friends with us.

 We also took the boys to Vancouver for the day. We rode the SkyTrain, the City Bus and the SeaBus. We took them to the Aquarium and to the market. The boys had so much fun.

I think spending time with My Grandma & Grandpa was the very very best part of the whole trip. I know that I may not have them in my life for much longer, and I really soaked up all the love I could. There was many hugs, kisses, and kind words exchanged.  I actually did a little mini interview with them. I asked all about how they met, when they started going together, got married, moved, had kids... Grandma told me about going to War and how hard it was to leave grandma.  They are have a pretty cute story, I am glad I got to hear all about it.

 Grandma & I played crib.

  Grandma Gardened.

 How can you not love these two people. 

 Below is by far my favorite picture of all. My cousins and I always tease that saying "good-bye" in the Jenkins family is always a 20min process. First you decide to leave, then you talk some more, then you go put on your shoes and Grandma & Grandpa come to the door, so you talk some more. Then they follow you out to the drive way and talk some more, then you get in your car, roll down the window to say "good-bye", but you talk some more. Then you finally pull out of the drive way and wave good bye. (and usually honk to). This is just the way it has been since i can ever remember.  It is funny, but it is love, and I will sure miss it when they are gone. :)

Spring had Sprung

Spring has Sprung,

The Grass has riz

We have had some pretty crazy weather around here. Our Winter was pretty weak throughout. We had about a week when cars needed to be plugged in. Lately we have had some really warm days. Last week I was outside in shorts and a tank top and even got a little red. It was above 20 for a couple days. My dad text messages me to tell me Abbotsford was getting snow and it was 18 degrees here in Manitoba. It has been nice to get out. Everett has been playing outside for a couple hours everyday and he loves every minute of it. We have been for walks and all the kids have their bikes out. I love spring. The only downfall is that now summer is around the corner, and I hate Summer. I am going to enjoy every minute of Spring while it lasts.

Because we have had these hot days, what little snow we had has melted very quickly,. It has left behind puddles that are just too tempting for little boys.

It was probably a little bit cold I would imagine.

My friend had a baby girl and I have been spoiled to get so many cuddles from her. The other night she came over and Rawley got to have some cuddles too. I love this picture.

We celebrated St Patrick's day, Ryan's 30th birthday and our friends 30th birthday last Saturday night. I picked out the hat and beard, Ryan and Everett picked out the tie.

I made a baby tree for my friend's baby shower. It felt good to do some crafts again, and she loved it too.
Everett loves the baby. He is showing us where her toes are.

This is from last month. Ryan and Everett had a special day at Build a Bear. Everett picked out a puppy to build.

He loved the big machine that stuffed it.

Everett is putting a heart in his bear to give it life.

Rawley's curling ended this month and they all got a metal. On the last day the parents got to go on the ice too. Rawley got to teach me how to throw a rock.

Everett just being cute.