A Sandbox Education

Despite looming black clouds we headed to the park to have a little play, stretch our legs and take the dog for a walk. The wet sand was perfect for digging in and sculpting into buildings. Before long the three of them had organized themselves into a building crew. They were building an Eygptian city, complete with pyramids, the Nile, temples, crops, beehives, roads and statues. They talked among themselves about where the crops should go, that the houses needed to be a short distance from the Nile so that when it flooded they weren't ruined, and what they would put in their tomb with them if they could choose. It is amazing what they learn in the sandbox.

A new place to explore

Our neighbourhood is growing, new houses are going up everywhere. While overall I feel like is growing way to fast without any direction or intentional decision making (but that is a whole different RANT!). For discovery sake it has been interesting watching frames be put up, cement poured, siding appear, roofs put on, and paths put in.
There is one particular close area that we are excited about. It has a few ponds with a path surrounding it. We have seen Kildeer each time we have come here, which are extremely interesting birds. They nest on the ground and when a person or predator gets to close to the nest the adult Kildeer diverts their attention by pretending to have a broken wing and running away from the nest. We have seen Blue Herons, sunflowers growing and lots of gold finches. It is like a little oasis for us to explore after breakfast.

And the Judges Results are IN!!!!

After getting their prizes, the kids are thinking about 'doing' the fair ciruit next year. (I wonder if there are people that really do that!). They worked so hard, they are so proud of the crafts they produced and so honored to have been recognized. For Elias the highlight was receiving the Halton Agricultural Society Honorary Ribbon for the tractor him and Dad worked on together. Ben received a ribbon on everything he entered! Aria was most proud of her third place ribbon for the picture she worked meticulously on of what she would look like at 65 years old! Now the planning of what to do with the money begins!

Fall Fair

Our day at the fair finally arrived and despite the intermittent downpours of rain, fun was had by all. There was a full day worth of activities which we shared with Nana, who joined us for the annual event. On the top of the list was the children's tractor pull. The kids are divided into weight categories, all participants win a ribbon for merritt and some tickets for the rides, if you pulled in the top five you also won money. Ben- for the second year in a row won first place in his weight, coming away with a trophy, large ribbon, coloring book, $10, and ride tickets!!!! They were all thrilled at the choosing two rides each! Elias and Ben choose to spend some of their prize money on a game, each winning a bear. Aria headed straight for the cotton candy!
There was tractor pulls of a larger scale, a smash up derby, waterfowl, chickens, horses, sheep, cows, 4H demonstrations and music! I haven't even touched on the exhibition halls yet and the craft results...which were very very exciting!!
I will write about those tommorrow. It was so great to see them light up with pride over the crafts they worked so hard on displayed, many with ribbons. It's definetely a tradition we will keep up.

Name Updates

This weekend names for the baby having been flying around, some of the more memorable are :

Tin Tin
Nacho Grande (the most popular)
Jesus
Boing
Issac (Newton)
Merlin
Karaq
micro
bubbles

Thank goodness we are only at 24 weeks!!!

The British are coming!!!!

While doing some work at the computer I overheard this conversation while the kids were playing with a castle and their playmobile.

A: Who wants to enter the castle?
E: It is the British Royalty; the Highness.
B: We are British too.
A: Ahhhhh! close up the gate, quickly, quickly - the British are coming, they are hideous! They wear funny clothes and want to tell us what to do!!!!!

Especially amusing since the entire generation before me immigrated from England and we still have family who live their! Please take no offense family and friends....we are currently embarking on a trip through Europe beginning with England. Impressions will either be cleared up....or enforced...stay tuned!!!!!

The toothless gang!

I don't think I know of anything more anticipated then the falling out of Ben's tooth. It has been wiggly - or at least hoped to have been wiggly for at least the past 6 months. The last few days it has been holding on by threads. In his sleep last night it came out. I awoke to squeals of joy, not only from Ben but also his brother and sister. They know how badly he wanted his tooth to fall out and they couldn't have been more happy. Now they have a club....the toothless gang!

Tis Time for the Fair

The Milton fair has become an greatly anticipated and enjoyed event by our family. This is the third year we have entered our handicrafts to be put on display and potentially be recognized by the judges. The past few weeks the kids have been pouring over the category options, narrowing down which they would enjoy the most. Tommorrow all the crafts have to be in for judging and the fair takes place all weekend long.
Elias' contribution included a handprint wreath, a decorated pancake, a marshmallow polar bear, a mounted leaf, a sock puppet, a craft of his choice (handpainted egg), a farm vehicle made from recycled material (which kept him and dad up pretty late), a drawing of a farm scene. Ben choose to enter his penmenship, a weird shape vegetable, a decorated pancake, a sock puppet, a tissue paper flower, a marshmallow hand, a craft of his choice (his mask) and a pasta bracelet. Aria made a marshmallow hand, a weird shape vegetable, a mounted leaf, a decorated pancake, a picture of what she looks like at 65 years old, a craft of choice ( a sponge painting) and a pasta bracelet.
The kids have been saving their money to go to the fair, maybe some cotton candy or a ride. Its great to see the three of them plan the order of the events, remembering from the previous year what they enjoyed. No doubt you will hear all about it!

Summer days

Saying goodbye to summer

The seasons will formally change at the end of the week, even though it felt as though the fall weather came quite awhile ago. With this change we have been talking about the days we enjoyed during the summer; beach days, Ontario Place, golfing, swimming in outdoor pools, barefeet, nakedness, icecream, backyard pool, sand, late nights.

Harvest Season

There is no greater joy then harvesting vegetables you have planted, cared for and watched grow. This is the last of the green peppers and our onions. The kids thought it was a blast pulling them up- like hidden treasure. The Italian squash are still extremely small....who knows what they will do, to be honest squash baffle me.

Indian Summer Festival

Crawford Lake, a reconstructed 5th century Iroquian village, is one of our local favorite treasures. This weekend they held an Indian Summer Festival. As well as the village, interactive long houses, hiking trails and lake, there was also story telling, displays, dancing, hemlock tea, corn doll and necklace making.
One of the stories in particular drew the kids in, it was about why the corn doll never has a face. It was about vanity and outward beauty, not a topic they really get (yeah) but the story teller was quiet, speaking intensely, with only them as her audience, which completely engaged them.
We all enjoyed the day.

Dancing

I am not sure which was enjoyed more; the dancing or the costumes. There were five dancers, each from a different region, each dancing a different story, each with a different costume with a different significance. Aria was thrilled at the opportunity to dance with the two women who were wearing the ribbon shawls telling the story of the butterfly emerging. Elias and Ben were awed by the decorations, feathers, eagle head and leather of the traditional dancer.

A new perspective

During my studies at university many of my classes dealt with contemporary Native issues, decoding years of oppression and layers of injustices. This time in my life was very passionate and emotional, having had the opportunity to work and live with different peoples for whom these issues are their lives. I am very aware of these layers and the impact on today's culture (both native and non) when my kids are asking questions about traditional cultures, when they are playing Hurons collecting cranberries canoeing on the playgym. It has been a long time since I could be in the moment, the magic of history without intermingling those layers. Being with the kids today, I got to enjoy the smell of the hemlock tea, be in awe of the time and effort it would take to create beautiful moccasins, imagine what bedtime would be like in a long house. Not that I will be forgetting the layers because they are part of the picturem, but it was great to be in the moment.