March 2012 - Sioux Lookout

We have three of our family birthdays in March, so we all headed out to Sioux Lookout on a recent weekend to celebrate together.  We took advantage of the beautiful weather, and the walking trails near their place.  We wouldn't have known when to turn around if it wasn't for one hungry child!

Sioux Lookout had a lot of snow, which made the toboggan useful, but we realized already the second day that it would have been rather mushy to pull a toboggan.  We generously left it there for Josiah, which is a bit of a joke now!  They do not have room to store anything, and haven't been able to use it since because of the lack of snow.

The kids loved being back together, and played extremely well, even though their playing 'together' still often means they are both doing their own thing in the same room.  Apparently phones are THE toy these days!

We were able to use the pool at the hotel for another activity, which Annika probably enjoyed more than anyone!  Haley wasn't into getting wet this time!

 Up on his uncle's shoulders!

 I want both the bottle and soother!  What's wrong with that?

 And for the best smiles in the house... here's Annika!

 Hard to catch this goofy look on camera, but her auntie managed to capture it!

A picture of Haley playing...wait! nope!  It's Josiah!!  

Great weekend!

The Granddaughters

 

This weekend we had the girls.  They are growing up so fast... it's hard to keep up unless we spend quality time with them now and then... like a weekend.  Annika sits up which makes entertaining her so much easier.  I thought it was time to get out the dress-up for Haley, but realized that other than hats, there wasn't much she could wear without tripping over it, so there will have to be a Thrift Shop trip soon to remedy that. For now, though, the hats were kind of fun.  And Bestefar is game for anything. 

 As fun as the clown hair was, the black hair on Bestefar (not pictured here) was too much, and although she gave him the hair to wear, she would not go to him while he had it on his head!

 Haley found this new game herself.  She can now get into my pantry, and close the door.  Fortunately, it has a window and she could look through the glass before opening it for a real 'peek-a-boo'.

It was a warm weekend, and so the swings were a great place to play as well.  More fun with Bestefar!

I had to add this picture.  We skyped with Josiah, and her first words to him were "Take your fingers out of your mouth."  Hmmm... wonder where she's heard that!!  They were excited to see each other, though!

And yes, they were excited to see Mommy & Daddy again.  The only reason there are not more pictures of Daddy, is that he was too busy chasing Haley to pose for pictures, to her great delight!

Moving Day

Maybe WE thought we were keeping our mattress out of the way.  He thought it was a new space to crawl into to play!

Helping Bestefar.

Hi!

"I'm helping!  See?"

The bottom floor is theirs.  Beautiful setting!

Okay, the cabin in their direct view is falling apart... but there is beauty in old used-up buildings, too!  Even a crooked log cabin in the winter snow and sunshine is beautiful.

Taking a break from all the hard work.

View from the living room window.

Bestefar may be his favorite these days, but he's still willing to snuggle with Bestemor.

Whew!  Tiring Day!

2012 Non-Winter

We really haven't had a winter this year.  Not by Manitoba standards, at least.  I'm sure it has hit -30 for a day at least once, but really!  It is February and we're feeling cold at -14.  It has been hovering around 0 for the last month and a half at least.  And compared to last year, there is no snow.   The ground is covered... barely. 
So when the fog rolled in last week, we had days of gorgeous hoarfrost.  It was still warm, but at least part of southern Manitoba looked like winter had arrived! 

More of the grandkids

Getting ready for bed - or rather, the escape during the process.  Einar caught this one.

Caught.

Smiling or laughing - that's how you usually see him.

Camera's give only a part of the story. 

Yes, Annika loves to eat her clothes, or her blanket, or any fabric,

but toys go into her mouth much less often.

But this half-smile is only half of the story.  Annika has big beautiful smiles whenever someone smiles at her.  But the camera doesn't elicit quite the same response.

And Haley?  Well, she performs in front of the camera very much like her parents do.  I was going to blame this one on her mom, who preferred a stuck-out tongue in photos to her gorgeous smile.  But her dad isn't much different, in that respect!

Bringing out a camera brings out the sillies.

This was taken for the fashion statement she was making.  Her mom always loved bright colors.  So does Haley.  And when she saw this dress - my thrift shop find - it had to go on over the bright sweater she was already wearing.  That's not a problem at Bestemor & Bestefars house... no one else will see it.  Oops!

January Celebration

On January 15 we had a very special celebration.  We first met at our kids church where Annika was dedicated to the Lord, or as our former pastor liked to state it, where her parents were dedicated to raising her to love God and serve Him.  We also celebrated Haley's second birthday which was the following week.

 Haley with her grandma.

Rachel took this one... I love it! 

Annika 

Mmmm - cake pops for her birthday. 

A quiet boy is not always a good sign... Auntie's mascara was fun to get into! 

Reading with Bestefar. 

 A very content Annika...

One of the favorite toys these days - a large spoon and a container to use it in. 

Happy Birthday, Haley!