Julia and Emily's World

Today is Auntie Weezie's birthday. We went over to Grandma and Papere's for dinner and cake (yum!). We won't tell you how old she is (let's just say there are a few candles missing from this cake).

There's a silly side to Julia that people outside our household don't get to see very often.

We went to Wonderland today. It was a special pre-opening day for BMO employees and friends. All the cousins came too. We were worried all week about the weather forecast but it turned out great. No rain and actually a bit of sun. All the kids had a great time. Julia wasn't daring enough to try out any roller coasters but loved all the kiddie rides. Uncle Bob and I went on the Behemoth. This is the largest and fastest roller coaster I've ever been on. What a thrill! It left my legs shakey!

Today was a Royal Celebration at daycare. All the preschoolers dressed up in their fancy clothes. The girls had a great time. The boys were not so thrilled.

I'm behind in my posts lately. It's tough keeping up sometimes. On Saturday we went to Uncle Mino's memorial service. I think Julia likes to go to "Daddy's Church". Lot's of chanting! After the service we went to the cemetery for the burial. Julia had a lot of questions that I didn't really answer. In the end she thought it was my church's garden. In the evening we had Auntie Weezie's surprise birthday party which worked out great. The surprise went off without a hitch! Julia in the meantime spent the night with Grandma for a sleeping bag pajama party. We also enjoyed the fantastic weather. I'm sure we did a lot of other stuff since the last posting but I really can't remember.

Is spring finally here? It sure feels like it. This weekend's weather was great. Julia enjoyed riding her bike. She even rode it all the way to Grandma's this afternoon. Now the spring cleaning begins. Julia helped out by cleaning off the deck. She wants it nice and clean before we put the patio furniture back out there.

Today was Dora Day at daycare. Each preschooler gets to have their own special day with the theme of their choice. Today was Julia's day. We brought all her Dora toys and games from home to share with her friends. Many of the other preschoolers brought Dora stuff too. I also dropped by for lunch today. Julia's been asking me to come by. To my surprise Julia drinks a whole glass of milk for lunch. At home when we give it to her she acts as if we are giving her poison. She also ate all her lunch without help or coaxing (we had Sheppards Pie, brown beans and carrots). What is going on? Who is this kid?

Julia started her next level of swimming lessons. She's a "Sunfish"! Her class is all girls with a girl instructor so she's happy. Later Saturday Julia went for a much needed haircut. For dinner we met up with Papere, Grandma and Auntie Weezie at Montana's. Papere treated. We got home in time to celebrate Earth Hour. To mark the occasion we turned off all lights that could be seen through windows at the front of the house and retreated to the interior of the house where the lights were on (see Julia Bowling). This way it LOOKED like we were participating! We had the skunk trap set for 6 nights and no skunk. I was pretty sure that it was gone so today I lifted up a couple of deck boards to peek underneath. He was gone but I could see where he use to hide. I blocked off all the openings. Now we have to call the catchers to come get their trap. What a waste of money!

Julia doesn't know it but she comes from a family of great bowlers (I'm not one of them). We bought her a toy bowling set to see if she has the skills! Check her out.

It was nice to have a long weekend. On Friday Grandma, Pepere, and Auntie Weezie came over to help prepare for Sunday's Easter dinner. Grandma, Pepere and Mommy worked on the cabbage rolls and Julia and Auntie Weezie worked on the cake. I worked the TV from my recliner. Saturday we went to Grandma and Papa's for dinner. The cousins were there and we went for a swim. On Sunday we had Easter dinner at home with Grandparents (both sets), Auntie Weezie and Uncle Louis. Julia kept everyone busy playing dress up. We had a good dinner and everyone over ate! Oh by the way, the skunk smell is gone but the skunk is still here. We can see his fresh tracks everyday and he is now digging up the grass. We have a wildlife trapper coming tomorrow to set a trap.

Oh no! A skunk sprayed in our backyard on Wednesday morning and now our house stinks of skunk! I could see tracks in the backyard leading to an opening to under the deck. What I don't know is whether the skunk is still under there. I'm scared to check but I certainly don't want to lock that thing under there. We aired the house out in the evening and got alot of the smell out but we closed the windows at bedtime and by this morning the smell was back. I think it's because the deck still stinks. Now we have fabric softener sheets stuffed in the air vents and bowls of coffee grounds in each room to mask the smell. Tomorrow I have a wildlife catcher coming over to give me an estimate to seal up the deck and get rid of the critter(s). Unfortunately it won't be cheap (over $400). I may have to try to tackle this one myself (...like the Crocodile Hunter!). Anyone want to help me?

NOT ME! but Julia seems to like it! Today she was playing in the snow with neighbour Nicky. They had fun. I can't wait for it to all melt. Here are some photos. In one photo Nicky is eating an icicle...she picked it off my car! Yuck!

Friday we went to Grandma and Pepere's for dinner. Grandma made a nice pork roast. On Saturday Uncle Louis came over for dinner. He missed Julia's birthday party so he also gave Julia her birthday present. On Sunday Julia went to church in the morning. She told me that Pepere was there too. It was good to hear that Pepere was well enough to attend. In the afternoon we went to Grandma and Papa's for dinner and a swim.      

Pictures of tonight's lunar eclipse. Not the best shots but the best my camera could do hand held. The first shot is early in the eclipse. The second shot is during the full eclipse phase. Awesome colour. Unfortunately the shutter speed had to be very slow so getting a clear shot hand held was impossible.

Today was Julia's birthday party! What fun! All of Julia's cousins and Jenna and Russell came to celebrate with Julia. All the kids had lots of fun in the basement and were eager to make lots of noise! Thank you everyone for the generous gifts! Unfortunately Grandma and Papere couldn't come. We missed them.

Pictures from Valentine's Day at Julia's daycare.

More pictures from Julia's daycare birthday party.

Today is Julia's birthday. She is 4! What a big girl! The daycare had a "party" for her and Mommy and Grandma came by to celebrate. This evening Grandma, Papere and Auntie Weezie came over for dinner and cake (chili was for dinner...Julia's choice). Julia got a train set and clothes from Grandma, Papere and Auntie Weezie. She also got a kitchen and a mermaid costume from Mommy and Daddy. She was very excited about all her presents. Julia is looking forward to her party with her cousins this weekend!

Today was picture day at swimming lessons where parents were allowed to bring a camera on the pool deck. There was only 2 kids in Julia's class today (usually there are 4). Here are a few pics.

Saturday was Andrew's 5th Birthday Party. Wow! Lot's of kids. The magician was pretty good. All the kids enjoyed it. He was entertaining and I couldn't figure out most of his tricks.