Julia and Emily's World

Again we have a new pet that was uninvited. However this pet is much better than the stinky skunk. We found this bird using our hanging flower pot as a nest. That lazy bugger. There are two eggs in there. This bird is really comfortable with us now. She doesn't fly away when we peak into the "nest".

July 21st was Mommy's birthday. We had a nice birthday dinner at Grandma's house. Julia and I picked out the cake...chocolate of course. Guess how old Mommy is. 29! ...Again!

OK I've been very late with my postings but I am still committed to this thing. As long as there is an audience for this then it is certainly worth while. On July 20th we went to Jenna's birthday party. Jenna is 4 years old! Jenna can easily pass for 5 years old! The kids had a great time bowling. Julia initially had trouble bowling in her dress but once she got her shorts on she was good to go!

It's been a long time since the last update. It's not because we haven't been up to anything. Acutally quite the opposite. Cousin Erin, Jacquie and Roland visited with us for 10 days. They were here from New Zealand. The highlights of the visit includes a birthday party for Erin, the Zoo and African Lion Safari. We would have like to have had more day trips but jobs tend to get in the way of that. Regardless, we still had some good days. Photo albums of the highlights below. Erin's Birthday Party Zoo July 2008 African Lion Safari July 2008

Today we went back to Wonderland for day 2 of our BMO pass. We did our best to avoid the rain but it still poured on us. Overall the day was mostly sunny and hot so it still turned out to be a good day. The girls and Jacob enjoyed having their faces painted. Note to self: No more self spinning rides with Selena unless you want to puke!

Julia surprised us by asking for her hair to be cut short. She wanted it at her shoulders.

Well Julia got her wish! It's confirmed. Julia will be big sister to a little sister! She is very excited and relieved that it's not a little brother.

Saturday was our first annual friends picnic (it kinda needs a catchy name). The poor weather forecast moved the venue from Centre Island to High Park. We hoped it wouldn't rain but unfortunately the weather man was right this time. Cool and wet! It is always fun to see everyone but this type of weather is not ideal for a picnic. Hopefully next year Mother Nature will co-operate.

Today was Preschool Celebration (i.e. Graduation) at Julia's class today. There was song singing, a photo slide show and of course cake! Mommy made it just in time with Julia's dress to get her ready.

What a great Father's day! Slept in. Watched golf (Go Tiger!). Ate steak. (Thanks Mommy and Grandma for making it happen!) Julia had fun in her pool today. Neighbour Nicky came over to cool down as well.

On Friday night Julia and Mommy slept over at Grandma's house (sleep over party!). I had the guys over for some poker and Rock Band. Saturday was Selena's party. The kids loved Uncle Bob's jumping castle. "Jeff the Magician" was rock solid (although we saw all his tricks before at Andrew's birthday party). There were lots of kids and LOTS of screaming and one unwanted guest as pictured below.

On June 8th we went to Leamington. The funeral home had a tree planting ceremony to honour all those that past away in the last year. It was at a conservation area. Afterwards we went to the beach. Julia was really looking forward to it. Once we got there she wanted to leave right away. She thought it was too dirty. After the beach we went to Jen and Gerry's house for dinner and a swim in their pool.

Julia is very excited to learn that she will be a big sister! Here she proudly displays her drawing of Mommy with baby inside.

Today was Julia's last dance class. Parents and Grandparents were invited to see them in action. Grandma came to see Julia too. All the kids did great. Check out the photos. Julia seems to have a goofy face in most of them.

Pictures at the park from the weekend. Julia still likes the baby swing although she is looking kind of big in it now.

Although our vacation to Florida was shortened by Pepere's sudden passing, we had many fun moments on our trip. Julia was absolutely thrilled to meet the Princesses again and was also thrilled to meet Minnie this time. Julia got to ride on her favourite Disney ride, Dumbo! We spent two days at Magic Kingdom and one day at Sea World. The condo we rented was amazing. The pool and playground were great. It was a three bedroom condo. This is the actual video of the condo ( VIDEO ). Julia slept in the room with the queen sized bed. The condo was 10 minutes from Magic Kingdom. Unlike last year, our flights were uneventful and our overall airport experience was actually stress free. Julia was so well behaved for the entire trip! Not one melt down! She was very understanding about coming home early and did not complain at all. I look forward to doing it again.

Pepère (May 29, 1941 - May 12, 2008)

Today we celebrated Selena's 1st Communion. Selena did great in church. After the church we went back to Selena's for lunch and desserts.

Saturday was Grandma's birthday. This was the third birthday we celebrated this week! There was actually a 4th that we didn't make it to, Russell's first birthday. We went over for lunch and cake.

Julia completed her swimming lessons this weekend. She is progressing nicely. She is more and more comfortable in the water. I think she will be actually swimming soon.