A Day of Recovery

After the fun of party prep and playing early into the morning of July 4th, we decided a quiet day at home was the perfect plan.  Hannah first woke up shortly after 7 but was easily convinced that it wasn’t time to get up yet and promptly fell back to sleep until 9ish.  Ah yes, that’s more like it!

We came downstairs to find that sadly the post-party clean-up fairies had not shown up while we were sleeping so we had a big job in front of us! 

Grasping this fact we did what we excel at….we napped!  Even Dusty was exhausted from the previous night’s festivities.

The girls were also in quiet moods and we suddenly realized it was eerily quiet upstairs.  K2 went up to check and quickly called for photographers and we came running.  How sweet is this?  I love that all 5 girls enjoy reading.  Well – 4 read and one enjoys the pictures but reading is beginning and that’s something exciting happening in our home!!

Shortly after this K2, Hannah and I hopped in the van to pick up a few last minute groceries.  As hoped Hannah dozed off almost immediately and K2 quickly offered to stay in the van with her while I shopped.  Thanks K2!  We picked up the last ingredients to make delicious Chicken Enchiladas for supper (or dinner as my west coast friends call it.)  Regardless – they sure were yummy!

After supper it had cooled off enough that a trip to the pool was in order which is always something the girls enjoy.  This time I went in with Hannah and she spent a lot of time without her water wings.  She’s doing so well and with a little more strength she’ll be swimming up a storm!  She has the confidence and now her strokes just need to catch up with that.

We came home and ended our day with a wonderful treat for the girls – a sleepover!   Hannah stayed with me as normal and the 4 big girls shared the twins’ room.  They did great and quickly fell asleep.

A good night’s sleep was in order because Friday we were heading to San Francisco for a day of exploring the city together.  Fun!!!  I was there briefly one time about 5+ years ago and have always wanted to go back!  Tomorrow is the day!

Happy 4th of July!

We Canadians can’t get enough patriotic celebrations so not only did we celebrate Canada Day on Monday, we also celebrated July 4th with our CA BFF’s and Oregon friends on Wednesday and Thursday.  Well…technically we celebrated the evening of July 3rd and recuperated the day of the 4th.  A party for 70+ people requires a day of recovery! 

One tradition Hannah and I have when we visit Auntie M is that on the days we’re getting over jet lag and awake early, we head to Target.  That hadn’t happened this trip since Hannah had flipped her clock immediately but she was still asking for this special Mommy and Hannah time daily so Wednesday we woke early and headed out shopping for last minute party essentials.  No trip to Target (in the US since sadly Canada stores don’t have snack bars) is complete without a bag of popcorn.  Who cares that it was only 8am?  Not us!

This year M3 switched things up a bit and changed the BBQ into a Desserts and Drinks night and it was still a huge success with much less time needed at the party preparing food.  Besides, we couldn’t ask TubaDad to man the grill for hours on end when it was still well over 90^o at 6:00 at night. 

During the day the girls were a big help preparing the food as well at taking care of the decorations.

Didn’t they do a great job?!!  A quick supper of pizza and we were ready for the fun to begin!

Wela even made sure that Dusty and their dog Tippy were decked out in their patriotic best!

Our girls ready for the guests to arrive.  (L to R:  Hannah, H2, Ree, Ro and S2)

Mmmm…desserts including Wela’s infamous Apricot Dream Bars.  They are absolutely amazing!

Wela (M3’S Mom) and Hannah sharing a sweet moment together.

From the time everyone began to arrive, the playset looked like a variation of this each time I looked over at it.

S2 and Hannah

As dusk rolled around we began to move our entourage out of the house and back yard and took to the street for the walk to the fireworks.

Ready for the show to begin and once again it did not disappoint!

This year when we walked home everyone was hot and thirsty due to the current heat wave so they came in for a refreshing drink – and the after party began!!  All I can say is that my girl can party with the best of them!  She played hard with the other kiddos until the final families left.  Hmm, she doesn’t look very tired to me considering it’s 12:40…AM!!  All I can say is that when I did put her to bed almost an hour after this picture was taken she was asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow!

Now, this would be a nice way to end this post but I have to share what happened to me when I went upstairs to bed.  It was late and I was tired.  The door to our bathroom was closed so I opened it, flipped on the light and after recovering from the shock laughed myself silly!!  Guess one of the kiddos thought the horses needed a drink from our bathtub.  LOL – Wish they’d warned me first!  I just about jumped out of my skin when I tiredly flipped on the light and saw THIS!

I was cracking up and went to tell M3 what had happened and she had this impish look in her eyes and a big smile on her face.  Turns out she’d already seen my bathroom guests but asked the kids to leave them there are a surprise for me.  Yup – I sure was surprised!  Heh!  Now that’s a good friend….I think!

Happy 4th of July!

Puppy and Fairies and Shopping–Oh My!!!

Tuesday was a kick back day filled with a little bit of this and that. 

The 3 girls started their day as they spend most days when given free time at home – destroying hanging out in the playroom.  Hannah has quickly fallen in love with Dusty and I’ll be shocked if pleas for a puppy don’t follow us home.  Oye!  Goldie her fish will have to suffice for now.

We had decided the day before that purse shopping was on the roster of  AM  activities.  The girls decided they needed to dress up for the occasion which resulted in many to smile as they twirled, leapt and spun around the mall.

Since our past experience in purse shopping had been a marathon affair, we went prepared with LeapPad and iPads in hand.

Once the girls were settled M3 and I set to the matter at hand – finding a new purse. 

I walked around with my jaw open as names like Coach and Vera Wang lined the shelves.  Surprise, surprise though – we had a great time and before we knew it the winning bag had been selected!  It met the requirements of:  cross-body strap, lots of pockets and a new one – totally hides the butt!This last ‘happy bonus’ was a new one I wasn’t aware of but can fully appreciate and may instil myself the next time I go purse shopping….at Target or Walmart!    It was a successful adventure in purse shopping and one I will happily do with you again M3! 

The girls in turn were disappointed that we were done so quickly as they were quite enjoying their time together and the rare treat of shopping with electronics in tow.

After a yummy lunch that included the promised aioli and French fries we made a final stop at a grocery store.  My Disney lovin’ gal spotted gift cards immediately which is not something we have at home.  She thought they were pretty neat and asked me to take her picture.

The final event of the day was a big one for both mommy and Hannah!  Ro and Ree’s babysitters came for the evening and watched the 5 girls while the adults went out for dinner.  Hmmm…I wonder if Hannah was seeing double when she was surrounded by 3 groups of twins!

We enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner in the city and the girls had a blast together!  Hannah ran and jumped into my arms when I walked in the door and covered me with a bunch of kisses and then told me about the fun they’d had together.  Her first babysitting experience was a huge success.  Yay!

Happy Canada Day!

Hannah slept until 7 which is far later than she ever has the first day of our vacation when we travel west.  She had played, swam and ran herself silly yesterday while having tons of fun!  I think jet lag this trip is going to be an easy one to overcome.  Yay! 
We donned our red and white and were excited to share Canada Day with our California BFF’s enjoying a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The ‘No More Work Than One’  family is also here this week so we’re sharing another fun week with lots of exciting things planned! 

There was one spot with a glasses in area that you felt like you were sitting under a wave.  That was really neat!

Our 5 cuties!
Hannah loves her stuffies right now and they go with her everywhere so she was excited to choose this little dolphin as a reminder of our fun day and asked to pose in front of the huge killer whale.


After leaving the aquarium we headed up the road for a visit to the beach.  It was absolutely beautiful there! 
It was a little chilly for our west coast friends being only 70ish but we still love them.


After enjoying a great day in Monterey Bay we began our drive home.  It didn’t take long before the thermostat began to move up, up, up and very quickly we were back into 111^oF (42^oC) temperatures!!  Yup, we had chosen a perfect day to leave the city!   
I must say this Canadian girl finds it interesting that just a 20 minute drive from one place to another can result in 30^.F+ changes in temperatures.
Tuba Dad was now finished work for the day so we went to a deeelicious Mexican restaurant for supper.  Even my girl who snubs her nose at refried beans almost licked her plate clean before crashing on Mommy’s lap.  Her little body was feeling the time change so she power napped while Mommy enjoyed her supper.
It was 8:00 when supper was done but still a beautiful night so we headed back to the pool.  Ro, Ree, H2 and S2 are absolutely amazing with her and they all play really well together.  Can I tell you how much I love vacation time with my girl and precious friends?!!

Hannah is a fish and with water wings on she does her very best to keep up with the big girls. 


When we got home the girls found their Merida nightgowns from last year and settled in for a bedtime snack perfect for a summer evening.

Our first full day of Salsa fun was a huge success!  Tomorrow’s schedule is purse shopping.  (OH NO!!!!  I really don’t know how she talked me into this again! After all,  I’m still in therapy after the last time we went purse shopping!  I think it was in a moment of weakness while I was trapped in the car and she lulled me with the promise of aioli and fries at Nordstroms.)  
Tomorrow evening will be a HUGE step for Mommy and Hannah.  We’re brining in a team of twin babysitters who normally watch Ro and Ree and they’ll be watching Ro, Ree, H2, S2, and Hannah for the evening.  It will be Hannah’s first official babysitter who isn’t family or a close friend of mine.  We’ve been chatting about it today and I think she’s up for it.  I’ll only be a phone call away if needed but I’m guessing she’ll have so much fun with the 3 sets of twins that she’ll barely notice I’m gone and Mommy will enjoy a rare adult evening out!  Wheee!

Our 2013 Visit with the Salsa Family has Officially Begun!

And we’re excited!!

Hannah and I left Ontario Sunday morning and flew to CA to visit with our amazing friends – the Salsa Family!!  We were trying to figure out how many visits this is and I’m pretty sure from looking back in the blog that this is my 8th trip here and Hannah’s 4th.  We love spending time with these amazing friends!  M3 and I often tease that when we can’t remember when a certain event happened or when we made a particular purchase, all we need to do is look back at the blog and it shows us.  She’s correct about that one!

Hannah was excited to bring her own carry-on luggage this time filled with lots of great travel activities.  I woke her up and immediately put her in the car to head to the airport so she started the trip in her jammies.  Sure wish I could travel in my pj’s!

It’s hard to tell from her face in this picture but she was pretty excited when each seat had it’s own TV to watch and we found a movie just for her!

We were only at the house for a short while when Hannah took Ro out for a drive.  She’s been talking about the pink car for months so was thrilled to be tall enough to take the wheel!

After a few spins around the yard it was time to go swimming!  The weather here this week is hot, hot, hot…and we love it!!   We arrived at the pool around 5pm and it was still over 100^o!  That works for us!

Even though my little love had been going strong for 15 hours at this point with only about an hours nap on the plane, she still swam for 3 hours solid!  Can you imagine?!  She wants to do everything Ro and Ree do and I’m pretty sure she thinks she’s 7!

As we swam S2 and H2 arrived to share the week with us with their parents.  We were here together last year and had a great time.  Looking forward to a lot of fun again this summer!

M3, thanks so much for opening your home to us once again this year!  We always love spending time with you!