Our friend, Jim Fenton, came by a few months ago for a visit after he returned from working with Chimpanzees in Uganda, Africa.

It was his first time meeting Claire & Rhys. He brought the kids some cute little elephant stuffies that they really like.

He recently sent us one of the photos he took while visiting – I think the kids were saying ‘Cheese!’

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As of late, Claire & Rhys have a real penchant for anything bunnies….

It all started a few months ago when we were at the pediatricians for a regular checkup. The doctor told the kids that she needed to look in their ears for bunnies. Claire & Rhys loved the idea that bunnies were living in their ears and for weeks afterwards they kept looking in our ears, in each others ears, in their stuffies/ doll ears. It was really funny. Claire’s favorite stuffy right now is a bunny that Auntie Debbie gave her and all the great books we have about bunnies are their top choice for reading time.

I think Easter will be very exciting for them this year 🙂

To the kids delight, last weekend when we were at a new playground two elementary aged kids came up to us with a basket. Inside was their pet bunny ‘Ruby’ that they were allowed to bring to the playground before dinner time. Claire & Rhys were so excited as was I since I grew up with a pet bunny – It was a great surprise for us all.

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Claire making her ‘bunny’ face

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Recently, Jimmy had a one night get-away to Victoria for a city meeting about a pending skateboard contest and to visit his sisters and their families. He enjoyed his trip over and had some great skate time with his nephew, Grant. It is so energizing taking a break from ones regular routine. A well deserved get-away!

He caught a float plane home so he could get back in order for us to spend a little bit of time together as a family before I headed back to work the next morning. Catching a seaplane versus catching a ferry saves almost 5 hours in travel time! So worth it…

I told the kids all day that we were going to see daddy fly in on an airplane. After their nap I quickly got them dressed warmly and into our van. We made our way downtown to the seaplane terminal and waited in the cold along the seawall so we could watch the landing on the water. After watching many planes take off and land we could hear his plane approach and then spotted it high in the air. We ran up a ramp to a great look-out point and had an amazing view of the plane land. Claire & Rhys were so excited to see Jimmy fly in on the float plane and ever since when they see an airplane they say ‘dada airplane’.

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Jimmy took a stroll with Wendy in Sooke:

Sooke Inlet View:

Grant smashing a barrier wallie- a trick he learned this day:

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Departing from the Inner Harbour in Victoria:

Oak Bay Golf Course, Victoria:

Lions Gate Bridge – Vancouver

Waiting for Dada:

Brrr – cold!

Jimmy’s plane landing:

Our multiples club arranges a visit to the local fire hall every year. One of our members husband is a firefighter and takes all the kids and parents on a tour. We passed on it last year because the kids were too little to fully enjoy it. Space is limited for this popular field trip so this year when the invitation came out we jumped on it even-though Claire & Rhys were both pretty sick.

Claire & Rhys love trucks so this was a very fun field trip for all of us!

Highlights include:

– having a demo of a fire fighter put on their gear and listening to the oxygen tank sensor (kids loved this!)

– exploring inside the firetrucks

– wandering around inside the fire-hall

– watching all the kids with excitement in their eyes

– watching a safety video (circa 1970’s)

– the grande finale: fire hats for each kid & watching all the fire-fighters spiral down the fire poles

We had a great time and the kids talked about it for days afterwards 🙂

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Claire really wanted to hold the ‘dummies’ hand 🙂

Happy kids!

Our baby-sitter Emma is awesome. She is from Ireland and we met her through friends of ours. Emma nannies their twins. Not having family around is really tough at times. It helps a lot having someone like Emma to call upon.

She just sent us some funny photos that her and the kids took last time she was over.

Claire & Rhys in Emma’s crazy/ cool winter hat:

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This is an older picture that we just had to post!

Our ‘superheroes’ brushing their teeth:

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The days following my return were nice and slow as we all learned to blend together again as a family. We found a new elementary school that had two great playgrounds. It was fun to walk around aimlessly with no agenda. The kids really had a great time as did we 🙂

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Why do I always have my eyes closed in pictures (2nd pic) -!?!

Random memory – I take after my Dad. He always closes his eyes in pictures. I had a photo taken with my parents in high school at prom. It was done by a professional animal photographer 🙂 When the picture arrived to our mailbox we were wondering why my Dad looked so strange in it…..turns out the animal photographer painted in my dad’s eyes like he did for animals who had their eyes closed. Such a funny photo. I must find that one again.

So, Deanna’s trip to Botswana is now under our belt and all is safe and well. Phew. Quite a ride for me as the primary care giver for 240+ hours… but who’s counting 😉

All said and done, I think the kids and I felt the stamina-grind and cabin fever together for most of our journey. Unfortunately the rain had a heavy presence in Dee’s absence so that certainly tested our patience.

Take a scroll below to view a few of the moments I had a moment to capture.

– Jimmy 

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The twins worked as a team in honing their mischief AND their cuteness

North Vancouver downfall be damned; we’re getting out of the condo, now!

This was day 9 together. Our (my) familiar groove of sleep deprivation is well worn-in by now. Thankfully the rain let up a bit in the day, dampness still ever present though.

Rhys feeding ‘Mimi’ – their loving constant companion (meals, diaper change, bedtime – you name it & mimi is there)

Geez, Check out this photo. Right place, right time, camera in hand. Sometimes I hedge on bringing it along with me every play time. Sure glad I brought it this day!