The day before school started for Clara and Chloe. I still can't get over how they've grown up. Hmm... off to hunt for a picture of them together back in the beginning.... here we go :)

Taken almost exactly 5 years before, August 20, 2002!

Off to school

My kids are getting "bigger an bigger an bigger" as Leo would say.

Here it is, Leo's post!

Leo sings... I Wanna be Sedated, Shout at the Devil, No Woman No Cry, and innumerable original compositions that tend to end up sounding like one of the three songs mentioned above!

Leo plays... "Cages", and "Trapped" all day long, except when he says it it sounds more like "tages" and "fapped." He'll build an animal cage out of any available material, favorites being shoes, skipping ropes, and board game boxes. Our living room is constantly littered with Leo's constructions, just this morning Clara had the camera and captured this beauty, and remember, this is a simple, understated cage, just wait until I post a more complex construction :)

Leo wears... Pink shoes. During our recent shopping trips to Payless for Clara's school shoes Leo has taken a fancy to trying on girls shoes (in all fairness, the boys shoes are too high to reach). He always seems to pick the pinkest, girlie-est pair to dress up in. The other day he put on my pink shoes and headed to his room. He called Marc and I in to see his "decoration" soon after... we call it Mr Croc-head.

Leo is the cutest, ear-lovin', breakdancing, cage making, animal loving 2 & 3/4 year-old I know. Don't you all agree?




**I'm editing this post to add a few other important Leo facts.

Leo is tough... He had a nose bleed last week after a collision with his big sister's knee (really, it was an accident). Now most of my blog readers know of Leo's intense hatred for all things having to do with cleanliness. Can you imagine his reaction to me trying to squeeze his nose, hold his head forward, and wipe off the blood pouring down his face? Yes, he pretty much shrieked, shook his head wildly, and smeared blood all over both of us. Now, just so you can all have an accurate picture of the scene (no I did not run and grab the camera - though the thought did cross my mind), imagine one of those CSI crime scenes. With the wild head shaking and the shrieking, Leo managed to spray blood everywhere! It was horrific. It probably only took me about a minute to subdue him and squeeze his nose long enough for the blood to stop but in that minute he created a visual that will live in my memory forever. By the time Marc got home from work you would never have known of our ordeal - I still don't know if he knows how bad it was!

On to tough Leo story two. Would you believe it, the very next day, as a result of another accidental run in with his sister Leo managed to get his eyelashes stuck in his eye! The irritation created an almost immediate swollen eye and the eye jab gave him a nice little bruise. Thankfully, as soon as we were able to get his eye lashes back where they belonged, the swelling went down and Leo was left with a very subtle black eye.

Add the countless banging his head on the kitchen counter incidents and everyone has to agree that Leo is one tough cookie :)

Clara just said "freakin' cool." Man, I love this girl's vocabulary!

Leo deserves a whole post of him own, I've got to spend some time one of these days to write down all the awesome things he says on any given day.

The countdown has begun - 7 days until school starts.

Today Ann Marie accompanied us on a clothes shopping spree. Clara was lots of fun at H & M she made several clothing decisions on her own and there were no tears over the things we left behind - probably because the bag we brought out of the store was so big! Anyway, she's better dressed than me thats for sure!

More pictures from camping last weekend thanks to Tim.

At dusk, when the mosquitoes come out to play.

Basking in the glow

Clara B asking me what must have been a very important question. It is one of my new favorite pictures of her.

"bekfast" for Leo :)

Three kiddies in a hammock. They played in there for ages on Sunday morning.

The kiddie table, uh cooler

Wow, we just spent a fabulous weekend camping with old friends and lots of new ones too. We were invited by Christine to join in on an annual camping weekend in La Minerve. On Friday morning we filled our little car to the brim with all the camping gear we own plus water, food, and toys and headed out on a weekend of fun in the sun. We met up with Catherine, Eric and Vanessa along the way and they guided us past Mont Tremblant, through the town of La Minerve to a beautiful piece of land on the side of a lake shared by only one other landowner. Ahhhhhh....

Marc set up our tent (oh how we love the E-Z-up tent) while I got the kids settled in their new space. The weekend flew by after that. We swam, we ate, we talked (oh how Leo talked), we cooked, we gazed into the campfire, we played in the sand, we stargazed, we laughed, we snuggled in sleeping bags, we canoed, we peed in the forest... (what, too much information?? LOL). Before we knew it Sunday afternoon was upon us and we had to say goodbye to not only a little corner of Mother Nature's best but also many friends. Clara and Elise had spent hours chattering and giggling and had been wonderful playmates as far as I could tell. Leo befriended the dogs; Nella, Tigger, and Chica. We often caught him hugging and petting whichever was closest - that kid really is an animal lover.

As much work as it is to prepare (and clean up after) a camping weekend it is absolutely worth it to be able to relax, breathe fresh air, and see our kids absolutely thrilled with the wide open space and so much to explore. I hope to find my way back up to La Minerve next year if Jouni and Katia will have us!

Leo exhausted after a day of fun

For her majesty, Auntie Ann Marie (the hard ass) here are some pictures of the littles. I seriously have barely pulled the camera out of my backpack this Summer. I can't keep up with my kids as it is never mind digging through the depths of the backpack to find the camera for a photo op!

Showin' some skin skating in July

At the mini farm in Granby Zoo