mastered.

last weekend cooper mastered his two wheeler.

cooper is a funny apprehensive little guy. he's so gung-ho to try things out but usually at the last minute he chickens out. that's just how it is. and some days it's up to us...his responsible parents...to give him just a little shove push.

that's how it was with the bike.

i think if it was up to coop he would have the training wheels on it forever. he didn't care. he felt secure and for him that's tops. if it was up to him he would always just sit on the sidelines - the ultimate spectator.

this spring {except is this summer already? sure feels like we just dove right in!!}, we took it upon ourselves to give him that push. now i am not talking that we took him to the top of the backyard hill on his bike with no training wheels and no concept of riding a bike, pushed and sent him down full blast like my dad did to me {true story - surprised i ever got back on!}, no - we did it our way.

as the snow flurries got fewer and fewer and the road was becoming more and more visible we decided to pull the bikes out of storage and get those wheels on the road. but...before coop had time to protest, those little side security-blanket wheels were gone and in the garbage - oops! if he wanted to go out and have fun with his sister - who took off like lightning mcqueen once those wheels touched asphalt - he had a choice: 1) sit on the front stoop and watch aydan have a blast biking around the neighbourhood or 2) figure it out and join her.

after some whining and a slew of i'm bored, and me saying you are more than welcome to go bike riding with your sister {we live on a circle type road that caters only to the residents.} he got on and gave it a shot.

attempt 1: disaster. nothing going in his favour. bike put in the garage awaiting the cobwebs.

attempt 2: a little better but not much. more confidence. a little....just a little...less whining about it. a couple fights a long the way and again a bike destined for the back of the garage never to be seen again.

attempt 3: THIRD TIMES THE CHARM!!! he gritted his teeth. focused and about halfway through he said ever so casually to tony, who was holding on to the back of the bike , "okay dad - you can let go now." and he was off.
golden moment.

everyday has now been filled with bike riding and i am so happy for him.
wait-a-go cooper!!!

now on to the next skill - swimming....oy.
{not looking forward to that one.}

happy summer spring!! 

first official day of spring.

this is what we got.
unbelievable isn't it?
you would have no idea that *officially* it was the first day of spring.

i am so over this.

i want to dig in the dirt. plant seeds. rake. transform that last section of earth. review my efforts from last year. rip down the dead tree. get the cedar guys in here. string lights. refinish the patio table. create the fire pit base. enjoy the fresh air.

there are so many things i want to do.......outside!

for now we are waiting for ALL of this to melt.
it's still hanging around like a nasty cough.

today was -6 and has slowly clawed it's way up to -1.
it's not fair.......
{yes, i am going to my room to pout. or eat cake - i haven't decided.}

perfecting the stay-cation.

most terrifying photo i have ever taken - so scared i was going to drop everything! but i love the shot!

he's 6 and he's 12!!

so we had spring break.
it was awesome.
we toyed around with the idea of taking off and lounging somewhere.
the plan last year was to take off for this week somewhere hot but between work commitments and lack of vacation $$ we decided to stay put.
then i took a look around and realized we didn't need to go anywhere.
we could have gone somewhere that offered outdoor pond skating or...just go into our own backyard and skate there! complete with fire pit and ice cold beer!
we also headed down to the frozen lake {river?} and went for a walk on it - people travel miles for this kind of adventure and we walked 5 blocks to get to it!!
we could have gone to one of the many ski resorts that are about a 3 hour drive away or....we could hit one of the 6 ski hills a 40 minute drive from our house - so we did that.
we could have done a road trip to toronto {burlington to be exact} to visit with friends or....have them come here! which they did!!
yes we could have gone to a hotel and lounged in the hot tub. we have one here so we checked that off the list. {it was also equipped with the possibility of doing a snow/ice run midway through!}

so there you have it - the perfect stay-cation!

:)

to the fair we go!

monday around here was a holiday for some.
it was for me and the kids {the husband had to work}
since we had taken the day off on sunday there were a few errands i had to knock out before the fun could begin.
and since it was a glorious day out we spent the whole thing out of doors.
i gardened on the side yard for the better part of the morning/early afternoon and then it was time to go.

to the fair. the carnival as the kids put it.
a parking lot carnival.
you know the ones - they set up in a major parking lot for the weekend, take all your money and in turn provide crappy rides that kids love and provide a day of fun?
yeah...those ones.

that's where we went.
the kids had a blast.
they went on most of the rides.
some old favorites.
braved new rides and discovered courage they never knew they had.
they loved it.
some rides were gone on multiple times - in a row.
some just once or twice.
aydan loves thrill rides.
cooper loves spinning rides.
good to know.

this is my new favorite photo.

the sun was shining.
the crowd was happening.
the husband joined us for the second half of the adventure.
it was so much fun!

we were just about to call it a night when cooper found his big boy strength to try out two rides he had been avoiding. the drop thing and the gater-coaster. of course we had to say yes as i wanted to seize the opportunity that he would try them. he loved them of course.
i knew he would.
he's not the kid you can push on to things - you have to let him come to it on his own.
now we are ready to go......
okay, then aydan decided she was going to try the tilt-a-whirl with cooper.
he had already been on it about 6 - 7 times. loved it.
he assured aydan she would love it too.
we gave them one more ride - it was getting late after all.

we were on the back side, taking photo's trying to get that one perfect shot of the two of them. right when we gave up we saw aydan's little head poke around the side and stick out. shoot, we missed such a good shot.....then it happened.
she threw up. while the ride was still going!
and it was a twirling ride. you get the picture.
we knew it was one ride two many.
we didn't know what to do. so we started laughing.

it was time to go home.
thank you carnival for a wonderful afternoon.
memories were made.
forever.