Swans at Sea

As mentioned in my previous post we had some swans swim past us on the ocean just before we left - and they had cygnets. They were absolutely beautiful.

Sunny Weekend

Thank goodness the rain stopped for two days so we could have a wonderful sunny weekend. On Sat Chris had a Lacrosse tournament which was great to watch. He played really well. Today we had to quickly run to the stores to find a life jacket to fit Chris as he'd outgrown the one he had. We then headed down to the beach to test out our kayaks. It was so much fun, and all the boys loved it. We weren't sure if James and Cameron would take to them, but we couldn't get them off in the end. Mike took James with him and Chris took Cameron and off they went. I got to sit on the beach under the umbrellas and read my magazine. I actually got to read quite a few articles. We were there for three hours and now we're hooked! Just before we left a pair of swans and their babies came swimming past. Swans in the ocean, it's quite a site, but I have the photo's to prove it! Now my kids have 10 weeks off for the summer vacation. Oh, what to do!!!

Summer Project

Well, this summer I have given myself a project to do - actually two! My neighbours put out this piece of furniture a few weeks ago and I snatched it up as I could totally see the potential in it, plus I needed the storage for my office things. Much to Mike's dismay, I got him to help me carry it from the road and into our garage. This past weekend I got started on it. I am going to give it a light sand and then paint it a creamy color and then put a varnish on it. This will give it an older, little bit more rustic look. From the picture you can see I have already sanded the top half of the cabinet, so hopefully this weekend I can finish the sanding part altogether. I'll post another picture once I've completed it. (Hopefully Mike will then allow it back in the house!!) My other summer project is to finish my dining room table. I have decided to sand the whole table down and then paint the legs and stain the top, after I have distressed it a bit. Distressing is a wonderful tool when you have young children, it hides all those imperfections and makes those scratches and dings part of the look. Keep checking back to see the finished cupboard!

Kindergarten Recital

James had his kindergarten recital this past week. I was surprised, he actually sang and did the actions. Usually he is really shy. For quite a while he couldn't find me in the audience, but I noticed that once he actually spotted me, he became more aware of himself and seemed more reserved. His class sang some songs and the children had turns reciting poems. The event of course was followed by a party - seems to be the American way! It was such fun though and my babysitters even came to see James and one of his friends that they also babysit. He has one more week of Kindergarten left and then it's Grade 1 for him in September!

Moving Up Ceremony

Cameron had his last day of school on Thursday. His three year old class had a moving up ceremony. They sang some songs for the parents, received their certificates and had a little party afterwards. My good friend Julie has been his teacher this year and he has absolutely loved his little class. In September he will be in Pre-school for three days a week. He loves to learn and can't wait for his new class to start.

Roses from NY

This is for my mom. She is an avid rose gardener and has grown roses in every home we have lived in, including Walvis Bay, in the middle of the desert. I planted these roses last summer hoping that they would survive the NY winter and return this year. Well they survived the snow and ice storms and returned this spring and are now actually blooming! I can actually grow roses! I have two bushes outside my living room window and I won't dare cut the roses as I really want to enjoy them in the garden this time around. Now if only my parents lived around the corner my dad would be over tomorrow morning spraying and pruning them for me!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Well it's the middle of June and we are currently having so much rain, it's unbelievable. Great for my garden though! This is typically the weather that we get in April, certainly not used to so much rain in June though. One good thing though is that the humidity has not set in yet, so it's still much cooler which I'm really happy about. My summer electric bills are a real killer with the air cons running all the time. As long as the rain keeps the humidity away, I'm happy. My little garden in the front is starting to look really good, I even have some roses blossoming. I'm going to have to post some pics of them for my mom. So far we've been having a week of rain followed by a somewhat sunny weekend, so as long as it stays that way I'll be happy!

LAX

Chris is a Lacrosse player and he just loves it, it's definitely his sport of choice. This is only his second season of playing the sport and he's actually become really good at it too. He made the A team this season. Mike took this photo of him at his game yesterday.