Aside from the closure of the 401 on the way home, which caused a massive traffic jam and led to an unwelcome detour through the darkened back roads of Hastings county, it was a good visit.  Kyle and I got together on Saturday night – a rare brothers-night-out made even more special as it was also the 10th anniversary of our dad passing away.

Desmond’s birthday was a fun family get-together.  As the photos below show, he’s a really cute kid.  Like nearly every first birthday, there was a lot of talk about how quickly the year had gone by – looking at my boys, I still can’t believe they’ll be 8 and 6 in just a few weeks.

The cake was a perfect replica of the Man in the Yellow Hat’s yellow hat (banana cake, of course).

Desmond really liked hearing us sing “Happy Birthday”.

Nothing makes K happier than cupcakes and icing.

A is starting to look more like a teenager than a 7-year-old

Desmond making sure he doesn’t waste a crumb.

I think he likes it.

In recent years, I’ve gone to Meech Lake many times, and have run into neither politicians nor nudists (nor nude politicians, for that matter). While I prefer the swimming at Lac Philippe and Lac la Peche, the trails at Meech Lake are easily accessible and extremely pretty, especially at this time of year. So, on a cool October morning, I decided to take the boys for a walk on the trail with the hope of making it to the ruins of Thomas Wilson’s carbide mill.

Alas, A and K did not share my enthusiasm for a walk through the woods. Within the first five minutes, concerns were raised about the temperature (too cold), the trail (too steep, too muddy), and potential dangers (wild animals, lava, etc). After considerable negotiation, I convinced them to at least do part of the trail and then we would reassess our plans.

We made it as far as the bridge where Meech Lake empties into Little Meech Lake. The boys were suitably impressed by the clear water and beautiful view, and we spent a bit of time scrambling over the rocks. That was as far as we made it, though – the mill will have to wait for the next hike. On the positive side, the boys did stand still long enough for a few nice photos.

A & K on their own little island. A said “This feels like home to me.”

A admiring the changing leaves across the lake.

It’s so hard to get them to actually stand still and smile together long enough to take a decent picture – this is my new favourite.

K has become pretty photogenic.

K doing his best Jack Benny impersonation.

King Mountain is a pretty good trail for younger kids.  There are a lot of stairs on the way up, but then you’re rewarded with great views of the Ottawa valley at the top.  Interpretative signs along the way also offer an educational element for the scientifically inclined.

One of my many critics has pointed out the scarcity of posts or photos about my wife on the blog.  I shall endeavour to be more inclusive in my posts about family events, and am pleased to offer a number of photos that prove B does, in fact, exist (and in a most beautiful way, I might add).

Enjoying the view from the top of King Mountain

B, A and K.  K is working on his winking – he’s getting there.

Me and B.  A took the photo, and with some cropping it turned out O.K.

Another photo by A.  K is trying to decide whether the stick will fit inside his nose.

K wanted the chance to take a picture too.  If I only had some Photoshop skills we might be able to put together an actual family portrait.

I’m nearing the end of my second week of not going to work. Some people refer to that as a “vacation”, but I have some thoughts on that subject that I’ll save for later this week. All in all, it’s been a pretty busy time, with lots of time spent in the car traveling to exotic locales. To summarize, we:

- visited with Grandpa, Grandma, Lindsay, Riannon, and Meillyn in Ancaster

- attended my nephew Ian’s first birthday party in Kitchener

- watched a big boat travel excrutiatingly slowly through the Welland canal

- spent some time in Niagara-on-the-Lake and decided it would be a great place to live someday (which I consider some undefined future point, and which B considers tomorrow)

- enjoyed quick but meaningful visits with Evan, Ed, Cristina (x2), Patrick, Mark, and Miss

- took the GO train to Toronto and rode the subway

- checked out the dinosaurs and mummies at the ROM

- hiked to Webster’s and Tew’s falls

- went bowling, where I again failed to break 200, causing me to question the value of the 10 years of Saturday mornings I spent at the bowling alley in my youth

- picked fresh vegetables in Gerry and Claudette’s awesome garden

Rather than bore you with the details (if you’re not already there yet), here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks.

My nephew Ian at his first birthday party. Just looking at this picture makes me start thinking that having a third boy wouldn’t be the end of the world.

A going all medieval at the ROM.

K playing with his Cars toy at his Cars table.

A is the picture of concentration as he tries to master the drum part to Weezer’s Buddy Holly.

]]> http://dearlove.ca/2008/08/20/back-to-our-regularly-scheduled-programming-2/feed/ 0 The Dearlove http://dearlove.ca/2008/04/23/our-new-alarm-clock/ http://dearlove.ca/2008/04/23/our-new-alarm-clock/#comments Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:19:42 +0000 The Dearlove http://dearlovequartet.wordpress.com/?p=256 Continue reading →]]> We have a new alarm clock.  It’s way more effective than the old one as it’s pretty much impossible to ignore without unpleasant consequences.  It requires no batteries, and has proven very reliable in recent weeks.

Every morning between 06:30 and 06:45, I awaken to the pitter patter of footsteps coming toward the bed.  This is followed by K’s sweet voice saying, “Daddy, I have to go poop”.  I generally roll over and respond with “You know what to do”.

The next couple of minutes are spent listening to him struggle to get his pants and night-time underwear off – it’s basically the same as hitting the snooze button.  The silence is sometimes broken by a running commentary, like, “Oh, that’s a stinky one”.

Eventually I hear, “Dad, I’m finished”, which means sleep time is effectively over.  I have no choice but to roll out of bed and begin my day by wiping the bum of a 2-year old boy.  On the plus side, it also means that my day can only get better.  Usually…

A seems to be picking up a lot of information from his friends at school, which has resulted in some interesting questions at the dinner table lately.

“Dad, have you heard of Punta Cana?”

“Dad, have you heard of the Nintendo Wii?”

“Dad, have you ever seen R2-D2?”

“Dad, can we buy a Mercedes?”

“Dad, what’s a bikini?”

This morning, with no prompting whatsoever, he said “Dad, boys don’t have boobs.”. I almost choked on my Cheerios.

It’s hard to keep a straight face at some of his comments. The other night, in the middle of a huge temper tantrum, A repeatedly yelled “This is the worst night of my life!”. B and I both got the giggles, which was not the reaction A was hoping for.

K has his moments, too. The other day, as he was sitting on the toilet, he looked me in the eye and said “Poop is my friend”. I was left speechless.

In all seriousness, I love how inquisitive children are at this age.  They are just so curious about how everything works, and you can see their little brains working overtime to figure things out.

I’ll leave you with a picture of the boys that was taken earlier today at Winterlude.

Sunday began like any other Sunday. The Father and Mother took their two young children to the museum in the morning and returned home for a healthy and nutritious lunch. With a yawn, the youngest boy, who is two years old, headed upstairs for his regular afternoon nap. The Father, noticing the Mother was also tired, suggested that she put her head down as well.

The Father headed out with the older boy to do some shopping. He returned an hour later and proceeded to put some groceries away. The house was still quiet, and the Father assumed everyone was still sleeping.

The Father returned to the car to bring in the last of the bags when he heard a voice from behind him. He turned to see a couple of strangers approaching the house. The man was holding a familiar looking toboggan, and the woman was carrying the Father’s youngest son in her arms.

The Father wondered who these people were, and why they had his son. The couple explained that they had found the boy a couple of blocks away. He was wandering around on his own, and then calmly led the strangers back to his home after they found him. The Father thanked the strangers profusely and brought the boy inside.

It turns out the child had woken up from his nap and decided to set off in search of his swimming lesson. He went down two flights of stairs, put on his boots and winter coat, and unlocked the front door. He walked out onto the front porch and saw a world of possibilities. He grabbed his purple sled and dragged it down the street, confident in the knowledge that eventually he would find the pool.

The Father and Mother were grateful for his safe return, but they were also left quite shaken by the event. They tried not to think of all the awful things that could have happened to a two-year old who had ventured out on his own. The Father was quietly proud that the young boy had shown the intelligence and confidence to embark on such an adventure and return home, but he also worried that his budding sense of daring would lead to many more anxious moments for the Father and Mother in the years to come.

Personally, I think the Thomas toys are great. I’ve been building tracks for the boys for several years now, and there are times that think I’m doing it more for me than for them. So, when we found out the actual Thomas the Tank Engine was coming to Ottawa, it was a no-brainer that we’d get tickets.

Yesterday’s event was actually pretty cool. As you’ll see in the picture below, there was an acutual train engine that looks like Thomas, complete with a steam whistle and moving eyes. There were six coaches for passengers, and the train left each hour for a 25-minute trip. The only disappointing part was the route – the trainyards are in a pretty industrial part of town, so the view out the window was mostly of strip malls and distribution centres.  Regardless, the boys loved it. In addition to the ride, there were train sets to play with, inflatable play structures, singers, a magician, clowns, movies, and of course a huge retail section that sold everthing from railway sets to Thomas toothbrushes.

According to the local paper, about 16,000 people were expected to attend the four-day event. At $18 a pop, Thomas will probably need an extra coach to haul all that money back to the Island of Sodor.

The boys look like they’re in danger of being run over by a maniacal train.

The boys with Sir Topham Hatt, the dictatorial ruler of the train system. Incidentally, he was originally known as the Fat Controller.

I think some people were pretty surprised to see a giant blue engine pulling coaches through the suburbs.