Summer has finally arrived in Vancouver.

Yay, summer has finally arrived. Wet and dreary June has come and gone, July has started with quite a bang, sunshine and temperatures hovering around the high 20's. The kids absolutely love summer. They've been outside everyday, playing at the water park, swimming at the pool and really soaking up the sun. It's only the first week of summer vacation and they've already been to the beach, various water parks and the local outdoor pool already. They're also planning a trip to the waterslides this weekend. Here are some pictures of the Granville Island Water Park. With the onset of summer, it's also allowed Roger to resume his "Vancouver After Dark" project. He's been going around town taking long exposure night shots of famous spots. Here are a few of his recent ones:

Skating marches on...

Whew, we've had less guff about skating lately. Malcolm has actually been pretty good about it. Either he's resigned to going or perhaps he's having fun. He has gotten a lot better from Roger's accounts. He's gaining speed and definitely able to keep up better. Melody is doing well too, despite the couple of weeks of resistance, she's been very good about going. Here are some pictures from this week's session. She's doing a lot better than Malcolm did at the same age.

Skating continues.

The opportunities that the kids have today are limitless. Although they don't realize it yet, they are exposed to so much more than Roger and Tracey were at the same age and even more than Roger and Tracey's parents when they were young (whoa we're going back a few generations now). Teaching children that they are lucky to have what they have is a difficult thing to do. Roger and Tracey try their very best to instil a sense of appreciation and gratitude with the kids, but I have to say that it's difficult. How do you teach a child that an activity, and outing, a toy, clothes, a meal out are treats and privileges.  These same opportunities aren't the equal for children everywhere. Recently, the skating has been met with some resistance by both Malcolm and Melody, more so Melody. You can chalk it up to being young, you can attribute it to stubbornness or immaturity, but again how do you make them realize that they should be thankful. I guess you don't realize what you have until it's gone or the other side of that is, if you've always had it, what other reality would you really know?

Recently Roger bought a photo book called, "I Was Always Beautfiul". It's a photography essay on India, mostly pictures about kids with Aids living in an orphanage. The photographer, Rocky Braat documents some pretty great images in Chennai, India. Anyway, Roger showed Malcolm one of the pictures from the book and it was of a girl playing with a old hoop she found from the dump. He explained to Malcolm that some kids in the world are too poor to buy toys and can't afford to even eat most days. I think this image did strike a chord with Malcolm. So Roger finds himself reminding Malcolm of the image when he's being especially ungrateful, it seems to work somewhat at least temporarily. As parents, Roger and Tracey will continue to encourage, promote and even push the kids into trying different things. They just hope that it gets easier as they get older. Here are some pictures from a skate Malcolm did with Uncle Albert, Jayme, Ally and Rowan last night. Just in case you're wondering Jayme and Malcolm are the same age. Maybe he's just a late bloomer.

Skating lesson 1

Well, Melody's first skating lesson didn't go as well as we had hoped. I guess the excitement of the lessons didn't meet her expectations. She cried a little, then was pretty defiant about not participating. As good natured as she is, when she doesn't want something it can be pretty clear. I guess feisty is the word that I would use. While all the other kids were pushing around little shopping carts, she pushed her's to the side and said: "I'm pushing NOTHING". Luckily the skating coordinator has allowed us to join the parent and tot lessons for next week. Roger is going to join her so make the transition smoother. I hope that will help.

Malcolm on the other hand did fantastic. Being the smallest and youngest in his class gave Roger and Tracey a bit of an uneasy feeling, but he managed quite well. He may not have the speed yet, but is certainly following along well. Roger and Tracey felt very proud of him. Even after a bit of a fall, he choked back the tears and soldiered on. The family is all going to go skating more to help cement what they have learned. No one said it was easy. Here are some pictures from the lesson.

Jump

I think the investment in a trampoline can really pay dividends. Man, the kids can jump for hours on that thing and most importantly it burns off all that excess energy. Malcolm has had more exposure to the trampoline, but Melody is certainly catching on fast. We got it last Wednesday and they have been jumping on that thing every day. I'm not sure what's going to happen in the wet and cold, but you can be sure that as long as it's dry they'll jump. Don't you just love Melody's flying hair!