Warm weekend.

The weather couldn't have been better this weekend, warm temperatures coupled with glorious sunshine. The family got to enjoy an outing to the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Nikkei Centre on Saturday and a nice bike ride at Pier Park on Sunday afternoon.

The sticker reward system is still chugging along. We're still having some issues, but all in all there have been some micro improvements. On their own the kids are pretty fantastic, it's when they get together things become volatile. Call it sibling rivalry, call it being mean, Tracey and Roger get tired of it pretty fast.

Here are some pictures from the Nikkei Centre:

Science World

So Roger and Tracey bucked up and finally bought into the family membership for Science World. It's been a long time coming. In the past they never thought it was worth the trouble, especially considering Melody's age. They'll have to go at least 3 times to make it worth their money. I don't think that will be a huge challenge as Malcolm and Melody are both excited to do so. Hopefully, the next feature exhibit will be of interest to both of them. The cartoon/animation exhibit that's going on now was pretty cool. Malcolm had fun making a stop motion movie and Melody enjoyed colouring and tracing some figures.

In other news, the kid's behaviour has improved slightly with the implementation of the rewards chart. They are awarded stickers for good behaviour, showing kindness and only getting up once in the night to pee (for Melody). They're about half-way to their goal already. Once they reach the end, they'll be able to pick out a treat for themselves. Fingers and paws crossed it will work. Now to deal with the other issues like homework and whining, baby steps I guess.

Easter and stuff...

No one said that parenting was easy and for what ever reason it's been extra tough on Tracey and Roger these days. Forget those wistful thoughts of the kids getting easier as they get older. The fighting, complaining and whining can be so exhausting! The silver lining in all this came last week when the kid's report cards came home. Honestly, they couldn't have been better. There were so many kind words, words that would make anyone proud. There were things written by their teachers that literally brought tears to Tracey's eyes. The good and bad of it all is that they know the kids can be extra great and for what ever reason at home it's a different story. We're all keeping our fingers and paws crossed that things will get better soon. For the most part it's a maturity issue coupled with some typical sibling rivalry.

Last Friday, we had some friends over for brunch and a little Easter Egg hunt for the kids. Fun was had by all. It was nice seeing everyone. In our midst, some of the friends are going through a lot. Roger and Tracey find themselves in a situation where many of their friend's parents are getting older and even some dealing with some pretty serious illnesses across the board. I guess as we go on there will be more of this happening.

Last week Malcolm was experiencing some serious leg pain, just above his knee. He actually stayed home for a day. He couldn't walk, he couldn't even move. Roger went so far as to get him a pair of crutches. The ultrasound and x-rays came back this week and the doctor said that he has some calcium deposits near his knee. From the sound of things, it's quite typical and no cause for concern. It's lucky cause baseball season is just starting. Roger decided to keep him back a year and play Rookies again this year. He figured that he wasn't quite ready for Minors yet. This year's rule change with Little League actually cheated him out of a year.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks, including ones from Sierra's 4th birthday.

Spring Break 2015

I'm severely behind on posting. So many things happening in the past few weeks.

Sunday was even my birthday, 10 years old! Hard to believe that it's been 10 years since I began living with Roger and Tracey. I've seen people born and also witnessed people pass, I guess that's what happens during a long span of time. Most notably, I've seen the kids grow. Malcolm and Melody becoming part of our family has been most eventful occurrence in my lifetime. As I reflect back on the past ten years, I've enjoyed a very good life. Roger and Tracey have been very kind to me. Also, with Grandma home most days, there's very little time I spend alone. It was somewhat of a rocky start way back when in 2005, with Cleo and my seasickness on the ferry. Suffice to say, there's still a lot of spring in my step and no slowing down in my near future.

The family just got back from a little trip down south to Seattle. They spent the first three days at the Great Wolf Lodge and the last day in Bellevue. A bunch of different families spending some time together. Here are some pics from the past few weeks. Here are a few film shots Roger took a couple months back. Auntie Shannon's 40th Epic Birthday Party: Edana's Birthday Party at the Quay (Vancouver Circus School):

Happy Valentine's Day

As parents Roger and Tracey try their best in raising, kind, compassionate, and upstanding human beings. They'd like to think that they're succeeding, but these days those feelings are unsubstantiated. The kids have been fighting a lot lately, their behaviour towards each-other is often mean-spirited to say the least. I guess that's what happens when you bring two strong willed and stubborn people together. Sure, everyone says it's a phase and everyone says that it's normal. So despite what every one says, it drives Roger and Tracey absolutely crazy!

To get a little break from it all, Roger and Tracey spent Valentine's Day without the kids and went out for lunch and a walk. Carol was nice enough to come over to watch the kids for a few hours. They finally made it to Meat and Bread for lunch. The Porchetta sandwich is renowned. It was actually very delicious, now they know why people line up for their sandwiches there. They also got to try the special of the day, Teriyaki Beef... equally delicious. Here's some pictures from the weekend, including a short trip to Iona Beach. Unfortunately, their trip was cut short due to some pinching and screaming that occurred in the car ride home.

Busy, busy...

The last few weeks have been pretty busy with school, activities, get togethers and photoshoots. We just had a four day weekend with family day coupled with a professional development day on Tuesday. The family went skating with Matthew, Lucy, Jayden and Sierra on Sunday. That evening Grandpa Harry treated everyone to Chinese dinner. Carol and Eun Yeop were able to come along too, it was a very nice time.

Today, Roger took the kids to see Spongebob the movie. Roger wanted to see Paddinton Bear instead, but Melody said that she'd rather see Spongebob, truth be told Malcolm probably enjoyed it the most. It's amazing how much popcorn those kids can put away.

In other news, we had quite a good run with Malcolm's behaviour right up until Christmas and beyond, but these day there have been some difficult moments. Roger and Tracey push on and hope for the best. They know you're never supposed to wish away the wonder years, but all the same an upgrade in maturity would be a welcomed change sometimes. The sibling rivalry and button pushing gets tired very fast.

Roger has been helping out with skating lessons for the past few weeks with Melody's kindergarten class. He's enjoying his time with the kids. Although, it is quite sad to see all the parents sit on the sidelines and not get involved. Surprisingly he's the only parent on the ice with the kids. Even Mrs. Baird laces them up and heads out on the ice with the kids. Melody is doing very well on the ice, much better than most of her classmates.

Here are some pictures from the past two weeks:









Family day skating with friends: