The Front Porch and the Sleepy Boys

We did a little project this weekend. A new front porch.
I've been wanting one for years, so we finally did it.
My parents came in on Saturday and Dad and Nath worked away at it.
Nath finished up the railing on Monday. Now we are ready for all the trick or treaters tomorrow!

"BEFORE"

"AFTER!!"

And here are our sleepy boys. Noah who fell asleep on the couch one afternoon, and a little video of Luke at the supper table one night last week. Felt so sorry for the little guy but it was so funny too.

Leaves and Corn and Pumpkins

We had some fun this weekend being outside. I love Fall! I love the colors, the temperature, the crispness in the air. It makes me wish we could have Fall all year long, but I guess it wouldn't be so special if we had it all year long.

The birch tree in our front yard is always the first to change. It turns a brillant yellow and looks as if it's illuminated from within. But it is also the first to loose it's leaves and quickly. It only took one windy day and all the leaves were on the ground. Now it looks naked surronded by all the green trees on our yard. When it started to turn yellow Noah was a little sad. I was trying to convince him that it's so pretty when all the trees turn different colors but all he said was " I like it when the trees are green, I don't want them to be other colors." But I think he's starting to change his mind because he wants to be outside constantly raking the leaves.

On a side note, we had Luke's yearly cardiology check up last Wednesday, and everything looks great. They did an EKG, and echocardiogram and checked his BP too. Everything looked good. I love watching the echo, it's an ultrasound of his heart. It's so amazing to see his heart beating and watching the valves open and close, knowing what his little heart has been through. It was especially cool watching it in the same room, and on the same screen, that we were in while I was pregnant with him, when the cardiologist confirmed his heart condition, 2 1/2 years ago. I'm still amazed at how far he's come.

Nath and the boys in the leaves

Noah: "Just let me at those leaves!"

These next picture are Noah's
He wanted to take some on his own.
I think he has some talent. Maybe he'll take over for Opa!

This is Noah's picture of our sick tree.
He's very interested in this tree and likes to look inspect it often.
It has some fungal disease, but we've had it checked out and apparently it's ok.

Noah's pic of Daddy.
(I did some cropping)

Noah's pic of us

Luke didn't want Noah to take his picture

We went to the corn maze on Sunday with nath's family.
Noah and Luke got their own pumpkins there.

Luke and the pumpkins.

Luke and Oma on top of the bale pyramid.

Oma, Rach with Luke, Noah and Nath

Noah in the petting Zoo at the Corn maze. He LOVES Bunnies. They were his favorite over horses, a calf, goats, and everything else. They are also his favorite in the pet store.

The corn maze was pretty good but the bales, petting zoo and pumpkins were a lot more exciting for the boys. Thankfully they were included in the price of admission! We did try the corn maze for a bit but got tired of walking in circles. And all the corn looks the same to the boys, (and the adults) so we took a few illegal shortcuts and left early.

Fall on the Farm

We went to Fall on the Farm at the Steinbach Mennonite Museum again this fall. The boys had a lot of fun again. (Most photos are from my brother, Thanks Joel)

My Mom and Dad

Nath throwing Noah into the air

Luke burrowing into the straw

Luke talking with the goat
He just kept saying "hi goat"
Then it licked him and we moved on

Noah loved feeding the animals grass

Here we are on the horse-drawn wagon

Our family portrait
courtesy of Joel

Mommy gets a haircut

Before

And After

Now I know from previous experiences that Nath is not an incredibly observant guy but I thought that he would notice if I cut 6 inches off my hair. Well apparently not! After 45 minutes of waiting for him to notice I finally said "I got my hair cut today!!" He looked at me and said " Huh. Ya I guess it is shorter."

I sometimes wonder how much I could get away with.


Oh well.....

Noah and Luke go to the Dentist

Noah and Luke had their first visits to the Dentist! And they did really well. Noah had a full cleaning and was very cooperative for the Hygenist and Dentist. Luke wasn't as cooperative but still did pretty well, the Dentist just looked at his teeth.

I would highly recommend the Children's Dental Centre on Ness. The hygienist was so awesome there, explaining everything to Noah. They had a miniature train that ran on a track through the waiting room and the exam rooms and everything was kid friendly. The boys had a lot of fun and loved the Cars Stickers and cute toothbrushes they go to take home. I was definitely relieved that everything went well and that the boys had a good time. Here's a couple of pics of Noah that Nath took with his phone, but we forgot to get luke's pic.

Noah sitting in the elevator chair with his special sunglasses- mouth ready for the special toothbrush.
He chose orange toothpaste.

Here he is finishing up with the flouride treatment
He chose orange flavor again

What we've done this August

Here's a few pictures of what we've done this month. We've been swimming, to the cabin, working outside, to the Zoo and more.
Uncle Eric playing with Luke and Noah at the Cabin

Luke's New Best Friend Diego
(We visit him at Toys R Us)

Oma's was surprised by Noah with the Camera at the cabin

Nath is digging a 40 foot long, 2 feet deep trench with his new pic axe
It will bring electricity to the shed

The finished trench

L at the wading pool

The Ladies of Nath's side of the family
at the wading pool
(L-R) Me with Noah, Luke, Rach, Oma with Caleb and Jess

The Zoo has a nice, new playground.
Here are the boys on the slide but they did not want there picture taken.

Cousins: Noah, Jack and Luke
with their new motorcycles from Gramma

Noah in the slide

Luke Gets Stitches

Well we got a tour of the new Children's ER last night thanks to Luke. Around 8 last night, Luke and Noah were playing in the hallway just before bed when there was a crash and Luke was crying. Then we saw the blood running down his face. We're not sure what happened but we think that he must have caught the edge of the air return vent at the bottom of the wall. So we got into the car, and went to the Vic first but they said they only had one doctor in and that it would be a long wait. So we went to Children's. It had mostly stopped bleeding by the time we got there so they just put a band aid over it and the boys played in the waiting room. Which is quite nice.

Eventually we got in to see a student nurse, then a nurse, then a resident, then a doctor. Who decided that yes, he did need stitches. Then they put on some ointment to numb the area, which had to stay on for 30 minutes. Then the resident, Penny, came back 45 minutes later with a student doctor, Murdoch, to do the stitches. I'm not sure how many times Murdoch had actually done stitches. Not too often I don't think, because he needed a lot of coaching. I was a litttle nervous when Penny was looking over his shoulder while he was putting on the sterile gloves, and telling him he did a good job. But he did alright. He needed a little help with the first one but I think he did alright for the rest.

Luke was such a trooper. He didn't cry once. He didn't want to lie down on the table so they wrapped him up, kind of like swaddling a baby so that he couldn't squirm too much. I stayed with him and made sure that he could see me while they had a drape over him face. His chin quivered a bit while they put in the anesthetic, but he didn't cry. The nurse and doctors were all very impressed with how well-behaved he was.

As soon as they were all done , and he was unwrapped he stood up with a smile on his face and gave me a hug, and said he wanted to go play some more.

All in all it wasn't a bad evening. We were there for just over 3 hours and the boys were happy the entire time. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they asked to go back to "Lukie's hospital" to play again. Noah calls it Lukie's hospital because we've told him Luke was born there, and he considers Victoria to be "his hospital" because he was born there.

The stitches are supposed to taken out in a week. But we're going to his pediatrician for that.

Luke with his three stitches

Luke showing off his new bracelet
It has a panda bear on it

Weddings, Grand Forks and Zuchini

So here are a few pictures from our summer so far. Sorry they are out of order and I don't have the patients to move them today. But here's what's been happening in our lives. June 30th marked the wedding of Nath's baby sister Rach to Eric Fehr. It was a beautiful wedding, and we had a lot of fun. The boys were ring bearer's and wore the Washington Capitals hockey jerseys to walk down the aisle barefoot with Oma, while the band played an acoustic version of "Jesus loves me" It was so sweet. We had a little mini vacation this past weekend when we went to Grand Forks for a couple of nights at the Holiday Inn. The boys had a blast splashing in the pool and Mom and Dad had fun shopping at Target. When we got home from our holiday we discovered that our garden hadn't wilted in the heat like I was thinking it might. Instead it flourished. Zuchini and Pumpkin plants have almost taken over the entire garden. We even had two zuchini which could be picked. I guess zuchini really love the weather because they tripled in size in the three days that we were gone! It has been so fun for the boys (and me) to watch our garden grow. We harvested our two zuchini today as well as a hand full of sugar snap peas and a strawberry. We also pulled two carrots but they have a bit of growing to do still. They were only big enough for one bite each, but they were still delicious! So that's what we've been up to. We are looking forward to spending time at the Brereton Lake cabin with Nath's family in August, but I think that's about it for our summer.

Here's the zuchini that we picked from the garden.

The boys checking out Noah's new bedding

Here's the new bed tent we got for Noah in Grand Forks


Wedding pictures...

The boys with their water wings ready for the pool.

My Silly Boys

Me and my boys

Noah and Luke on a jungle expedition-
(yes we're planning on mowing tonight)

Luke likes to streak in the back yard
When I came out he had taken off his shorts and diaper to play in the sandbox

Noah, the thinker, examining a blade of grass

"I'm this way!"

Luke sporting a bare bottom and Noah's snow boots

Noah and the Tamarack