A Girl and Her Dad

We spent Girard's second Father's Day in Regina with family. We had a great time and dad and daughter had tons of fun. No Father's Day would be complete without a nice gift so Bryn and I continued the tradition we started last year by buying Girard a lovely tie. Last year found two at Value Village which I'm guessing were vintage 1973 (there can't have been a decade other than the '70s with such "colorful" ties). This year we opted for a flashy Canada Day tie from the Dollar Store. One of these days we'll get Girard to model his ties so I can post some photos.

Bryn shootin' hoops with a little help from her dad.

Helping Girard with dishes.


Bryn playing in her first soccer game.

Celebrating a goal.

The Hengen/Barnard World Cup soccer teams.

Having a rest after the big game.

Katja's 14th birthday was the same weekend.
Happy Birthday, Katja!

Forever Friends

A few more of my favorite shots (first post below).

Girard having fun with the girls.

"Are you finished already?!"

"I love your stylin' bib!"

Gardeners in the making.

Girard got a workout catching the girls as they jumped off Bryn's little chair into his arms. I'm sure they'd have carried on with this game for hours if Girard could have kept up!

"Love you, Claire!"

And hugs for Monica.

Yay! Finally all three girls together!

It's hard to get three kids to sit for a photo when they'd much rather be playing. Monica had the great idea to bribe them with sun chips. Then the challenge was to get them to quit eating long enough to smile for the camera.

Caia and blankie.

"Hey, check out that little boy next door."

Claire and Bryn were very interested in Caia's kitty, Stitch.

Thanks Monica and Claire for making time for us during your holiday here, we loved every minute of our visits!

Photos, As Promised

Our visits with Monica and Claire were wonderful. We all had a great time watching the girls together and they interact more with each visit. All three girls seemed very comfortable with each other and us moms had a great time watching them and catching up on things. Unfortunately Shea and Caia were under the weather for the first week of Monica and Claire's stay in the city so they couldn't join us for the first few get togethers, but thankfully we did all manage to meet at Shea's once she and Caia were feeling better.

We also had the chance to meet Monica's mom, Mary, and thanks to her for having us over to her house for tea (I now have a new favorite tea!). I was pretty surprised to find out while chatting with Mary that she knows some of my relatives! It really is a small world.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite photos of the girls. It's hard to pick just a few so once again this has turned into a two-part post.

Claire's grandma has all kinds of great playthings.

Between playing with Claire and all the cool stuff,

Bryn had a blast while we were there.

I love the kissy shots!

Cute as can be, even from the back.

Claire makes good use of her chopsticks

while waiting for her lunch.

"' Sup, dude?"

I really hate having my picture taken but I make exceptions when I have a special little girl on my knee.

Monica, Claire, Bryn and Girard.

Claire and Bryn working off their lunch with a game of Ring Around the Rosey.

Together Again

Bryn's Xinyu sister Claire and her mom Monica have been in town for the past two weeks visiting relatives and friends. We were so lucky to be able to spend time with them and with Shea and Caia while they were here.

I know some of you out there in blog land are anxious to see photos of the girls together but until I get around to sorting through my pictures I'll share a couple videos of the girls having fun at Shea's the other night.

This one started out with them singing Ring Around the Rosey. Claire was trying hard to play the game right but Bryn and Caia had other plans. And then Bryn spotted Shea's cat under the table...




This one makes me smile every time I watch it. They were having a great time together and Monica, Shea and I had a blast watching them.




For anyone who is a stat nut like me, Claire, Caia and Bryn are 30", 33" and 34" tall and weigh 18, 24 and 28 pounds. (Lucky for me I just happened to have my scale and yardstick with me when we went to Shea's to visit.)

Long Weekend

Here are some photos from our weekend visit at Bryn's papa's. We hadn't been on a long road trip since September and Bryn did pretty good sitting for 4 hours in her car seat but I think we might take everyone's advice and invest in a portable DVD player. I'm game for anything to make a long trip easier.

We had a great time at Papa's. Bryn learned how to play hopscotch and drive a boat and had a chance to visit with her cousins Cara, Jacey and Bretten and Auntie Carey. We also had a short visit with my lifelong friend Bonny and her twins, Mac and Emmy. Bryn's great-grandma also came along with us and it was wonderful to have her there, too.

Unfortunately Bryn hasn't been co-operating with the camera lately and getting her to sit with anyone is a challenge these days, so our photos of her with family are limited.

Hanging out with Emmy and Mac.

Mac, Emmy and Bryn. Thanks for the fun visit!

Hamming it up with Bretten and Cara.

Ahoy, matey!

Checking out all the cool stuff in Papa's garage.

What's that up in the rafters, Papa?

Me, Bryn and Jacey.

*Coming soon: another Xinyu Sisters' Reunion!!