Spooky......

Halloween in Victoria arrived rainy, windy and cold. While Greg was out battling the elements on his bike in the morning, the kids and I spooked up our house a little by making cotton ball and tissue ghosts. The kids were excited, Teia in particular, as she declared Halloween her favorite holiday. Truth be told, any holiday is her favorite holiday.

Our kids have always enjoyed dressing up, and the candy part, but they've never been much into the spooky part of Halloween. They have yet to dress up as zombies or wear vampire teeth or fake blood. Our neighbors really spooked up their front yard and the kids had been peeking out the window at it all week. They had excitedly declared it would be their first stop on Trick or Treat eve. So I thought maybe this year, they'd get into the spooky a little bit.

They donned their costumes: Teia, a ferocious lion and Kai, a white school bus (yep, another box costume). As promised they did hit our neighbor's house first and were quite brave about the whole thing (it wasn't dark yet). Teia zoomed from house to house while Kai lagged behind a bit cautiously. We were a bit surprised by how well she did with some of the spooky yard displays but it seems chocolate is a great motivator. Sometimes Kai would wait to make sure nothing was going to jump out of the door and once he was reassured by a plain clothes adult and a bowl of candy, he'd scoot up to join his sis.

Trick or Treating in Fairfield where all the houses are old means steep, wet, slippy staircases at just about every house. This definitely got old. We held our breath each time Kai came down wearing the bus box that obscured his view of his feet. Eventually, the scary houses, (and people in some cases), and the steep stairs wore our little lion and bus out and they were ready to go home. But they made nearly an hour this year which is quite an improvement on previous years.

By the time we made it back to our house, fog from the ocean had rolled in and our house looked impressively spooky.

Once we got back home the kids examined their loot while Teia enthusiastically answered the door, doled out candy and wished everyone a happy Halloween. Bigger kids kept telling her how adorable she was; I'm sure that added to her fun. When we were running low, she topped up our supply from her own stash of candy. We were happy to see her getting rid of all the candy with artificial dyes but stopped her once she started adding the mini-chocolate bars. They weren't going anywhere but our tummies if she didn't want them.

When we ran out, she thoughtfully made a sign.

Kai was contemplative about the evening in his usual style, pondering why kids who were younger than him, didn't find all this Halloween stuff so spooky, like he did.

I'm not sure why they weren't scared of this guy.....I thought he looked pretty creepy.

How many ways can you make 6?

As usual, I love when Greg posts. Even if it is as rare as a cougar sighting. Oh wait, those aren't so rare around here anymore. But I have to say I am disappointed in his last post. While it was his usual flowing, witty prose, he neglected to include an important detail in his numeric summary. Snuggles was born on August 18. Now let that sink in....

Not only did Snuggles tip the symmetrical balance of our 2+2, 2 males, 2 females, he also tipped our birthday balance. We now have August, September and October 18 spoken for. And only 2 - 27s - March and April. Seriously though, what are the freakin' chances that our bunny would be born on a 27 or an 18? Really. Thank goodness we didn't run into some godawful house with the address 2718. Because we would have had to buy it you know. We did see a 2714. That was a close one. Especially since Teia felt strongly that there was "too much white" in that one.

So Teia turned 6 and I try my hardest not to miss blogging the birthdays. She has been busy letting everyone know all the different ways you can make 6: 1+1+1+1+1+1; 2+4; 3+3; 5+1.

This year she chose not to have a party. We had one in June before we left San Diego so it was rather a nice break for me. Not that I don't enjoy party planning for my kiddos, but it does take up a fair bit of time and energy. So this year, the coordination of the birthday celebrations was taken down a notch and wasn't at all stressful. Teia is a little social butterfly and has a whole new circle of friends so I do admit, I was a little bit surprised. But I think she was influenced by Kai's party of 2 celebration when he turned 8 and wanted her's to be the same.

Snuggles, as you know, was the big event and he arrived a week early. But boxes had arrived in the mail from our family so she was excited to get up on birthday morning and open her gifts. And receive the flowers that she had requested the night before, sending Greg on a late evening search around town to find a store still open that sold flowers.

She invited one buddy from school to join us on a carriage ride around downtown. Turned out to be a relaxing, lovely and expensive way to spend 1/2 hour. 

This was followed by, of course, a bunny cake. We had received strict instructions on flavor, theme and what it was to say. Thankfully it met her discerning tastes. 

The final big event was a pedicure with her brother and the purchase of a teddy bear she'd been eyeing since the summer. Although this was Teia's first pedicure. She looked like a pro. 

Since turning 6 Teia has taken to singing everything. And she grows more and more passionate about animals and the wilderness everyday. She continues to be a ray of sunshine and we are grateful everyday that she is ours. Happy Birthday Peach!

The Fifth Fennell

For quite some time, the kids have been accosting Louise and I over expanding our family.  Unsatisfied with the mathematical symmetry of 4 (it equals 2 PLUS 2, 2 TIMES 2, and 2-SQUARED!), we've been barraged with requests for more members.  Not necessarily for a brother or sister;  each recognizes they are in a virtual stalemate of power with 2 vs 2, male vs female, and any additional members could shift the balance of power against them.  Amazing how at the tender ages of 8 and 5, they intuitively recognize the age-old wisdom of "Careful what you wish for...".  Instead, the requests have centered on other species in the animal kingdom.

First, there was Mr. Mommy.  Mr. Mommy was a beta fish, shoved onto us by an over-eager and bored aquarium rep on Martha's Vineyard.  Despite taking almost no true care of Mr. Mommy, he (or she) did quite well and we passed him along to our friends before moving to San Diego.  The kids never really missed him, though Louise did as she ended up doing the lion-share of Mr. Mommy care.  (I think there's some irony in there somewhere....)

Second was Sharky.  Teia has always been the Zoo-fanatic and pressed us for pets from the minute she could speak.  We thought a fish might help ease her into the world of animal care and gave her a beta fish of her own, which she named "Sharky".  After about a 36hr flurry of tapping, gazing, cooing, and emptying two full containers of beta-food into a 1gal tank, the interest quickly waned and the day-to-day care went to, again, Louise.   I did some of the tank cleaning, which was a tremendous effort for a single fish the size of my thumb.  Needless to say, not too many tears were shed when we gave away Sharky to another friend before leaving for Victoria.

Since we've been in Victoria, Teia has honed her pet plan down to details that would make a small country jealous.  First, there will be a bunny.  Then, 2 days after the bunny dies, there will be a cat.  Then after the cat dies, there will be a dog. Then a bird.  Then a horse (I presume she's not waiting for the dog to die before moving on;  she'll already be approaching 30 if the bunny & cat live to their expected lifespans!)  Not only is this mapped out in great detail, this has come into play while searching for houses:
"We can't get this house, dad, there's no room for the horse.  We'll have to move to another house before we get the horse, dad.  Or you could build the stables over there, dad." 
"Well, Teia, that's someone else's house over there."
"That's OK, dad, they'll love the horse too."

Anyway, the horse is a long way off.  With any luck, she'll be at least 10yrs on her own before we reach the horse purchase life event.  But the bunny purchase was looming large.  We had already promised Teia a bunny about a year earlier.  It was partially to sweeten the deal over moving to Victoria and also to hope she would stop asking us for a bunny while in San Diego (between the black widows, rattlesnakes, raccoons, hawks, and coyotes, we were pretty sure any bunny was doomed).  Alas, our little elephant never forgot our promise, and as October rolled around, we knew we had to get into high gear to purchase a bunny.  Louise did some extensive research, we debated the pro's and con's of floppy vs straight-eared bunnies, found some litters that had just been born, and found one that would turn 8 wks old right at Teia's birthday.  After a couple visits to get Teia used to the little guy and I'm sure for the owners  to ensure the bunny was going to good new family, it was time.

I introduce to you, the Fifth Fennell, Snuggles.

Snuggles has fit in quite nicely.  And Teia is still vibrating with excitement.  As soon as she has to go out, she moans "I miss Snuggles SOOOOO much!"   I fear I see the foreshadowing of teenage puppy love angst already.  Replace "Snuggles" with "John" or "Tim" and we're in for a long teen drama in 10 yrs....

But she's also shown good instincts so far, and Kai has also shown interest in Snuggles.  Kai would still like a yellow lab, however, to be named School Bus, about 2 days after we move into our new house.

 What's with this "2 day" thing, anyway?  Can't our kids grieve for at least a month after the death of their rabbit before getting a cat?  Or enjoy a new house for a few months before adding a house-wrecking hound to the mix?  

Welcome to the family, Snuggles.  And good luck.

The Last Day of Summer.

I'm sure our few loyal blog readers have just about given up on us ever writing anything on this blog again. I was beginning to wonder myself. Sometimes there is just so much to write about that you just can't write. The last few months have been like that.

Leaving San Diego was kind of heart wrenching. All of a sudden we sort of felt like we belonged and the kids were blossoming at every turn. That pool in the backyard that they'd always enjoyed became, like, the best thing ever. 7 days before we moved out. The slide that they'd refused to use for 4 summers all of a sudden got some action. The avocado tree was not producing though, so that was some solace. I tried to eat as many of our oranges and grapefruits as I could before we left, except that slicing my lip open surfing kind of got in the way of that. Acidic fruit and raw wounds don't go well together.

Kai had his first sleep over, which was definitely blog-worthy. And Teia ended up having one too, thanks to a visit from cousin Eva.

Greg's retirement was also blog worthy but it was immediately followed by moving out of our house and sleeping in several different beds before we all came to rest in Victoria. And now it is the eve of School Starting, exactly 2 months since we touched down in BC and became CDN residents.

It isn't lost on us what a gift this summer has been. To have been able to spend two months settling in here with all of us home. No work, no structured activities. I really wasn't sure what it would be like. The kids have absolutely loved it. It hasn't been all adventure, all the time. There is a mountain of paperwork to get established in a new country and we're still wading our way through that. But we tried to balance our time so that things got done but we also had local adventures and some a little further afield.

The kids have continued to enjoy swimming although mostly in lakes since we left SD. They have also become avid little bikers. Not to mention logging plenty of miles on their scooters. Tide pools have been explored, ducks have been fed, trails have been hiked, beaches have been combed, rocks and trees have been climbed.

T told me just tonight that she is starting to forget San Diego and that she likes Victoria b/c it has less traffic and more wildlife (that's my girl). Kai isn't forgetting San Diego at all and is often wondering when we'll be headed back for the promised trip. But it does seem that BC has agreed with them so far. And Greg? He is a full-on BC guy, already.

A few weeks ago, K also decided that he was no longer going to be afraid of dogs. Just like that. He decided it didn't make any sense and he isn't afraid. Clearly he is still a bit skittish and nervous around them but he has mentally reframed it for himself so he no longer runs away and frets. He stands his ground and when he does find himself jumping out of the way, he quickly reminds us that he is "surprised but not scared." He has even declared dogs his new favorite thing and has started sleeping with a stuffed dog. And acting like a dog. Really. This is big.

Another big summer event was Granddad's 70th birthday. This turned out to be a family get together at Auntie Karen's river front place as well as a few days spent at Granddad's and at Gramma and Poppa Mike's place on Wolfe Island. Blog worthy. And missed.....I will get back up to speed. Or at least I will try. My list for my BC life is pretty ambitious but I'll do my best. Or maybe Greg will take over for awhile. After all, he has started a "lifestyle" job :-)

Another summer highlight was our short trip to Hornby Island with long time Victoria friends. I really wanted Greg to experience a  Gulf Island and there is no better one to start with than Hornby. Although we were only there for a few days, we managed to sample the magical mountain bike trails, take in the stunning views and sunsets, do lots of beach combing, catch jelly fish and sand dollars, shop for pottery and the quintessential Hornby experience, listen to angsty female folk singers while sitting in an orchard as the sun goes down, drinking lattes and craft beer.

And so tomorrow, this unforgettable summer comes to an end. It kind of feels like it came to an end about 10 days ago when the first rainy, cool weather of the summer blew in and Greg started work with a trip to Halifax. But tomorrow it is official. T said tonight she is "kinda sad" but she just can't wait to bust out her new headphones for some computer work at her new school. She's sort of bummed that her class supply list did not require a 4G memory stick, like Kai's did. And my read on Kai is that he is cautiously optimistic about his new school, although he isn't saying much. Except that he hopes there will be a stuffed dog in the classroom ;-) 

Stay tuned....

Teia Graduates from Kindergarten

How can it be that we are now the parents of not one, but two, kindergarten graduates? Another school year in the books. And each year they pass by more quickly. This year was particularly busy with double duty for mama in the volunteering department across two classrooms. I logged my final hours the other day and discovered that I put in 170 hours volunteering at the kids' school. Woah. Time for me to go back to work.

This day when they embarked on their kinder and grade 2 years seems like such a short time ago:

And on the last day they are a lot sillier and a lot taller.

Teia really enjoyed her graduation - playing the part of a dancing warthog in the class performance of Gerald the Giraffe. 

And she was pretty darn adorable accepting her diploma :-)

Her beloved Miss Morgan was out with knee surgery but Miss Veronica was a wonderful substitute teacher and a surprise visit from Miss Morgan after the graduation made all the kinders' day. 

Getting a family photo was more challenging than during Kai's kinder grad, with Kai having his own end of year pot luck at a different end of campus but we did manage to all get together for a few moments. 

And I was able to take a few quick photos of Kai with his two teachers. This is Kai's "smile on demand" face. Very cute in its own way I think. Mr. F is showing the mug Kai painted for him at Paint Your Own Pottery. 

And in this photo we have the more spontaneous Kai, with a mouthful of bagel and all!

It's hard to believe this school chapter is over and the kids are moving onto something new. It'll be Kai's 4th new school and Teia's 3rd (if you include preschool) so hopefully they won't take long to settle into their new school in the fall. For now, I am just relishing not having to make lunches every night! It's the little things!

Birthday Time - EIGHT!!!!!!

I promised myself I would not miss blogging about Kai's birthday. I've managed to capture each kiddo birthday since we started this blog back in 2008, shortly after Kai turned 1. So I don't plan on missing his EIGHTH birthday! He is such a big and grown up boy these days. He almost comes up to my shoulder. I should have taken a photo of that for proof! And it won't be long before we're in the same shoe size. I can still pick him up, just barely. But it looks completely silly b/c his legs practically drag on the ground. And he's almost half my weight.

This year Kai decided against a birthday party. He chose a birthday outing with his best buddy L and with his Mommy, Daddy and Teia. He decided he wanted to take us all on a ride on the Amtrak Surfliner. Teia and I felt very honored b/c riding the Surfliner is an outing usually reserved just for special Daddy and Kai time. We are typically invited on Coaster rides but not the Surfliner. This has worked out just fine so far b/c Surfliner tickets are quite a bit more expensive. But it was his birthday and it probably cost a lot less than throwing a party.

We met L at the Old Town Station and began our day:

Kai was a happy boy. 

Train rides take a bit of logistical planning but we were able to swing it so we could train it to Solana Beach, have lunch, some playground time and take another Surfliner back in time for birthday cake and swimming at our house.

This turned out to be just the beginning of Kai's celebrations. We had our train outing about a week early b/c Kai's class planned a camping trip for the weekend right before his birthday. He had alot of fun running around the campsite with L, Teia and other kids from school.

Here are the boys again. Hard to believe it poured down the night before. Half the group went home early and the troopers stayed to enjoy the novelty of the rain, even when some of them didn't own raincoats. 

We packed up the morning after camping and headed straight to the airport to pick up Granddad. Kai's actual birthday was a school day but it turned out to be pretty special with Granddad around, standing on the table to be sung to, and then cake and presents at home. 

Kai's favorite thing over the past while has been VW vans so he was pretty thrilled to receive a set of 3! He'd been waiting patiently! I'm sure little sis was almost as excited as he was. In fact she woke him up on his birthday morning. She just couldn't wait to see him open his presents. 

He got lots of other cool presents too. He worked with Daddy to put together the newest jet for his collection. 

Here is his birthday celebration at school. Notice the cool VW van t-shirt. Internet shopping is just da best. And in keeping with the VW van theme, we surprised Kai with a very cool cake. I'm not always impressed with Whole Foods but their cake decorators did a great job, working only off a photo I gave them and artificial dye free too! 

Kai had a great birthday tailor made for our unique little man. He indulged his love of trains, planes, vans and chocolate cake and spent time with special people. And he even put his laundry away without being told on his birthday "because I'm eight." Of course the novelty of that wore off pretty quickly but we enjoyed it while it lasted! 

Is this really my SECOND post in 2015???

Well yes, yes it is. This blog is hanging by a thread right now given all that we have going on. But I am determined to keep breathing life into it, every now and then. We may miss alot of stuff b/tw now and the time the dust has settled on our Victoria life but I'll keep trying......

I have lots of wonderful photos and stories from our trip to Victoria in late Feb but I'm afraid those aren't likely going to make it onto this little blog. And there has been other cool stuff to document too, like Kai's first sleep over during spring break with his buddy L, turning 45, beach time, and many small moments. But I am going to post a few photos about our spur of the moment, one night camping trip to J-Tree, where the kids got their rock climbing on!

At the last minute we decided to forego Easter egg hunts in favor of packing up our camping gear and driving 150 miles up to Joshua Tree National Park to join our friends who were already out there. It was quite adventurous of us, particularly as we had lost cell phone contact with our friends and weren't entirely sure if they were really expecting us or not. It was well worth the effort. J-Tree is amazing. And every camping trip with the kids gets a little bit easier. They definitely have a taste for it and they do love s'mores.

That little 3-pronged tree just right of center in the picture is a Joshua tree. They are not much to look at really but forever associated with U2 in my mind and somehow it was weirdly cool to see one (once I learned how to differentiate it from your garden variety Yucca). 

We caught the full moon while we were there and I barely slept. It was like someone left the lights on all night. It was just so bright. When Teia woke me up at 6 am, I seriously thought it was still night b/c that moon gave off just as much light as the rising sun. It really was pretty incredible. I'm not really a desert person but there is something incredibly peaceful about just being in the desert during those quiet, not burning hot middle of the day, moments. 

After plenty of hiking and free climbing/bouldering around the campsite and area, dinner and campfire, and a reasonable night's sleep (the moonlight only seemed to bother me), the kids had a chance to actually rope up and do a top roped climb, with one of the Dads serving as the top anchor and belaying the kids from above. 

I really didn't think they'd be up for it and figured they would just watch their friends but curiosity got the better of both of them and once Kai did it, Teia was game too.

We were so stinkin' proud of them. They just took on the challenge despite their apprehension. So awesome! Teia was so fast that Dave, the belay guy, couldn't believe it was her first time (and Greg nearly didn't get any photos in time!) And Kai - he had nerves of steel the whole way up and down. The boy was all business. When he makes up his mind about something, look out. 

I just love this photo of Kai on the top with Dave, looking down at all of us with the biggest smile on his face!

I wish we'd had a few more days. The kids just couldn't get enough of the incredible boulders. And it was the perfect place to inspire T and her buddy P, to play coyotes all weekend long. Our drive home was exciting as well. A pick up truck went up in flames on the freeway just ahead of us and exploded its tires just as we were driving past and the fire department was arriving. And somehow we managed to take two hours longer than everyone else to get home, despite the fact that Greg was breaking land speed records for most of the trip. We can blame some of it on the traffic caused by the burning truck, some on taking the "scenic" route back, and the rest on picky eaters. 

When we got home we found that the Easter bunny did not forget our house, even though we weren't home but the chocolate eggs were not nearly as big of a highlight as the kids' climbing adventure!