New Camera; posts pending

Well, I sorta, well actually, definitely left our digital camera out in the rain for two days. Needless to say, it didn't work very well after. We have been camera-less for two weeks other than borrowing Grandma's camera for a few days. We finally decided on a new point and shoot camera and should have some more blog updates in the next while. The only thing left to do is read the 200 page manual...and charge the battery. :)

The Annual Teddy Bear Picnic

Miracle of miracles, the rain and thunderstorms held off for the picnic today. We headed to the park this afternoon with Halle to check out the venues. Halle met some search and rescue dogs, gave 'high fives' to every mascot we came across, rocked out to the Brazilian drummers, walked all over the place and finished it off with a routine at the kids' gymnastics venue. We tried to go to the Kung Fu Panda venue but the line was tooooo long. Halle thought the Chinese lanterns were balloons so we were trying to steer away from that as it usually leads to much vocality regarding the lack of balloon in Halle's hand.

High-five Monkey!!

I don't need rescuing! I like these pigtails in my hair!!!

All that fresh air makes some babies tired....

A Nice Wedding in May...

Alan, Halle and myself attending the wedding of one of Alan's former students. (Yes, he does feel old now.) It was a beautiful day for a wedding and the weather cooperated by holding off the thunderstorms until late in the evening. Halle wore one of her dresses she got from Nana to the wedding. You can take the kid out of the track pants but you can't take the track pants off unless you want her to ruin her tights!! Ladylike is not in Halle's vocab yet. Ha Ha

A kiss for mon oncle Patrice....

And I won't forget ma tante Carole!!

Halle's First Weekend at the Lake

Halle really enjoyed herself at the Lake this past weekend. She only stopped to eat and sleep. She learned lots of new things, went interesting places and Mommy learned that Vaseline will remove pinecone sap from a baby's hand.








Charlie! Look at this!

After I'm finished rock climbing, I think I will go for a canoe ride...

This pinecone is really, really sticky!!

Peek-a-boo Mommy!

This is how to relax at the cottage. A good nap or as Mommy says- 'reading'.

It's a battle of the wills with these two all the time. That ball was the last bit of dignity Charlie had left and he wasn't about to hand it over to the little theif herself!! ha ha

Wrestling with Dad

Okay, Grandma, this time, let's go around the cottage counter clockwise and watch the bumps.

When you're this 'cool' you don't really need a drink....

Please don't alert the humane society or PETA when you see what is happening in the following pictures. It wouldn't be a weekend at the cottage if there wasn't a Charlie incident to report. Besides the indeterminable number of dead/slightly dead mice that Charlie consumed and an undisclosed amount of other vermon he injested on one of his forays into the woods, Charlie found part(s) of a Jack fish (Northern Pike). Before anyone gets upset, fishing season had opened already. Alan noticed that Chuck had something in his mouth and when he realized what it was he got a little nervous about taking it out of The Beast's jaws. Dogpa aka Grandpa had an idea. He went (this is the part that shouldn't be repeated) in the house and got a plastic bag and put it over Charlie's snout which basically meant he was suffocating the dog. Well, it worked. Lack of oxygen will cause a carrion loving canine to drop it's treasure. The best part was, no one needed to touch the rotting fish.

Mustang Sally and friend

Halle's friend Ava was over for another playdate and boy did they have fun! They played, they emptied cupboards, shared sippy cups, gave kisses and hugs to Charlie, ate supper, gave kisses and hugs to each other and had a good time. They even tried carpooling!! What with the price of gas and all!

Charlie is gonna be MAD!

Yup...Halle has the steak bone...

Isn't that a picture?? She didn't want to give it up either...too much time with the dog!!!

The New Play Structure

Whenever I take Halle to playgroup she gravitates towards the slides. She likes to climb(try) up the slide part...over and over again. It's like a little baby treadmill. She likes to climb in and over and under the structure as well so I decided to get her one of her own. It was a big hit with our girl. Not only does she have a slide and climber now but the whole thing is located OUTSIDE. Going outside is definitely the preferred activity these days. (I wish it would just get about ten degrees warmer. )


Wow, look at the fine workmanship in this climber...

Did you say this is a present for me, Mom??

WOW!! My own cimber and slide!!

Hmm...the yard looks different from up here.

Daddy, do you promise to catch me??

Here I go!!
Woohoo!