So we end our summer trilogy with Daddy back in Alberta for another 2 weeks of hot weather fun. As Daddy was coming in, June-yee was just finishing up her weekend with us. We said farewell with our traditional breakfast at Socrates. Can't get enough of Socrates, yum!
At the top of Daddy's to-do list was to get new work clothes, so while he did his shopping at the mall, Mommy and Grandma played with the boys at the little gym park at Galaxyland. The boys were very excited as we had tried to go there a few times but it was either closed, or we forgot our socks, or that the timing was just not right. Sam was cruising around so fast it was hard to keep up with him, though I have to give Jasper props for a very hearty effort in trying to keep up and mostly keeping up with his big bro. And not only was the ball pit a ton of fun but the water fountains were a hit too! Needless to say we had two very exhausted boys that night!
Jasp's vocabulary was just starting to grow at the beginning of the summer and Daddy noticed that his ability to speak and his list of words had increased remarkably by August. Jasp has always had his quirky sense of humor and I find his quick understanding of words and expressions/sayings is quite amazing. One perfect example: with all the changes in his schedule, Jasper regressed a bit and started pooing in his diaper again. So one time during dinner, he all of a sudden looked at me and said "Poo poo". I jumped right up and was ready to take him to the bathroom when he then said, "Just kidding!" What a funny boy! He also has his own way of saying things, like "Angry Birds" comes out as "Angry Ba-birds", popsicle is "popsiscowel", and toothpaste is "poopaste". And of course everything is "Fah-nee!" (funny!)
Sammy discovered Pingu episodes on the iPad and thought this little character was quite hilarious. Gung Gung indulged his grandson of course and let him watch it on his big computer screen. It was so cute to hear Sammy joyfully laughing while he was watching, even when I was down the hall from where he was! Jasp watched some Pingu too but he also preferred an "Itsy Bitsy Spider" video and it became his and Gung Gung's "thing" to do when he got up from his naps.
The boys were super excited to bring Daddy to the "beach". We went with the Gray clan again and we had some good splash fights, monsters and sharks swimming about, and Daddy had fun using the boys as machine guns. Poor Jasp's diaper got pretty full so he showed a little plumber's crack by the time we were finished.
This happens on every trip, no matter how long our vacation is, we are always scrambling to meet up with all of our friends at the end of our trip. It gets a bit hectic but is worth the catch up time with our friends. Here are a few pictures with our friends the Michaelchuks, the Chathis, and the Kerschbaumers. The Ritzes hosted a brunch with 4 families that were at one point all living in Bermuda. 10 years ago we had no kids and now we had a total of 9 kids at the brunch!
Part of being home is to be able to go out to different restaurants. One of Mommy's faves is Cora's, delicious breakfast foods! Another favorite is chinese food! Jasper was asleep when we got to the restaurant and he did not let the hustle bustle of the restaurant disturb him. Once he woke up, he got down to business, this boy loves his rice!! Sam had fun poking at the lobster and fish but still does not care that much for chinese food.
Apparently, Daddy is not the kind of guy that likes to be idle on vacation. He decided to start clearing out all the "junk" out of Po Po and Gung Gung's house. After living there for over 35 years, there was so much "saved" (including Mommy's crib!), a dumpster was hired to get filled up. While Daddy and Gung Gung cleaned out, Mommy and Po Po kept the boys busy with walks in the wagon and just hanging out at home watching the end of the Olympics.
Fonzie eats a lot of veggies and fruits so the boys thought it was fantastic idea to pick leaves and crab apples for him. Fonz was not interested in the leaves and the apples were a bit too sour. The boys kept on encouraging him to eat by saying, "Amen!", which is what Po Po says to Fonz before he starts eating his dog food everyday. On a similar note, Fonz is not allowed out of the kitchen and when he steps out, Po Po says, "Bing-gaw" in chinese (which translates to "Who is it?" but really means, "Who dares?") and the boys learned to say "Bing-gaw" quite quickly.
Jasper got quite comfortable with the paddling pool on the patio. Even when it was not the warmest of days, he would just strip down by himself and have a blast. Po Po had to watch out for Jasp when she was having lunch because he always wanted a taste of what she was eating, noodles were a particular favorite! Two other favorites of Jasp's were bandaids and money. Bandaids were used for every boo boo imaginable, even the invisible ones. Jasp loved having coins so much, he was even found pinching some from Mommy's wallet one day. When Mommy needed money, she just asked Jasper as he was rich with loonies and twonies! I tried to switch in some Monopoly and pirate money but Jasp knew it was not the same, and rightfully so I guess.
I am sure Fonzie is going to miss the extra biscuits he gets from the boys. Sam has always been very warm to Fonzie but Jasp needed some warming up time. Near the end of the summer, he was quite generous with the treats for Fonz.
We bought Sammy these shoes as his inside shoes for school. We bought a navy pair and a green pair but Sammy took it upon himself to set a trend and wear them mismatched. Mommy liked his fashion experiment!
So while Mommy and Daddy did the last minute packing, we had 2 power rangers (or as Jasp says, "Power Minjas") "helping" us with their super fighting skills! What a fun way to end an awesome summer.
