Afraid of Bees

Evelyne is loving kindergarten.  She sits with four other kids in her "pod."  One of the little boys in her pod is named Jeffery.  The other day Evelyne came home telling me a story of how she was telling Jeffery that she was afraid of bees.  "Mommy," she said.  "Jeffery told me that he was afraid of F's."

...only in kindergarten.

Peg Legs

So, the other day I found two pirates with peg legs at the top of the stair case...so what if I now have to wash their toothbrush cups; it was worth it for the laugh. Kids are so creative

What a weekend; Jontoberfest and Aaron Meyer

Wow, we had a great...albeit busy weekend full of lots of fun things. First, on Friday we went to a local Jontoberfest; tons of fun with the neighbors, beer, great food and lots of laughs. Evelyne and Gilbert brought their bike and scooter to ride around the park, but ended up pulling and being pulled on the many wagons. Makes us really feel blessed to live with such great people.

Saturday, Evelyne had a soccer game and did great! Go Wildcats! (that's their team name).

We went later to visit with Grandpa Bruce and Nana Joni who are packing for...yes another move! They graciously watched our kiddos so Nathan and I could enjoy a dinner out. We ended up in Dundee. Started at The Dundee Bistro for a cocktail and went on to Farm to Fork at the Inn at Red Hills for dinner. I'd love to go back on a Wednesday evening to the Dundee Bistro for their "Whole Hog Wednesday" supper of $15 where they cook an entire Hog from Carlton Farms and serve with sides.
Farm to Fork was fabulous and though at bit out of the way has wonderful food. We shared a couple of plates, had some wine and really enjoyed ourselves.

Sunday was our best day at the Villebois Sunday Market ever! We had Aaron Meyer performing music from his latest sound track and it was fabulous. Caffe Fratelli (our coffee stand) was hopping. So, today I'm tired, taking it easy, paying bills, getting things picked up around here from our whirlwind weekend!

Dude Looks Like a Lady

Evelyne graciously gave Gilbert her old "dress up" earrings. He was very excited.

Mom's Birthday...I won't say which one

We celebrated my mom's birthday a couple of weekends ago at our house with a yummy brunch. I have to say, we have AMAZING cooks in my family. For birthdays and special occasions we always start out with "Ok, i'll bring a main dish, you bring a dessert, you bring a side, you bring etc. etc. etc." and it always turns out fabulous. We wanted to make it special so mom wouldn't have to do anything, but she did anyway...she made a tiered polenta dish that was to die for and looked very complicated. Alex made his food here and I was so impressed at how quickly he pounded it out...sauteed italian sweet sausages with onions and red wine garnished with parsley and lemon...wow...it was great. Happy Birthday mom; you started all of us on a road of culinary exploration....may we never tire!

Imaginary Friends

Gilbert has imaginary friends. It's so funny, I've never experienced that before but he really can live in a bizarro gilbert world and think it's totally normal. I kept correcting him for a while saying, "no, cole didn't sleep in your bed last night," and "no, this isn't dog food it's people food." Then I realized, with the help of Nathan, that he is playing in an imaginary world and wants us to listen and participate. So, I learned that "Cole" is his imaginary friend. When he comes to me with cupped hands saying "mom here's your food" I pretend to eat it. He goes on his merry way like everything is normal. When he wakes up and says "time to get on my space ship," I say, "ok, let's go downstairs and find it." It takes some getting used to, but I'm learning and sometimes I wish I really could fly...

Evelyne's First Day of Kindergarten; it's all about Edgar

Evelyne's first day of school was great fun!  She loved getting ready for the day, putting on her new dress and shoes AND coat because it was a cold morning, getting her backpack all ready with her lunch packed inside, and getting to ride the school bus for the very first time.  Wow, brings back memories.  I rode the bus with her to school in the morning and walked her to the classroom.  Nathan and Gilbert met us there.  We got Evelyne all settled, backpack in cubby, lunch in upper cubby, and found her desk.  She sits with Edgar, Johnathan, and Bailey.  She got a big welcome hug from Miss Jenke who is exactly who you'd love to hug you on your first day; warm, inviting, loving. We had a few photos and kisses goodbye and she just sat in her desk patiently waiting to hear what to do next.  All the kids ended up doing that; I think it was the shock factor....we'll just sit here, can't get into trouble that way. 

After school I asked if she made any new friends and it was Edgar, Edgar, Edgar.  Her desk neighbor who I gather is a high spirited little boy with a lot of energy as she later mentioned "he gets in trouble a lot though, mommy, he talks too much."  He was fun I gather because they played at recesses together and she was impressed that he spoke both spanish and english.  I told her she will too before long. 

She got to ride the bus home and said an older girl named Hannah asked if she wanted to sit by her so she did.  Hannah read her stories on the bus, Clifford and one other I can't remember; what a sweet girl.  She was dropped off by Randy, the bus driver and was beaming.  I asked if she wanted to go back and she said YES!

Mystery of Chek Chue-Wan Prison

Evelyne received a doll house as a gift from Sarah and Patrick which we're finally getting around to fixing up.  It looks really old, is solid wood, has a lot of hinges and little pieces.  Today I noticed the bottom of it has words in English reading "Made in Chek Chue-Wan Prison Stanley Hong Kong 1963."  Wonder if it's really from there and how it made its way here? I actually emailed the prison in Hong Kong to inquire; who knows if I'll hear anything back!  They have a museum of "prisoners" work so wondering if they'd want this back. Either way it's been a fun mystery of the weekend! 

Neighborhood Camp Out

We love our neighborhood. Last weekend we had an all-neighborhood camp out in the large park called "Palermo Park." We had so much fun pitching a tent, and watching the movie "Bolt" outside after dark. A couple of neighbors roasted hot dogs for everyone, someone brought a large popcorn machine and had fresh popcorn popping, and we even got to roast marshmallows and make smores. Evelyne and Gilbert had loads of fun just running around, checking out everyone else's tent and visiting with young neighbor friends. What a great way to end the summer.

Late Summer Sentiment

I just had to include these lovely photos of flowers and a card from a dear friend that made my day. The end of summer approaches; I'm looking forward to Fall, my favorite time of the year!


In other Knight news, Evelyne started soccer this week! Nathan is her coach and we went to part of their first practice, very fun. They had a lot of fun playing with each other and kicking the ball around.