4th of July - late!

We decided to brave the crowds and go to the Provo Freedom Festival Parade. Ryan was a good sport, parades are not his favorite but I LOVE them! I think it's all the bagpipes (more on that later).
The boys enjoyed themselves and especially enjoyed the candy and pirate hats handed out. It was a great morning followed by breakfast at Mimi's and fireworks at Grandma and Grandpas. I think the 4th is one of my favorite holidays because it is so relaxed. I am not up all night wrapping presents or preparing food, or even cleaning the house. We just show up to a parade and eat out and do fireworks. Doesn't get any easier than that!

Such a joy!

McCall just gets more and more fun. She is crawling and sitting up now, so time for a baby gate and daily vacuuming and sweeping - well ideally! We love all the cute sun dresses with matching bows and bloomers. So much fun! Thanks Ashley for the adorable dress!

Jessica's getting hitched...

That's right Jessica is getting married, and he is pretty cool I guess ;) We're glad to get James in the family! Here are the skirts that the 4 nieces are wearing - that's right 4 nieces! That doubles Jessica's niece count, way to go Halls! But even more amazing, I managed to get them made without Gage trying them on once!

You know you are Canadian when...

• You're not offended by the term, "Homo Milk" (whole milk in Canada).
• You understand the sentence, "Could you please pass me a serviette, I just spilled my BOWL OF POUTINE" !
• You eat chocolate bars instead of candy bars.
• You drink pop, not soda.
• You get milk in bags as well as cartons and plastic jugs.
• You drive on a highway, not a freeway.
• You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.
• You know that Mounties "don't always look like that."
• You know that the Friendly Giant isn't a vegetable product line.
• You know that Casey and Finnegan are not a Celtic musical group.
• You drive with your headlights on during the day (since 1989, all new cars have been fitted with "daytime running lights").
• Like any international assassin/terrorist/spy in the world, you possess a Canadian Passport.
• You use a red pen on your non-Canadian textbooks and fill in the missing 'u's from labor, honor, color. etc.
• You know the French equivalents of "free", "prize", and "no sugar added", thanks to your extensive education in bilingual cereal packaging.
• You are excited whenever an American television show mentions Canada.
• You can eat more than one maple sugar candy without feeling nauseous.
• You know what a toque is and you own one and often wear it.
• You know Toronto is NOT a province.You never miss "Coach's Corner" during Hockey Night in Canada.
• Your car has a cord and plug sticking out of the grill ... it's a block heater for those sub-zero (in Celsius) days.
• You only know three spices: salt, pepper and ketchup.
• You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
• You have more kilometres on your snow blower than your car.
• You have 10 favourite recipes for moose meat.
• You've taken your kids trick-or-treating in a blizzard.
• You owe more money on your snowmobile than your car, and in some cases your house.
• The local paper covers national and international headlines on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.
• At least twice a year, the kitchen doubles as a meat processing plant.
• You frequently clean grease off your barbecue so the bears won't prowl on your deck.
• You find -40C a little chilly.
• You attend a formal event in your best clothes, your finest jewellery and your Sorels.
• You pronounce the last letter of the alphabet "zed" instead of "zee."
• and ... You end some sentences with "eh," ... eh?

I am Canadian! - Actually I have dual-citizenship.

I am Canadian, and being Canadian, I feel that I have to dedicate today to Canada.

A few things you should know about Canada and Canadians:

Canadians do indeed say "eh". It is similar to the American "huh" but has more uses.

English speaking Canadians (anglophones) also use a few British words and expressions that may be unfamiliar to Americans.

An "elastic" is a rubber band. A "chesterfield" is a sofa or a couch. "Runners" are sneakers or tennis shoes. A "cash register" is a till.

• Old Dutch chips - salt and vinegar, dill pickle and of course, ketchup
• Smarties - like M&M's but yummier
• Nanaimo bars - mmmmmm, miss those
• Garburators, touques, decals, neighbours, colours, favourite, etc.
• Perogies
• Rhubarb
• Vinegar and gravy for fries
• EH!
• Some of the worlds funniest people - Dan Akroyd, Leslie Nielsen, William Shattner, John Candy,
• Famous people - Avril Lavigne, Nelly Furtado, Barenaked Ladies, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Alanis Morisette, Bryan Adams, Neil Yound, Sarah McLachlan, Peter Jennings, Alex Trebek, Steve Nash, Kim Cattrall, Michael J. Fox, Keanu Reeves, Kiefer Sutherland (aka Jack Bauer), David Foster - okay I could go on, but there are a few famous people from Canada - Kara McCoy...

Canadian Myths:

• We do NOT live in igloos - although that would be cool, literally. We have houses, with electricity and plumbing.
• We DO speak English - but French is the second language and most people can speak some of both, just don't ask me to translate!
• Canada's national sport is Hockey. Not completely true, I actually do not like hockey at all because I don't get the rules, or missing teeth. While Hockey is very popular, and considered our national pastime, our national sport is Lacrosse. Oh, and we invented Baseball too.
• We do NOT have a queen, although the queen of England is loved by most Canadians.

We love Canada! Happy Canada Day to all.

Look who's crawling ...

You can't keep a good girl down. McCall is now getting anywhere she wants to with her combination of rolling and army crawling. This has found her under chairs, couches, tables, beds, pretty much anywhere a little person can fit. She finds joy moving throughout the house, until she gets caught behind a door or against a wall that she thinks just shouldn't be there. So say goodbye to those rolls, they won't be around for much longer now.

Her favorite people continue to be her mother and her brothers (in small doses, can't say I blame her!). She is starting to be fond of others, including Grandpa, uncle Russell and even her soon to be uncle James - he comforted her tonight and she quiet enjoyed the attention. She really seems to prefer men over women ... I thought that could at least wait until 16, but she is getting a head start.

The mind of a boy

Connor used to have a little camera, that was damaged beyond repair from water. Seriously, why aren't $10 cameras waterproof! Anyway, he insisted on keeping the camera and I actually let him, for those of you who know me well know that this is abnormal, I love to throw away almost anything, especially if it has no use.

But this little camera has much use left in it. For instance, it kept Connor and Tate entertained and working/playing together for almost 2 hours this afternoon. They found a tiny screwdriver and immediately began dismantling the camera. They were mesmerized with all the contents and what they could possibly be. I was busy at the other end of the table sewing a few skirts and had a great time listening to their conversations.

Overheard:

Tate - "don't cut the wires, you will get electrocuted and die."

Connor - "hmmm, do you think so? (2 minutes later), nope it didn't kill me."

Tate - "what should we make out of these parts?"

Connor - "probably a robot that can do all our chores. I think I have a good plan for that. Plus, we are both scientists so we can think of something great to invent and make lots of money."

I love that they got along and worked together on a project, I'm only worried about what else they will want to take apart. Better start hiding the screwdrivers.