Nothing funny or interesting to report. I just emptied the camera memory card and thought I would post some of the best photos. Check out the web album here.
Max and Darwyn colouring
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Thursday, February 6, 2014
On the origins of gas
Max and I have been enjoying spending time together studying different science topics. Right now we are reading about space at Max's request, and we have been talking about the different planets. We started reading about Jupiter and learned that it was the biggest planet and composed entirely of gas. Max listened patiently as he always does when I read to him, but I thought there was no way that this gas thing made any sense to him.
Greta: Max, do you know what gas is?
Max: Yup. It comes out of daddy's bum.
I found this quite amusing, mostly because I wondered what he must think of Jupiter with this definition of gas in mind....
Greta: Well...yes, that is gas...one type of gas, but there are many types of gasses. Do you want to do an experiment?
Max enthusiastically agreed to this because he loves doing experiments. We went to the kitchen and measured a small amount of water into a measuring cup. We took careful note of how much water we had and then we poured it into a pan and started heating it. Soon it started to boil. I asked Max what he thought the bubbles were, we felt the steam and noticed how we could put our hand through it and also things that were liquid, but we couldn't put our hand through solid things. After we had boiled the water for awhile we put it back into the measuring cup and noticed that we had less water than before.
Greta: Max, where did our water go?
Max: (to my great surprise) It turned into steam.
I was thrilled with his comprehension and started giving myself a nice pat on the back for being such a fabulous science teacher. Then Max got a look of sheer delight as though all these ideas were finally falling in to place.
Max: And our tummy is boiling too!
Greta: (confused) what?
Max: We drink water and it goes into our tummy where it boils and makes gas. Then the gas comes out our bum!
Hmmm...not quite. But it was a fine piece of thinking and I didn't have the heart to shoot it down...so I just told Max what a smart idea that was and maybe we can think about it more when we start talking about how our bodies work. So now my kid thinks our stomachs boil...so much for being a good science teacher.
Greta: Max, do you know what gas is?
Max: Yup. It comes out of daddy's bum.
I found this quite amusing, mostly because I wondered what he must think of Jupiter with this definition of gas in mind....
Greta: Well...yes, that is gas...one type of gas, but there are many types of gasses. Do you want to do an experiment?
Max enthusiastically agreed to this because he loves doing experiments. We went to the kitchen and measured a small amount of water into a measuring cup. We took careful note of how much water we had and then we poured it into a pan and started heating it. Soon it started to boil. I asked Max what he thought the bubbles were, we felt the steam and noticed how we could put our hand through it and also things that were liquid, but we couldn't put our hand through solid things. After we had boiled the water for awhile we put it back into the measuring cup and noticed that we had less water than before.
Greta: Max, where did our water go?
Max: (to my great surprise) It turned into steam.
I was thrilled with his comprehension and started giving myself a nice pat on the back for being such a fabulous science teacher. Then Max got a look of sheer delight as though all these ideas were finally falling in to place.
Max: And our tummy is boiling too!
Greta: (confused) what?
Max: We drink water and it goes into our tummy where it boils and makes gas. Then the gas comes out our bum!
Hmmm...not quite. But it was a fine piece of thinking and I didn't have the heart to shoot it down...so I just told Max what a smart idea that was and maybe we can think about it more when we start talking about how our bodies work. So now my kid thinks our stomachs boil...so much for being a good science teacher.
Winter wonderland....and cows
This past weekend we dragged our children, aupair Angel and his girl friend Consuelo to the river to experience winter as it truly is...SNOWY. This year we have had an incredible amount of snow in Waterloo and the snow is always even deeper near Gus's parent's river property. Each year it is fun to go up to the river and see the mushrooms of snow on top of whatever furniture we forgot to put away before the snow came. It is especially beautiful to look at the ice sculptures made from the millions of tiny waterfalls escaping from the rock cliffs into the river.
Despite this beauty, we rarely visit the river in the winter, especially with kids. We have to haul all our possessions in a kilometer from the road, dig out the cabin (there was 1 meter of snow blocking the doors) and light fires, all this with two toddlers in tow. And then we are confined to the 100 square foot cabins for the rest of the weekend. I always imagine hours spent outside building snow forts and tobogganing down the big hill to the river, but Darwyn starts crying the instant you set her in the snow and Max doesn't care for tobogganing because he might get snow in his face. Not that it matters, the snow was so deep and fluffy that any toboggan would sink a foot deep into the snow the instant you sat on it. And so it goes that we rarely get up to the river in the winter anymore.
Fortunately, we have made some new friends at the river that, this year and last, offered us the use of a beautiful extra house that they happen to have lying around. They built it a couple of years ago as a retirement home and then forgot that they were going to retire. Ah well, our gain. So we've made it a yearly tradition to go up to the river once in the winter. This year,we made a couple of trips to the barn to see the animals, climb on the hay bales and play in the tractors. And we also got to visit the beautiful river oasis without having to backpack in two days worth of gear.
It was especially fun this year because we could show off winter, real winter, (not that..oh we have snow on a mountain in Spain stuff that Angel is always talking about) to our Spanish Au pair and his Chilean girl friend (although Chile apparently also gets real winter...but in the summer....they are all backwards there). Also that gave us extra adults so we could stay up late playing board games. The whole weekend would have been idyllic if our children had slept at all...oh well.
Anyway, this doesn't make much of a story, so I will stop talking now and just post some pictures from the trip. Enjoy!
Despite this beauty, we rarely visit the river in the winter, especially with kids. We have to haul all our possessions in a kilometer from the road, dig out the cabin (there was 1 meter of snow blocking the doors) and light fires, all this with two toddlers in tow. And then we are confined to the 100 square foot cabins for the rest of the weekend. I always imagine hours spent outside building snow forts and tobogganing down the big hill to the river, but Darwyn starts crying the instant you set her in the snow and Max doesn't care for tobogganing because he might get snow in his face. Not that it matters, the snow was so deep and fluffy that any toboggan would sink a foot deep into the snow the instant you sat on it. And so it goes that we rarely get up to the river in the winter anymore.
Fortunately, we have made some new friends at the river that, this year and last, offered us the use of a beautiful extra house that they happen to have lying around. They built it a couple of years ago as a retirement home and then forgot that they were going to retire. Ah well, our gain. So we've made it a yearly tradition to go up to the river once in the winter. This year,we made a couple of trips to the barn to see the animals, climb on the hay bales and play in the tractors. And we also got to visit the beautiful river oasis without having to backpack in two days worth of gear.
It was especially fun this year because we could show off winter, real winter, (not that..oh we have snow on a mountain in Spain stuff that Angel is always talking about) to our Spanish Au pair and his Chilean girl friend (although Chile apparently also gets real winter...but in the summer....they are all backwards there). Also that gave us extra adults so we could stay up late playing board games. The whole weekend would have been idyllic if our children had slept at all...oh well.
Anyway, this doesn't make much of a story, so I will stop talking now and just post some pictures from the trip. Enjoy!
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| I just like this picture |
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| Our total snow get up. It is the rare stroller that would allow you to move your kids around in 3 ft of snow! It is hard to see, but the chariot is outfitted with skis! |
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| Angel's first attempt at snow shoes (and we stuck a chariot behind him). It was a little tough getting started. |
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| This picture would have been adorable if it weren't for that stupid flap on his toque. I promise his expression shows his thrill. |
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| We got to ride the pony, Star. Unfortunately, she refused to move. |
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| Darwyn enjoying cheese and posing for the camera |
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| More posing for the camera.... |
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| This is the entrance to the river property. Can you find the gate? |
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| Consuelo in front of the winter falls |
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| And Angel in front of the winter falls |
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| This picture isn't so fabulous...but I thought the snow on top of the outdoor shower really demonstrates how the snow tends to mushroom on top of everything. Also you can see how deep the snow is....note that the snow on the shower is farther away from the camera than Angel, but it is about half his height. |
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| Here I am behind a mound of snow that had piled up in front of the kitchen overhang.... it made a great fort. |
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| Consuelo and the kids attempting to warm up around the non-existent fire. |
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| The mill in winter. No one wanted to try diving through the chute. |
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| Gus and the mill |
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| Max with snow in his mitt. |
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Kittens....from a long time ago.
Note: I wrote this post in the fall, but didn't post it because I hadn't gone through the photos. I've added a few now!
Mom and dad (not so) recently came to visit Waterloo. It was nice to see them, but even better was the litter of kittens they brought with them! Max and Darwyn LOVED the kittens as did many of the neighbourhood kids. They would come into visit the kittens and then call home to beg their parents for one. Needless to say they were not successful. Max spent hours sitting next to the kitten box lovingly caressing (the kittens might have seen this activity slightly differently) the kittens. He begged us for a kitten. He also was not successful. If we are lucky Pepper will have another batch of kittens in the spring before Mom and Dad get around to getting her spayed. (Note: we were not lucky.) Anyway, enjoy the photos. You can see an entire album from mom and dad's visit here.
Mom and dad (not so) recently came to visit Waterloo. It was nice to see them, but even better was the litter of kittens they brought with them! Max and Darwyn LOVED the kittens as did many of the neighbourhood kids. They would come into visit the kittens and then call home to beg their parents for one. Needless to say they were not successful. Max spent hours sitting next to the kitten box lovingly caressing (the kittens might have seen this activity slightly differently) the kittens. He begged us for a kitten. He also was not successful. If we are lucky Pepper will have another batch of kittens in the spring before Mom and Dad get around to getting her spayed. (Note: we were not lucky.) Anyway, enjoy the photos. You can see an entire album from mom and dad's visit here.
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| Pepper Cat (when she was quite a bit younger) |
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| Darwyn and kitten |
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| Grandma, Max and Kittens |
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| Nice picture of Grandma |
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| Nice picture of Grandpa |
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| Darwyn and Grandpa at the Rockwood ruins |
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| Grandma and Max at the Rockwood ruins |
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| My children way too high up for my comfort. They apparently just had to see inside that cave. |
Monday, September 16, 2013
All about Max
For the past few months Max has been experimenting more and more with how things work. We are constantly peppered with questions about the sky, what is inside our bodies, why the dinosaurs died, why people die (and get older) and yes, the favorite, where do babies come from. Along with this Max has started trying to put together his own models of how and why the world works. These lead to some interesting conversations with somewhat distorted logic. Here are a few of my favorites:
Funny Story 1:
Max: (while staring at a pile of carrot sticks) Mom, I don't like crunchy things.
Greta: And why is that honey?
Max: Because Elliot is my friend and Elliot does not like crunchy things, so I don't like crunchy things either.
Greta: (I figure a good null case should cure this logic) I guess you won't be having any of these chips. They are quite crunchy.
Max: No I can have chips. Elliot likes chips.
Funny Story 2:
Max has some of those glow in the dark stars stuck to the underside of the big bed. He sleeps underneath them and we regularly talk about them before we fall asleep. On one particular occasion, as I was trying not to fall asleep in Max's bed, Max piped up with a new idea....
Max: Mom, I think we should replace those stars with real ones!
Greta: And how are we going to do that?
Max: (looking puzzled) I guess we will just have to grow REALLY tall and then pick one out of the sky.
Greta: Max, stars are big burning balls of fire. Don't you think they will be hot?
Max: We can wear oven mitts.
Funny Story 3: (As retold to me by Angel)
One afternoon Angel was waiting at the bus stop with Max and Darwyn on their way back from a visit to the local museum. Two women from the nearby university were waiting at the same stop. Max sat quietly with Angel occasionally glancing over at the women. Then all of the sudden Max turned toward them an let out and ear shattering dinosaur rawr, complete with little dinosaur arms.
Angel: Max, what are you doing?
Max: I'm making friends.
Angel: We don't usually make friends that way.
Max lapses into silence for a few minutes and then turns back to the women.
Max: Pajamas! (Max pauses for a reaction and the women started laughing). Pajamas!
Angel: Max, what are you doing?
Max: If I make them laugh they will be my friends!
I must admit that I am rather fond of this age. Max has started to branch out a lot in his interests. I am no longer confined to hours and hours of trucks. Max is showing an interest in cooking, crafts, gardening, the natural world and especially in other kids. He is really working hard on social skills and he is becoming quite interested in "making friends". He is delightfully inquisitive and is thrilled with new bits of knowledge. He has also developed a keen interest in learning to read now that he has figured out he will be able to read stories whenever he wants! He can identify all his letters and most of the associated sounds and he and daddy have even started sounding out some words. He was tickled pink the first time this actually worked and he identified a word (with quite a bit of daddy's help). He shows less enthusiasm for math, but I did get him interested in counting dried beans. Oh well.
Funny Story 1:
Max: (while staring at a pile of carrot sticks) Mom, I don't like crunchy things.
Greta: And why is that honey?
Max: Because Elliot is my friend and Elliot does not like crunchy things, so I don't like crunchy things either.
Greta: (I figure a good null case should cure this logic) I guess you won't be having any of these chips. They are quite crunchy.
Max: No I can have chips. Elliot likes chips.
Funny Story 2:
Max has some of those glow in the dark stars stuck to the underside of the big bed. He sleeps underneath them and we regularly talk about them before we fall asleep. On one particular occasion, as I was trying not to fall asleep in Max's bed, Max piped up with a new idea....
Max: Mom, I think we should replace those stars with real ones!
Greta: And how are we going to do that?
Max: (looking puzzled) I guess we will just have to grow REALLY tall and then pick one out of the sky.
Greta: Max, stars are big burning balls of fire. Don't you think they will be hot?
Max: We can wear oven mitts.
Funny Story 3: (As retold to me by Angel)
One afternoon Angel was waiting at the bus stop with Max and Darwyn on their way back from a visit to the local museum. Two women from the nearby university were waiting at the same stop. Max sat quietly with Angel occasionally glancing over at the women. Then all of the sudden Max turned toward them an let out and ear shattering dinosaur rawr, complete with little dinosaur arms.
Angel: Max, what are you doing?
Max: I'm making friends.
Angel: We don't usually make friends that way.
Max lapses into silence for a few minutes and then turns back to the women.
Max: Pajamas! (Max pauses for a reaction and the women started laughing). Pajamas!
Angel: Max, what are you doing?
Max: If I make them laugh they will be my friends!
I must admit that I am rather fond of this age. Max has started to branch out a lot in his interests. I am no longer confined to hours and hours of trucks. Max is showing an interest in cooking, crafts, gardening, the natural world and especially in other kids. He is really working hard on social skills and he is becoming quite interested in "making friends". He is delightfully inquisitive and is thrilled with new bits of knowledge. He has also developed a keen interest in learning to read now that he has figured out he will be able to read stories whenever he wants! He can identify all his letters and most of the associated sounds and he and daddy have even started sounding out some words. He was tickled pink the first time this actually worked and he identified a word (with quite a bit of daddy's help). He shows less enthusiasm for math, but I did get him interested in counting dried beans. Oh well.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Visit to Tee's
We recently made the long hike to visit my sister Teela who now lives in Virginia. The kids had a fabulous time with their cousins. Staying at Teela's was like being at a posh cabin in the woods. She is surrounded with 2 acres of beautiful hardwood forest, complete with playground for the kids. It was a short walk down the hill to pools and tennis courts and only a few steps farther to the river. We had a fabulous time canoeing, swimming and hiking all right outside Teela's backdoor! Most of the trip doesn't make for good blogging, but I've included a story about our canoeing expedition. I don't have time to write more! Sorry it isn't more polished....
Canoeing: On the last day of our visit we managed to lug the canoe from Teela's backyard down to the river. When I say 'we', I mean Peff and Gus....although Teela and I offered some direction without which I'm sure they would have been lost.
The river near Teela's winds its way through lovely hardwood forest at a rather leisurely pace, so it is possible to canoe upstream most of the way. On the way up, Teela and I paddled and Gus rode with Darwyn (who could not be trusted to stay sitting on her own). There were a couple of spots with rapids, but the water was shallow, so Gus just climbed out and dragged the canoe through the rapids. We even managed to rescue a shoe floating down stream, which we miraculously returned to its owner when we ran across them farther up the river. They apparently tipped in the rapids. We found this quite amusing as they were small and not very deep and we happily discussed how silly they were as we paddled up stream.
On the way down we had a chance to prove our superiority. Gus once again sat in the middle with the kids while Teela and I manned the paddles. Peff was kayaking near by with Merlin riding on the back of the Kayak. The rapids were not large, but they were difficult to navigate because they were so shallow. It was hard to get the full blade of your paddle in the water, which made steering more of a challenge and if you didn't choose the right route, you would wind up beached (or spilled). As we approached the rapids, Teela yelled out a number of directions to Peff, while I tried to remember the route we took up.
Greta: You have to head in the center of that V Teela....I think that is the way we came...or was it on the other side of the rock.
Teela: Peff! Wait and go behind us. We know the route.
Greta: Was this the place with the overhanging tree?
Teela: Wasn't that down stream?....that is where the other canoe tipped
Greta: (noticing that are pace is picking up rapidly) Yes I think this is definitely the spot with the tree. We need to head for the V.
Teela: I think it is too shallow....we need to go around in on the left side. Peff!! Avoid the V!
Greta: (Yelling) Teela! GO LEFT!
At this point Viola started to cry because everyone was screaming at one another and we were catapulting towards the rapids (but not towards the V or the desired deeper route) in a completely uncontrolled manner. Teela attempted to do a powerful sweep stroke to realign the canoe, but she could only get 1/3 of her paddle in the water, so nothing of note happened. I then attempted to pull the nose over myself with a draw (definitely a bad move) and only succeeded in turning the canoe broadside to the quickly advancing water.
At this point, you are probably wondering what idiot taught Teela and I to canoe. It might be hard to believe that we were actually both raised in canoes. It turns out that did little for our navigation skills, but it did payoff in our ability to balance.
If you have canoed in rapids then you know that hitting them broadside is pretty much game over. If you add three kids to that equation you are guaranteed to tip. But as we hit the rapids Teela and I both threw our weight upstream. The boat lurched down stream and then back up again as Teela and I practically doggy paddled out the upstream side. We stayed up right and the boat became lodged in between a couple of rocks.
Teela: Don't worry Viola. We are having fun.
Actually, we were. In spite of how I have made it sound, the "rapids" were barely a ripple in the water. That is why we thought it was ridiculous that anyone could tip their boat. But we were saved only by a rock and years of riding in canoes. The rapids were so mild, that once we got stuck, everyone just climbed out and we lifted the canoe out from between the rocks. Even Darwyn stood in the rapids with little difficulty. Needless to say, the whole experience was a bit humbling.
And here are some of the best photos from the trip, but if you want to see more photos of lesser quality you can find them here.
Canoeing: On the last day of our visit we managed to lug the canoe from Teela's backyard down to the river. When I say 'we', I mean Peff and Gus....although Teela and I offered some direction without which I'm sure they would have been lost.
The river near Teela's winds its way through lovely hardwood forest at a rather leisurely pace, so it is possible to canoe upstream most of the way. On the way up, Teela and I paddled and Gus rode with Darwyn (who could not be trusted to stay sitting on her own). There were a couple of spots with rapids, but the water was shallow, so Gus just climbed out and dragged the canoe through the rapids. We even managed to rescue a shoe floating down stream, which we miraculously returned to its owner when we ran across them farther up the river. They apparently tipped in the rapids. We found this quite amusing as they were small and not very deep and we happily discussed how silly they were as we paddled up stream.
On the way down we had a chance to prove our superiority. Gus once again sat in the middle with the kids while Teela and I manned the paddles. Peff was kayaking near by with Merlin riding on the back of the Kayak. The rapids were not large, but they were difficult to navigate because they were so shallow. It was hard to get the full blade of your paddle in the water, which made steering more of a challenge and if you didn't choose the right route, you would wind up beached (or spilled). As we approached the rapids, Teela yelled out a number of directions to Peff, while I tried to remember the route we took up.
Greta: You have to head in the center of that V Teela....I think that is the way we came...or was it on the other side of the rock.
Teela: Peff! Wait and go behind us. We know the route.
Greta: Was this the place with the overhanging tree?
Teela: Wasn't that down stream?....that is where the other canoe tipped
Greta: (noticing that are pace is picking up rapidly) Yes I think this is definitely the spot with the tree. We need to head for the V.
Teela: I think it is too shallow....we need to go around in on the left side. Peff!! Avoid the V!
Greta: (Yelling) Teela! GO LEFT!
At this point Viola started to cry because everyone was screaming at one another and we were catapulting towards the rapids (but not towards the V or the desired deeper route) in a completely uncontrolled manner. Teela attempted to do a powerful sweep stroke to realign the canoe, but she could only get 1/3 of her paddle in the water, so nothing of note happened. I then attempted to pull the nose over myself with a draw (definitely a bad move) and only succeeded in turning the canoe broadside to the quickly advancing water.
At this point, you are probably wondering what idiot taught Teela and I to canoe. It might be hard to believe that we were actually both raised in canoes. It turns out that did little for our navigation skills, but it did payoff in our ability to balance.
If you have canoed in rapids then you know that hitting them broadside is pretty much game over. If you add three kids to that equation you are guaranteed to tip. But as we hit the rapids Teela and I both threw our weight upstream. The boat lurched down stream and then back up again as Teela and I practically doggy paddled out the upstream side. We stayed up right and the boat became lodged in between a couple of rocks.
Teela: Don't worry Viola. We are having fun.
Actually, we were. In spite of how I have made it sound, the "rapids" were barely a ripple in the water. That is why we thought it was ridiculous that anyone could tip their boat. But we were saved only by a rock and years of riding in canoes. The rapids were so mild, that once we got stuck, everyone just climbed out and we lifted the canoe out from between the rocks. Even Darwyn stood in the rapids with little difficulty. Needless to say, the whole experience was a bit humbling.
And here are some of the best photos from the trip, but if you want to see more photos of lesser quality you can find them here.
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| Merlin risking life and limb to clean the eaves trough. |
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| Check out the size of this corn! The people are only for scale. |
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| Max is really into gardens. He examined each food crop carefully. |
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| She might be reading to Darwyn...more likely she is trying to keep her from taking the book. |
Thursday, August 8, 2013
An Angel at the river
Our new au pair arrived at the beginning of July. His name is Ángel (pronounced AHNG-HEL, but you can call him Angel) and he is from Spain. He accompanied us up to the river on his second weekend with us. The easiest way for us to show him the photos we took of him is to place them in a blog post. Enjoy, everyone.
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| Before: chopping wood, Canadian style |
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| After: the product of Angel's labour, Canadian style |
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