Wednesday, August 31, 2011

"Swimming" Lessons...

The kiddos have been taking a few swimming lessons lately...
 's'  has really "immersed" himself...
He's LOVING the water and I am pleased with his improvement!
Good work boy-o!
- - - - -
 'z' is IN the water and that IS a HUGE accomplishment for her...
She has improved as well and that is a VERY good thing!
's', as you can see, LOVES being in the pool!
It's nice to have them do something where they can learn a new skill and have SO much fun at the same time!!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Piano Patooties...

If it gets quiet upstairs...
I know exactly where to find these two...



Stripped down to their dipes and plunking away on the piano downstairs...
It's the simple things you know!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Chillin' @ Parksville Beach...

After yesterday's NBT trekking we decided it would be a good idea to relax on the beach...
So out to Parksville we went...
Here's what we did!
 's' enjoyed digging in the sand ...
with a few breaks to wash off in the water...
- - - - - - -  
 'z' enjoyed munching on the many delicious snacks we brought along...
- - - - - 
 'c' and 'g2' were really IN to putting sand into the buckets...
- - - - - 
 'z' partially buried 'T'...
It kept her busy and the sand was SO warm!
- - - - -
 Basically we just hung out and relaxed!
- - - - -
 'g2' enjoyed her watermelon...
- - - - -
 so did 'c'...
- - - - -
 'g2' again....
I have LOTS of watermelon munching pics....
- - - - -
 'c' and more watermelon....
- - - - -
 By late afternoon...
A snooze took over many minds...
- - - - -
 There's a gorgeous boardwalk and the girlz enjoyed strolling along and catching the breeze off the ocean...
- - - - -
Finally it came time to go home...
We walked back over to the cars and loaded everyone up...
 BOTH girlz were OUT before we finished loading the bits 'n pieces...
It was a great day in the fresh air with family...and a nice quiet ride home!!!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Nanaimo Bar Trail!!! What FUN!!!

We were blessed to have a visit from my sister and her family this summer!
She came across this...
...and wondered if we might like to do it when they were in town....
NO! Not at all! Who are you kidding?
I would NOT like to spend time munching on delectable Nanaimo Bars...
WHO would want to do that?!?
ME, ME, ME PLEASE!!!!
I did not tell the kiddos what we were doing that day...
I wanted it to be a surprise...
;o)
I wish I had my camera ready when my sister told 's' that this is what we were doing for the next couple of hours...LOL... 
His eyes just about popped out of his head!
He didn't believe her at first!
Too funny!
- - - - -
So we started out at Serious Coffee, sampling their SERIOUSLY BAD Nanaimo Bar...
It was the first one of the day...and the WORST one too!
 They looked not-too-bad... 'cept for their uber thin chocolate top...
 ...but they did NOT taste good at all!
We will not be going back there.
I would not waste your time or money there.
[jmnsho]
- - - - - - - - -
 Next we headed over to Perkins...
 This was a very tasty Nanaimo Bar! 
YUM-O!
We also had a taste of another bar...it was good.
I would definitely go back to Perkin's because they have several treat bars cut the size of your HEAD!
And the price is right too!
GIANT Rice Krispie squares [well rectangles] and
many other MONSTEROUS 'retro' treats.
Many I am sure the downtown employees remember their Mothers making...
SMART business move to do that when they have a lineup waiting for their fancy coffees or hot cocoas 
to be whipped up... and since the size is GINORMOUS... perfect for sharing!
 A decent top coat on their version and it was dark chocolate...
I LOVE DARK CHOCOLATE!!!
I should mention that the size of the bars you are seeing is not their actual size.
There were 8 of us...
We purchased 2 bars and had them cut into 4's...
- - - - - - - - - 
 We did try and go to the Wee Cupcakery...
...but they only do their Nanaimo Bar cupcakes on Fridays and Saturdays...
Since this was Wednesday, we missed out...
 Here's Bocca's version.... 
Just LOOK at that DARK chocolate top layer!!!
DOUBLE YUM!
 They also do a peanut butter version!
We did not sample it that day...
[I have since been back but they were sold out... one day I shall indulge!]
Here's our hopped-up-on-sugar-crew!
We did also stop at McLean's Specialty Foods but we took that one home to enjoy later...
It was ok...
So, to sum up...
We liked Perkin's & Bocca's Nanaimo Bars best!
Definitely worth the trek!
We also parked and walked from place to place so we were burning calories as we went!
Good thing too!
If you haven't tried the Nanaimo Bar trail...
I would recommend it!
We didn't go to any of the places that served the cheesecake version...
I think that would be best if you could make a day of it and shoppe some and then enjoy the cheesecake after having dinner out....without the entourage.... just sayin'....
;o)
The kiddos did well though and I was pleasantly surprised that they were so well behaved.
Even when we went into a shoppe to have a peek, they did well.
And we don't drink alcohol so the martinis were not sampled either...
Check the link at the top of this post for the whole 'trail' list.
If you're from Nanaimo or just visiting...
It's a great way to spend the day!
Thanks for finding something so fun to do right in my own backyard Sista!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Bathing Suit Babez...

Snapped this one today...
 They were perched on the arm of the couch and I just HAD to capture their tiny frames.
So in their own world and having a terrific time conversing with one another...
Giggles and all!

Friday, August 19, 2011

'g2'...

Loving these impromptu snaps of 'g2'...

the light, the colours, the kid...
So warm, so fun, so sweet!