Evelyn is Four!!

 Where has time gone? This busy girl used to be a peaceful baby content in my arms! She is still a very snuggly girl, but only in short doses or when she is tired. Otherwise she is zooming off to do something exciting -- all day long! Several times I have checked on her at "quiet time" to find that she is merely arguing with her imaginary play friends, but is (other than being very loud) behaving herself.

 She is unsure about the extra attention, but has been counting down for her birthday since Sinterklaas, since, after that she was told it was only a little while 'til Matthew's birthday. Then her's came after that (oh yeah, and maybe Mom's too). So even on Matthew's birthday she was half expecting us to start celebrating her already!

 Nathan and Melanie made Evelyn some gifts. A wall hanging from Melanie and a jewelry storage box.

 The next day we had Evelyn's party! We went back to the indoor playground that her siblings had chosen before. Evelyn likes to know what to expect!

 We were the only ones there (except for a brief while when one child came) so while Evelyn was busy with Jennifer the older ones could have a good rousing game of tag!

 Trust me, it is not easy to catch smaller people when there are awkward corners to get through -- even if overall you may be faster!

 Evelyn and Jennifer took off in their spaceship...off to the moon maybe?

 The ball pit, despite being shallower than the one I remember loving in West Edmonton Mall as a kid, is a hit! The little balls are supposed to stay in, but that doesn't apply to the big balls!

 Evelyn does not cooperate for posing (but Jennifer is always super duper eager!

 Daniel, caught in the middle, played peacefully with the girls for a while, and joined the rowdier game during it's calmer intervals.

 Swimming to the edge of the pool!

 The afternoon of the big day a senior friend from church showed up so we went for an impromptu walk on the golf course.

 A lot of golf balls got collected! And since Evelyn is now four I refused to pick her up even for a brief respite, and she handled it quite well. She knows she's long overdue for walking on her own two legs more often!

And we sang happy birthday! Evelyn refused to blow out the candles. Perhaps because they are too enjoyable to watch. Or perhaps from the embarrassment of having to blow them out so ceremoniously. Nathan eventually did it for her because he was worried he'd end up eating wax!

Happy Birthday Evelyn! You're a spunky little girl, and growing up way too fast! (Not that you think you are -- you'd rather be ten. :o )

bumps in the road

 Melanie was very frustrated with the spools unwinding, so she eventually came up with a design to help her with her braiding/loom thing.

 Jennifer and Evelyn have recently become re-interested in helping in the kitchen. When they are cutting up veggies, I tend to put them where I can't see what they are doing. I can bandage them after, but I don't want to watch all of the almost accidents.

 I haven't been reading as much lately to these two, but they still love books!

 Hopefully I'll improve my habits again soon of reading to them more regularly!

 Melanie and Matthew are hangin' out, kinda bored, supposed to be working probably!

 While Daniel puts away a toy that really annoys me

 before it gets confiscated!

 Meanwhile, Nathan is off in a secluded corner getting some schoolwork done!

And we were to host a play date for our Mom and Tot group. Nobody showed up. Not even the fun family that said the night before that they'd come.

 So we played with the playdough (which Matthew and Melanie got out of bed early to make as I hadn't had the cream of tartar in the house evening before).  My poor kids didn't even get a spring break! Except for this "play date" day -- better enjoy it!

Matthew is 9!

Matthew is nine years old!

 His birthday started with piano lessons

 so we ate candy in the car while waiting for Nathan and Melanie to finish!

 Matthew did the decorating...after I spread the base layer down.

 Matthew wanted to try mini-golf, which his siblings fully approved!

 Matthew went ahead with Melanie and Nathan.

 Daniel Jennifer Evelyn and I went after...we were a little less orthodox in our playing.

 The balls often banged off of boots but that didn't seem to matter!

 And you just keep hitting it while it's rolling if you want, or pick it up if you need to!

 It was a lot of fun. We were the only ones there, which was good for the slower ones of us. And we were given permission to do an extra round! :)

 After cake Matthew wanted to confirm the scores...was Nathan right about how many points Matthew got?

And when Daddy was home in the evening it was card time

 and gifts! This is decor for Matthew's room that Melanie made.

Matthew is an easy going guy, fun loving, and a bit of a card! We love him!

creations

 It's been so long that I forget what Evelyn built here. Once, something similar was a windmill. This could be a sprayer for putting out fires. Or something else again too! (Guns are a favourite right now.)

And "Matthew" mirrored. Guess who did that? ;)

Snowman Competition

 Mid-February we had a wonderful snowfall with deep snow that was perfect for snowmen!

 I got plenty of exercise helping...after all it was my idea that the snowmen be up by the driveway where they could be seen, and not down the hill where they would be unobserved.

 Nathan decided to not do a "snowman" but a snow sculpture of a different sort.

 Daniel liked the traditional snowman and wasn't too fussy about how straight the balls were on.

 Matthew and Melanie worked together.

 Evelyn refused to work on anything up the hill. In fact, she decided to make a chair instead.

 She was pretty good at manipulating the snow and was happy with the shape her chair was becoming.

 Hard at work. Note the wooden ramp used for rolling up the middle snowballs.

 Adding features!

 Observing the effect from the driveway...

 "Mom I need your help!"

 Daniel's snowman is finished!

 "Wah!! I can't get my boots off by myself!"

Now that the snowmom is done, Melanie and Matthew add a snowbaby.

 But Jennifer was the one who's idea is was to have a snowbaby. She didn't bother adding decorations...but stuck to shaping her snowpeople.

 Nathan said his snow penguin took about 3 hours to complete.

 He won the prize for the most creative snow creation.

 There were also prizes for the littlest snowman, the biggest snowman, the cutest snowman, the .... 'til everyone won. ;)