"T" in Topeka!

This week found us touring Topeka, KS!

We went here: and here:

Madison and Warren continued reading "Tabby in the Tub", their latest Animal Ark book:

Jacob played with a new Thomas book with two of his cousins:

We gave and received thank you cards:

We visited the Topeka zoo and saw turtles, toucans, tortoises, and tigers:

Mads played with a new church activity - Tinkerbell tissue paper craft:

At church one day, cutie Caleb was dressed in a tuxedo:


She also enjoyed a lot of together time with a good friend:


We visited an art museum and found this creation called "Topiary with a Twist":


Madison's favourite part of the trip was a trail ride:



Jacob found a train table at the bookstore:


We went to an old-fashioned village and the tikes posed on the train:


Outside of the hotel, there was a little orchard where the kids chose their favourite tree:



As per most trips to the US, we braved Chuck-E-Cheese and Jacob's first ride was this TRUCK:


At a local Topeka playground, Jacob climbed through a tunnel:


It was an extremely tedious trip home. When we finally made it to the terminal:


Nana and Madison tried the tango:


And played on the twirly toy:


Finally home, we went for a nice long walk and Jacob and Daddy played their new form of tag (shadow tag):


The kids had a tea party:

And Jacob played with his own train table...

...and lined up his trucks, adding his new Tonka into the line-up:

Slam-dunk "S"

Back from a trip away, so this is posted late. Our second "S" week was spent travelling, and in Kansas on our annual church trip. The kids and I wore our "Star" shirts one day.

It began with an early sailing on the ferry where Jacob did a snowman sticker set:


We had packed so many sweet snacks:


Not enough sleep meant that silliness started...


...and continued on the other side when we stopped for Subway:



That night, we went here with my sister and her family:


We ordered the steak with salad bar, strawberry lemonade, sweet sundaes, and one of the kids even had a spill.

We checked into our Marriot Suites near Seattle for a short sleep, and no swim since the pool was closed for the season :(

In the sunshine, Nana taught the kids the slapping-hands game while waiting for the shuttle:


We took the shuttle bus to Sea-Tac airport (notice M's sunglasses):


On the trip we coloured more solar systems, and the most colourful sparrow ever seen:


After many security scans, we were on the plane and Madison did some sewing and stitching:



Once there, we saw a sleeping sweet baby Sophia:


The kids learned a new game called "Statues and Security Guards":



Jacob found a stick:


We ate at this sushi/steakhouse with our friend Summer, and one of the meal courses was sherbert:

Madison and Warren did a lot of swimming in the hotel pool. We all did a lot of singing. We ate scrambled eggs, sandwiches, soup, and salads.

In other news, this is a photo of the slides that I slipped off of, seriously slamming my sacrum, that is still sore and sensitive when I sit or stand:


Also, Katie had another interview at the Savoy hotel - we are *so proud* of her adventures:

PS. On our long trip, Silly Putty was our best friend :)

Things that were on our "S" list that we didn't get to because of the craziness were: games like "Sorry" and "Secret Forest", planning a scavenger hunt, visiting a senior's centre, playing soccer, skating, doing more science experiments, and making some stepping stones.

Slice of "S"

Our first week of "S" we ate spelt flakes cereal, spinach perogies, salad, salsa, salt, spaghettini, sloppy joes, snap peas, soy milk, sour cream, soup, strawberries, syrup, and sauce. We bought spaghetti squash (haven't cooked it yet!). We listened to a symphony by Shostakovich. Jacob started [pre]school with his teacher, Miss Sally. Madison picked up her schoolwork for the semester. Madison has fallen in love with my Shania Twain CDs. We said goodbye to summer by packing all of our summer clothes away til next year. The kids had tons of fun playing outside in the sandbox, and also with skipping ropes and sidewalk chalk. We shopped at stores such as Shoppers Drug Mart and Superstore. Madison and Daddy went to a special show. Aunt Kate had an interview with the Savoy Hotel in London. I wore sunglasses. We bought stamps, used the stove, and soap, too! We sang songs, and realized that it is September!

We went to Nana's for lunch and had sandwiches, smoothies, and scones for dessert:

Madison and Jacob coloured scarecrows and stars:

Jacob coloured a schoolbus, a squirrel, a space shuttle, and a skid steer loader:

The three of us coloured seahorses and solar systems:

We took some shadow pictures on a sunny day:

Sabbath school this week was about Samson and Delilah:

And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego:

We went to Nana's and worked on shell necklaces:

Madison and Jacob made shiny S paper plate crafts for the wall:

Jacob drew a ship on the whiteboard (see the 3 masts with lots of sails?):

We all worked on a solar system mobile:

We played spa:

Madison and Jacob tried sparklers for the first time:

We visited the SPCA and met a bunny named Snowball:

And a cat named Spicka:

I went out for an early morning walk one day, and saw this super spiderweb:


Nana and Grandad's resident squirrel was scurrying around after seeds as usual:

We baked star cupcakes and handed them out to neighbours:

Jacob had a wondering about sucking strawberry juice out of the strawberry using a straw, so we did a little science experiment to see:

Mads figured out that if you slice a sliver and slide it into the straw, you can suck it up!

The kids made sunflowers:

Madison and Daddy had a swordfight in the sun: