Happy Halloween!

Winter was kind, and decided to disappear this year for Halloween! We're back to no snow, and it was a beautiful day today with no wind!
We got busy carving pumpkins this morning. It started as "we" but as soon as Madalyn touched the mushy gushy stuff she was out, so I was left to carve five pumpkins all on my own. It ended up taking most of the morning!
Here are some photos of the pumpkins, Madalyn getting her Cinderella hair done, and of course the costumes! We took the kids out before dinner to visit some friends, and then after dinner, Chris took Madalyn up and down our street, while Owen and I handed out candy. As it stands now, we've had 55 kids, which is about 53 more than last year! Hope everyone had a happy Halloween!

Winter has arrived

It has been a very snowy weekend. I think the expected was 5cm, but it has been snowing since Friday and I am fairly certain we have more than that. With temps being just below zero it has been that wet, heavy stuff that is perfect for snowballs and snowmen. That's what we've been using it for anyway!
This was the first weekend Chris hasn't worked in 3 weeks, so we took advantage of it. Lots of family fun in the snow and swimming at the pool as well. It was nice to just hang out together and play. Here are some photos.

After a "brief" hiatus

Almost two years later and I'm back to the blog. I've been inspired by a friend who has just started one about living and teaching in northern BC. To keep myself busy during a bout of insomnia I decided to revisit the blog. It's been great fun to look back at all the pictures.
Two years later and Madalyn is almost four years old with a 14 month old brother. I'm about to go back to work for the second time (I think that's where the insomnia is coming from).
Enjoyed a great night tonight with friends chatting around the kitchen table, it always takes me a while to unwind after so much laughter!
I should probably head to bed now, since Chris and I are hosting a bbq at our place tomorrow, so there will be a house to clean, food to prepare, and the regular kid stuff to do tomorrow....

Madalyn's 2nd Birthday

Madalyn seemed to have a drawn out birthday this year. We celebrated on the day, and then a week later we had her birthday party, which her Nanna and Grandad were able to attend as well. The night before it poured, but we showed up at the park early, with towels to wipe off the slides and picnic tables. It was a sunny morning, and everything was dry by the time the party started.
Madalyn was very happy to have her friends come to the park to play with her, and throughout the party she could be heard singing Happy Birthday to herself! She had a ladybug birthday cake this year and enjoyed it.

Back to Work

Well, the first week back at school and daycare has come and gone. Madalyn was excited to go back to daycare. She is having lots of fun with the other kids and her daycare provider genuinely missed her and was happy to have her back. We're so lucky to have her somewhere where we know she is well cared for and loved. Back to work was not as thrilling for me. It always comes with mixed feelings. The good news is that we have all kept our same schools, so the familiarity and continuity have been a great way to start the year, and we are feeling much further ahead in our time lines than this time last year, for sure! We're planning to get into therapy almost a month earlier than previous years. We have three workshops to put on in the first three months and we are also getting a trip to Chicago in November for the whole department to go to ASHA (American Speech-Language and Hearing Association). Chris' school courses have started up again, and yesterday he put his name done for an adult bowling league, so we will all be keeping pretty busy this fall.
Scout and Indy have adjusted well to life back at work for the rest of us. They are spending all day outside and have figured out the dog door into their doghouse in case it rains.
Here are a few pictures from the week. Scout and Indy have become best buddies now. Madalyn found her baby bathtub in the shed and likes to pretend it is her boat. She also found a fishing rod and was fishing out of her little white boat. Madalyn's daycare provider spent a month in Pakistan and brought back this outfit for Madalyn. I think it is called a Shalwar, but I might have that spelled wrong. Today she was playing on her rocking horse in a sweater I made a few years ago. We just happened to try it on her yesterday and it fits! She just was looking so cute I had to share!

Kamloops and Kelowna

We took a family vacation down to Kamloops and Kelowna while Chris was working down there for a few weeks this summer. We enjoyed the nice hot weather (it was 38 degrees every day we were there!) We had lots of fun in the pool and at the beach.

Kamloops and Kelowna

Sleepy puppies

Madalyn putting her puppies down for a nap.

The newest member to the Wylie family..

We've been thinking of getting Scout some company for a long time, and after several visits to the local SPCA we found Indy. He is about 5 months old and is a border collie cross like Scout. Crossed with something different though, we think. He is extremely calm for a puppy and very sweet natured. He loves to follow Scout where ever she goes. Scout puts up with it for the most part, but if he goes near her treat, she lets him know that she is not impressed!

Chris' parents came up for about five days in mid-July. We had lots of fun with them and we got to celebrate Chris' dad's birthday as well! We saw some baseball games, hunted for geo-caches and spent lots of time at the playground!