Maybe Not So Cultured...Yet

This weekend we drove JD to the airport in Bellingham, WA.

{JD is Mike's buddy from Ohio.  He came to visit for three weeks.}

While we were close, we took the opportunity to stay at our favourite hotel in Vancouver.

The River Rock!

Enjoying the sunset after a swim.

{okay honestly tho, they were freezing and totally not into it, I forced this picture!}

The next morning we took to the streets of Vancouver, headed for the Art Museum.

I was so excited to see the Matisse exhibit.

My family is a bit unconventional.

Ya they don't really play by the rules.

Love visiting the "big city"!

Apparently it was a bit loud for Bria!

We say "came-bee"

This street is "cam-bee".

So right off the bat, the kids notice a gigantic copy of Blue Nude.

Ya. 

I guess I didn't really think this one through.

Pretty much they were traumatized by their first sight at the museum.

Then there were the three C's.

{Caleb-Caity-Cambria}

"Quiet", "calm" and "don't touch" are not words in their vocabularies.

And we were at the art museum.

Mike spent most of the visit out front with the small fries.

But I loved the exhibit.

I was an art history minor in College and I still really enjoy it.

I can't quite put together a fancy enough sentence to express my thoughts here.

Simply?

I miss being able to look at, ponder, study and appreciate art.

I guess I thought taking the kids to see some of my favourite artist's work would inspire all of us.

The big girls did stand and ponder this one for a while.

Mikayla really liked this one.

Right about here is when a guy in a suit jacket with an earpiece came up and told me to stop taking pictures.

Awesome.

It wasn't the loud 3 year old or the boy-who-has-to-touch-everything that got us busted at the museum.

It was miss art history minor herself.

Culture fail.

For the most part anyways.

I felt a glimmer of interest from a few of the girls and I am hopeful that we still have a future in art appreciation:)

Insta-Friday Homeschool Edition

The first three weeks of school are coming to a close.

I am taking a deep breath.

It was all about...

Wednesday tea and treats 

cute and very distracting little girls

breakfast, lunch, dinner, repeat

Waldo finding

Mommy decompressing

Family bio contest winning

{at the homeschool picnic}

Cute nephew visits

moody three year old moments

favourite dress wearing

fun times with JD

{our visitor for 3 weeks from Ohio}

desperate attempts to cling to a schedule

crazy frantic teacher-mommy

{followed by realizations that I'm a little bit high-strung and need to tone it down a bit}

Baby finding opportunities to get into things while I am teaching

Baby being cute

kid photoshoot

laundry pile-ups

ballet dancing babies

creative play dough playing at snack time

{yuck}

Friends over for an afternoon

spending gobs of time and cash at the dance store

moving to the next level in dance.

{making the time and effort and cash all worth it}

Banman Academy Year 3 Begins

Please let me introduce to you....

the class of 2012-2013!

Mikayla Grace.

{almost} 13

Serious, perceptive, caring, helpful.

Interests: Dance, Taylor Swift, AIO, reading.

Do I even have to say it?

{yes, yes I do...here it comes..}

When did she grow so big?

She gets two pics cause she's starting middle school:)

Mailee Joy

{almost}11

Sweet, particular, fun-loving, jokester, sensitive.

Interests: Collecting Barbies, Taylor Swift, fashion, Paris.

Again...

What's up with all these girls growing up before my eyes!?!

Maddie Faith

8

Focused, conscientious, exuberant, multi-talented, thoughtful.

Interests: Giranimo Stilton, Taylor Swift, animals, Adventures In Odyssey.

Caleb Michael

6

Full-throddle, Black and White, kindhearted, intense.

Interests: Lego, Star Wars, WII.

Caity Hope

3

Loud, confident, indépendant, grown up too fast!

Interests: Lalaloopsies, play dough, Dora The Explorer, Grandma Crick.

Oh little cutie pie!!

She gets two pictures because it's her first year in school!

Mike surprised the kids by dressing up and making an appearance as the principal!

The teacher and her class!

(plus an extra...and why yes, that is a toothbrush she is holding.}

What a great bunch of kids!

I love them and I have high hopes for this year!

The honest truth is I am exhausted from our first day back to school.

There were unknown passwords for the online courses, a lost CD for science, lots of "mom, Mom MOM!'s" (all at once usually) a schedule that didn't get followed and a few cranky impatient moments from yours truly.

I want this to be a productive and enjoyable character-building, faith changing, academically challenging kind of year.

I don't want to just survive or "kind-of" finish.

You know?

I am thankful that tomorrow is a new day and God has grace for me and our school's imperfections!

Denver Zoo and Two Generations of BFF's

Okay this post is really late but I have a fantastic excuse...

I wrote the entire post and went to publish it and my batter died...lost the entire thing.

Was too mad to start over...

Three weeks went by, a birthday, a dance show, a shower....

Now I'm ready for a re-do!

In Colorado, one of my absolute favourite memories was this day at the Denver Zoo with my kids, my life-long best friend Gretchen and her two little girls.

What a special day.

I can't fully describe it but having the priveledge of seeing who your childhood friend has become, getting to witness her as an awesome mom and amazingly saavy business woman, it was really wonderful.

My kids love the zoo.

We could have spent two days, full days, here.

Denver Zoo is AMAZING!!!

Aren't they getting big?!?!?

Zebra seemed to be posing for the picture.

Little cutie in stripes is Izzy, Gretch's youngest.

My girls thought Izzy was the cutest ever!

The scholars at Banman Academy have learned to read the signs.

While I was gabbing away trying to catch up on lost years with Gretch, my kids read and reported to us to look way up in the trees to see these hanging bird nests!

Ver cool.

Beautiful snow leopard.

What's not to love about the giraffes??

Litte Bree got in on the animal watching too!

Caity has really stretched out.

She is looking so big these days.

In the rainforest with our 4 little girls!

Action shot.

Beautiful sea life displays.

One of my big girls took all these pictures of underwater animals.

Hello not-puffed puffer fish!

Can you see Nemo??

Caity refused to be in this picture with a crocodile in the background.

The peacock was amazing.

Roaming free.

'I'm Three"

Two three year olds!

Seriously?  

So sweet!

Huggies.

Lots of hand holding!

Can you see the bear?

Beautiful fur on this bear.

Wow, they are amazing animals!

Monkeys! 

The crew.

When did my girls get so big!?!?

The primate exhibit was a highlight.

A lot of the zoos that we have ben to in recent years do not have a primate exhibit.

This was a real treat!

Still holing hands.

A few times, they kept walking and talking with no regard for where the rest of us were.

They were in their own little friend world!

Caleb describing the monkey.

Classic.  Some things haven't changed in all these years!

Love her!

And now?

A second generation of BFF's!

Beautiful moment- mommy and Baby!

These guys are unreal!

Amazing and kinda scary to be so close!!

Disgruntled ape and cute little boy.

It was a wonderful day.

I wish we could do that more often.

We love you Hayes family!!