Mall Train

Our local mall just got a new attraction - a mini train that people can ride on! The boys first caught sight of it a few weeks ago, and when we were there on Monday, I treated the boys and took them for a ride.

All set and ready to go, Mommy!

Even Latham was excited.

The conductor took our picture before we left the "station".

Ronan trying to wave at people out both sides of our train car.

It was a lot of fun, and well worth the $3 tickets!

Don't Cry for Me Argentina!

Last week Collin returned home from a business trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was there for a week and a half, and when he wasn't consulting, he got out to see the sights of the city and learn more about Argentina's exciting culture and history.

Possibly the most famous building in all of Argentina, the Casa Rosada, which houses the executive branch of the government. Since 2010 is the 200th anniversary of the "Revolución de Mayo" (May Revolution) that led to independence, the Casa Rosada was open to the public for tours.

Guards dressed in their full uniforms.

The building contains a room dedicated to important women in Argentina's history - the Hall of Bicentennial Women. Collin snapped this picture of the Eva Peron tribute since I am such a fan of the musical, Evita.

A view from the famous balcony from which Evita gave her impassioned speeches.

The Palm Tree Patio

The White Hall - primarily used for Press Conferences

The North Hall

The President's Office - the desk at the back is her desk

A drugstore open round the clock; their motto is something like "We're open 24 hours a day, and one hour at night". I don't get it.

One of the beautiful public parks in Buenos Aires.

The Abasto - the central fruit and vegetable market, which was later converted to a shopping mall.

Collin knows I love architecture so he snapped a few pictures of interesting buildings he passed on his sight seeing.

I love the spire on this one.

Beautiful!

Now I just have to figure out how to stow away in his suitcase the next time he goes, so that I can see the sights of the city for myself!

Brains

Today while we were driving, Ronan said something interesting. I had asked if he wanted to go on a bike ride to the library, and he said, "Yes! I was thinking about that with my brain! I use my brain to think about going on bike rides."

The kid cracks me up!

Prickle bush medicine

A week or two ago the boys and I went for a walk. Ronan was on his bicycle, and right when he was beside some prickle bushes, he fell off of it right into them. He was scratched up, so we pulled out the first aid kit when we got home.

Luckily, we had specific "prickle bush medicine" in our first aid kit! It looks strangely like regular medical tape that Mommy cut into strips to put on his arm, but don't be fooled by it's appearance!

I was assured by Ronan that he felt much better after the "prickle bush medicine" was applied to his scratches.

Oh, the power of suggestion!

Crabby!

Last Sunday, our friends Dan & Darlene, invited Collin and I to go fishing with them. We left Abbotsford at 7:30am and by 9am we were in the boat. The plan was to set a few crab pots and then start fishing.

We were at the entrance to Horseshoe Bay, just west of Vancouver.

Unfortunately, I didn't do well in a small boat on the ocean - the rolling motion of the waves made me nauseous very quickly, and our fishing expedition was cut short. Instead of staying out trolling after dropping the crab pots, we headed in to Granville Island to give me a bit of a break from the waves.

After more than an hour on land, I felt better and we headed back out to retrieve the pots.

Collin pulling up a pot.

Yay, we caught some!

We were only allowed to keep males over a certain size.

The boys measuring the make sure it's a "keeper".

This was the most full pot - we were so excited when it came to the surface.

I wanted my picture taken with this guy - the biggest one that was caught - but I was absolutely NOT touching it!

There was no point measuring this one - we could tell he was big enough, but we did, just to make sure.

In all we caught almost a dozen, but only six fit the criteria so we could keep them.

Driving back to the boat launch we passed this log boom, and were amused to see all the seals laying out on the logs hitching a ride.

We split the crabs with Dan & Darlene, and took ours back to my parents' house to cook up for a feast!

Ronan got into the spirit, and starting cracking away!

It was a messy job - but the tasty crab meat was well worth the effort!

I showed Ronan how the claw opened and closed by pulling on the tendon. He thought it was a great new toy, and didn't understand why it had to be thrown out when we were done dinner! He wanted to keep it to play with it the next day - eeewww! :(

Fire Department Tour

Last Thursday we had a tour of the Broadway Fire Station with the playgroup from Church. Since the station is so close - six blocks or so - I pushed Latham in the stroller and Ronan rode his bicycle.

Latham and the beautiful carved wooden sign for the fire station.

Ronan was so excited to touch a real fire truck.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?!?"

Latham was pretty mellow and wasn't overly excited about the field trip.

On the other hand, Ronan was in there like a dirty shirt; jumping at the chance to wear a real firefighter's helmet.

"What is that strange man putting on my head?"

Like I said, Latham stayed mellow but Ronan got in on the action...

...hugging the dressed-up fire fighter...

...checking out all the controls and gauges...

...and even spending some time in the driver's seat!

I found this fascinating! This is how a fire truck's engine is serviced.

Ronan got to check out the driver's seat of an ambulance too.

As we were getting ready to leave, Ronan wanted to go back to the firemen to show them his bicycle - they commended him for wearing a helmet.

He is getting so good at riding his bike!

I was extremely grateful to the firefighters; they gave the children (and the mommies and some daddies) a fantastic tour, that truthfully was the highlight of last week!