Picture Day

Today was picture day at M&J's school, but which of the kids looked the coolest.

This one...

We bought hockey equipment and sticks for the twins yesterday afternoon. Yes their on-ice careers begin right after thanksgiving! We're going to try everything on for some road hockey this afternoon, so I'll see if I can get some photos of the little warriors.

Biking and Chinese

Our theory is that with twins you only have to teach one of them how to do something. Inevitably, the other catches up within a week. Note: this theory may only apply if you teach the laid-back twin first. Teaching the intense twin first may have the opposite effect.

When my parents were visiting last weekend, Kate and I got away to Stratford for a night. When we got home, Jacob had learned to ride his bike. He was so matter of fact about it that my folks assumed he had been doing it for months. Molly seemed to retreat from her bike and chose to go by tricycle for a few sessions. But she couldn't stand it for long and as of today she can ride too.

So here is a video of the two of them riding their two-wheelers.

Molly is quite proud to be the eldest twin (by a minute or so) and loves to tell people that Zoë is the youngest while she is the oldest. She has taken to declaring that Jacob is therefore the Mediumest. Which is my favourite new word this month.

Jacob is also the mediumest by height as Molly seems to have a noticeable advantage. But Molly is the mediumest by weight as Jacob has crossed the 40lb threshold a pound ahead of her.

Chinese lessons are going great. The twins' teacher took me aside after class to say that they're doing well, "and Molly, she is really good" (said while tapping her head with an impressed look). Kate is laying claim to Molly's brain, and it's hard to argue when the two of them can memorize a Chinese song like it's nothing.

And Zoë seems to be having a "Chinese-ness" awakening, coinciding with the beginning of Chinese school. There is a lot of talk from her about the rest of the family being "xiao Chinese" (a little) while she is "da Chinese" (big).

We turned our Saturday Toronto excursion into a visit to the Botanical Gardens with Dan & Al & cousins and then dinner down at their place. So our Chinese school plan seems to be working on all fronts.

Last of the Summer Photos

Here are three photos that didn't get posted previously.

They pretty much sum up our 1st fabulous summer on the lake

- Messing around in boats

- Bumming around on the dock

- Dissecting our triathlon performances

Ni Hao Lao Shi (Hello teacher!)

As if JK wasn't enough schooling, we started Chinese school on Saturday. Molly and Jacob have 2 hours in a 4-5 year-olds class. Enroute to North York we told the kids to say Ni Hao when they met their teacher. Jacob said, "but then she'll think we're Chinese" and Molly retorted "no Jacob, we have blond hair". So the kids go to the classroom and say ni hao, then the teacher launches into a 5 sentence monologue in speedy Chinese. Jacob shoots me an "I told you so" look, but the two of them marched right in and apparently had a really fun time.

Kate and I joined Zoë in the parent & tot class, which is going to be more than enough learning ... for the two adults. We were the only whiteys in that class, though there were a few in the twins'.

I think it's going to be a great family experience, learning something new all together, while embracing Zoë's original language and culture. Plus it will get us down to the big smoke every weekend, which should mean that we'll see much more of our friends and family in Toronto.

School Time

Molly and Jacob started Junior Kindergarten last week. They met their teacher on Wednesday and began school for real on Thursday. JK is full time every day at their school, but I'm pulling them out every day at 1pm (except they go full days on Mondays). They are exhausted but loving it. They've been excited to go to school every day so far. Two of their best buddies, Julian and Silas, are in their class. Their teacher and ECE both seem really nice. No drama at all yet.

Except for Zoë, who couldn't believe she wasn't going to school with M&J. Thankfully her nursery school started yesterday, because until then there was a constant stream of "where's my school, where's my backpack, where's my teacher, where's my gymnastics (started today)". On Friday, she insisted on wearing her own backpack right into the playground to drop the twins off at school. Then once they filed into the building with their class, Zoë went up to the door to try to get in too. She's seriously going to have a fit when she finds out that she doesn't get to start big-kid-school next September either.

- Here are Molly and Jacob getting ready to go meet Miss Burt on Wednesday. The boy has his game face on.

Late Summer in Thunder Bay

I'll post some photos from our trip to Kate's parents before getting into the 1st week of school...


- For the first time since the twins were babies we decided to drive to Thunder Bay. Fifteen hours straight through. And it was... uneventful, fun and easy... seriously! We did cave in and buy a DVD player for the minivan, but didn't even need it much. Kate organized a million activities for the kids and they were great. Amazing what a difference a year makes - it was so much easier than our drive to Maine last summer.

-We spent most of the week out at camp and camped down on the beach every night (Zoë's first camping experience, and first for the twins that they can remember). And everyone slept well. Although the city boy (me) did complain about getting rained on, being frozen, not having a chocolate on my pillow, etc.

- The kids did their first ever canoe trip, in Quetico Park, down to The Pines. It was a few hours of paddling in either direction, with a play on the beach at the destination.

- And Kate and I got in lots of running and biking (which paid off with a half marathon PB for Kate last weekend in Wasaga!)

I managed to forget to bring my camera on the trip, but here are some iPhone shots...

- one of the eagerly anticipated highlights of any T-Bay trip is the tractor pull

- Kate exploring camp with the kids

- Check out the red and yellow shrooms!!

- She is only 2 1/2 so we're not completely drama-free just yet

- Shortly after returning home, Jacob was waxing rhapsodically about how he doesn't like anything "spensive" so he'll never need a job. Then after a few beats, a concerned look came over his face - "are boats spensive?"

- If you're Molly and Jacob, the only thing better being in a boat is jumping out of a boat






- We don't travel light!

- Back in Thunder Bay, we did some hiking

- Jacob trying to look intimidating?

- And the inevitable amethyst mine trip