Playgroup at our house!!

We got to celebrate Evan's 3rd birthday at playgroup today so Thomas really enjoyed the bumble bee cupcakes that

Jen made!!! He did blow out Evan's candles for him, but I don't think Evan minded too much. We got to play with the punching balloons and Samuel decided that he likes cantelope today!! Thomas is very dramatic when he tries to blow his whistle!! The MacNeills

Playing with each other...well at least side by side

Samuel really likes the new (well old but taken out of storage ) toy. The other 3 boys each had to play with it as well. Audeane painted Matt .... not really sure what he is but they sure had fun doing it!! Matthew and Benjamin are both beavers this year. Ben is so proud of getting a beaver hat and vest. We have 10 little boys in our "colony " this year. Matt is wearing his campfire blanket that Rainbow made for each beaver. Bubbles (aka mama) can't get over how busy the 10 boys can be in the evenings!!! It is alot of fun and we sure get alot of smiles !!! The MacNeills

Open House at the Vet College

Samuel likes to play on the horses with Thomas. In the close up picture you can just make out his new tooth!!! Matt and Ben came with me to the Vet College where Jazu was looked at and given a cast and a good check up!! They are posing in front of an Xray of a beaver and then the skeleton of a dolphin. Matt loves the pirate face painting and his trustee parrot balloon animal! The MacNeills

The 4 MacNeill Boys!!!

So here are our big boys. Matthew has the pineapple on his head while Benjamin has the book and the orange!!! (Note the green leaves still on the trees.. expecting them to turn soon.) Samuel got his first tooth today!!! (Will get a picture of the tooth in the next few days.) Thomas is dancing to "Waving Flags"... the boys love that song!! Hope everyone is having a nice week like we are. Take care, the MacNeills.

Surprise visit from Gramma!!!

We got a fun surprise when gramma came for a visit yesterday!! The kids love to see her and as you can see, Thomas and Gramma were sharing his "SSHH -SSHH" (as in blanket that he makes snoring sounds with!!) Sam is loving the ground and sits for a long time (thankfully not crawling yet!!!) Tom and Mama had a fun day at home while Matt and Ben were in school... they really are learning french quickly. Way to go boys!! The MacNeills

Pleasant Farm and rainy days

Thomas loves the umbrellas and so we walked him to and from daycare with boots, jacket and umbrella. Not only does he stop to jump in the puddles, he insists on dipping his hand in each puddle... sometimes falling on his bum into the water!!! Today we had a beautiful weekend and once mama got back from running across the Confederation Bridge (Terry Fox Run), we all set out to meet Matt and and Ben (who had a sleep over with Callie Mae) at Pleasant farm for open farm day!! They had free range chickens, pigs and cows. The kids were allowed to feed the pigs some of the many apples that had fallen from the trees nearby!! That kept them all busy for hours. The calves were also pretty cute!!

Samuel!!!

We are just noticing how grown up Sam is !!! He sits, he jumps and twists in his jolly jumper and he likes to wear hats!!! Who would have thought he can grow up so quickly..I guess he is 8 months old now!!! Also a quick picture to show some of the huge veggies that grew in my garden this year. (I had never before had luck with peppers and these are BIG ones (many more still in the garden along with the many pumpkins, carrots , tomatoes and beans... perhaps adding manure was a good move!! I suspect the ideal summer weather was helpful as well!!)

Montreal with Heidi September Long Weekend!!!

Heidi and I got to go to Montreal to run the Montreal Oasis Marathon (sept 5th weekend) and spend some time together without any kids!!! We were quite the tourists and hit most of the food related hotspots including the montreal bagel place, Swartzy's smoked montreal beef and DQ! We bought our yoyos and practiced though I think we need better yoyos!!! We saw Alexandre Pier... maybe where mom and dad landed over 40 years ago!!! (with their while beetle ...VW). We did see "vieux Montreal and Notre Dame" and only got lost a few times..for us that is pretty amazing. We visited Christina and her family who hosted us for a huge and yummy pre race meal. I managed to finish in 3:40 and Heidi and Christina were at the finish to help me walk out of the stadium... gotta love having someone message your cramping legs the second you finish!! Thank you guys so so much!! Thank you also Steve who hung out those 4 days with all his 4 boys!!! Love you, The MacNeills.

Ben's First Day, Halifax then Home again!!!

Ben says thank you for the airplanes that he made himself and has been playing with all week. Samuel loves to jump, and turn and twist and fly in the jolly jumper!!! Ben spiked his hair for a picture here as well!! On september 9th, 2010, Benjamin got on the school bus for his first day of school at Ecole Sur Mer!! (His bag was so heavy that he needed help up the steps !!! He is a bit nervous yet but certainly likes all the treats he got in his "cone" on his first day!!! Matthew and Thomas took a bath ...if you know Thomas, this is a big deal... he used to "HATE " getting in the shower or bathtub!!! We then went to Halifax for the weekend and got to stay with the "Smillards" as Steve celebrated his 10 year medical school reunion!!! The kids loved the magician at the bar B Q !! Matthew got to go up and draw some silly ears !! As you can see, he and Claire were mesmerized for the entire hour!! Even Tom and Ben sat spell bound in their chairs for the whole thing!! Mr J was truly an amazing magician to accomplish this! We made it back today and after the car ride, Matt was literally crawling up the walls and Thomas was "crashing" on the ground!!! We then pulled out the playdough until supper!!! For the record, Matt is really picking up his french quickly!!! I am really proud of him!! Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of school, the MacNeills