Things I Wish I Had Pictures Of

I have got to get better with carrying my camera with me wherever I go.

Take today for example:

Seagull in the Rec Centre
We started out with swimming lessons, which are always fun.

I should have a picture here of the oldest four kids dutifully doing their lessons with smiles and looks of joy as each stroke and glide is perfected.

And then I should have multiple pictures of  Keaton totally cooperating with his teacher when it was his "turn" to do whatever it was, followed by a high-pitched screaming "Mom...Mom...Mom" ,so that he sounds like a seagull circling a crab carcass at English Bay, in between each segment of his lessons.

Just to clarify:  it's not the "look at me, I'm having so much fun" scream.  No, it's the "why is my mother making me do this" scream.

You know, the one that makes you think everyone in the pool is looking at you, cause well, they are.

We had talked about all the fun snacks and things he would get when he did a good job happily doing his lesson.  He had cheerily put the sticker-book-of-fun and the Jumbo Jet-puffed marshmallows in the swimming basket himself.  Apparently, the power of food has yet to grip his heart.

I'm working on it, I promise.

Seriously if you saw how well he cooperated when it's his turn, you'd know it had nothing to do with fear of water, or even fear of the teacher.

It's basically fear of appearing compliant.  It's common on almost-three-year-olds, I've found.

And although I didn't do it,  I thought about standing on the wobbly plastic rec centre chair from afar and giving him the Look of Death  while raising the Pointer Finger of Seriousness  with a implied message of  "YOU. STOP. IT. NOW" .

On second thought, maybe it's ok to not always bring a camera.

Instead,  I just sat far away and tried not to think that every time another mother looked around that she was looking for the errant seagull inside the rec centre building, or that each time a mom leaned over to talk to another mom, she wasn't talking about what a wretched  parent I was.

Thankfully, Keaton  finished the last half of his lesson without screeching.

I wonder if he will think his Scully impersonation will need work tomorrow?

If I could get over the fact that some moms might be judging me for leaving him in the pool, which I am totally confident is the right thing to be doing in this case, it's kind of funny.

Moooom...Mooooom...Moooom.  Starfish float.  Moooom...Mooom.  Motorboat bubbles.

Next time you hear seagulls, I know you will think of me.

But don't you wish you had a picture?

Down on Grampa's Farm


After lessons I packed up my seagull and my other four fantastic fish and we went to the farm to visit my parents.

My littlest nephew Atticus was there.  He's so sweet, I love him to death, but I don't get to see him nearly as much as I would like.   My sister Kyla was also there, sporting a fantastical new haircut.  I am, in Christian-love, totally jealous at how cute her hair looks in a pixie cut.

But you'll just have to take my word for it.

We ate lunch, and then my other sister, Loni, stopped by with her kids and the visit got even funner!

What?  It's a word.  Spell-check says so.  And how else would you describe something that was only a few people short of a spontaneous full-out family gathering?

But still, no pictures.

I wish I had a picture of Wyatt and Keaton breathlessly running  full tilt into the kitchen from the chicken coop,hands full of fresh eggs.

"We got some eggs!"  they squeak (or squawk in Keaton's case)  together.

Those two little problem-solvers sneaked down to the coop, propped up crates so they could reach the laying boxes and took the eggs, proud as could be.  Then they ran to the house without giving second thought to the chickens potentially escaping from the now-open laying boxes, or the potential mess they would find themselves in if they tripped running back to the house.   But they made it, as they always do.  And the coop was closed up before any chickens went missing, which is good news.

I love it that they are starting to build a relationship with one another now.  We might do well to fear for their lives, because they have no fear themselves.  But seeing them play and discover and make memories together is priceless.

I just hope I don't forget - cause, well - you know why.

Like A Sister


There was a time, back when I was still growing babies for a living, that I was sad that Morgan didn't have a sister.  I was never sad that I had the wonderful brood of boys I did, just sad that Morgan wouldn't have a sister.

Morgan didn't even have any girl cousins for 10 years, until Bennett came along last year. As it stands, they are the only two girls in this gaggle of Strahl grand-kids so far.

Today, whether it was because Morgan was bored with the adult conversation, or just because she realized having Bennett around is like having your own live doll, except better - they went downstairs and Morgan introduced her cousin to one of my favourite growing-up-with-sisters games: Morgan played dress-up with Benzie.  And the look on Bennett's face was priceless when Morgan carried her into the kitchen dressed in the fuzzy quail-feather hair band and old flower girl dress of Loni's.  It was just.so.cute.  and I hope it marks the beginning of many girl-stuff memories between the two of them.

I could almost get verklempt, and ask you talk amongst yourselves.  And no pictures!

There might be 10 years between them, but I know they are gonna have many more moments like that, and I hope I remember to bring my camera for at least a few of them!

That was today...or at least parts of it.  Tomorrow, I've got to remember my camera!