Part - 3

Well for those who may not know, but I think everyone does, we are moving to Strathmore, AB, as Aric will be teaching 5th and 6th grades at Werstmount Elementary. We are very excited for this change in our lives. We will be closer to most of our families. But sadly we will be moving further away from Chelsea. But really any move would have been further away, as we really are close right right now. We went down to Strathmore earlier this month and stayed with BJ and Kyle as we looked for housing. man was it tight finding something as most listing were already taken for August. But we came out on top I think. We are renting a 4 bedroom, half duplex, with a finished basement and single car garage. Lots of storage too. There is a fully fenced yard to Naomi and Sylas to play in (not huge) as there is a garden and greenhouse in the back, with a sundeck. Oh we are so happy with what we found. So come July 28th we will no longer call Edmonton home.

Naomi being the water baby that she is.

Such a handsome little man, even with eczema.

Naomi fell asleep at lunch one day. She did however manage to move her food out of the way before going to sleep.

Enjoying the bouncy castle at our wards July 1st (on the 2nd) pancake breakfast. We thought we would use it before any kids arrived.

Before going to Strathmore house hunting, we spent a night with Ruthanne and Dave in Calgary. Dave pulled out some toy guns and Naomi had a hay day with the noises they made.

Then we spent a night with Graham and Jacqui and the kids. We hit op one of the nearby parks and had some fun. This is one of those park that uses recycled tires instead of sand. Well Naomi hates the feel of those in her sandals. She got onto the park and was trying to get her sandals off while whining "sugar, sugar"

Before we headed to Strathmore we all went to the Calgary Zoo. This was the kids first time. Naomi sure had fun. Sylas had a great nap.

Graham, Eliza, Audrey and Naomi taking in the elephant exhibit.

The devonian garden type place. I couldn't believe she posed so well.

Loving the monkeys.

Learning about fish.

As tall as you might think you are on daddy's shoulders, the giraffe is still taller.

Outside the penguin exhibit that we didn't go into because the line went faster than Sylas eats. So we saw the few that were outside.

Sorry for some reason this one won't stay in the center of the page.

Sleepy boy

 The pictures says it all.

Little stud.

First time in a play center. He's still a bit small, as his feet don't touch the bottom, but it was set higher at the time. But he isn't steady enough yet.

Ok, she loves to go into the fridge and grab things. She came out one day munching on a whole cucumber.

Enjoying a bath?

It's too bright, let me sleep!

She has adopted this battery charger as her "camera". She loves it. I like how kids see toys in the simplest things.

Well I think that is it until we have moved and settled in. I hope these pictures were as enjoyable to view as they were to take. We love you all.

Part - 2 the cousins.

Installment number 2!

A couple of weeks ago, Sharlene and the kids came out to Alberta for visit. They made a special visit up to Edmonton to play for the day. Here we feature the 2 newest members of the Harker clan.

 Milo and Sylas seem to be getting along just great for having just met.  :)

 Such good friends already.

 We all went and met up with Benson's school to play at the park. Here are the girls hanging out on the tire swing. They sure had fun at the park.

 Having fun with the cousins.

 Our happy little man. He is such a joy. He has started to giggle, and it is so cute. He really is a special little guy.

 Naomi loves water. In the last post I showed her "helping" with the dishes. I came up with the idea to just let her play in a bucket of water on a towel on the floor. She had a hoot!!! Until...

 She dumped it all over herself. So sad!!

 Such a happy little guy.

 He loves the water sooooo much. Here he is enjoying bath time. We knew he enjoyed the water, so we took swimming for the first time a few weeks ago. Wow... another water baby. He was happy for a good hour and half in the water.

 So Sharlene invited us to go down to Red Deer to her parents house for the day. Chelsea and I packed all the kids into one van and headed down. Jacqui packed her kids up from Calgary and joined us as well. We had a blast. Swimming, food, sun and fun. 

Here is McKay enjoying his cookie, with a chunk of chocolate stuck to his tooth. Cute.

 Enjoying the trampoline

 She really loves the trampoline

 All 11 (12, with Chelsea's belly) grandkids. It was a madhouse!!!

back row l-r: Huxley, Naomi, McCoy, Eliza, McKay, Chelsea (Taylor) and Kimber

Front row l-r: Sylas, Benson, Neko, Audrey and Milo

 Oldest group of grandkids

 Grandkids round 2

And the last round, those born after mom and dad left for their mission. Including baby Taylor in Chelsea's belly.

 A fun time was had by all. We had some pretty tired kids by the end of the day. This was just a taste of what we will have to deal with come Christmas when everyone is together. All i can say is that it will be different with spouses, grandparents and great grandparents around to help referee and control the madness.

Much need update - part 1

It's been way to long since my last post. I'm slacking and i apologize. Shame on me.

Well we have had such great weather the last couple of months. Well really all year for that matter. We couldn't have asked for abetter winter.

Anyway Chelsea brought the kids over one day to play. And a little photo shoot ensued in the back yard. Here are the results.

Benson taking on his uncle Aric in sword fighting.

I'm enjoying photographing kids. They are just so natural and not intimidated by the camera.

Naomi caught playing with fire pit.

Just so cute and photogenic.

 

McKay playing around. You would have thought he was posing, but no.

our little GQ man.

 

 

Naomi has started to enjoy "helping" with the dishes. She will grab a chair and push it over and then play in the water. If I'm in the mood I will let her just go and make a big old mess and have a blast. But really sometimes I just want to get the dishes done.

 

Naomi sure loves Sylas. I really loves to give him kisses and hugs. She a great big sister. If he is crying she will grab his chewy (soother) and put it in his mouth. Sometimes she likes to "help' change is bum. She will get his diaper out and open it, and maybe even help hold his legs up. She is great with him. We still need to restrain her love efforts a bit, as she just doesn't know when to stop. But for the most part I don't need to worry so much anymore. Here they are watching tv together.

Big changes are happening for us these days. Aric did not get a contract for Edmonton public this year. We are sad, but we are looking forward to our new adventures in Strathmore, AB where Aric has been hired as a 5/6 teacher. He is so excited for this change to shine this year.

Keep posted... more to come.