Big boys, big bed.

The big boys finally got their new beds.
The store we bought them from pushed back the delivery date three times before we finally got them almost a month after they were promised. The boys waited patiently. And now they are here.
They love their new “bump beds”.

I love their new bunk beds too. They play in them all the time!

He’s special.

It was biodiversity day at Lafarge one day last week. I don’t really know what that means except that Neil did some tree planting. And people took some pictures. And one picture of Neil ended up in the Lafarge email newsletter that gets sent to all the Lafarge employees across the world. That’s a lot of employees. Like, several thousand. Isn’t that exciting?!

Are you sad you didn’t get the newsletter and get to see Neil hard at work? Don’t worry, his lovely co-worker emailed me the picture so I no one had to miss out. I’m so happy to share it with you!

He’s so special.

Sorry if that photo caused you to accidentally spit your coffee out all over your computer screen because you were laughing so hard. Ah, Neil, I love you.

“Self-portrait” by Benji.

The kids love to take pictures with our camera. They’ll run around for 10 or 15 minutes snapping pictures of random things around the house. It’s always funny looking at the pictures when they’re done. My favorites are when they take pictures of themselves. Here’s a recent one Ben took:

It’s hilarious to me. This is not the first self-portrait Ben has done, but whenever he does, he always makes this really wierd face. So funny.

Long weekend.

I love long weekends!

On Monday we decided to check out the zoo and the new children`s garden at Assiniboine park here in Winnipeg. Apparently the rest of Winnipeg went too. I`ve never seen the parking lot so packed before! And the weather was TERRIBLE. Seriously, the weather network said it as 10C and cloudy but I swear it felt more like 3 degrees. It was SOOOO cold.
We had a great day despite the cold. We had a fun time at the zoo as always. Oliver loved checking everything out and occasionally growling at the random animals. The lion jumped right up at us while we were watching him through the glass (It was a little freaky. I hope I never run into a lion in real life, those suckers are BIIIIG). We watched the monkeys swinging and saw a new baby mountain goat.
After the zoo we walked over to the new garden and had a picnic.


Oliver was so happy to get a drinking box. I think he would choose to live solely on drinking boxes if he could.

After our picnic we explored the new children`s garden. And it is AMAZING. Seriously, I have never seen anything like it. It is awesome! I didn`t take very many pictures because there were hundreds of people everywhere, but I did get this picture of the boys on a swing. I swear it is my favorite picture in the history of all my pictures.

The happiness!
It was a lot of fun and we can`t wait to go back when the sun is shining and our teeth are not chattering.
Here`s one last picture of the tired-out boys on our way home…

Can`t wait till next weekend!

Even though we are making do without grass, sometimes playing in the driveway gets a little boring. Lucky for us, the beach and a lovely playground are just a quick drive away. Like ten minutes from doorstep to toes in the sand. Awesome!

On Tuesday we picked Seth up from school and then headed to the beach.

 It was Oliver’s first time at the beach since infancy, and I think he was a big fan.

Even though the water was freezing, all three kids played in it a bit. Even though I hadn’t even brought one towel with me. We headed over to the playground and the sun dried everyone off.

After a couple hours of fun it was time to go home for supper. Except everyone’s too tired to walk. I managed to pile three boys, a blanket, and a big bucket of toys into one wagon. It was heavy, but it worked.

See you soon beach!

No grass, no problem.

Our house is brand-new.  Which means we have no yard yet. Well, no grass. Only dirt. Which turns to mud when mixed with rain of course. The kids have played in the backyard a couple of times, and this is the result:

That’s a lot of mud. Benji actually got stuck back there one day and when Neil came to rescue him Ben was crying and screaming, “I’m sinking!!” Since then there hasn’t been a lot of backyard play.

But now the sun has come out and the temperatures are climbing. We NEED to be outside. Luckily someone left a pile of sand in our driveway.

We’ve actually spent hours in the driveway this week. Thank goodness for that pile of sand!

The kids helped Neil wash my van the other day. They thought that was pretty great.

So who needs grass anyway?

Just kidding, I’m dying for grass. The sand will do for a bit more but if I don’t get some grass soon, I’ll be sad.

And here’s one last picture. Even though it’s sad, it’s funny to me, because it looks SO much like Ben. I feel like I have this exact same picture of Ben from about the same age.

Except the eyes. Those are Seth’s eyes, not Ben’s.

Anyway home builders, please come grade my lot soon so we can put some sod down! Thank you!

Oh my.

We haven’t had a washing machine or dryer for 2 1/2 weeks. Laundry was seriously piled up in our house. I frequently heard things like, “MOM! Where’s my gitch?!” If it wasn’t for my lovely friend down the road, things would have been downright dire. But I did manage to do a few loads over at her place, so that helped us survive. Thanks Jen! We would have been forced to spend a day in a laundromat if it weren’t for you!

Anyway, yesterday…. they came! My new washer and dryer that we purchased a month ago- they arrived! And oh my. They are beautiful.

They’re so amazing- I’m totally in love with them after only one day! Seriously, these puppies pack a lot of punch. I loaded all the sheets in our house in there and the washing machine was just like, yeah, no big deal, bring it. And oh I cannot wait to go to bed tonight in nice clean sheets after 2 1/2 weeks. Ew, that was just sick that we went that long. And the dryer- wow- it dries things so fast! I’ve done like 4 BIG loads of laundry today already, and it’s only lunchtime. I love these guys.

When we were shopping for a washer and dryer I was all like, no, no, I don`t need anything fancy. No bells and whistles. Just cheap, that`s what I want. We lucked out because this pair was on sale when we were shopping, so we ended up with fancy anyway. And now that I have it, I`m not complaining. You know what?! You know how when your washer or dryer finish and then they make that super annoying buzzing noise? My new one plays a freaking SONG instead. Like seriously, Oliver actually started dancing when it went off. How. awesome. is. that.

Okay. I know it’s actually really silly that my washing machine plays a song. But I still love it.

You know what else I love? Sears. Hey Sears, you know what I love about you? When I buy something from you and you say, “It will be here on May 17th” you ACTUALLY MEAN IT. Unlike some other stores around here (ahem, ahem, Ashley Furniture. You suck.)

Okay, I’m sure you’ve heard enough about my washer and dryer. But I bet you haven’t seen enough….

So pretty.

Monday.

Sprng finally came on Saturday. Yesterday it was 22C and so sunny and beautiful. We went to church, swimming lessons, and hung out with friends all afternoon. There were 8 kids 7 and under and everyone played so well together. It was the best day!

Today it’s supposed to be sunny and 22C again- and for the next few days, too! I pulled out the summer clothes for the kids and oh does it do my heart good to see little bare legs again.

The kids have dentist appointments this morning and then we’re having some friends over here this afternoon. I’m feeling really sad about the fact that we don’t have even a piece of grass in our yard. Oh I so hope we can sod by the end of the month!

Anyway I just wanted to share this picture of my boys and I on Mother’s Day. Our church set up photo booths and took pictures for everyone. I thought it was such a great idea since I am always the one behind the camera and I have so few pictures of me and my babies. They had lots of fun props, and even though most of them were pretty girly, the kids have fun.

Here`s the best shot:

I realize you can barely see me, but I am there. With my kids.  I love those boys!

Lately.

I’ve been a slack blogger lately. I apologize. Life is keeping me busy.

In an effort to catch up I thought I would breeze through a few pictures from the last couple weeks and share what Oliver has been up to lately:

Watching diggers.

It always amazes me how boys are born with such an affinity towards machinery and vehicles! All three of my boys have been able to make car sounds before their first birthdays!

Eating cucumbers. He actually ate almost an inch of this cucumber. He loves cucumbers! (But preferably straight out of the fridge while he sits perched in the opening).

Watching tv with his big brothers.

And stacking rings. Naked of course.

Honestly though, Oliver loves those stacking rings! He just does them over and over again!

Anyway, a brief glimpse at a one year old’s life. It’s a good life I think.

Hennan ladies, and more.

On Mother’s Day my nuclear family was all in the same family for the first time since Christmas, with my sister home for a quick visit from Kona, and my brother and sister-in-law just home from a three month missions trip to South Africa. My mom wanted a picture with all her kids.

We obliged.

First, just the original Hennan ladies.

I’m sure Rachel will kill me for posting that picture, but seriously, I don’t have any of all four of us smiling. We tried to arrange ourselves around our matriarch like a Sears photographer may have. I think we did alright.

Then we got a little more adventurous and got our brother involved.

I’m not sure why we didn’t include my dad?

Then we ditched Josh again and added in our fabulous sister-in-law, wonderful Grammy, and lovely littlest niece.

That’s a great bunch of ladies!