- Girls started their swim lessons again, which is always fun. This time they are both on Saturday…but 2 hours apart. Which is not ideal for having family swim time. So far, we are taking a Divide and Conquer approach and hope to use it as an opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with them.
- Manicures and pedicures with my little girls while Peter was away overnight.
- Librarians who take a 5-year-old’s quest for books on flamingos very seriously.
- Let’s just say libraries in general. What a great human invention.
- Sourdough still going strong here nearly 3 years later!
- A family weekend away. We have in recent years tried to book a post-weekend away in Vancouver and we had the opportunity to do so last week. We spent two nights in a hotel where we enjoyed the pool and cable TV. We were gifted a family pass to Science World for Christmas and got to start using that. It’s fun to see what the kids enjoy now as opposed to when we were last there pre-Covid.
- I’ve taken on some new duties at work which has been a little crazier and more time-consuming than expected but I’m also enjoying the chance to stretch my work muscles for the first time in many years. And I’m thankful to have some great co-workers to work with.
- Literacy Week at school! This past week was Family Literacy Week and the girls’ school had fun activities planned for each day – like a Stop Everything and Read Day and Fireside Stories with the school custodian. Friday was book character day and though I forgot to take pictures, it was fun to put costumes together. Pearl chose to dress up as Miss Petitfour while Rose was the Princess in Black.
Karissa Reads Books 
The beavers, OF COURSE. Also, I like the divide and conquer idea. I so rarely spent time with just my dad (he was a hands off dad) that every occasion sticks out.
Divide and conquer works well for us, especially in crowded settings like this. I was a little disappointed because I ended up not spending much time with Pearl that day and I wanted to see how both girls reacted to Science World and what they enjoyed. But they had a good time and this way were both able to move through it at their own pace. Pearl in particular is a major daddy’s girl and for stuff like this almost always chooses Peter!
Oof, that stings when a kid has a favorite. My niece, who is now almost THIRTEEN, used to run into my parents’ house (where my husband and I stay when we’re visiting), toddle-run across the kitchen, do a VERY obvious C-shape right around me, and jump into my husband’s arms. Ugh. Hurt my feelings every time.
Oh yeah, that can definitely sting. Thankfully, Pearl is always happy to be with me, just with things like this it tends to split naturally for me to be with Rose and her to be with Peter. My nieces and nephews have gone through definite stages of favouring Peter though. (To be fair, he is really fun!)