The Next Generation

The grandchildren - 15 of them - were all gathered together, with the exception of 4-year old Brooklyn, and the one who's due on August 5. As fun as it was raising the original 7 kids, it's even more enjoyable having these super grandchildren to play and interact with. We know there'll come a time, probably in their teens, when it's not cool to spend time with your grandparents, but for now, at the ages they are now (11 years to 2 months old) they still get excited to see Grammie and Papa and we love developing relationships with these special little individuals. They are our legacy.

All Grown Up

Here they are - all grown up - and it's true what they say - they grow up so fast, although you don't really get a sense of that when you're busy with a houseful of kids and toys and school and activities. Then suddenly they start to leave home, get married and have babies of their own (tomorrow's blog entry). I consider these kids, successfully grown, responsible, good people, to be my greatest accomplishment in life. It's what I was born to do and I truly loved doing it. And that handsome old guy in the back? He made it possible for me to be at home with the kids, supported us all and enjoyed the adventure of raising them, making up songs about them (Michael, Michael, Motorcycle), making up bedtime stories for them (Adventures of Don and Key), and giving their friends nicknames (we still call Sara's friend Janelle Rosella). We've been richly blessed. On the back row there's Mike, Jenny, Me, Lloyd, Mary, Emily. Kneeling in front are Rob, Sara and Amy.

Clean Kids

When I went to Sara's place yesterday morning I was greeted by three of the cleanest kids in the world - fresh from their bath - the two oldest still wrapped in their bath towels, while Ellie was the only one dressed but still wrapped in her towel, being the first out of the tub I suppose. Other than getting dressed, Charlie spent the rest of the day in that same position on the couch - laid low by a headache, beginning of a cold, and slight fever.

I love Lighthouses

There's something about lighthouses that appeals to me...their solitary strength...their unique design...the beautiful locations...I just really, really like them. Of course, my favorite one is at Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia. Whenever we go back to NS to visit, I like to go there - it's such a small fishing village, relatively unspoiled, with the beautiful lighthouse poised on the massive rocks of the Atlantic shore. These pictures were taken on an overcast day so there's no contrast between the lighthouse and the sky.

Fun in the Sun

I had an excellent day with Sara's kids today...WalMart, McDonalds...what could be more entertaining??? Even Elly was an angel and seemed to enjoy different sights and sounds from the safety of her baby carrier. I bought Charlie and Max a small pseudo-badminton set which kept them entertained for a long time in the back yard. I promised that their Mum and Dad would play with them tonight again, hehehe. Charlie took a break from the game and donned her sunglasses and floppy hat ("so my ears won't get sunburned") and relaxed in the lounge chair and watched Max and me for awhile. Simple days, simple fun, simply lovely.

Sunflowers on a Rainy Day

It's raining today so I didn't go out at all. Yesterday when I was at Sara's house I took a couple pictures of the dwarf sunflowers she planted awhile ago. I love the bright colors, and if you don't look at the bug-eaten leaves, they look pretty good. These pictures were taken with my small Fugi Finepix, which takes really good pictures although not as good as my larger Canon Rebel.

Charlie's Day

It was Charlie's dance recital today. I attended it with her Mom and Dad and Grandma Danny. It was a wonderful program with a theme of Heroes. Charlie's class of three were representing Captain Canuck, hence the flags on their heads. She was so sweet up there on stage. I love these recitals. She looked so cute with her hair in ringlets - just the way Mum used to curl my hair and Wendy's back when we were kids.

My Sweet Anson

Our 6-year old grandson has autism and because of it he doesn't interact well with people. At our family reunion it was wonderful to see him running and exploring and enjoying the freedom of wide open spaces. After an hour or so of this, he came to me, hugged me and said "sit down please". So I sat there in the grass and he sat with me for half an hour or so. We didn't talk much but I enjoyed spending this unexpected time with him just sitting and resting. I always enjoy my time with Anson - he's a sweet little boy.

Child Labor???

Today I decided it was finally safe to take the snow tires off my car...we don't usually get snow in June! I went to Fountain Tire first thing this morning and had the job done. They put the snow tires in big white bags for easy storage. Charlie and Max were here to help me put the tires in the back yard shed. They thought it was quite fun, and challenging, to keep the heavy tires upright and rolling but they managed quite well - each of them moving one tire while I took care of the rest. Now it better not snow till December...

Color Coordinated

When Sydney came to see me this morning, it was remarkable how color coordinated she was - right down to her ring pop and matching lips and tongue. Who can resist such a sweet face!!!

A Visit With Eloise

Ellie was visiting me today so I sat her in my black leather office chair and took pictures of her while her clothes were still relatively drool/spit-up free. She was very cooperative.

Brooklyn's Dance Recital

Today was Brooklyn's first dance recital. The whole production was very well done and her little group of three 4-year olds were so cute performing their tap moves. We weren't allowed to take pictures during the production so I had to wait till it was over and catch her outside. Her grandfather (Cindy's dad) was also taking pictures of her so she wasn't sure where to look. These are among the best I got. Her professional dance portraits are really cute. Cindy and Rob will give me my copies when they come in to see Lloyd tonight - it's Father's Day you know :)

My Girls

Lloyd and I have been blessed with five lovely daughters and two sweet daughters-in-law. At last week's reunion I caught six of them (DIL Cindy was absent) all sitting together at a picnic table. If that wasn't a photo op I don't know what is. And they're all wearing our special MacKenzie Day t-shirts. They are, from left to right, Mary, Jenny, Sara, Avril (DIL), Amy (with Aidan) and Emily.

Falling Behind

I'm starting to fall behind on my blog entries so, because I haven't taken any pictures in the past few days, I'll fall back on one or two of the 254 from the reunion this weekend. Hope you're not bored. I love these ones of Quincey and Eloise. The first two are cropped down from a larger photo - Quincey wasn't aware that I was taking the picture. Quincey is Sara's husband and, no, Ellie didn't eat that drumstick.

Baby Coming

I wish I could take credit for this picture, but obviously I can't. While Mary, Greg and Layla were here for the family reunion last weekend, Sara did a photo shoot with them, featuring Mary's 8-month pregnant belly and 4-year old (in July) Layla. I love this whole set of pictures but this is my favorite.

Rainy Day Fun

It was raining today and the day seemed long. After an excursion to Southgate to have lunch with Sara and the kids, we came home. Pretty soon Charlie and Max disappeared to Max's room upstairs. They came down about 20 minutes later dressed in their dragon and kangaroo costumes from last Hallowe'en. That kept them busy for half an hour or so, until the dragon decided he had to overpower the poor kangaroo and her baby, and the zookeeper (me) had to step in and restore peace.

Uninvited Guest

At the family reunion yesterday we were visited by a groundhog looking for food. A couple of the braver boys, 3-year old Max and 6-year old Nathan, were patient enough to sit still while the woodchuck took food from their hands and sat in front of them holding it in his little paws, eating it and waiting for more. It was a few minutes' entertainment for the kids, until, either full or scared by the growing group of excited kids, he retreated to his home.

We had the most awesome, fun family reunion today, with a belated birthday party for me. The whole family was here (first picture), with the exception of Brooklyn and her mom, Cindy. Brooklyn is doing much better and is home from the hospital but she didn't feel up to spending the day in the park with us. I'm sure we'll be able to photoshop their pictures into the picture. There's a space for them beside the rest of their family, Rob and Anson. It was great having the three out-of-town families come so we could all catch up on family news and give the cousins a chance to play together again. Sara and Amy did a great job of organizing the food, games, and prizes. Sara had a wonderful cake made for me. It was scrapbook themed and looked beautiful. I hated to cut it, but I did and it was delicious. I've got over 200 pictures to scrapbook now. It was a wonderful, happy event. Sara also had t-shirts made for all of us with the MacKenzie motto and crest on it. The group picture was taken before the shirts were distributed though.

We didn't even get rained on, in spite of it having rained earlier in the day...a great day...no drama, no injuries, nothing but fun.

Girl Down

Four-year old Brooklyn is in the hospital for a few days recovering from a nasty bug that lowered her blood sugar level dangerously. The poor girl is starting a 24-hour fast tonight and an endoctrinologist is coming to see her tomorrow. Hopefully she'll be home and feeling better by the weekend. The boy in the middle picture is her brother Anson. Their Mom is going to spend the night tonight in the bed he's sitting on, while Dad takes Anson home - he spent last night there with Brookie.

Unpaid Advertisement - Princess House

A few entries ago I mentioned having a Princess House party and several of the commenters asked what Princess House stuff is. I only have a few pieces - but they advertise "the best quality cookware, elegant serveware, fine dinnerware, exclusive decorative accents for special occasions and every day..." It is beautiful stuff, sold at home parties. They have website at www.princesshousecanada.com. And that's all I'm saying about it because I don't want to be one of their unpaid advertisers and I have no intention of ever being involved in their sales, other than as a purchaser. They have a very generous hostess rewards program too.

Brothers

These cuties are 2-month old Alex and 2-year old Kenny MacKenzie. They're in town with their parents for the family reunion this weekend. I'm having fun bonding with these little guys, spending time with them and their parents. Kenny loves his little brother and has adapted well to having a new member of his family. I think they'll be great friends as they grow up. At least they know Grammie loves them.

Baby Smiles

This is my youngest grandchild - 2-month old Alexander Lloyd MacKenzie - my second son's second son. We don't see him and his big brother, 2-year old Kenny, and parents very often because they live 3 hours south of us, but they're here for the week while Mike attends a business course. And, of course, they're here for the big reunion party on Saturday. They came by the house last night just as my Princess House party was wrapping up, and stayed to visit. I'll get to see a lot of this happy little smiler and his family this week.

Sitting Pretty

Eloise has a new trick...she can sit by herself...for about 10 seconds...and then gravity, and a round bottom, take over. It's a start though. She really seemed to like the feel of the cool grass on her bare feet. We'll work at improving her sitting stamina over the summer and before we know it she'll be cutting teeth, crawling, walking, going to school, graduating, moving away from home, getting married....oh dear. Maybe we'll keep her a little baby for awhile longer.