Happy Birthday, Dad!

The birthday boy!

One of my favourite people in the world is having a milestone birthday today. He won't see this post today, because he is enjoying the last day of a well-deserved vacation in Florida with my mom, but I wanted to observe my dad's special day anyway.

It is so hard for me to believe that my parents are hitting these "milestones", because in my mind they've always been so young for their age. I remember hearing them say that it was having my little brother that kept them young. I guess having a preschooler in your forties will do that, but I don't believe Brad is responsible for my parents' eternal youth. My mom and dad have always had a young outlook; they don't let anything keep them from getting out and grabbing all the fun life has to offer. I only hope when I reach their stage of life I am still having as much fun as they are!

Happy 70th Birthday, Papa! I hope you're enjoying this special day! We all love you so much!

Wizard

My family plays games. Usually card games. Of my memories of family times growing up, playing cards ranks among the most frequent. We all learned to play "Patience" at a young age -- and to be very good at it! My grandmother loved to play "Skip-Bo" and "Flinch", and we loved to play with her. I don't remember any one of us being any better at cards than anyone else. We just loved the time we spent playing together. Chris has always teased me about being such a shrewd and competitive card player. I never thought of myself that way, but maybe there is some truth to it...

A couple of years ago my parents discovered a new game, "Wizard", and I love it! We played it often on vacation last summer, along with "Sequence", and it quickly became a favourite. To everyone but my dad.

If anyone loves to win more than I do, it's my dad. He is a fierce competitor, and if he isn't winning, he isn't having fun. And unfortunately, he just isn't often that lucky with Wizard.

The first day of their visit, Mom bought me a pack of Wizard cards. She hadn't brought hers, and she thought I needed my own. So that night, despite the basketball game on TV, we played Wizard. Chris won. The next night Mom and Dad and I played. Mom won. Sunday night we didn't make the boys play, since there was basketball and hockey to watch. Mom and I played "Sequence". The next night Chris beat us all at Wizard again. Dad and I are clearly the most competitive of the four of us, so he was not enjoying all these defeats, but I was really just happy to being playing cards with my Mom and Dad.

Last night, Dad was watching what turned out to be the final game of the hockey playoffs. But I insisted that he also play Wizard, since it was his last night here. Needless to say, he wasn't excited about the prospect, but he played. And more than winning myself, I hoped that he would win (of course that didn't affect how I played my game!) And — whattayaknow— Dad and I tied, soundly beating Mom and Chris! And Dad's team won the Stanley Cup, too, so it was a good night all around.

I do love to win at cards. But last night I honestly loved that my Dad won. Because I appreciate so much that he played with me, even though he didn't really want to. So maybe next time he will want to play! And maybe then I'll be able to win on my own!

(I understand that I have missed a post, and I do plan to catch up, but I'll do it on the weekend. It has been a busy week!)

Bike Day!

Yesterday was bike day at the Haines household.

Janelle learned to ride her bike without training wheels.

She did a great job, learning in just about half an hour.

Afterward, she biked all the way home from the ball park by herself. What an accomplishment! She was so proud of herself — and we were pretty proud of her, too.

Afterward, we all piled into the van (Grandma, Papa, Connor, Janelle, Chris and me) and went to Zellers to buy Connor a new bike. He has grown so much that his knees hit the handlebars of his old one, so it was time. We knew the kind of bike that we wanted was on sale, so we decided to go and see if they had a 24" bicycle that would be perfect for Connor. It was clearly destiny — the only 24" bike they had was green! He was sold right away!

It was a special day. One that we will always remember.

And we're especially glad that Grandma and Papa got to be here for it, too!

Too Much Fun Being Had!

The reason I don't have time to update my blog....

...too much fun being had!

Sorry, but we're just too busy with watching basketball, eating, shopping, exploring, playing Wizard, watching hockey, eating, touring, playing UNO Extreme, shopping, getting the van fixed, eating, playing Apples to Apples, dancing between raindrops, laughing, and enjoying every minute of Grandma and Papa's visit.

Two Peas in a Pod

Papa and Grandma have arrived, just in time for Papa to enjoy the hockey playoffs with Connor. This is how they spent last evening, far longer than Connor should have been up. But is was worth it, just to watch them snuggled up on the couch.

We succeeded in surprising both of the kids. I told them after school that there was "a surprise" coming, but wouldn't give any hints. Connor kept asking if it was something "worth getting his really excited for". I tried not to answer him, but I'm afraid the really excited look on my face might have given me away. They arrived just before supper, and it was an awesome moment when they drove in the driveway. Lots of hugs and smiles. So happy that they're here!