swimmin'

This last photo in the series is one of my favourites since it captures a very typical moment of 'affection' which generally involves Schuyler serenely hugging an increasingly frantic, struggling Charlie until he cries loud enough for adult salvation.

the kids table

Dinner time with multiple kids can be a little bit of a struggle. It is like running a restaurant for some very particular customers who can't fully express themselves and use words like "yucky" and never stay seated for more than a few minutes. Fortunately, with a fully staffed kitchen, life is a little easier. We all shared the load and got something down their gullets for the evening. Next stop: bath and reading. After that, peace.

grandma!

Grandma and Jake came out to the lake to visit with the tiny ones with Auntie Lisa in tow. All in all, a great day. Of course, any day when the little ones meet someone bearing gifts is a great day. And they all seem to love Grandma! Thank you!

lazy morning

The Apple iNeglect gets a full scale outing and tests the "sharing" abilities of the girls.

Charlie needs (and receives) very little in the way of toys. A set of cups and he is set for the morning.

Fortunately, there is no way Sophie is going to let mere cups entertain her living and breathing doll. She built what I believe to be a schoolhouse around him using pillows and doted attention on him which, frankly, he deserves after so many other people taking up his airtime. Thanks, Sophie!

winding down

The final hour or so of the day is the hardest for me as a parent (the first hour runs a close second): You've spent a day fitting the kids into your schedule while trying to ensure they (a) are stimulated and educated and (b) don't die while in your care. This can be exhausting. So when the witching hour rolls around, there is a mix of relief and slight trepidation as the bedtime ritual begins. The cousins were very helpful in book selection and attention span (and, man, can that Sophie read!). After the books, trying to get them to settle into sleep is like wrestling a bear to submission but when it comes you can finally sit and have an adult conversation and, quicker than you would like, you start to miss the same little cubs you were trying desperately to leave minutes earlier. The Parent Paradox.

zoning

It wasn't long before Sophie, Sarah, and Schuyler realised that the town they had designed was in violation of seven planning regulations and would need to be redone before the authorities caught on. Luckily, they had a zoning expert in tow to rectify the issues in time. All this talk filtered up to the upstairs bedroom, lulling Charlie into a deep sleep.

pop pop & carol

Within minutes of our arrival at Pop Pop and Carol's house the girls managed to stuff themselves with several Halloween's worth of chocolate and other sweets from Pop Pop's famous candy bar.

Charlie was left to frolic with his battered plastic cup. Some girls have all the luck.

PASS!

Dad just got the news: he passed his CFA level 2 exam. Only 12% of people taking level two pass on the first try. Well done papa bear!!!

Amendment from Papa Bear: Kids, never underestimate the value of random guessing in passing a multiple choice exam. According to chaos theory, random events (if repeated enough times) will eventually reveal a self-similar pattern i.e. even in chaos random patterns emerge. With one minute to go in the morning session of the exam and four questions blank, I spelled BACB. That is the kind of skill your father used to pass his exam and the random luck of it all will forever haunt him. I wish you the same luck I have enjoyed.

A typical morning at Tallwood

playing at the lake