Happy New Year!

What a Season! What a Month! What a Year! 

After weeks and weeks of practice, our school concert went off without a hitch!

I kept up with my colouring and completed a ton of Christmas crafts with Mum for Christmas presents.

I even learnt how to dance slide, which has been great for guests and general home based performances.

And speaking of sliding a bunch of us went ice skating before Christmas! This here is what we call The Bailey Train! (They didn't have skates small enough for Ollie.)

We had Christmas in Victoria again - it seems the days of Christmas in warm climates are gone - although it's probably easier for Santa to get to our colder climates. We went over to Victoria in Jer's Christmas Car which was decorated with lights, bows and a red nose.

I trust you all had a wonderful December and Christmas. Ollie and I were pretty impressed with Santa's visit - I had to explain it to Ollie a bit, but I'm pretty sure he got it. Most importantly... I got a new bike! With hand breaks and SEVEN Gears! Just like my Dad's!

We've had a great time this Christmas, although I'm kind of looking forward to getting back to school. Just a couple more days of holiday left, but we're using it wisely. After a slow start, we got up to Seymour Mountain today which was awesome. That's me in the picture... last one off the sled hills. 

Anyway, thanks for a great year, I'm off to bed to get as much rest as I can for 2013!

I'm Four and a Half

I hope you're well, and having a good late Fall. Let me remind you that Christmas is on the way - this will be my 5th, and Ollie's 2nd. I am very excited - even though I'm older. I can't imagine ever not being excited about Christmas.
We had our team pictures for Vancouver United last week - it was very organized, and so quick. I'll post the pictures when they get them out to us. Soccer is going well, although it's getting colder. It's been great having my Dad as an Asst Coach, although I've never played soccer anywhere without him giving advice and offering encouragement - I wonder if I'll ever get tired of that...

Also last week, I finally got my haircut at my Dad's barber - I'm not sure what the big deal was, it was easy. Travis did a great job - although he had an awful lot of Dublin hair to work with. He's a class act that gentleman.

I also went on my first Ferris Wheel this past weekend. It was an hour wait, but well worth it - it was so high! It was just awesome. I think it might have been my Dad's first as well - he didn't seem to enjoy it very much... 'too much swinging' he said. It was also my Mum's birthday this past weekend. We had a wonderful dinner for her, and I bought her some beautiful pink shoes. She loves them!

So far it's been a delightful Fall, with pretty good weather. I almost forgot!! After all that swimming, I have now passed my Sea Otter, and my Salamander levels - you're looking at a brand new SUNFISH!!

Our Fall Family

What a wonderful October we've had! The weather's been changing, the colours, the light, everything! It's now officially Halloween, and I've had my school concert, for which I was the legendary Batman! Here's Batman, sans mask, eating pizza, checking out the situation. Tonight, I'll be doing a number of Halloween excursions, and I threw my Mum a late curveball wanting now to be a BAT! She came through - pictures to come!

We went to Whidbey Island again with some friends. It's so great out there! Here's Liam and I on the trampoline. Then later we picked fruit in their orchard... who has an orchard?

My brother Ollie actually walked on his own for the first time earlier this month on Whidbey - he posted a video here. 

Later in the month I went to a good friend's birthday party at a swimming pool - it was all 7 and 8 year old girls - girls are CRAZY!

I also am doing tons of new things at school like French, Math and Printing - here's my wall.

We actually had some professional family photos taken for the first time ever this month too, but I'll show you some of those next time too. Until next time... Hooray!!

Flying into Fall

Well, it's been seven weeks since my last confession. As a courtesy I'll tell you that the most important update is that my brother Ollie turned one year old a couple of weeks ago. He's got multiple chicklets in his mouth and is getting to a size where we actually have a good time playing together. Put it this way, he laughs at all my jokes. 

I'm now a senior at my school, and have started swimming classes again (5th set). I've also joined a proper soccer team in the shape of Vancouver United... I'm kind of thinking it's where Wayne Rooney started. For real. Anyway, it's a new set up for me, but I have a pair of friends on my team and I score the odd goal (with either foot).

I've been to a couple more Whitecaps games with my Dad (and his friends) and now sing most of the songs, and we even went to Seattle to see the caps play. 'We're Blue! We're White! We're super dynamite!

I already know what I'm going as for Halloween, I'm trying to master my printing at school, and I have now entered the 'posters on my bedroom wall' phase. Lastly, we bought a new couch (but still no race car).

Summer in the City

Hi Everyone! I hope you're all having a terrific summer. We've certainly been getting the weather for it. After we got home from The Continent we had our end of year celebration at school (still commonly referred to as khool). Yep, I wore a bow tie again - it's kind of my thing now.

Days after, I managed to cross something off my bucket list... I got up close and personal with a tow truck! I even got to ride in it for about half an hour! Dad wasn't quite as thrilled by the experience, but it was all pretty ok in the end.

It's been the perfect weather for bike riding and one Saturday, my Dad and I rode down Arbutus - on the Street! - and down to the beach, and along the water to Go Fish for dinner with Nanna and Grandpa. It was pretty epic.

We're back full time into Saturday morning soccer classes with Coach Glyn, and I've been going later in the day to play with the older kids. A couple of weeks ago, I scored eight goals... For Real! Here's a picture of one now.

Early July, we went with the Robinson family to Chain Lake! It was the best, forever. No one seemed interested in taking pictures, but here's one that the paparazzi got of me kayaking... that's right. I take out single kayaks now.... For Real!

But one mustn't forget the simple, comfortable things in life. A couple of mornings ago I went and had a steamed milk with the boys after helping Grandpa install a new cabinet at my khool. It was cool.

"We're all going on a... Summer Holiday"

It's late at night to be writing and all I have access to is my Dad's iPhone pictures, but I didn't want you to wait any longer, so I'll make you a deal. I'll post some quick pictures from my awesome holiday in London, France, Venice and Tuscany now - and I'll promise to post some more later from our better camera.

We had three fun-filled days and nights in London to start the trip off right - the first of which we spent at Grandad and Judith's as they hosted a terrific open house. We then went to France to live in a Chateau for five nights with 35 other wonderful people for Mike and Danielle's wedding! Congrats and thanks again guys!

After that, we took an overnight train to Venice - the train itself being quite an experience! I got the top of three bunks and loved every minute of it - finally a hotel room built for people my size. In Venice I was officially captained, had multiple visits to Caffeteria Doria with my Dad, did loads of walking and looking with the family and even dressed up here and there. With no cars on the islands, we were free to run through the streets like runaways (watch out for Italian elbows though).

After Venice, we took another train to Tuscany where we met up with more and more family for a week of eating, swimming, relaxing and learning Italian. It was an amazing trip with languages, endless soccer games, and new foreign sweets as the highlights. You should come with us next time!

Finally Four!

Well, that seemed to take forever (a quarter of my entire life in fact) - but I was patient and I am now four years old! I officially turned four a week ago on May 10th, but my parties were last weekend, and boy did we party!

We had an expert face painter who turned us all into lions and snakes and bats. We had a stubborn soccer ball piñata filled with sweets, toys and Mexican jumping beans. And we ate an incredible Dragon Cake that my mum made.

Later on, more people came for round two which was a shared party with my Dad (who is like a hundred). That was also fun as I was able to practice some of my new four year old sophistication.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes, and if you came by, thanks for making it such a wonderful birthday and for all the super fun presents.

April Activities

April has been a busy month. Not because I had to do my taxes or start Spring cleaning, but for other reasons... but it's starting to dawn on me that life is busy, and if life is always busy, then it hardly seems worthy of mention. So not having to state it should cut down my writing time, and your reading time, allowing you to look at some pictures with short captions...

The Easter Hunt in Victoria was terrific!

This is me after having a quick dinner at Kits Beach with my Dad.

This is my grumpy look.

This is the opposite of my grumpy look. Slade let my Dad and I drive
the three wheeler on Whidbey Island!

This was our very recent Spring Concert at school - most of our songs
have fairly complex hand gestures.

This was at the New Stadium (BC Place) when they had an open house
a couple of days ago hosted by the Whitecaps and the BC Lions.

I hope this finds you all well, and I truly hope to see you very soon (especially you).

Spring has Sprung!

The seasons and weather have seemed a little confused around these parts as of late, but that hasn't slowed me down any. Saturday Soccer camp has taken a bit of a break so my Dad and I (sometimes with company) have taken to hitting the all weather fields at UBC on Saturday mornings - the ball bounces way more!

When the weather doesn't cooperate, we make the most of our time indoors: sometimes Ollie and I roughhouse and other times my mum multitasks.

We as a family are starting to see that steady routines might be the path to happiness: Soccer Saturdays, Swimming and Taqueria Tuesdays, Little Nest, Commercial and Whitespot Sundays etc.

Last weekend (beautiful weather) we went for a hike through Lighthouse park, followed by some PinkBerry - gorgeous! And sometimes I just ask my friend Jer if I can try on his Star Wars helmet.