A real photo dump

 Isaac and Sarah at their very own little toadstool table (that we didn't buy) at No Frills.  We did, however, purchase the buckets.  Sarah, by the way, screams cheese whenever she spots an iPhone, iPad or camera pointed in her direction.  Fast learner.

 I mentioned that Hannah and I brought Isaac and Sarah to the March for Life?  Here's some proof.

 We went through a lot of juice boxes and a lot of snacks by the time we wound our way through downtown Ottawa.

 When I asked Hannah why she wanted to go to the March so badly, she responded, "I don't know.  I guess it's in my blood."  She comes by the pro-life gene quite honestly, on both the paternal and maternal sides.

 Ben did in fact turn eight on May 9th.  Despite its precarious layering technique, the cake tasted quite good.  Ahem, mixes have a habit of turning out well.

 Why does that eight look backward to me?  It's impossible for an eight to look backward, isn't it?  Ben says that he looks weird in this photo.  I will leave that up to you to decide.

 See, I told you that we did some major yard work.  Those dead shrubs were a bugger to remove, but the boys and I proved worthy opponents in the fight against the invasive cedars.

 Jacob finds this sort of work incredibly rewarding.  The key to getting Jacob out of a chair (and out of a book)  is to provide him with really physically challenging work.  If the work provides even a moment in which he can retreat into the world of the mind (in common parlance:  space out), we've lost him.  Thankfully, jobs like the above, as well as doing hay in the heat of the summer, provide the perfect outlets for him.  (Much to his father's relief!)

 Hannah is ever-innovative and has rigged up one of the big kid swings so that Sarah can ride on it without pitching backward.  Why not just use the baby swing? you wonder.  Because Hannah cannot haul her sister into the swing, thus necessitating some McGyvering.  Way to go, Hannah, you make me proud (and very reminiscent of my own jerry-rigging youth).

 Check out the hair on that almost two-year-old!  Where has my baby gone?  Funny story:  I bought that little outfit at Joe Fresh a few days ago.  After almost a full day's wear I noticed that only one leg is hemmed.  Can you spot the difference?  I guess it slipped through quality control at the Chinese plant.

 Now do you understand what I mean about Jacob's ability to uber-relax?

It's either this or hauling hay and digging holes:  there isn't much in between.   Back in a few days with photos of Ben's First Communion.