LouiseandSean.com http://www.louiseandsean.com The Adventures of Louise, Sean, Melanie, and Andrew! A collection of photos and movies from our lives! Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:00:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 en hourly 1 louiseandseanhttp://feedburner.google.comSubscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with Pageflakes Images from the Zoo http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/louiseandsean/~3/uHviJN6zNk4/images-zoo http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/26/images-zoo#comments Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:00:28 +0000 admin http://www.louiseandsean.com/?p=531 I’m desperately trying to get caught up on editing all of my photos from the past few months before our upcoming vacation. I have quite a few albums that I set aside because something more exciting came along in the mean time, and never managed to get back to them. I’m trying to pick them off one at a time and deal with them so that it doesnt’ get out of hand. Unfortunately it’s simply not going to happen before we hit the happy trails…

Here are a few pics from a trip to the zoo back in March. The highlight of this trip was seeing the Swift Fox for the first time. This elusive and tiny animal is extremely beautiful, and also very shy.

(click the images to see them larger)

Portrait of a Rough-legged HawkRocky Mountain Bighorn SheepLouise with Melanie and AndrewLouise with Melanie and AndrewPortrait of a SwanSnacktimeSnacktimeSnacktimeSnacktimeSwift Fox


]]> http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/26/images-zoo/feed 0 http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/26/images-zoo Fathers Day Picnic http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/louiseandsean/~3/YoudeWZcFa0/fathers-day-picnic http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/23/fathers-day-picnic#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:45:38 +0000 admin http://www.louiseandsean.com/?p=528 I had a fantastic Father’s day, starting with breakfast in bed (and boy was I “surprised” by that!!). Melanie got Andrew out of his crib and they “quietly” waited in the hall for Mommy to sneak out to help them make breakfast while I “slept-in”. Although the execution wasn’t perfect, Melanie was very proud of herself and I got a wonderful breakfast (including a great cup of hot coffee), and I didn’t have to make it!! They even came bearing gifts, including two massive Super Soaker water guns and a new Nalgene bottle to replace the one I recently lost.

After breakfast we all went to the pool to watch Melanie’s final swimming lesson of the season, and then to a Father’s Day Picnic hosted by the Imperial Oil social club. It was quite a feast (steak with baked potato, baked beans, and all the fixins), and there were lots of activities for the kids. Mostly they just played with their friends at the playground, but Andrew really enjoyed bouncing in the bouncy castle. He also had to spend a long time watching the truck dump the recycling bins in the adjacent parking lot…

(click on the images to see them larger)

Andrew on the Bouncy CastleAndrew on the Bouncy CastlePaige on the Teeter-TotterMelanie on the Teeter-TotterRyan MillerRyan MillerPaige on the Teeter-TotterMelanie on the Teeter-TotterMelanie on the Teeter-TotterPortrait of MelanieRyan on the Teeter-TotterAlex BallingerBeth BallingerAndrew on the SlideAndrew at the PlaygroundLouiseTire SwingTire SwingTire Swing


]]> http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/23/fathers-day-picnic/feed 0 http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/23/fathers-day-picnic Melanie’s Last Swimming Lesson http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/louiseandsean/~3/Hm7s3rjjYfo/melanies-swimming-lesson http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/21/melanies-swimming-lesson#comments Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:34:36 +0000 admin http://www.louiseandsean.com/?p=523 Melanie had her last swimming lesson of the current set today. Although she really enjoys her lessons, and always looks forward to going, this recent set of lessons was extremely dissapointing. She had made amazing progress in the previous session and we were really hoping to see the gains continue. Unfortunately her instructor in this set was not very good and they spent most of 6 lessons (out of 8 total) wearing lifejackets and not really learning very much. In fact while watching the lesson today Louise and I were both on our feet and getting ready to run onto the deck as Melanie was floundering in the pool behind the instructor. He never noticed that she was in distress and she only just managed to grab the wall before we were ready to run for it. As you might imagine she was quite upset after that and did a much better job of holding onto the wall while waiting for her turn with the instructor…

(click on the images to see them larger)

Melanie's Swimming LessonMelanie's Swimming LessonMelanie's Swimming LessonMelanie's Swimming LessonMelanie's Swimming LessonMelanie's Swimming LessonMelanie's Swimming LessonMelanie's Swimming LessonMelanie's Swimming LessonAndrew


]]> http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/21/melanies-swimming-lesson/feed 1 http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/21/melanies-swimming-lesson Andrew’s Second Birthday http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/louiseandsean/~3/OzJV2ihELoM/andrews-birthday http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/12/andrews-birthday#comments Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:34:44 +0000 admin http://www.louiseandsean.com/?p=519 Here’s another one from the files. There were so many images in this album that it was pretty daunting task to process them. So there they sat. Sorry about that… But they’re here now, so I guess I’m not such a bad person.

Anyway, Andrew is all boy. He loves cars, trucks, planes, bikes, tractors, hockey (he sat spellbound watching Sid the Kid and the rest of the Pens win Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final tonight!), and all the other things that boys like. Especially trains. We really didn’t teach him this, he just figured it out all by himself. So when we found out that Thomas the Tank Engine was coming to Heritage Park, it was pretty obvious that we had to take him to see it. It was pretty amazing to see little Thomas pulling that great big train even though the massive Diesel Locomotive behind him couldn’t do it!!

After riding the train we returned home for a BBQ with some friends. We had chocolate cake (a definite favorite of Andrew’s) and all the other kids all brought their bikes as well, so there was plenty of riding fun in the alley

Click on the thumbnails to see the images bigger.

Thomas!Thomas!Thomas!Thomas!Thomas!Playing in the MazePlaying in the MazeMelanie gets her Face PaintedMelanie gets her Face PaintedMelanie gets her Face PaintedPlaying with Thomasthe ConductorRiding ThomasRiding ThomasThomas pulls the passenger trainRiding ThomasRiding ThomasRiding ThomasBirthday CakeBirthday CakeGrandpa PhillipsRiding Bikes in the AlleyRiding Bikes in the AlleyRiding Bikes in the AlleyRiding Bikes in the AlleyRiding Bikes in the AlleyRiding Bikes in the AlleyRiding Bikes in the AlleyRiding Bikes in the AlleyRiding Bikes in the Alley


]]> http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/12/andrews-birthday/feed 0 http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/12/andrews-birthday Sparks http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/louiseandsean/~3/tQDdJozeZTw/sparks http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/11/sparks#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:14:32 +0000 admin http://www.louiseandsean.com/?p=515 I was going through some older photos that I haven’t processed yet and I found this album from Melanie’s last night of Sparks. There are a few shots of Melanie and her friends “flying up” (either to Brownies or to their next year of Sparks in Melanie’s case), and one of Andrew goofing off while the event unfolds…

SparksSparksSparksSparksSparksSparksSparksSparksSparksSparks


]]> http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/11/sparks/feed 0 http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/06/11/sparks Playing at the Beach http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/louiseandsean/~3/hXs8GATVQzc/playing-beach http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/28/playing-beach#comments Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:37 +0000 admin http://www.louiseandsean.com/?p=511 We had lunch at the Nott’s new house in the Lake Bonavista community. After lunch we all hiked down to the beach to play in the sand and the water on a hot summery afternoon!

Walking to Lake BonavistaLake BonavistaPlaying at the BeachMelanieAndrewPlaying at the BeachMelanieAndrewRyanAndrew got WetAndrew got WetBrennaKeiranPaigeAndrew


]]> http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/28/playing-beach/feed 0 http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/28/playing-beach Crazy Kids and Tire Swings http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/louiseandsean/~3/oSu0ViamWfU/crazy-kids-tire-swings http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/26/crazy-kids-tire-swings#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 05:10:50 +0000 admin http://www.louiseandsean.com/?p=507 It was a beautiful evening here and since we got dinner finished early, we all went for a walk to a local school to play on the playground. Kids will be kids and both Melanie and Andrew love to be kids. They run and jump and scream when we go to the playground, and a game of tag almost always breaks out. Andrew is even starting to get in on the games and tonight he was daring me to chase him down. He even jumped onto the slide to get away from me once. That’s Melanie’s favorite tactic and she usually turns right back around to climb back up the slide afterward. Andrew hasn’t quite go that one down, but he’s seen her do it so many times that I image it’s just a matter of time… After playing tag everyone climbed onto the tire swings and did a whole lot of spinning!

(click on the pictures to see them larger)

Playing at the PlaygroundPlaying at the PlaygroundPlaying at the PlaygroundPlaying at the PlaygroundPlaying at the PlaygroundPlaying at the PlaygroundSwinging on the Tire SwingSwinging on the Tire SwingSwinging on the Tire SwingSwinging on the Tire SwingSwinging on the Tire SwingSwinging on the Tire SwingSwinging on the Tire SwingSwinging on the Tire SwingSwinging on the Tire Swing


]]> http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/26/crazy-kids-tire-swings/feed 0 http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/26/crazy-kids-tire-swings Monkeying around at the Calgary Zoo http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/louiseandsean/~3/2yyHjcK8IwU/monkeying-calgary-zoo http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/19/monkeying-calgary-zoo#comments Wed, 20 May 2009 03:53:07 +0000 admin http://www.louiseandsean.com/?p=493 I’ve showed many pictures in the past of our trips to the zoo. I actually have a great many more pictures than I’ve actually shown here because we go so often, but I don’t post images from every trip because they often tend to look alike. But now that Andrew is growing up, it’s starting to be a different adventure every time we go. Here are a few from the weekend near the Spider Monkey exhibit. Melanie started to hang on the railing like a monkey and Andrew had to get in on it too!

Black-handed Spider Monkey mom and baby at the Calgary ZooMelanie and Andrew being MonkeysMelanie and Andrew being MonkeysPortrait of a Flamingo at the Calgary ZooAndrew at the Zoo PlaygroundAndrew at the Zoo PlaygroundAndrew at the Zoo PlaygroundAndrew at the Zoo PlaygroundAndrew with Mommy at the ZooKakingaYewanda


]]> http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/19/monkeying-calgary-zoo/feed 0 http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/19/monkeying-calgary-zoo Playing in the Backyard http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/louiseandsean/~3/4CDoSGPkFcQ/playing-backyard http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/19/playing-backyard#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 11:00:29 +0000 admin http://www.louiseandsean.com/?p=487 We’ve been spending a fair bit of time in the backyard lately (gardening and relaxing) and Melanie and Andrew have also been playing together a lot lately. The other night we went outside to enjoy the birds eating at the feeder and the kids went crazy on the play structure. Here are a few snaps:

Playing in the BackyardPlaying in the BackyardPlaying in the BackyardPlaying in the BackyardPlaying in the BackyardPlaying in the BackyardPlaying in the BackyardPlaying in the BackyardPlaying in the BackyardPlaying in the BackyardPlaying in the BackyardPlaying in the Backyard


]]> http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/19/playing-backyard/feed 0 http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/19/playing-backyard Swimming Lessons http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/louiseandsean/~3/ZFdHqC1GiJo/swimming-lessons-3 http://www.louiseandsean.com/2009/05/09/swimming-lessons-3#comments Sat, 09 May 2009 17:00:14 +0000 Sean http://www.louiseandsean.com/?p=460 Melanie has been making some huge improvements in her swimming over the last couple of sets of lessons. The pictures don’t really show that though since she had a lifejacket on for this entire lesson, but she is really getting comfortable in the water! Andrew is also very comfortable playing and being a ham at the pool while Melanie has her lesson…

(click on the pictures to see them larger)

AndrewAndrewMelanie at Swimming LessonsAndrewAndrewMelanie at Swimming LessonsMelanie at Swimming LessonsMelanie at Swimming LessonsMelanie at Swimming LessonsMelanie at Swimming LessonsAndrewAndrew


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