The Jolliff Family

Never mind, I will not be blogging this week.  Instead, I am going to continue to enjoy the view.

Today we spent the majority of the day prepping and finalising things around here for our vacation which starts tomorrow.  Sam and the twins were big helpers today.  Actually, Sam helped occupy the twins :) Andrew did some work errands with Hap and Jacob had an afternoon playdate.  Abigail got her toes all vacation ready! We leave tomorrow and so my blogging with be really sporadic, if I even get on to blog! We are ready for a fun time and hoping no one falls into a canal :)

A little video tribute from the kids to their awesome dad! (Make sure your volume is up for the speaking parts.) Happy Father's Day to all the dads we know and love!!

We have had a quick week this past week with Hap being out of town for almost 3 days.  The kids and I enjoyed going to an indoor play area on one of the warmer days and ice cream before bedtime.  Sam was doing his best marine action by climbing the poles outside our house before bedtime!  Such a funny picture. It's normal here that the babies receive treats when we go out.  This particular day they received a candy bar from the manager at the grocery store.  Thankfully he didn't open it for them before getting in the car. I painted our bedroom while Hap was out of town.  Basically, I stayed up way too late doing it after kids were all asleep but I LOVE the outcome.  I will post finished pictures soon, I need to hang our pictures back up. And, we are busy packing up for our summer vacation that starts next week.  Everyone is really excited for the time away and to see new places!

This summer is skipping right along and we are certainly enjoying it!  Last week we set a "schedule" for the boys.  They need to complete the things on their schedule before they can have any technology.  They all work on math, have reading time, do chores, and quiet playtime.  It is a little hectic trying to get everything checked off the list but has worked well so far!

The weather has been fluctuating here over the past week, from VERY warm to really comfortable.  Last weekend, we decided to have an ice cream party for our friends and it was the perfect day for it because it was HOT!! Sam made the chalkboard ;) I bought these napkins last year on clearance in the States and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use them! Lots of yummy toppings! All the kids were happy.  Even the 3 babies enjoyed some ice cream.  The kids played outside and the adults visited inside.  It was a nice evening together!

I needed to take some pictures off of my phone.  I might have posted these before on the blog but I think just Facebook.... so here they are on the blog now! Big boy loves to be outside! Sweet twins love to be together. #twinbenefits Abram has started folding his hands to "pray" before dinner time. A cool poster from a program that I have been involved in over the last 9 weeks. One from the zoo.  This Nile Crocodile was not happy with Andrew and kept snapping at him. Love my silly boys! #twinbenefits The boys received new tennis shoes and we also picked up some cool sunglasses.  Move over Tom Cruise ;) or Tom Jefferson.... either one! Playing outside in her dress doesn't stop this girl. Sporting his new tennis shoes and glasses.  We are enjoying being outside in the cool of the morning most mornings. My sweet ragamuffin. Today Andrew and Sam went to their school ...

Last week the kids and I went to the zoo for the morning while Hap stayed back to work.  It was a really fun time and the twins seemed to really enjoy the animals this visit.  The big boys were great helpers and the weather was perfect.  No one fell into the gorilla pit, so I call it a huge success!