The Talens' Tales

Some random photos of life lately.  Mataya's preschool had an end of the year party and she got a pretty rainbow on her face.  The rhubarb plant in the garden is doing quite well this year. Mataya used this leaf as an umbrella...  And she could also use it as a shirt.  Gideon and I went to a park one day while the others were in school. He was fond of the tunnel.  The older two had fun with clothespins at Oma's house the other day. Summer is here on the Island and we are loving it!

Wilbert got some lovely and thoughtful things for Father's Day this year. Mataya went all out making things at school and a card at home.  She filled out this questionnaire about Wilbert as well. She knows him pretty well.  And Joash made this cool card at school. He was especially proud of the pocket and the $5 bill he made that fit in the pocket.

I will admit, we are often home bodies. We all like to be home, in our normal space and routine. But sometimes we need to get out of the house and take in some fun things on the Island. This weekend, Joash, Mataya and I went to Reading Street, an event put on by Reading Town PEI . It was supposed to outside, but rain moved it inside.   They had a great variety of activities for the kids, different authors reading and lots of free things. We were all pretty excited about the free books we got.  It was a fun event and I hope that we can take in some more of these things in the future.  And Joash has been doing jobs around the house since February to earn money to buy a Lego set he wanted. Well, Saturday was the day he finally had enough money, so we stopped by Toys R Us to pick up the lego set. He was very excited about it! It was a nice change of pace for a weekend for us.

I managed to get in 15 books this month. I am not really sure how I added 5 more than usual, but a few were rather short and a few were impossible to put down. And there were a few that I sped read because I just wanted to get through them, so there were a few duds in the mix. But the top three would be: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah - This is by far the best book I have read all year. I loved it! Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman- A unique book written from the perspective of a teenager with mental illness. Very interesting and very eye opening. The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence - A fun book, that deals with some pretty heavy topics.

We had a great time celebrating Mataya's birthday yesterday.  It took her a bit to decide what she wanted on her cake. First is was a bunny, then a flower and then she finally settled on a bunny with some flowers by it.  She declared it perfect, so that was great! Here she is with a few of her gifts. A few requests were her own flashlight (not pictured), bunny slippers, activity books with stickers and the biggest one was "slide on shoes." After cake and presents Mataya said with pure joy, "This was the best birthday ever!"

What is your favorite color? Pink and Purple What is your favorite toy? Bunny What is your favorite food? Mac and Cheese What is your favorite tv show? Busytown Mysteries What is your favorite outfit? My flower shirt and leggings What is your favorite game? Sequence What is your favorite animal? Bunnies What is your favorite song? My Lighthouse What is your favorite book? Ones with bunnies Who is your best friend? Marielle and Lily What is your favorite thing to do outside? Jump on the trampoline What is your favorite drink?   milk What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Snowball (her bunny) What do you want for dinner on your birthday? grilled cheese, jello and chocolate milk What do you want to be when you grow up? A mom

Can I just say I love Mother's Day gifts from school. We had a great day together and I definitely felt the love of everyone! Mataya made me a cute card and her teachers helped her put her fingerprints on it and make a bookmark that is a picture of herself. She also made a portrait of me. And she filled out this questionnaire about me. I am so glad she think I am so young! And Joash made me a nice card with origami tulips.  And inside it said "Thanks for helping me grow." I hope you all had a great day celebrating moms!