Lynn Valley Canyon

around the campsite

Solomon's 2nd Birthday - Golden Ears Provincial Park

Taylor Park : Flying a kite!

Stanley Park : Third Beach

Whistler, BC - living the high life!

another walk in the Quay

this is a great park at the end of the Quay... Lots to see and do!

Painting Together

Today, Sofia and Solomon painted together for the first time... FUN!

This morning I woke up to bright sunshine. The third day this week. I thought it rained here all the time... instead I find that the weather is spring like. We went to church and then headed to expolore our new neighbourhood a bit. The New Westminster Quay is only a short walk away and it was great to be close to a body of water on such a beautiful day.

The View from here

Sofia's 4th Birthday Party

Sofia

Solomon's mohowk

Lillooet

a few photos

Solomon's First Birthday !!!

Baking with Auntie Melissa

The Big Lollipop

Karl is a sucker (no pun intended) for buying little pleasures for Sofia!

the haircut

Solomon got his first haircut... I cannot believe how different he looks! It was a bit daunting at first - the thought of cutting his baby locks off, but after we did it, I was very glad... Now I can see his cute little face!

Super Girl to the rescue

Did you remember the days of pretending? Sofia somehow got it into her head that she is "super girl". For the past two evenings after supper, she insists on putting on her cape and running around the yard yelling "super girl to the rescue". I don't even know where she picked this up... Grandma gave her a costume book at easter and her favorite page is the "super hero's".

a good read

Party Dress

Sofia had her 3rd birthday a few weeks ago (feb 18). She still has her party hat. It was quite amusing actually. A few days before her birthday, we went shopping for ballons and party hats. When we got home she wanted to wear one. I abliged, and she happily wore that hat 3 full days before her birthday, and on her birthday - which was a sunday, she insisted on wearing it to church. She proudly told everyone that it was her birthday and that she was now 3 years old.

I thought that it wearing the hat would get old, but she still insists on wearing one around the house, in spite of the itchy straps.

This photo was taken after she helped paint our "happy birthday" tribute to Alicia in Sweden. She proudly wore her "tu-tu" (thanks Auntie Mis) and party hat, dress up shoes until she puked up her strawberries and kiwi. She had been sick all week and I thought it was over until it happened again. She is now back to her normal self.

Happy Birthday Alicia

To my friend far away in Sweden! I wish I was there to celebrate your 3rd birthday with you.
I miss you and can't wait to see you again some day soon! Love Sofia

a few recent photos

birthday girl

Merry Christmas

my two kids

So now I am in Ontario for a short holiday to visit my family! It has been so nice seeing old friends and spending valued time with my family. I have had the opportunity to be photographed by my dear old pal - Rachelle, from college, this time with both my children. Thanks Rachelle, these photos are once again beautifully done!

hike

So it has been a while since I last posted anything. But I am extremely busy. We have purchased our first home! Yahoo! So our first "simple" project was to rip out the carpet in the living/dining room area... it was supposed to be a saturday of work, we assumed that their would be hardwood under the carpet... but alas to our dismay - we found plywood.... our simple project turned out to be a month and a half of Karl putting in a new "sustainable" floor. It is finally in, and now on to the next project. (it looks great,by the way!) I'll post photos of it next month...Ha ha!

Last weekend we went on a couple of hikes, always nice to get a bit of fresh fall air to clear your head... these photos are of that hike... (Sorry, pic's of the house will come later, as I don't have time to take any right now, and the ones I have are burned to disk, and I cannot find them... )

So many appologies for my lack of postings, hopefully life will begin to slow down again and I can keep it more updated.

Cheers to you all!

p.s sorry no images, for some reason blogger won't let me post any...

our kids are growing up so fast!

It's been a while

walking the back alley's

Lightning Storm

I had the rare opportunity to sneak out all by myself one evening and take a few photos. By chance this night happened to be one of Kamloops first thunder/lightning showers of the summer. What a storm! This photo I captured is not photoshop-ed, except that I desaturated the color. I tried to get another one of the lightning, but this fluke shot is the only one I got.

...and then Oma came for a visit!

Nice to see you, Naomi!

Solomon

Solomon is now 12 days old! He is getting bigger and bigger each day, which is exciting to see as he was such a skinny little boy at birth. We are all doing well, and Sofia seems to be taking her role as big sister seriously. She enjoys holding him while she watches movies, and she is a great little helper to me.

and then there were four...

We are now the proud parents of a new baby boy!!! Solomon Karl Fulson was born on wednesday, June 14 at 7:13pm. Here are some photos....

8 months prego...

Only 3 weeks left to go! I can't wait for this baby to be born, for the chaos to start all over again!
My body is ready to give birth. Is it a baby boy or girl? Sofia is always changing her mind about that! For those of us that have been through this process, we know how our bodies grow weary of lugging around all those extra pounds, the backache, the sore feet, the tiny feet kicking our insides, poking, jabbing and all those love taps. 9 months, and then sleepless nights, tired eyes begin. Ohh, how I can't wait!

I've heard that the second child is easier??? Some people even say that their second sleeps through the night alot quicker??? We shall see. I am enjoying these last few weeks with our only child, Wow! how her life is about to change. I pray that she will adapt quickly to whatever this tiny new life brings.

Goofin' around

my BIG belly!

Here it is, my ever growing belly! I am now 7.5 months prego... soon enough July 4th will come around and we'll be enjoying a new baby. Sofia seems to understand that she will soon have to share mommy, but I am sure that it will be a big adjustment for all of us. Two kids, double the trouble! I am really excited!

Kamloops, this is our home!

As I look around our city, I am blessed to see how beautiful and great it is to live here. Where else can you enjoy sunny days, great views, a river close by and lots of outdoor recreation - all within driving or walking? We really love it here in spite of being so far from family, which is the downside of living in such an awsome provience. Distance, they say, makes the heart grow fonder! Lets hope that is the case here! So we hope to one day convince all our relatives how great it is so that one day we can all be together in this lovely community of Kamloops.

Easter

What is Easter all about? Is it bunnies, eggs or the Cross? It is interesting that todays holidays are so diverted from their origin. Celebrating Easter is all about Christ dying for our sins and resurructing 3 days later. How did bunnies and eggs ever come into the picture? We did enjoy having an egg hunt with Sofia, but we made sure to mention over and over the real reason that we celebrate easter.
Christ rose!

The Carnival

We took Sofia to the carnival on good friday, and she was quite interested in all the tall rides. she seemed especially intrigued by the ferris wheel! The carnival has a whole new meaning when you have children. I can't wait till she is old enough to go on some rides. (wait a miniute, they are incredibly expensive... I guess I can wait).

it's a bugs life!

It is so neat to see Sofia learn about bugs and tiny things...
Karl is such a good teacher and loves to show her how to take note and enjoy the little things in life.

at the park...

Mascara

Sofia usually watches me get ready in the mornings. She drags the stool from the bathroom into our room and plays with various things on our dresser. She sometimes asks me for "mascara" or "deoterant", and I humor her by pretending to put some on her delicate lashes and underarms. So it is no surprise to me that one day I found her in our room, trying desperately to get some mascara on her eyes, just like mommy! I scolded her through smiles and tried to be stern, but I couldn't help but find this little 'mini-me', copy-cat a bit flattering!

Deep Lake, Westsyde

Have you ever been to Deep Lake, Westsyde? Well this day we set out to hike there, only we never did quite make it... I hadn't hiked there in 3 or so years and I didn't remember that it was a steep hike. Maybe not so steep for someone more than 3 feet tall, but for a 2 and 3 year old, I am sure that it seemed like Mt. Everest! They were quite the troopers and I was so impressed as I watched Sofia eagerly hike up the grade. (back pack and all) I won't tell you that It was practically empty... She did real good! As we enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and scenery, I was so thankful that I was able to enjoy these precious moments with my child. What better way to bond with the little one that show her the amazing beauty that God created in nature.

Art Class

Last wednesday, we went to our final art class. It was a great experience and really introduced Sofia to her creative side. Here she met a cute little red-head, Anika. Together with her mom, we enjoyed a sushi lunch to celebrate it's completion.

Valleyview Hike

Saturday we joined our friends, Kathryn & Sharmin and their twins, Fisher and Indigo! It was a great day to enjoy the great outdoors, and the kids just loved it too. It was great, Sofia was so tuckered out that when we got home she slept for 4 hours...

Got the blues!

Sofia is quite the little artist. She is quite involved as she takes her time creating various masterpieces. She decided today, that painting on her easle was not enough, I guess she wanted to feel the texture to "become one with the art". So as I left her alone so I could do various things around the house, I was surprised come back to discover her painting her hands and arms... I guess you can't really be surprised with a two year old, as she is constantly trying to experience many new things. Some times it is hard to remember that she needs just to be a kid and learn what the world has to offer.

Just past Tranquille on the Lake...

Today we, { Audrey & Tye, Sofia and I} took advantage of our lovely spring weather and went on a quick hike. This place is just past the Tranquille Farm and it is a short hike to a great park, where we enjoyed a sunshine filled lunch and the kids ran around to their hearts content....

Sarah & Sam

I must admit I did enjoy having my younger sister and her husband here for their month long visit. The came by bus all the way from Ontario just to see me and my family. Sofia really loved spending time and often says, "saw-rah, sam, comming back?" Well, we certainly hope to see they back out here enjoying all that Beautiful British Columbia has to offer. Here are a few of my favorite photos of them.

My Violin

This christmas I was blessed to recieve a violin from my in-laws. They had somehow remembered that I had once or twice mentioned that one day I'd love to learn to play. I didn't quite expect that day to come so soon! So far I've had a few informal lessons from a very talented girl (Cheryl). And I've managed to teach myself to play two songs: "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Jesus loves me". Who knows, maybe one day I'll be able to serinade all those of you who have honored me by playing your guitar over and over for me. (thanks, Amanda!)

mmmm chocolate

Even before sofia was down for her nap, I couldn't stop thinking about the decadent chocolate bar stashed above my fridge... I cannot help it! For me chocolate cannot be a cheep experience. I crave just a tiny piece here and there of that dark, delicious substance. I've figured it out. The only kind of chocolate that I enjoy is expensive. Don't even think of offering me a cadburys, or hershy's... I won't enjoy it. Sure I might politely take a piece, but in my mind I am thinking of what an insult to chocolate these cheep bars offer. And so with Sofia quietly tucked into her cosy bed, I sneak off and make a cup of tea and enjoy my quiet moment of luxury that this particular chocolate bar gives....

Karlskrona

afternoon tea

I know, I know, I take way too many photos of my daughter! I can't seem to help myself, she is constantly providing "Kodak moments" as they say. She seems to enjoy the attention of a lens pointing at her face and antics. She would probably think it weird if i put the camera away and never took it out... Here she is enjoying her afternoon tea with lunch.

dj sofie

We just got an ipod shuffle free from our recent hook-up with telus, of course Sofia needed to try it out and delighted in the miracle of music comming through tiny microphones...

Morning Newspaper

Today Sofia joined me in my look through the newspaper. Since I've started shooting part time for the Kamloops Daily News, I like to check to see if my images actually make it to the published paper... I though she looked so grown up as she flipped through checking out the photos in the search for perhaps a job or where she could find entertainment. This one particular photo caught her eye - a mom pushing her child on the swing. She greatly related to it and had quite a few comments about it including how much she like to swing...

How to...

I had an idea that came from the need to make a card up really quick for a friends birthday... I usually make cards using photoshop, however since our printer is not working properly due to old age, I pondered how to make a card without technology... imagine that! As I was cleaning up one of the many paintings Sofia makes on her easle, I thought - hey, I could use this to make a personalized card from the hands and creativity of my tw0 year old. And so I set out to make the card. Using Sofia as my model and spokesperson, I documented the event and decided that perhaps other moms too could benifit from this crafty idea for quick and easy, yet beautiful cards.

All you need:

1. Paintings from your children
2. Scissors
3. Glue Stick
4. Card stock paper (cut in half)

a few more from the past

Ever Wonder...

Do you ever wonder if your kids watch too much TV? Today I felt a bit sad as I watched Sofia sit there so quietly while watching Dysneys "Robin Hood" for the hundreth time. My sadness quickly left as I continued to finish washing the dishes and clean the kitchen un-interrupted. What would I do without this babysitter. Would the housework get done? What did moms do in "little house on the praries"times??? I don't know...

Sofia : 8 Months old Nov 2004

Images from Sweden 2004/2005

backtracking

a day in the sand

Today it snowed

Today i manage to sleep in... ahhhh till 8:30(am) that is... for all you parents out there, you can agree that yes, 8:30 is indeed sleeping in!

So Karl got up with our lovely daughter - Sofia, and they played in the freshly fallen snow, and I got up just in time to snap a few photos...