The Coswan's Blog....NOW News from the South: Fall Has Arrived

I've received at least three messages, BEGGING, pleading to continue with the blog.....and with such strong and loyal followers, how could I say no? Perhaps I'll move to a Quarterly update.......who's to say, but there is a good deal of things going on in Coswan Land.

Let's start with the kids......as it likely is about them, right? They are developing a decent sized posse with the neighborhood kids.......we have pretty much any age from newborn up thru teenagers within a few houses, so there seems to be someone for everyone. As the weather has cooled down a fair bit, there is a bit less playing outside, but the groups congregate at various houses for their play dates. It's not odd for me to come home from work to 10 kids, and I likely may not know any of their names! It is good to see them settling in though.....still miss our old FMM crew, but they are finding some new kids to fill the gaps between visits!

Activities......full force! Kate has Preschool three days a week (half days), Lauren goes to "school" a half day a week (the lady is a preschool teacher who runs a day home, so Lauren feels like she's being just like Kate!). There is gymnastics for both of them once a week, Lauren has Tiny Toes ballet (which she REFUSES to participate in....she demands "Take me home RIGHT NOW"), and in a few weeks swimming lessons/skating lessons will begin. So, the van is always going somewhere! We have taken the kids out skating to the Trico Center once as well, as a prep for lessons. Kate pretty much forgot all she knew about skating, and it was starting from scratch for the first 15 minutes, then she started making progress. Lauren, who has NEVER been on skates, wanted no one to hold her, as she had to do it on her own. There were MANY pile ups, but she loves it, and both will be fine in no time!

Andrea and I were lucky enough this past weekend to sneak away for a "kid-free" weekend in Kelowna. Aunty Brenda, Aunty Lou, and Cousin Syd made the journey South to tend to the beasts so we could tour wine country for a few days. We popped into about six vineyards, came away with a nice case of wine, and had some amazing dinners out......with no one throwing food at us, no one requesting potty trips, etc......it was a very nice weekend getaway. If you're a wine fan and haven't spent some time in/around Kelowna, you MUST put it on your "to do" list.

Growth.......God do kids grow! Kate seems more and more to be turning into a "little girl", and Lauren is just simply growing, talking, growing, etc. They both speak very well now, and it's pretty entertaining to hear some of the things they string together. Everyday seems to be a new day.......but it never is dull or boring! We're also blessed with Lauren, that she's making up for stuff Kate didn't do. With Kate, we never really battled thru the "terrible two's".....she was pretty decent. Lauren is making up for it and some! She has a stubborn streak that is amazing......or frustrating, however you want to look at it, but she's definitely her own person, and does what she wants.....so I guess it's not the worst thing.

The new house has been amazing.....we are really enjoying it and the area. We are making some changes though......trying to make it a bit of our own place. Andrea has been working with a decorator from the community.....ironically, the decorator is the person who bought our old Auburn Bay house. So, we're moving along......new kitchen table/chairs ordered, new paint colors being picked out to add some splashes of color, and apparently, I'll be building a locker/shoe area at the back landing. IF that is successful, I will be taking on our closet. We'll see though.....

I'll pop up some pics to see..........and will add more commentary in another post, at another time!