Emma's birthday month!--the countdown was on

Emma had her Spongebob Squarepants calender up and she was crossing off the days leading up to her birthday.  Naomi was working that weekend so she took Emma and her best friend/neighbor, Halla, to the swim park and then to the local fair in Steinbach.  They had a blast swimming and then went on most of the rides at the fair.  They only had to stop a ride once for Emma  because she was squished in the corner of the tilt-a-whirl.

On birthday Saturday we drove Naomi into Winnipeg for her shift and then Emma and I had special McDonald's breakfast and play at the playland.  She is getting very comfortable climbing everywhere and using all the slides. (but insists on wearing her long sleeve coat for the slide due to a previous elbow injury :(  )  After that we headed to Andrew's to help take his dismantled deck and hot tub to the dump.

 

  It took two HUGE loads but we did it.  Afterwards we cut the rest of a large maple down so we wouldn't have to cut it down over top the new deck.  Then a visit to Uncle Dave's for a beer and visit with Renee and Dan. Emma couldn't wait because she knew they were bringing a birthday present from Nana and Papa Streit.  We had a short visit and then headed back to Mitchell and made fresh birthday cupcakes.

Here she is with one of her birthday presents, a Siamese Fighting fish that she named, "Friendly".  She especially likes to feed him and place a special floating mirror in the tank to get him a riled up.

 Also this month I got the garden in around the fifth due to late freeze and wet conditions.  The hops, wildflowers and raspberry bushes all survived the winter and are looking great.  As well my neighbor Brett (Halla's dad) has been helping me chip away at the deck.  As I write this I can report that the supports,deck boards and side capping are all in place and screwed down.  We just have to decide now on stair placement and then we can install the railing and stairs.  Here is a link to some more pictures from this month CLICK HERE