News from David and Sharon

September 2010

indiaartistree — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:15:47 +0000

On the 6th of September we went to Ontario Place. It’s especially known for its water adventure park, but it also has quite a few other rides and play equipment for kids. We didn’t really get to enjoy the water part of it as on the day we went, it started drizzling. But then it stopped shortly after we arrived. It was never really sunny, but the kids enjoyed themselves none the less.

First we ate lunch (we had packed a lunch) and then the fun started. They first went on a huge slide.

That’s Dad going down the slide with Vanessa.

Next the kids went on the ‘Free Fall’. The kids enjoyed that one the most as it was a bit scary but not too scary. They must have gone in it at least 8 or 9 times.

Here are some more photos of the other things the kids did that day. I think some of the best things were the Free Fall, the 3D and 4D movies and going on the water adventure ride.

Eric and Shawn in the 4D cinema.

Help! The dinosaur is getting away!

Oh yes! and then there was a circus at the end in the evening. It was just super. There were these 5-6 people who were doing different stunts, magic, etc. the first stunt was a GMX biker who was hopping with his bike over all these different ramps and blocks, etc. Next was this balerina who did a performance with a huge hula hoop – spinning in the hoop in different ways, etc. it was quite amazing. then there was some magic, some more different acrobats, and a lot of upbeat music. It was a lot of fun and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it.

Here they are taking a photo with the balerina and another one of the artists.

It was a long day, but a fun one.

High Park and Shawn’s Birthday!

indiaartistree — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:09:29 +0000

here we are at High Park. The kids are enjoying themselves in the wading pool, filling up water balloons and just jumping around and having fun. After that we had a big picnic lunch, including french fries, putina (that’s fried potato chips with cheese and barbeque sauce). High Park is a huge park including a small zoo, several playgrounds, a lake for fishing, an out-door swimming pool, a trackless train, and more.

The kids loved the animals, especially because they got to see them up close. Here are some pics.

Brian and the goat are having a stare contest.

Here the kids were trying to feed the emu some grass. Shawn got a bit scared as the emu tried to nibble on his finger as well.

Our two babies. We had bought this wagon because we could carry two kids in it instead of just one in the baby buggy. For a couple weeks, Nessi legs were really paining her, to the point that she couldn’t walk properly on them. At first we thought she had just hurt her leg while out one day, so we waited for a couple of days. But it kept getting worse. So we sent out a prayer request to all our friends asking them to pray for her, as well as made an appointment at the doctor. But the God, the greatest doctor of all, healed her before the appointment came around, and a few days after we sent out the prayer request, she was walking much better, and now it’s perfectly fine again. Thanks for your prayers, and all glory to God and the power of prayer!

here is the main “High Park” playground. It was designed by the kids and parents of the community. The kids had loads of fun running through the castle and going down the slides, etc. The funnest thing for them though, was the tire swing. the kids kept wanting us to swing them faster and higher. It couldn’t get fast enough for them (at least that’s what they said, although David and I have my doubts, as they were hanging on for dear life a few times.)

Well, here they all are on the swing. Of course we had to do a few slow swings, as Brian and Nessi wanted to get in on the fun, too.

Sing (to Mom and Dad): “We are the kings of the castle, and you’re the little rascles!”

And Shawn had a great birthday at High Park. We continued it the next day at the local park opposite our house, with games, relay races, football, etc. with his friends. The highlight of his birthday, were the presents (of course). He received a big blue , remote-controlled, race truck. Thanks a lot, Robert and Jay, for getting it for him. He enjoyed every minute driving it around in the park.

Dad gets the bald look … and other crazy hairstyles!

indiaartistree — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:40:30 +0000

David always wanted to see what it was like being bald, so he finally did it. Here is the ‘new look’.

Dad the clown.

Dad the punk.

No, but serious, here’s the new Dad. Whad ya think? Well, let’s see how long the bald look will last. He already got a sunburn on his head today.

some more ‘new looks’ of the month:

this one is called the “horse look”.

Also during the month of July was a three week food festival called Summerlicious. David worked very hard during that time for three weeks non-stop, so the kids were very happy to have Dad ‘back’ after that. We celebrated it by going to High Park. It’s a huge park down town in Toronto with big playgrounds, a small zoo, swimming pool, etc. Stay tuned for the next update – our visit to High Park. See ya there!

July 2010 – Vacation Bible Camp

indiaartistree — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:24:27 +0000

The boys attended a week of Vacation Bible camp at the local Church here at Islington. They took a ‘journey’ through time and went back to the time of Joseph in Egypt. Filled with unique activities, the boys had lots of fun. Here are some pictures.

Here they are in their group, the Pithoms.

Praying with Joseph in the Palace.

Shawn with an Egyptian game he made.

One of the boys friends, Ella, making a brick the Egyptian way.

Aman making a board game with Egyptian symbols.

And here they are playing a game. They have to fill up the jug at the other end of the room with a sponge soaked with water before the other team does. Here is Shawn carrying the sponge on top of his head and running to the jug.

And here are our three Egyptian boys proudly displaying their “works of art”.

Here are some pictures of the place and the set-up.

The Nile river.

Drying the bricks.

June/July 2010

indiaartistree — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:58:20 +0000

Here are some more pics and news of the happening in the months of June and July.

A picnic at Tom Riley Park.

‘Baba’ (Brian) in the swings. It’s his favorite thing at the park, and he gets really excited when he get spun around in the swing.

Shawn’s drawings of a snake, an elephant and a lion in the sand.

These are Aman’s cars that he made out of play dough. the purple one is a vintage car and the green one is a race car. I put my finger in the picture so that you can see the size of the cars. – Tiny!

Here’s Aman in the coffee shop learning touch typing.

And here we are celebrating our family traditional monthly Christmas with a special breakfast. Pancakes, omeletts, bread & spread, milkshake, …. the works!

Vanessa and Brian also go to a Parent/child resource center where they can be with other kids their age and do different activities, arts n’ crafts and learn new things through fun and games and interacting with other kids. Here Nessi is with with ‘teacher Beth’ making muffins.

here she is with her Mommy and baby dinosaur that I helped her make. She really likes playing with play dough, and every time she makes the same thing – a basket with eggs!

And here’s Brian playing with the toy animals. His favorite animal is the crocodile and the lion. and both of them go “roar” in his opinion.

Vanessa turns three!!

indiaartistree — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:21:17 +0000

We had a very fun but simple party. We celebrated it with some friends that were visiting from India at the time, Lena and her two girls. We went to the splash pads, had fun at the playground, played a game of tag, and ate yummy chocolate cake and ice-cream!

Here’s Nessi playing with the little dolls in the doll house.

Shawn after running wild through the sprinklers. Yikes!!! The water is cooooold!!!

Paint the Streets festival

indiaartistree — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:28:48 +0000

The kids participated in the “Paint the Streets” festival. It was all about making the city more beautiful.

Here they are doing “graffiti” with colorful chalk in the park.

and here are some pics of the kids having fun at some games stalls organized by the town community.

the boys in the bouncy castle.

Nessi showing off the tattoos on her arms.

Eric watching the local band perform.

Here are some of the paintings on the shops and houses around where we live. They are quite amazing!

Visit to Black Creek Pioneer Village

indiaartistree — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:07:43 +0000

We took the kids to an old pioneer village on Toronto called Black Creek Pioneer Village. they saw all kinds of cool and interesting things there. An old fire truck (more like a fire wagon), an old guest house/hotel, the inside of the houses of the first pioneers, a butchery, an old chicken coop, the town school, the town church, etc. It was so interesting to get a peek into the lives of our ancestors and see how they lived.

Here’s Aman in front of the fire station.

Shawn is looking at the knitted socks in the baby’s crib.

Here is Nessi checking out the out house (toilet) It was locked though, fortunately for her, because there was a raccoon inside.

the boys posing for a picture with the barrels outside of the barrel shop.

Aman checking out the furnace inside the town church.

Nessi sitting on the wagon. “Which horsey wants to pull me?”

This house was one of the biggest houses in the town. It belonged to a large family with seven children. At first they lived in a house with just three small rooms, but then when the wife had her seventh child, the father together with his sons started building this house. It had two stories and took him two years to build it. But it was very impressive. It had about five rooms with dining and living room, kitchen and a balcony that went half way around the house. It was just amazing!

Brian is growing…. big and fat … & heavy!!

indiaartistree — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:40:05 +0000

I’m trying to start potty training Brian now. So here he is at 8 months.

Oh, by the way, we also started another family thing: We started a family blog called, “the Kaiser-Maurer Guinness blog of records”. And in it we are recording everything that is a ‘first’ or a ‘record’ in our family along with a picture. Here is Eric with the “longest dandelion ever picked in the Kaiser-Maurer family.”

May 2010 …. and moving!

indiaartistree — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:27:42 +0000

Up until now we had been staying with some of our old friends we knew in India. They were very sweet, gracious and patient with us (not being used to so many small kids). Thank you so much, John, Jacintha, Peter and family for putting up with us. Well, the time finally came for us to move. We found an apartment much closer to David’s workplace (for the time being he is working in a fine-dining restaurant in Cabbage town, Toronto). Even though the kids miss their old school and friends, they like their new place and are looking forward to making new friends in their new school. Fortunately for us, the school is right across the road – Islington Junior Middle school. I heard it is one of the oldest schools in Toronto.

So here we are in our new apartment. This is the first time in our lives that we are living on our own. Up until now we had always been living in a joint family home. So this is the first time we are living on our own – scary and exciting at the same time! The first few days were like Christmas, with new ‘presents’ coming into the house every few hours. Pots & pans, hand soap, dish racks, pictures, food, forks and knives, cups and plates, tables and chairs, etc. God bless our dear friends, John and Jacintha, Peter and Mike, who helped us to move and who lent us some basic things to get started.

They say that a short pencil is better than a long memory, because especially when you are shopping to set up a new unfurnished house, you are bound to forget something if you don’t have it all written down. Well, we did forget some basic small things, like a broom, a dish scrubber, a mop and a dustpan. So the kids got inventive. They made a dish scrubber out of the remains of their vitamin C silver foil, a broom out of a stick and some old cloth which they fastened together with a rubber band, and a dustpan made from a cardboard box and scotch tape. Here they are holding up their inventions.

And of course, a bare wall is an artist’s delight, so Dave went to work. Here’s the bare wall.

And here is the wall the next day.

There’s still some green and vibrant yellow missing in this picture as we ran out of those colors, so that will have to wait till we get more. I thought it didn’t look too shabby!

The wall was done with spray cans. David was used to working with spray cans in India, but these were unlike any spray cans we had ever worked with. They did a great job on the wall, ….. and on every other surface in the house!! After the wall was done, we had to take paint off every other surface in the house as well! The floor, the kitchen cupboards, the toilet and bathtub, even the plates in the kitchen had spray paint on them. Everything had a coating of paint on it. So the next two days were spent in scrubbing all the surfaces clean with kerosene. I think we also used a whole bottle of cream on our hands as well.