Thelma's birthday; Planetarium; Olympic Stadium

Today is Thelma's birthday (happy birthday!!!). On a whim we went to visit the new Planetarium (Where I had gone with Sabrina and her class a few days earlier). We didn't get to see a show, they were sold out. We got to visit the exhibits though.

Aftewards we took a trip up the Olympic Stadium's mast to get a bird-eye view of one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It was really nice.

Waiting for our ride

Not sure it was a good idea ;)

Time to leave

Going up

On deck

Mathieu... Pensive

Mathieu the boat builder...

It's the yacht I always wanted to have :)

Amazing work day; Max in a choir

Today I was able to accomplish a milestone in my Simplifia project in such a way that it's at a point where the Web App can build itself. To put it in perspective, I've built a robot arm that can rebuild itself, along with the entire robot. More on this in a couple of Months.

I learned through a Facebook message from Paula  that Max was performing in a choir tonight in a church right beside Vanier, his college. After dinner I packed up the kids and we drove to St-Laurent to go see Max, if only for a half hour as the kids were tired and we were going over their bed time. When I cam to the door I was asked to pay $18 per ticket to see the show....

Too pricey for 30 minutes, so we just came back home. Everybody was really disapointed as we really wanted to see Max perform, but I suspect we will have other occasions.

A simple glimpse as to what my project looks like:

Mathematic

Like every other Thursday I go to Mathieu's kindergarten class to help Mme Sophie, Mathieu's teacher, with maths. It's usually me and another parent, Cindy, whom seems also to be very involved in her kid's education (I really admire people like that). Following is a list of tools the kids are using to learn logic (note that I bought them for our kids):

Mystero

Logix

Architek

Planetarium

Today I had the privilege of being the only parent to accompany Sabrina's class to a field trip, and we went to the new Rio Tinto Planetarium on the Olympic Park. It's new and really cool, and while it's not as great as the Hayden Planetarium at the museum of science in Boston (21 meters, 423 people), it's a close second with an 18 meter dome and 200 people capacity. That said though the show was a tad light on actual scientific facts and the kids were more impressed by the Continuum show, a 20 minute multimedia show without a thread of substance. In some ways I miss the old Planetarium Dow. It was bigger, and intellectually more rewarding. It was still a good experience. Here are some pictures

Sabrina on the bus, going to the Planetarium

Sabrina with best friends at lunch

Waiting to get in

Waiting for the show, with a friend (Mathieu and her had a little something....)

On our way back to school. Isn't she so pretty.

Kindergarten School Field Trip

Today I was given the opportunity to accompany Mathieu's kindergarten class to a field trip. We went to see a play at the Edouard Montpetit cegep, right where Mathieu used to go to the Baobab. Mathieu's class wasn't the only one there, but I can categorically state that his was the one that behaved best.

Waiting for the bus

Waiting for the play. The kids are well behaved

Sitting and waiting...

Not as great a play as the last one, but enjoyable still. I think the kids really like it.

Suzanne in France

While we're suffering from hay fever here, Suzanne is enjoying her business trip in Paris. She's been there for about two hours now, and here are the pictures that are starting to come up...

View from café

Best café ever !!!

Max's birthday

Today we got to celebrate Max's birthday. The kids were so excited, especially Mathieu who adores his older brother. It was really good to see him, for the kids and I, as we hadn't had a chance to see him in a long time. His studies are going well and he seems happy which is the only thing a father can wish for his son, really. I do miss him a lot though, and I find I don't seem him nearly enough. Max is an intellect equal to I, and I really enjoy the usually deep conversations we have. I talk with a lot of people, and while I play polite and agree with them (if I don't say much in our discussions I suggest you google the content of our discussions to get a better handle on your faulty facts) I am rarely challenged by their statements as much as I am by Max's, and I love him so much more for it. He is part of my heart, and the kid's too.

Mathieu's Sick

So last night was a bit much for Mathieu, who suffered the annoying effects of hay fever all day. He and I are kindred spirits when it comes to allergy. I feel like he looks:

Nick and Max's Birthday

Today is Max and Nick's birthdays. I love Max. I love them both. I love Nick. I love Sophie. I really do. I would do anything I physically can for them. I sincerely want  them to be happy.

We had a great time at the campground. I have to admit that the kids really love it and that makes me like going there with them. I really love being with my family. Here are a few pictures of Nick's unauthorized non-legal birthday :)

Sabrina playing baseball with Zach while adults play with helicopters

Happy Birthday to you big guy

Sabrina and Zachary in the dark

Mathieu really liked Zach's Nerf gun

Karate competition

This morning, Sabrina and Suzanne are at an inter-school karate competition. Sabrina practiced hard so I can't wait to see how it goes. Mathieu was supposed to participate but got sick yesterday afternoon and it went on throughout the night, ending around 5:30 this morning. He's still sleeping as I write this.

And she wins a medal. We're so proud of her. Mathieu woke up crying 'cause he couldn't go. I told him there would be plenty of medals for him too.

Skateboards...

Mathieu wants a skateboard as an "Excellent School Year" reward. Today I wanted to go check the new Apple store and we all went. Mathieu and I had the opportunity to visit a real skateboard store. Mathieu even got to try one.

There was something about him and skateboards. It just fits.

PED Day

Today we decided to do something fun for PED day. The kids and I went to visit two museum: McGill's Redpath Museum and the Pointe A Calliere Museum. The kids and I actually had a great time. We even saw a bit of what maman's company, Moment Factory, does. Here are some pictures of the day:

Entering the second floor

Hello you friendly guy

Smaller, but as deadlier

We assume they were big softies 

Sabrina and a real mummy 

Mathieu and a mummy (a real one, again)

That's a big anaconda snake

Friendly giant dinosaur who would gladly use you as a snack, from above.

We left the Redpath museum to go to Musee Pointe a Calliere. While a lot of it was interesting, I really enjoyed the Beatle's exhibit, especially the real guitars they used.

Quite a cool day we had.... We ended it with some McDo for the kids (a real treat, it doesn't happen often) and sushi for the parents.

New office space

This is where I now work on onehappykid and simplifia. We cleaned up the entire place yesterday. We even got rid of the old desk and the old couch. Tonight we've ordered a new couch for the family room.

I like a desk with almost nothing on it, though some kid's work (Sabrina's painting, Mathieu's body and Max's heart) I cannot be without. And the first cash I ever made on the Internet.

Oh and the sofa that's going to go in there... In about 6-8 weeks.

New belts

Today both Sabrina and Mathieu went up a level in Karate. Mathieu is now blue with a yellow stripe, and Sabrina yellow with a green stripe. I saw them go up a level and was quite proud to see them do their moves amazingly well for 9 and 6 years old. Really cool.

Practicing Katas

Sabrina, higher level then Mathieu, must do more katas

Mathieu got to spar... He loves it

Now blue with yellow stripe

Now yellow with green stripe (with Sempai Marie-Josee)

Cooking with a glass of wine

A nice quiet Saturday ends with some cooking and wine. Suzanne makes this really good rosé sauce... Hmmm. And mom, as you can see, some spices were mixed and crushed.

Another course ends

And the kids are getting better and better at karate. Sabrina's it's been four years. Mathieu two.