crazy

this family is crazy.  and i feel like they'd be okay with me saying that.  and because of that, i love them.  who else (but crazy people) would believe that i could take this space...

...and turn it into this:

thanks for putting up with my antics...i'm a little crazy myself, so you guys made me feel right at home.  and thank you lord for the rain...otherwise we never would have ended up in here!

p.s.  do you ever feel like you're the butt of a secret joke?  try hanging around twin boys for awhile.  they were constantly giggling and i was sure they were making jokes behind my back.  turns out it was the joke right in front of my face that was the funniest.

block party

on sunday, our neighborhood came alive.  we LOVE living in a predominantly indo-canadian neighborhood, but this weekend took it to new levels.  the generosity hit new heights, the food was better than ever and the parade and the tents and the colors...it was incredible.  i was so proud to call this home.

what stood out most throughout the day were the faces...so much beauty and so many stories.  i'm getting bolder about asking (it also helps that i learned how to ask "may i take your picture" in punjabi) and despite a few who declined, i feel like most were proud.  i took a little trip to london drugs tonight to get prints made as so many asked where i live...i better be ready to receive them with photo in hand!

it was such a privilege to be here...we cannot wait until next year.  we're already trying to figure out how a bunch of mennos can participate - these people know how to party!

i even broke out my punjabi outfit for the day...

and i feel like this next picture tells a story about my neighborhood better than most words could.

first day

my sister started a great tradition with her boys of taking a picture on their stoop on the first day of school.  i asked her if i could steal her idea...so here it is.

josiah had an open house at preschool this morning.  his first actual day is monday, but the emotions were already thick today.  cliff informed the teacher he may cry and she said he wasn't allowed.  when the teacher asked if josiah had any questions as we left, he told her someone sat on his toy.  if that's his biggest problem, i think we should be okay.

a beautiful day in the neighborhood

as some of you know, we live right across the road from the sikh temple.  i took this picture last fall when i was playing with my kids at the park.  the pigeons are often circling the dome and i've been so amazed at their formation....seemingly random but still synchronized.

this weekend, they are replacing the domes in preparation for their big celebration tomorrow.  i've seen the domes sitting in the parking lot for weeks, but yesterday they finally installed them.  i took jojo over to get a closer look - it was quite the operation and involved a huge crane, so my little boy was very entertained.

these little girls were taking a good look at us, so i thought i'd go out on a limb and take a picture...my suave and handsome son helped out by sliding in next to them ("i'm holding her" he exclaimed when he saw the picture).

i'm pretty shy when it comes to taking strangers' pictures, especially at close range, though i'm working at trying to be bolder (nate!).  this time, when these ladies saw me taking pictures of the kids, they asked for one of themselves, which sure made my job easier!  when i showed them after, the lady the second from the left said "much good".

and one last shot of the installation.  i'll show a picture of the finished product soon.

everyone in our neighborhood is so excited for the big parade and party to follow tomorrow.  today the tents started going up all along the parade route...can't wait to share more pictures next week!

sweet romance

sara contacted me after seeing tahoura & ali's engagement photos.  she and majid plan to be married in iran sometime next spring and they wanted some "romantic pre-wedding photos".  sara is finishing her masters in food science and majid is doing his phd (yes, you heard me right) in chemical engineering, so needless to say, i kept my 12th grade chemistry knowledge to myself and tried to stick to what i know best.  we traipsed around town between the ubc campus and stanley park and had a great time.  congratulations...want to fly me to iran for the wedding? ;)