Our little kitten having a bottle. Isn't she cute?
My dad (Papa) with Lauren and her cousin Kirsten at the Haveman reunion. That's my side of the family.
Justin and Emily chillin'
Megan, Rick, Ethan, Abby
Derek, Valerie, Kaylie, Ryan, Jack

Here are a couple of pictures of Melody's first birthday on Wednesday. She seemed older than she was on Sunday! She's getting very confident.

She loved her cake!
Melody was as cute as she could be in her little hat.
Here's our poor cat who had 6 kittens last Monday. One at a time they died till there was only one left. This one seemed strong and healthy, but than Mama Cat started to act sick. She wouldn't eat or drink or care for her kitten. She just sat in the corner as far away from her kitten as possible. Well we did something we said we would never do. We took her to the vet. So now we have special food for Mama Cat, and milk replacement with a cute little bottle for the kitten if the mother cat stops caring for her again. I hope it works, Vets are not cheap!

Sunday afternoon, Father's Day! Since Bethany shared our afternoon, we have the same pictures!

Herb slept the whole afternoon, as usual.
Emily was laughing at everything! Isn't she just adorable?Abby wasn't laughing, but oh those eyes!
Luke cooling off in the sprinkler. Next week we will have the pool up.
Havin' a flippin' good time!
Lauren and I went for a walk to the 401 bridge. About 4 kilometers round trip. I know, not very far, but we walk fast!
This morning, at 5:15, I heard some little mews through the window. I found our cat on one of the lawnchairs all curled up with little ones. I moved the kittens to a box one at time and just kept finding more and more! She has 6 kittens! So in about 8 weeks, come and adopt one!

Sunday night, Valerie and Derek had some friends over. Here are a few pictures.



Caleb on the tire swing
Josh running around the yard
Tiana watching Janet with Aiden
Tim showing Josh how to swing the right way
Janynne playing with the kids

Mia having a turn on the swing

Josh giving Lauren a push

Remember the barn swallows on my porch light? Here's an update on them.
Mama Swallow sitting on the nest.
Papa Swallow standing guard.

Here's what he's keeping his eyes on. They spend a lot of time on the porch. Maybe if I keep them well fed, they won't be a threat.

Monday and Tuesday were busy days again. Tuesday Kaylie went for a heart ultrasound in London. One of the two holes in her heart has healed. She will go back in a year to check the other one. The weather was perfect on Tuesday. We spent a lot of time outside with the kids. Valerie did Julianna's and Lauren's hair, both came out really nice. Most of the people went home before supper and Valerie and her family left about 9:30. Simon went along for a few days. It was so quiet on Wednesday. Just me and Luke all day. Of course everyone forgot to bring something home. Some more than others. (Valerie!) I found 4 sippy cups throughout the house! ( they are mine) I did find time for some more pictures.

Finally, some help with the dishes
Derek, relaxing with a book. You left it here by the way.
Kaylie and Jack happy as usual. They're a year old now!
Ethan is being trained to cut the grass some day.
With her Dad, Melody is always smiling.

I had a wonderfully busy Sunday this past weekend. Here are some of the best moments

Aaralyn trying out the trampoline

Ryan not sure about trying it out

Philip watching from a tree, look closely!

Ryan still thinking about it

Megan and Abby watching the kids

Emily would like to join in

Ethan loved the sprinkler!

Aaralyn hated the sprinkler!

All together now!

Look at that Frisbee go!

Where did the Frisbee go?

Wow! Look at the nest now! The swallows have worked hard all weekend. I think they are done because they are only sitting it now. Doesn't it look cosy? Did you know barn swallows can have up to 8 eggs in a batch? If it were any other bird, I would have taken the nest down. But I happen to really like swallows and they eat a large amount of mosquitoes. There's no way to see in the nest, but I'll be watching what goes on.

This is a view I don't like to see. This old piano was supposed to be picked up in September, so Herb put it out on the porch to get it out of the way of renovating. Well, they didn't come or call or respond to my e-mails. So there it sits. It needs to be tuned, it is tunable, and probably some refinishing after sitting out all winter. I have most of the ivory keys that have come off. It's free to anyone who can pick it up. Otherwise we will soon be having a hot dog roast over it.

Every winter I almost agree with my kids that we should move into town. Especially during the snowiest times. But this time of year I know I could never move to the city. I've lived on a gravel road one place or another all my life. I don't want to share someone else's space.

Can you get views like this in town? The porch is one of my favourite spots. It faces east, I can watch the sun rise, and I often do. I love it.
These silly barn swallows are trying to build a nest on one of our porch lights. They had one egg, but it rolled off. Now they are building the edges higher. They don't mind me sitting out there.
We have a birdhouse in the apricot tree, and it actually is being used by what looks just like a house martin to me. They normally make a mud house. I guess they prefer the house my son-in-law Derek made. Much better than a light in my opinion.

We visited my Mom and Dad on May 12. My nephew Patrick was there with his wife Laura and their new baby Spencer, 7 weeks old. This is Mom with her greatgrandson.

Here's me with my great nephew, he's a gorgeous little fellow!

Four generations of Havemans. Papa, my brother Henry, my nephew Patrick, and Spencer. I'm sure you can figure out who's who.