new year - new friend

apparently i get a kick out of surprising my loved ones with free pets!

in 2002 i surprised jude...

he came home from work one day and i said i have a surprise for you,

but i can't find it...

it was a tiny kitten named sprocket who was hiding under the futon!

(do you remember sprockey?)

~

this week my friend 'kijiji' offered me a new pet:

i was able to surprise the girls one morning with something 

that emery has been asking for for a while...

if you didn't see this image on facebook, 

here are the girls faces upon seeing their surprise:

and it's taken me all week to get a decent shot of this quick little critter:

meet our new friend, acorn.

special thanks to the family not far from here 

who wanted to give this black bear hamster a good home.

we love having a new friend to play with and care for.

auntie's treat

after seeing how much the girls loved the animals at african lion safari,

auntie beth decided she would take the girls to the brantford zoo...

she even packed a picnic and treats for all of us!

amazing!!

here are some photos from our day.

this is such a great place for younger animal lovers, 

as it just the right size to explore in a couple hours.

african lion safari

you may have noticed that 

we did a few day trips this summer.

super fun!

and i love it when they include our extended family...

the girls and i went to african lion safari with 

two aunties and three little cousins.

it was my first time going...

i loved it!

the drive thru safari is great.

we loved the shows

(especially the elephant one).

and there is also an incredible splash pad there....

who wants to come with us next year?!

birthday surprise

it's selah's birthday tomorrow!

5 years ago, she was born on good friday...

i didn't know if she would be able to fall asleep tonight, she is so excited.

i'm excited too!  

for her birthday we got her a...

 betta fish!

i think she's going to love it...

i wonder what she'll name him...

any suggestions?

simple things

i like love the idea of reflecting each week and 

remembering the simple things that made me smile.

looking through photos from the week is a great way 

for me to relive some of those moments,

and smile once more!

this past week was warm and sunny.  

we had a picnic with friends earlier this week at waterloo park.

such a lovely place!

after seeing all of the other animals 

(the turkeys and sheep were quite chatty that day),

we decided to stop and visit the swans and ducks.

it was right around lunch time and 

they were quite happy to see us!

very friendly indeed... 

the photo of the peacock above was also taken that day...

what a stunning bird!

for more favourite moments/shots from the week - check out favourite shot friday.

what made you smile this week?