Summer Visits - 5 trip toFrankford!

On this trip we went to Frankford Ontario, to visit one of my best friends his wife and their 3 kiddos!!
My sister and nephew were down from Alberta, and they came with us!! this was about a week before my birthday!

It started with a lot of jumping on the massive trampoline!! We all had loads of fun and got some great pics of the kids!









Then the boys did some play fighting and Matilda just had to joint in!! she is such a toughy!! and look she has a great stance!!

 The next day we did some fishing off the locks! it really is a great place to fish, but unfortunately we did not catch anything that day.. but we hada ton of fun!!





That's When we got hot and we decided to go for a swim! We saw a massive Gardner Snake hanging from a bush that hung over the water, we tried to catch it, but it jumped into the water and swam away.. They are incredibly fast swimmers! Matilda spent the next hour trying to find it.

 On the way home I noticed I could see my sisters mouth on her forehead in the rear view mirror LOL I just had to take this picture!! Shes going to kill me for posting it HAHAHA good thing she is back in Alberta !

Well thanks for reading my blog!!  What did you do this summer?

Franklin Saplamaeff

Our Fund Raiser!

Hi I am hosting a fund raiser for Single Dads/Fighting Fathers. http://www.gofundme.com/SingleDadsFighingFathers We have many goals that include

1. We would like to build a website where we can store all information anyone ever asks us for including all family law information from around the world!

2. We would like to print flyers, stickers, business cards, and T-shirts, Bracelets, and hats! in order to spread the word about our cause!
 
3. We would to like be able to promote and boost our page and some of our IMPORTANT posts, in order to reach more fathers and children in need of moral support and advice! 

4. We Want to hire a lawyer for each country to come online once a week and answer questions at no cost to the fans

5. We would like start local support/discussion groups and create a place where dads will meet each other and take their kids out on play dates!!

These things cost money and I can not do it alone. $5 buck here $10 bucks there and soon we will have our website!! The list is the order we will be doing things, (I have already handed out flyers a few times!) I understand, most of us don't have extra cash laying around, and that's what makes this so hard, but at the very lest if you share the link you will have taken a great part in conquering our goals!

On behalf of myself, my admins, fathers everywhere and their children I would like to thank you in advance! THANK YOU!! 
http://www.gofundme.com/SingleDadsFighingFathers

Franklin Saplamaeff

Dinner with my EX!

As you all know I had asked my EX to dinner to talk about mediation and more visitation!! and many people have been asking me about what happened and when I'm going to post a blog about it!! well here it is!!

I took her to the Mandarin so that if things got heated I could simply bite my tongue get another plate of food! This was not necessary!!

We got there and Matilda was the same as on our visits!! She wanted to be by my side the whole time, if I got up to get food she had to come with me!! when her Mom got up to get food she said OK bye mommy! but for the most par t we all got up and went together!

It was kinda weird though as it happened to be The Moon Festival.... A celebration of love.....

We talked normally for a while had a good time, and a good dinner, Matilda loves when we all get together like that, it almost never happens and when it does it is ALWAYS kinda awkward, for me anyways, ( I'm not the kind of person to pretend everything is OK, and I am still very angry with her for all the bonding time, experience and good nights  Matilda and I have lost, and I'm not sure I will ever get over it, but I do what I have to do to keep things floating on calm waters!

So when we were having desert I sprung it on her, I said "OK look their is no easy way for me to bring this up so I'm just going to say it, Things between us have been really good and I don't want to spoil that by springing court papers on you, I think we should go back to mediation, no lawyers, no fee's, and I want you to sign off on more visitation!".

She was not happy, she showed me her grumpy face, and I said, "and maybe after that we can start working on us."

Matilda, our 3 year old daughter shouted NOOO.... and my EX said there is no us, and asked me what I wanted for visitation!

I told her 2 nights/3 days a week, and a phone call every night to say good night, and also I want to make sure that I am there for Matilda's first day of school (not until next September, but I am planning ahead) and that I rights to go there and speak with teachers and receive phone calls from teachers!

She agreed to most of it!!!! why she took out one day every other week I don't know, Maybe she justs wants to hold on to that feeling of being in power?? IDK i wasn't going to fight it.. YET

Baby steps my friends, baby steps. choose your battles, know when to fight and when not to! Our visitations went up, hold the tongue, and save the fight for court!!

I went from a one night sleep over (24 hrs)  every other week a day visit on the week between to now having a one night sleep over every week and a two night sleep over every other week!!! That's from about 64 hours a month to almost 130 hours a month WITH NO COURT!!!! 

We have started the new scheduled  already but I have to find time to travel  3 hours bus ride to go to court and make a date for mediation! I'm not quite sure how that works as of yet, because we totally skipped that part the first time so if anyone has advice for me on that it would be greatly appreciated!!

I hope your enjoied the read!! and that my situation can some how help yours in the future.

Thanks to all my friends and supporters who helped me prepare for this dinner and talk!! Especially one of the admins on my FB page Single Dads/Fighting Fathers  Mart!

Thanks for reading and sharing.

Franklin Saplamaeff
http://www.gofundme.com/SingleDadsFighingFathers

Our Summer visits 4. Niagara Falls

For the second time this summer we went to Niagara Falls, This time it was my birthday last time is was Matilda's.

For my birthday we did some camping in Grandma and grandpas back yard!! We had a fire and roasted marshmallows, Matilda fell asleep by the fire and when I tried to bring her inside she cried and said she wanted to stay outside and go camping!  So I wrapped her in blankets and we slept in the hammock! well she did I laid there holding her making sure she wasn't cold and that we didn't fall off, it was worth every second as she talked about it for weeks!

 When ever we go to Grandma and Grandpas, Matilda loves to play with daddy old guitar!! She also loves to bang on my friends drum kits when we go there, She is learning to hold a beat on the drum and knows how to properly hold a drum stick! I can't believe how active her mind is!! She makes me so proud!

The next 2 days we spent down at the falls and all the attractions!!
The fist day she fell asleep on the way there in her stroller, we sat around for an hour and a half waiting for her to wake up... I was poking her and I picked her up NOTHING... finally she woke and the boat ride we wanted to take was closed (Maid of the mist)  so we just took a few pick and went to Clifton hill We still had a blast!

 On Clifton Hill we found a cool indoor out door park!! She makes me go in all those small little tubes with her which is a royal pain in the knees, but it so much fun for both of us so even though I get my knees bruised up it's worth it 1010%. She started getting cranky and wanted to go home, it was a long fun tiring day for both of us! We both had an amazing sleep that night!

On the Third day in Niagara and day 2 at the falls, she was awake the whole time and boy did ever have fun!! 

 Jen Jen was with us so she took some pics for us!! Thanks Jen Jen, it's so hard to get good pics of just the 2 of us!!








We finally got to go on our boat ride around the bottom of the falls!! and we got soaked by all the mist Matilda wore her blue plastic poncho, however I chose not to because it was nice and hot and being wet cooled me down a lot!!!

Matilda is so cute with her little binoculars! I'm so glad I got them! though she prefers to use them backwards for some reason, I don't know why, she does know the difference.

Such a beautiful site!! I strongly suggest going and doing this!! They tell you so much about the falls to and talk about all the people who have gone over the falls in a barrel!! did you know the first person to do it in order to commit suicide was the first person to do it and live!!!

 This is on the boat: right in the middle of the storm!  when you go down and the boat goes through all the mist, it stops right dead center, in this spot you nee nothing but mist all around you, but its not touching you: the boat stops here for a few minutes then turns back to port!!

It is a very exciting boat trip I have be twice now yet I still can't wait to go again!!

 She was so amazed by how high up we were!! This is the highest point you can get to and view the falls for free, but we have pics at a higher view coming up!!

After we were done looking at the falls we had a picnic and Matilda wanted to climb a tree!! She is so athletic!! She does everything!! Basketball, Soccer, Golf, Rock climbing, Wall climbing, Loves to go in forests and interact with nature, She asks me a lot of questions, sometimes questions I have never thought to ask!! She really doze amaze me! I don't know how someone so smart came from 2 idiots like her mother and me... (LOL) I'm kidding I''m kidding!! but seriously, HOW?

This is my favorite picture from the whole trip!! Look how happy she is!

This picture is taken from the sky wheel on Clifton hill!

Did you just say whats a sky wheel??

It's a huge  fairs wheel and when I say huge I mean huge!!

Sorry if you don't what a fairs wheel is I can't help you.. try and  Google (lol)

She didn't want to get off we must have went around 5 times!!

 one last look at the falls!!! Man what a blast we had!! can't wait to go back



















OK WHAT IS THAT??


AM I SEEING THINGS???



Do you see it yet??



We have to get off this sky wheel and go take a closer look!

Yup I was right!!! It's an upside down house!!

Matilda is puzzled! How did this happen? how do you get in?

How do you sit, and sleep,?

She sure is cute! I love her so much!!

I will never stop fighting for you baby! we will have visits longer then 3 days and more often to, not just as a birthday gift! YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE A HOME AT DADDY'S HOUSE AS LONG AS I LIVE.





After this we had some fun with her friend Lily at my friend Sheldon's house we played in the backyard for a while before grandma and Grandpa drove us back home!

Well I suppose I won't bore you any longer! I hope you enjoyed the read!!

 Thank you

Franklin Saplamaeff

She Cried Again.... (this is a poem)

It always breaks my heart when my daughter leaves my house after our visits, but when she cries I don't know to handle it, I just want to take her and let her stay.. she cries when leaving me a lot more then half the time, only once in 2 years has she every cried when getting dropped off to me

You cried again today Matilda, and I wrote this for you:

 SHE CRIED AGAIN

She cried again today, as we were ripped apart
Don't worry dear, I'm in your heart
as your in mine
and when your older it will all be fine

what little time we have to spend
but we have nothing but fun
From beginning to end

She cried again today, as she was ripped away
I know my dear child, you want to stay
our time will come sweetheart, it's not far away!

~Frank~

 http://www.gofundme.com/SingleDadsFighingFathers

Our Summer Visits - 3. Our Fishing Trip!

Well we only got to go fishing twice this year. This post I will talk about our first fishing trip!
We went to "Burds Family Fishing" and we even took her mother with us!

We caught 4 fish all together  Matilda caught 2 (the biggest 2!!) they were both 2 lbs each! her mom caught One that was 1.5 lbs  as did I!!   We caught these fish In less then an hour! (I know I know fish in a barrel)

Now these were the first fish Matilda has ever caught so it was a blast for her! she was had just turned 3 a week ago! she wasn't even afraid of them!  But now she wont eat fish... She still loves going fishing but she wont eat it any more.. Kinda sucks because she used to love it.. Now she has even put 2+2 together and knows what chicken is... but she still eats that so that's OK.         

So after dropping mom off at home Matilda and I went back to my place to BBQ the fish MMM it was delicious!! unfortunately like I said above Matilda wouldn't eat it, so she had A LOT of boiled carrots, and .... I forget what else I gave her, but anyways, The first fish my little girl caught I ate the whole thing! everything but the bones!!  for the first time I even ate the eye balls!! They were chewy almost like bubble gum!! MMMM

Matilda went for a swim in the backyard while I cooked the fish and after dinner mom came to pick her up and we sent one of the fish we cooked home for mom, she had no luck trying to get Matilda to eat it ether, but she said it was the best Rainbow Bass she had ever eaten!

This was an amazing visit . Matilda might not eat fish anymore, but she now loves fishing, and nature even more then she did before!! She is such a daddy's girl and I love her so much!!

Thanks for reading!!

Franklin
Saplamaeff
 

Our Summer Visits - 2. The butterfly Sactuary

This Summer we went to Niagara falls for Matilda's birthday and for mine! WE HAD A BLAST!!!

For Matilda's birthday we went to the Butterfly Sanctuary, and 3 days before she turned 3 she learned how to say Sanctuary and Conservatory!!! She is so smart!!

 Before you go in to see the butterfly's there is a movie you have to watch telling you why it's important not to touch the butterfly's, but it is OK to let them land on you!!  oh man this is going to be so much fun!!!

 There is a few displays and pictures, along with a few fun little activities to do before you go into the big butterfly room, Matilda who is about to turn 3, just took a quick look at everything but was far more interested in going in to see the actual butterfly's, while her cousin Austin who is 5 took advantage of the fun learning activities they had!!

 we saw so many different kinds of butterfly's  all kinds of colors!!

        Matilda and her cousin Austin watching the butterfly's eat oranges!! If you look really close you can see that they have a big trunk like an elephant only it's more like a needle and they just stab it through the skin and drink their food!! It's really cool to see you should check it out!!

 Grandma had a Monarch butterfly land on her!!!  Did you know they hatch in Mexico and fly all around North America!  all the way through the USA to Ontario Canada, over to British Columbia, Canada, and then back through the USA and back to Mexico!! How interesting!!

 Grandma and Matilda's Favorite Butterfly and it landed on me!!! How lucky is that!! We never did figure out what kind it is, but it sure is beautiful!

  I bought this little telescope thing that distorts your vision when you look in it, it takes the coolest pictures when put up to a camera!

I also bought a bottle of butterfly nectar! It was tasty!!

What a fun trip this was!! and it was surprisingly cheap too!!

Thanks for reading!!
 Franklin Saplamaeff

Our Summer Visits - 1. The Zoo

Well as you all know I have put Cooking With Daddy, on hold for the summer... I was supposed to blog about each episode  during my free time, but I didn't have any, between work, and all the extra visits I had with Matilda!! Totally unexpected and absolutely amazing!!

I am that dad with all kinds of money to do everything there is to do, but I am that dad who wants to spend every waking moment with my daughter!  This summer I had Matilda almost every single day off I had!! I would have her dropped off at my work when I was done Monday at 2pm and picked up at 2pm at my work before I started on Thursday! (not every week but most) I had her for 4 days on her birthday and 4 days for my birthday!!

In March I bought a Membership to the zoo!! So we went to the zoo 3-4 times a month at least, We went on pony rides, and Camel rides, she loves the bus tour they have and its free for Members so we went on that a lot too!

I would let her guide me around the zoo, she is 3 years old and knows how to get anywhere in the zoo!! (she makes some mistakes but she knows it better than most!). She makes Daddy so proud!

Their is an exhibit for the kids, where they can crawl thew a small tube and sit in a cage like they are animals, and people walk by and looks at them in there!! Well I went in there with her ( I was like an army man crawling in the grass like a snake, but I got in!) and we had lunch together!! All the people walking by pointing at us and banging on the glass,  (man it's annoying when they bang on the glass) We really got to see what it's like to be a caged animal, what an experience!

                              This pic is Matilda and her cousin Austin in the cage I mentioned ^^

She knows the names of all the animals, and has even started to be interested in what all the signs say!  She is so smart and so curious!! It's my job to keep it that was!! This is one little girl that is going to go places!

We would go and spend a whole day just watching the elephants, and that's it! or the grizzly bears, what ever she wanted we did!, however just to teach her good morals, I would spend an hour at an animal that I know she isn't interested in, and when she complained about it I would teach her that, she got watch the elephants for 2 hours, now it's daddy's turn to watch the hippo's, IT'S ONLY FAIR, now she more patient and knows about taking turns and being fair!! She has become such a good sport!

She loves to play on curbs and rocks Loves to into the forests, and LOVES anything that has to do with  nature, Just like her daddy!  So naturally she falls down a lot, last year I taught her, " when you fall down, you have to get back up", so now every time she falls she says "it's OK I got back up!" even if she is bleeding or limping even crying (she never cries really)  she says "it 'It's OK I got back up", She shakes it off, laughs, and keeps on going!  now I'm teaching her that when she gets back up, she has to try again!!  Other parents at the zoo are always amazed by how tough she is and how cute it is when she says it!!
                                                  she also loves to "ride" the statue animals

We saw a huge Canadian geese fight (one was trying to steal the others baby's we helped them, IT WAS CRAZY, and very dangerous and SCARY for all of us. but was an amazing experience, The mother goose actually thanked us afterwords,  she looked me right in the eyes and bobbed her head I could see the gratitude, and then actually let us touch and pick up one of her chicks!! we were trying to pet one for about 10 minutes before all this happened.  The fight was between about 8 geese total and it was wild and crazy the chicks were running wild, and I was keeping them in a group and near to their mother, while at the same time hugging Matilda close to my body and keeping her safe, as those geese are very strong and can easily break the bones of a small child. I wish I had pics, but obviously I could not take pics at the time.

I'd have to say my only bad experience at the zoo was the time the employee their pushed my daughter, <<>>


I will post another blog about the rest of our adventures including trips to grandma's and other family and friends and our own back yard adventures shortly!!

Sorry I haven't posted in so long.. But now I have some time and will be posting a lot of blogs over the next week or so, to catch up on the summer!!

Thanks for reading

Franklin Saplamaeff!