Shuswap: a comedy of mishaps!

Our summer vacation wasn't quite what we expected:
- Amelia is a terrible traveller (if you're not there in an hour expect the shrieking to start and she does not sleep in the car!)we travelled a total of 15 hours
- our bank and credit cards were frozen because of our increased spending out of country (duh, we're on vacation!)We found this out in the grocery store when I was trying to pay for a weeks worth of groceries for 2 families
- Aiden locked the keys and cell phone in the truck
- the weather was not great (we were rained off the beach three days in a row)
- the fourth day we went into town to play mini golf and drive go carts and enjoyed a summer rain storm while playing outdoor mini golf ( Amelia was completely overtired and layed on the green having a temper tantrum both Dale and I just watched her {I can't say we didn't want to join her} )
- the power went out for a couple of hours in the cabin one day and I was starting to worry we would lose all our food
- it's not really a 'vacation' when you travel with young children
We left Shuswap on Thursday and drove over to my parent's cabin 3 hours away hoping for a little grandparent respite
- I got sick within hours of arriving there and spent a day in bed
- it was cold and rainy at their place too
- the power went off at their cabin also
It wasn't a terrible trip and we have pictures to prove it but I'll post those tomorrow!

Newspaper bunting: a tutorial

I think this would be adorable to make for a first day of school banner, baby shower, birthday etc. Click on title for instructions!

soccer stars

daddy's girl

delirious....

or eternally optimistic!

pretzel thief

While enjoying a splash at the water park Amelia bolted to the playground. She crashed these little girls play restaurant and starting shoving their pretzels in her mouth. They were very gracious and gave her a few more to enjoy.

Rainbow Brite

Amelia 'coloring'.

gets his daily quota

The other day in line at Target, Aiden becomes hysterical because I forgot to buy... Raisin Bran. His absolute favorite cereal these days. I got out of line to go back and get it and did not make eye contact with other customers. I'm sure they thought his reaction and request were bizarre for a five year old. (we are still dealing with absolute exhaustion from soccer camp)

Taylor Dock

Yesterday Auntie Ashleigh came for a visit! We headed down to Taylor Dock for a little stroll. The weather was cool and windy. What a nice change from the last couple days. Aiden showed off his prowess on his scooter and Amelia walked the dock because I forgot her stroller. She loved her freedom and my sister was able to see "Lil Miss Independent" at her finest. Amelia decided she wanted to sit on the ground for awhile and enjoy the scenery. If we tried to pick her up she would start squawking. After a few minutes she raised her arms and was ready to be carried to the car. What a girl.

Semiahmoo

Yesterday we headed out for a family bike ride. Semiahmoo is perfect because it has nice paved trail that's a few miles long. If you park at the far end of the spit you can ride to the park sign and then it turns into an old closed road that is shaded with big trees and lots of blackberry bushes. Amelia tried the berries for the first time and after squishing them in her hands for awhile she decided she liked them. We made blackberry whole wheat pancakes for dinner and everyone enjoyed them. They have done a lot of work out at the park with extending trails and landscaping. We watched the little Plover ferry make a pit stop to see all the sea lions/ seals beached on a dock. Maybe next time we'll catch the little ferry over to Blaine and show the kids where we were married!

the fair

We headed to the fair on the hottest day of the year, lovely. I was pleasantly surprised that Lynden had a breeze and it helped a little. We made our way through the sweltering barns and the kids were able to pet some cows. Aiden couldn't 'handle' the smell of the pig barn so we made a quick exit. Please don't mention the Clydesdale horses to Aiden because he was quite fascinated with the horses' anatomy and would love to tell you all about it.
After standing in line for 35 minutes Aiden was able to make a rope that has now become his 'bat rope' .We met up with T&M and enjoyed a few kiddie rides. The carousal was Amelia's first ride and she did fairly well but soon tired and just wanted off. The Mom's were able to take the boys on the Ferris Wheel but I was a wee disappointed that Aiden chose to sit with his friend instead of me. We were able to see the Monster Trucks warming up while at the top of the Ferris Wheel. Then it was time for the boys to go to the Monster Truck show. I guess it should have been called the 'Monster Truck Misfits'. Dale said they just kept breaking down. The girls headed home put the wee ones to bed and enjoyed a nice visit.

Brady's Mom Rocks...

thanks Heather!

you know how...

owners start looking their dogs or married people start to look alike after being together so long? I think Amelia looks a lot like her doll. In the last few days she has really started to play with Baby Stella that Santa brought. She carries her around the house and carries her diaper bag like a purse. All day emptying and reloading the play diaper bag. Busy,busy.

it started so innocently...

Last Thursday (our anniversary) Dale came home from work and told me to go shopping for a new couch for the family room. I needed a little convincing but after dinner I headed out all by myself. Nine years later and still rockin my world, Dale! I found a great leather sectional that we have since ordered. Now here comes the tricky part. While I was at Macy's ordering the couch Dale went and bought a pocket door for the laundry room/family room. We have two doors that open into each other and it's a real pain. Sunday, Dale was excited to start his project. They started to demo the wall (I didn't realize you have to rip down the wall to put these types of doors in {isn't it funny how male and female brains work?}) Uh,oh there was a whole bunch of plumbing in the wall. Dale's an electrician not a plumber. So he decided to open up the the wall on the other side of the door. There was a bunch of electrical but that's his domain. Unfortunately, it was way more electrical that he originally thought. So now we have to decide between the lesser of two evils. If we do the elctrical side he has to tear open the ceiling (which I think should get me new halogen lighting) or do the plumbing which he has to cut open the sub floor (and then we could put a slate floor in the laundry room). And another thing, opening up the plumbing wall there is also a built in medicine cabinet in that wall so if that's removed I get new wainscotting and paint color in the powder room. Are you still following me? Either way this is turning into a much bigger project than we anticipated. And I want all the drywall work done before the couch gets here in 3 weeks.
* funny story - last night Dale and I were sitting on the old couch in the family room and he asked if I could help him take the medicine cabinet out of the wall ( leaving a 12x20 hole in the wall). I looked at him strangely and said " because you want to watch people go to the bathroom in there?" He hadn't thought of that.

soccer camp

Aiden has soccer camp all this week. He was dressed and tugging at my bed covers at 6:30 this morning because he was so excited to go (it doesn't start til 9am). I feel today was the induction ceremony for me becoming a soccer mom. The soccer fields are a 20 minute drive from our house. That's a lot of driving and he's only five, I have years of this drive ahead of me. Why are the community soccer fields 20 minutes out of town? They should have soccer shuttle buses. But he looks pretty cute suited up in his soccer gear, don't you think? Watch out David Beckam!

blueberry picking

We went blueberry picking at Boxx Berry Farm last week. The weather and the timing were perfect. We picked close to 15 pounds in under an hour. Amelia miraculously tolerated staying in her stroller the whole time and Aiden was hiding in the bushes picking away! Aiden and Griffin picked 4 pounds themselves. We finished up with an ice cream cone and then it was home to deal with all those blueberries. We've enjoyed blueberry smnoothies, blueberry crumble bars (www.smittenkitchen.com), blueberry pancakes, blueberries with yogurt as well as just snacking on the absolute best blueberries I've ever tasted. And now Amelia is on blueberry restrictions if you know what I mean!

fruit pizza cookies

1 package of pre made sugar cookie dough
8 oz package of cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract or 1 tbsp of orange juice (optional)
assorted cut fruit (kiwi, blueberries, nectarine, strawberries, raspberries, mandarin oranges etc)

slice cookie dough into 1/4 inch slices, bake at 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until lightly browned, remove from oven and cool.
beat cream cheese, sugar and extracts until well mixed
when cookies are cooled, spread with cream cheese mixture and top with fruit!

remember when...

remember when you sent your vcr home with me on the plane to show you were serious about moving here
remember when you used to type my papers and do my laundry while I worked Sunday nights in college
remember when the limo never returned to pick us up from the wedding ceremony and we caught a ride in our friends mini van and the entire wedding party had to be de-doghaired with maxi pads in the parking lot
remember when you drove out here in your sister's 1981 Ford Grenada filled with all your stuff and they pulled you in at the border and I had to come down and pledge that I would only let you stay 3 months
rememeber when we used to dress up in cute couples Halloween costumes: disco Miss Piggy and Kermit, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, Drew Carey and Mimi
remember when 8 days before our wedding we found out I wouldn't be allowed back in Canada for 6 months and that would mean I couldn't go to our wedding reception or go to work
remember when we woke up the first morning in our first house and it felt like the best Christmas morning ever
remember when you washed all my wool sweaters in hot water before a ski trip in college and to this day you're only allowed to do your own laundry
remember the night we brought Aiden home from the hospital and it felt so awkward and surreal to have a baby in our house
remember when I said yes it was the best thing I've ever done!
Happy 9th Anniversary Dale! Love Jen

splish splash

Aiden got to go to the water slides with a friend today. I thought it was fabulous because Aiden got to go to the water slides and I didn't. I think the water slides would be fun just not with an 1 year old in tow. My neighbor said Aiden was fearless and had a blast. He is one tired tattooed boy tonight!

potsticker salad

This month's Real Simple magazine has tons of great quick summer recipes. I tried this one out on the week end and everyone loved it (except for Miss Fussypants).

1 pound bag of frozen pot stickers
4 cups of snap peas trimmed ( we had ours fresh from the garden, yum)
2 medium carrots, sliced
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce and 1 tbsp sesame oil ( I just used the sauce that comes with the potstickers {even easier!})
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
1/4 cup toasted peanuts, chopped ( I didn't have any on hand)
2 green onions,sliced

Fill a large saucepan or skillet with 1 inch of water and fit with steamer basket. Bring water to boil. Place potstickers in basket or skillet, cover steam for 4 minutes.
Add carrots and steam 2 minutes, add snap peas and steam another 3 minutes.
If using soy sauce and sesame oil, combine in a small bowl
Divide the bean sprouts among bowls and top with potstckers and vegeatbles. Sprinkle with peanuts and green onions. Serve with sauce.

Lummi Island

Yesterday we decided to a little exploring of Lummi Island. Aiden got a new bike with gears on Friday night and was itching to try it out. We packed a picnic loaded up the bikes and headed out. When we arrived at the ferry dock we had a half hour wait. Luckily, the sun came out and the tide was low. The kids had a great time checking out the beach and getting filthy before we had even started our trip. Amelia's trick was to get you to crouch down beside her and play in the sand and then she would fling a big chunk of wet sand in your face and start laughing. Charming. When the ferry arrived it was cutest little red and white boat. It's the smallest ferry I've ever been on but it was only a 6 minute ride. We drove around the island first checking out the scenery and trying to find the elusive bike trails I had read about online. Please keep in mind we had a very excited boy in the backseat that kept telling us he "just wanted to ride his bike!" every two minutes. After the island tour we found some locals that pointed us in the right direction. There aren't any bike trails just the road. This was Amelia's first time on the bike seat and it didn't go tot well. I think it was mostly due to missing her nap but we got to enjoy her shrieks as we rode. There is only one public beach and we didn't bother to go down but you can enjoy the views everywhere.