Since we've been home..

we have relaxed. Ryan and I take turns sleeping in.

We've given the camera a rest too.

I painted and washed the exterior windows on the back of the house. Now they match the front of the house.
I organized and junked out our linen closet, craft closet, and under the bathroom sink.
I organized and reduced the clutter of both kids rooms. (I got 3 laundry baskets full of stuff out of Ethan's room!)

I have spent entire days reading. (Wonderful! )

I've worked one day shift. I have 4 more shifts scheduled in the last week of Aug.

Ryan has organized some of the office and worked on his hobby trading card website.

The kids have played, alot. Not outside too much. We have these Deer Flies at out house that pack a nasty and painful bite and seem unbothered by 'Off' spray. Their bites have left bruises on me! It's also been pretty cool most days. It even went down to 3 degrees outside at night a few times. I actually turned the furnace on for one cycle!

We did go to the beach once. Lots of little fish to be seen. Lots of crickets too. They make a really neat pattern in the sand as they hop across.

We went to the dentist (the whole family) for the first time ever for the kids. They just had a check up, not a cleaning. I've never had my teeth praised so much in my life. This dentist and his sister (the hygenist) LOVE teeth. They seem genuinely excited by them. The kids and I are cavity free! Ryan gets to have a repeat visit in October. My gums were so sore from my scaling and flossing, I had to take 2 doses of Advil. Ryan managed without any meds.

We went to the optometrist. Evleyn has the "same eyes as her Mom". She's farsighted, but 20/20 and will not need glasses at this time.

We went to West Ed Mall. Ryan took Evelyn to a movie about hamsters or gerbils or guinee pigs (pick a rodent) who were spies. He slept for part of it. Evelyn has not made any mention of the movie since she saw it. I think it was just that good!

We took her shopping for a new outfit for her first day of school. She chose well! A pretty pink shirt with tiny flowers all over it, khaki pants, and cute brown MaryJane shoes with pink flowers on them. She didn't really need any clothes, but a new outfit for school seems to be a tradition, so she got one. Photos to come in September!

We measured both kids. Evelyn has grown a centemeter since June. Ethan grew an inch since May. Evelyn has gained 3 lbs over the summer and is now the magical weight of 40 lbs. This means she can use a booster seat instead of the carseat harness. I plan to switch her seat over today.

I bought some stain for our back stairs/deck. I should put that on before Ryan starts work again. It's much easier to get things done when there is another person around to help supervise the kids. I submitted a request for an estimate for floors. We decided to do the 'teak' laminate with the vinyl. I'm hoping to see that done in the next 4-6 weeks. I continue to attempt to get someone out to fix our soffits. It's not going well. I'll try yet another exterior contractor on Tuesday.

I think I may work on repressurizing the water pressure tank today. The pump has been turning on way more than usual, and the gauge has dropped. It'll give my arms a nice workout on the bike pump! I also need to replace the valve at the bottom of the toilet tank. I thought it was just a build up of iron that was making it leak, but after I removed the iron, I can see the valve is warped and breaking down. I'm pretty sure I did this repair shortly after we bought the house. That seems like a short lifespan for a valve. I'll spend the extra $2 for the higher quality one this time.

How's that for a newsy update? To quote Jane Austin "Life is but a quick succession of busy nothings."

Returning Home

After almost 3 weeks in Victoria, and a full month away from home, (except for 3 days the kids and I returned during Ryan's seminar) we headed back to Caslan early on July 27 and arrived home about 10:30 pm July 28th.


We took one of the new ferries, the 'Coastal Celebration' and enjoyed the phenomenally warm temps outside on deck. We were comfortable in t-shirts - even in the strong wind at the front of the ship! I can't remember ever feeling so much warmth while on a ferry. It was beautiful.

We stopped at the J's again and were treated to a turkey dinner and home made pumpkin pie ice cream. Yummy!

The next morning, we were up at 6 am and out the door by 6:30 am. We had several potty stops along the way, and took the Ice Field Parkway from Banff to Jasper rather than going the faster route from Calgary to Edmonton. It added about 2 hrs to the trip, but it was beautiful! That stretch of the park is so interesting to look at. We had a 'Lupper' (lunch/supper) in Jasper at around 4pm BC time/ 5 pm AB time then sprinted for home.



The kids, as usual, did very well and only watched one or two movies during the 15 hr car ride.

Alberta seems to have had lots of rain. The grass is all green and lush. Our lawn was a solid 30-50 cm long! Oddly, I heard that our county is declaring an 'agricultural disaster' due to drought conditions. I guess most of our county missed all the rain and their neighbouring county (which we are very close to) got all of it instead. Funny how that happens.

Hanging out at Nana's (photos by Brenda)

Camping at Cowichan Lake

Evelyn went fishing with Papa. She unknowingly caught something too! This little trout was on one of the lines when we reeled it in before we headed back. Evelyn was SO proud that she caught a fish! She refused to get too close to it, or thouch it, and she jumped away when it wiggled. But, she was beaming!

Dawne and Karl joined us late Friday night. Ethan found a new buddy in Uncle Karl.

The second night, it rained and there was a wedding nearby. They had a live band that was very good. We would have loved to listen to them, except that they started playing at 12:15 AM and completed their set at about 3:00 AM. They played well, just not at the right time for us to fully appreciate them!

A visit with Uncle Tim

I took my brother Tim to a movie, then after, we returned to Ryan's Mom's place for a spagetti dinner and a walk along the Galloping Goose trail. Ethan loved holding Tim's hand during the walk. It was a nice, low key visit.

Tim is turning 18 in October and will be graduating from Stellies High School next summer.

A Misty Morning at Willows Beach

We took my mother to Willows beach for a picnic. The forecast called for hot, sunny weather. What we got was dense fog, and chilly temps.








By the end of our time at the beach, it had warmed up a bit and the fog was starting to blow off.

Some Cracknell Visits.

The highlights of our visits with Ryan's grandparents were the gifts of the grey 'cat' to Evelyn and a very cuddly brown teddy bear for Ethan. Evelyn named the cat 'Paws' and 'fed' it fruit loops and bought it a collar at the dollar store. She is very pleased with her new pet. We like that is will not need any vet care, food or brushing, will not get fleas, will never die and will not scratch the furniture or pee on the carpet.




Ethan was also given a new wardrobe of knitted items. He was so pleased! Socks from Great Grandma, two sweaters, slippers, and a knitted bear with blanket from Grandma. He was in knitted heaven! He calls his knitted bear "Hankie Bear" and really enjoys hugging him.

A surprise date

Ryan decided to plan our anniversary date for while we were in Victoria. He was very secretive and sneaky about it too! He headed downtown in the morning and told me to meet him outside the Bay on Government St at 4 pm. I asked what I should wear and he replied "It dosen't matter". So I decided to dress nicely, but not fancy and met him.

Ryan was in a completely different outfit to the one he left the house in. All new clothes, and not a bag or old item in sight. My first question after complimenting his choice of shirt had to be "Where are your clothes?" He refused to give me a satisfactory answer but told me we were going shopping for a dress for me. (Yipee!) He patiently waited while I tried on a few at a couple stores, then I settled on a purple/cranberry coloured one in a jersey knit that was casual enough to wear anytime (and nicely matched the necklace I had worn).

Next, we went to Paggliachi's for dinner. Oh! how we loved that bread. Their bread is one of the things we miss and crave most about Victoria. Our meals were very good too. Ryan's was WAY too spicey for me. I tried one noodle and felt my mouth burning. I had a salmon salad which was wonderful. It had avocado, artichoke hearts, (some of my favorite foods) and capers (which I had never tried before) . Yummy!

After dinner, I asked if he wanted to retreive his clothes from the ... locker? where he had them stored. (my only guess was he had rented one of the lockers in the mall for his bags) He declined and suggested a walk. We headed for the harbour and when we got to the Empress, he suggested we go inside. Finally, I figured out where his stuff was!

He had negotiated a very nice deal on a room and we were spending the night at the Empress! Our room overlooked a courtyard near the check-in desk. We had the 'bed and breakfast' deal which included breakfast for both of us for $10! (We saw the bill the next morning and our breakfast would have cost about $45!) He had bought a toothbrush and deoderant for me and had stocked the room with a bottle of wine chilling in some ice. I had a glass wine and we walked to watch a street performer at the harbour, then poked around some of the tourist stores.

The next morning, after a wonderful breakfast ( I had bananna bread french toast) we headed to Value Village then home.

It was a great way to celebrate 9 years of marrige.

Emily's 3rd Birthday

Ryan's Step-sister Jennifer's Daughter Emily turned 3 yrs old while we were out visiting. (So she'd be my Step-niece-in-law...? the kids step-cousin?) Regardless, Emily had a princess and pirate themed party. Evelyn and Ethan both wanted to be pirates.

By the time we left the party, Ethan and Austin had developed a cautious relationship. It was good to see them getting to know each other a bit. Evelyn again played the role of the dog during the girls make believe games. She was extactic that one of the guests brought their own, very well mannered dog to the party. Evelyn loved to walk it around on it's leash and pretend it was hers.

Butchart Gardens Fireworks

Ryan and I treated his Dad and Step-mom to an evening out at Butchart. The fireworks were very similar to the show we saw several years ago. Still very good though. We enjoyed the walk through the gardens and I tried my hand at photographing some blooms. My friend Sarah takes great flower pics, and she inspired me to keep trying. I really like the multicoloured cluster flower - whatever it's called!