Trail Running with Sedona

Remember I said how much I enjoy being able to do things with the kids now? Well, this was from one of our summer trail runs where we found a creek to go for a swim along the way. Very cool!

And Speaking of Grown Up....

One of Sedona's closest friends moved over to the island in the summer. Sedona took the sea plane over herself to go visit her for 4 nights. She had a ball with Julianne and will certainly miss her!

Aja- More Grown up!!

I feel like Aja has grown up so much in the last few months, but don't get me wrong... she still has her crazy side! Just to show how much she's matured, in the last picture, she is speaking at our Terry Fox assembly. She would have never done that, even 4 months ago!! And she so enjoys her regular bike rides before bed, which is so great!

First Day of School

I'm a little tardy with these. Did I just use that word? September is always crazy for us, so I'm just finding time to get these on our BLOG for the grandparents. Grade 4 and Grade 6- it really does happen so quickly!!

Camping with the Cousins

Life doesn't get much better than spending the day swimming, kayaking, paddleboarding, and going off the rope swing.... over and over again. We had an awesome time camping at Hotel Lake!

What's summer without jumping off the pier?

Annual Rod Run

Nothing like Sechelt's annual rod run. We are a rowdy bunch when we get together to watch the fancy cars. Grandma Lou got to experience first hand one of

Sechelt's finest events!

My Spirit Guide??

Last week, I experienced something kind of crazy.... in 1 week, I had four owls fly by me while running. Each time, they flew right in front of me and landed in a tree where I could watch them for as long as I wanted. I've always loved owls, and consider myself lucky when I see one, so to see 4 in one week was very special! I figure it's a sign that someone's looking out for me and protecting me. Here's a picture of one of the owls I saw.

Overnight Camp

Sedona had her first overnight camp experience and LOVED it. The only problem: it wasn't long enough. She went to Camp Fircom on Gambier Island, where the kids and I went to a Mom and Kids camp a few years ago. Next year she is thinking of going even longer, but Fircom doesn't offer more than that, so we may need to look at some other camps.

Morning Paddle

Last week the kids were both at camp- Aja at an SPCA daycamp, and Sedona at an overnight camp on Gambier Island. Chris and I tried to get out every day and do different things together, like tennis, paddleboarding, kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, and trail running. On this day, we went for a 10 km paddle to two of our favourite spots: Smugglers and Frenchman's Cove.

My Shredding Partner

It's so neat when your kids get to be old enough where you can go out and exercise with them and they can keep up, or even pass you!! Sedona and I went for a great ride the other day.... times spent like this with my kids mean so much to me as a Mom!

We Love you Grandma Lou!!

My Mom has been renting for the last few weeks. We love having her here and joining us for hikes, beach time and dinners. This night we had a lovely dinner at the "Upper Deck" restaurant.

Powell River Family Reunion

We had a great 4 day trip to Powell River for a family reunion with Chris' Dad's side of the family. There were almost 30 of us, and it was so great to see all the little cousins together. It was a fantastic weekend full of games, swimming, paddling, cliff jumping and catching up. Chris and I also celebrated our 11th anniversary up there!

Canada's Wonderland

Aja and I spent a day at Canada's Wonderland. She has been talking about this ride called "The Leviathon," for 2 months. It is a roller coaster with an 85 degree angle drop! For the last two months I've been nervous about going on it. Aja has been watching videos and riding her bike down big hills fast to practice! All of a sudden, the day we were there, I knew I was ready, and we had to do it, even if Aja wanted to back out. So I looked at her and said, "we've been talking about this for 2 months. We're doing it." and She said, "okay." We got in line- she was about a half inch under the height restriction, but they let her on. There were a handful of kids a couple years older than her, but the rest of the people in the line up were teens and adults. We got on, and let me tell you, that first climb up was so nerve wracking not knowing how that first drop was going to feel. It was AWESOME!!!!!!! It was actually the best ride I've ever been on and it was such a fun feeling. We did it two more times afterwards. I was so proud of her!!!

 

 

New Cousins!

2 of my cousins had babies in the last 6 months. My cousin Alison had a BBQ one night with all my cousins, which was great! The girls were in their glory with the new babies and wanted to hold them all night. Introducing: Samantha and Michael.

Hiking with Grandma Lou

My Mom lives out in the country now, and it's really beautiful there. We went for a hike one day, which felt like being at home.... okay, not the farmland, but the hiking in the woods.

Backyard Fun

My brother's family has a pool, so many hours were spent there in the 30 degree weather. The girls could swim for hours at a time! My friend Laura came over with her twins one day, so that's them in the one

picture.

Niagara Falls

We went to Niagara Falls with my brother, Alli and James, and it was definitely a highlight of the trip. We stayed in a hotel that had a huge indoor waterslide park, so went there twice, which the girls loved! It was very cool walking around Niagara Falls, but even better taking the boat right up to the falls. We even got to watch fireworks at the falls that night- some of the best we've ever seen!

Sky Zone Trampoline Park

We went to an indoor trampoline park and got an amazing workout. The girls loved it!

CN Tower

We went up to the top of the CN Tower which is always exciting. They have a glass floor (Sedona is lying on it) which is pretty crazy. It's so funny how when you stand on that and look down, you really start to worry about the floor crumbling, but without seeing that, you wouldn't even think about it. Next time Sedona wants to do the walk outside where you're harnessed in and walk around the top on the edge (she actually wanted to do it this time).