More vacation yet

Thursday, August 25, 2011

choo-choo,
M

Even more vacation

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Went for a small walk in downtown Kelowna

Then chartered a sailboat and went for a cruise

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Art class by the lake

A lazy afternoon at Gyro beach 

 

 

xo,
M

More Vacation

Sunday, August 21, 2011

We spent the day on the move. Here we are, having some fun at the airport in Edmonton.

 

 

 

 

Monday, August 22, 2011 - Kelowna

We went for a walk along Gellatly Road.

Then in the afternoon, we visited the Knox Mountain Park.

 
xo,
M

Vacation

Saturday, August 20, 2011

On Saturday we went to the Rockwood Conservation Area

We visited the caves and hung out with our friends.

We ended the day at the airport, where we rode the mono rail
back and forth for over an hour. Just because we loved it so much.

xo,
M

Webster's Falls

Karl and I met while at school - McMaster. One of our favourite date spots was Webster's Falls. Whenever I am in the Hamilton area and have some spare time, I still like to go there.

I took Hudson there today and we had a blast!

xo,
M

P.S. Yes, Ryan, I was wearing my Birks and no wipe outs this time!

Hudson Goes Camping

It went a little like this...

One of Karl's buddies is getting married next month. Last weekend was his bachelor party, so Hudson and I were on our own.

Having survived my first week as I stay at home mom, I was encouraged by my ability to care for my child 24/7. Zealously, I though we could kick things up a notch.

By 12:30 PM we checked in at the Laurel Creek Conservation Area campsite. Things got off to a great start.

After a snack and a snuggle WITH the tent we headed down to the beach in hopes of going for a "Schwim". On account of all the geese however, we opted for some sand castle building.

 

And then thing started to get interesting. 

Although it worked just fine when I tried it at home in the morning, I could not get the camp stove going. If you have not experienced it yourself, a hungry toddler is a pretty scary thing. Throw in a hungry Mira.... in less then 20 minutes, round trip, we settled back at our picnic table with a Whopper, Chicken tenders and some french fries.

I needed to redeem myself. 

I was not sure I could do it, but I did manage to start a fire - Scout standard. One match. No paper :)

Hudson was besides himself. He kept running through the smoke excitedly, screaming "fire, fire.. my fire".... 

I was trying to ready more wood ....

Daddy texted to see how things were getting on. The cell phone was in my back pocket, and the vibration of it, combined with being a little on edge over a child who was tired yet unable to stand still for more then a millisecond - well it scared the daylights out of me! 

The hatched in my right hand came down. My left hand, however forgot to get out of the way. 

The following few moments are a bit of a blur. I ran over to the car in search of band aids, which I of course did not have. With my hand behind my back, my finger bleeding profusely (At some point, I do remember nearly passing out, so I knew better then to keep looking down at it) Hudson and I wondered/staggered over to a nearby campsite where a dad was camping with his son. 

Hah! Turns out I am not the only one who takes their kid camping and does not bring a first aid kit! 

At this point I think even Hudson caught on to the fact that something serious started walking from site to site calmly declaring "My mommy needs a band aid". It was actually kind of cute to watch. 

I was in deed "rescued" and patched up by a young couple who suggested I may consider stitches. What you can't see in that picture above is that I managed to slice about 3/4 of the way right through my finger. It wasn't pretty, and it hurt like hell. 

We returned to our campsite, where we (along with the equally unprepared but less clumsy dad and his child) roasted (or simply set on fire if you are my son) marshmallows and talked. I can not remember what on earth we talked about because I am pretty sure I was in a mild shock, but it was a pleasant visit. I think. 

I debated about packing things up and going home. Hudson however, was having a fantastic time.  

We rounded up some pine cones and built a railroad track for Thomas. Later it was converted into a highway for his blue truck.

And we found the fastest slide in all of KW. (That I know of, anyways). Hudson LOVED it!

 

It was 10:30PM when he finally passed out. I am not going to lie, I breathed a sigh of relief. Camping with a 2.5 year old should be a two parent sport.

I pulled out my cell phone to update Karl. I was standing no more then 2 steps away from the tent when something brushed up against my feet. I looked down. 

I kid you not! I bolted for the picnic table and flicked on my headlamp. 

Pepe proceeded to sniff his way around the tent. Where Hudson was sleeping. Awesome. I turned off the light and waited a few moments. The moon was full (go figure!), so I could more or less make out what was going on even in the dark. Pepe made his way off our site and into the bushes. 

Phew. 

I stoked the fire and got my book out of the car. I could hear the pitter patter of tiny animal feet off in the distance. Pepe was back at the tent. 

"You've got to be kidding me" I thought to myself as I climbed back onto the picnic table and contemplated never leaving the house again my next move. Things seemed to quiet down. I turned the headlamp on again and looked towards the tent. 

Pepe backed up and raised his tailed. Strike position! Headlamp off. Shhh******t. 

Headlamp on. 

Pepe makes his move towards the picnic table. 

Headlamp off.

Tiny pitter patter towards the woods. 

"Pheeeeww" 

I crawled into the tent next to Hudson and tried not to stir too much!

We woke up around 9:30 (I know!) the next morning. 

"I schlept in a tent mommy!!!" were the first words I heard that morning. A giant smile beamed on his little face.

"You did!" It was sooo worth it!

By noon we were back at home. Daddy came back shortly before one, and I was dispatched to the hospital. 

According to the doctor that checked me over, in a year's time you won't be able to tell. That's great! 

Just in time for next year's camping trip! 

xo,

M

P.S. 

While I was in the hospital, Karl called me on the cell. 

"The hatched leaning by the tool box, is that the one you took with you?"

"Yes, and I meant to put it back but you came home before ....." I was on the defensive. 

 "It's a good thing you did not find the one hanging up in the rafters. This one is the duller of the two.

Small talk

The following is an excerpt of the "conversation" between the demon that took possession over the soul of my sweet son and me that took place this afternoon while I was making tacos.

M: "Hudson, please don't climb the kitchen cupboards"

M: "Hudson, please get off the counter"

M: "Hudson, please don't throw the dish towels"

M: "Hudson, stop spilling your water"

M: "Please, don't throw your toys"

M: " Stop licking the fridge"

M: "Hudson. Stop"

H: (Leans forward in my direction and glares) GO. MAKE. DINNER!!!

M: (Deep breath... 10.. 9... 8.... )

xo,
M

Snack Time

 These days, everywhere we go Lightning McQueen comes with. 

And so, it was no big surprise that when I called out "Snack Time" this afternoon "Light-ing" skidded across the kitchen counter and stopped just millimeters shy of the cutting board.

"Do you think McQueen would like some cheese, too?" I asked Hudson

"Yessshhh" a big grin came over his face.

I passed down two squares of cheese and proceeded with my cutting/chopping/stirring etc.

When I looked down about 20 seconds later, the kitchen floor was littered with tiny crumbs of marble. In the midst of it all sat an agitated toddler, trying to jam what was left of the cheese into the front bumper of his little toy car.

"Light-ing not hungry" he finally declared and popped the last bit into his own mouth.

I think we need to work on pretend play...

xo,
M

I wish I could

Carving the Mountains from Juan Rayos on Vimeo.

My new garden

Speaking of things on my list.... did I tell you we finished the perennial border - AKA #1 on my "thirty before thirty"?

Yup. I sure did. In June!

And I was hoping all those hostas and lilly's would grow and get all lush and... then the drought came.

I am doing my best to keep all those newly transplanted plants alive, but let's be honest - it's a sad state of affairs.

The clover patch in my lawn is crunchy! You can imagine what the rest of it looks like. :(

But back in June....

Oh, how I miss the rain!

xo,
M

The staircase (project) that just goes on and on... and on.

Remember that picture of my staircase that I shared with you last week?

Well.... we've come a long way baby!

Not bad for two amateurs, no?

Except these two amateurs stood back and decided that ...

(OK, so have you ever bought new shoes just because? And then got them home and realized that you have NOTHING to wear with your new shoes? And so you run back to the mall in search of a new outfit? Don't tell me I am the only one this happens to... )

.... that wall that surrounds those stairs, it had to be painted!

Hmm... so this picture does not REALLY do it justice.  Flash photography and wet semi-gloss paint apparently are not two things that go together.

And what's with the ladder?!?!?

 I am 5'8". The ceiling is about 17 feet.
The project is on hold until Karl comes home from work.

This happens a lot around here.

But we are thiiiiiiis close to finally wrapping this one up. And moving onto things that actually are on my list.


xo,
M