Our House in the Middle of Our Street

April hopefuls; only three actually made it I finished a lot of great books this month, one or two slogs, and found a new favorite author. It's been a great book month. Our family watched quite a few good movies this month so I'm adding those here, too. * Girls on the Edge by Dr. Leonard Sax -- Last month I raved about Boys Adrift, also by Dr. Sax, and I couldn't wait to read his take on the other gender side. I didn't find this book as eye-opening (maybe because I am a girl?) but there is still valuable information here for parents, teachers, and caregivers. I fully plan to read The Collapse of Parenting , his newest book, when it finally comes to me at the library (I've been waiting for months, and it's now in transit). The thing I love about Dr. Sax's writing is that it takes huge ideas based on science, and shuffles them alongside anecdotes so the reader-who may or may not have any medical/scientific knowledge base- and explains them in an a...

 a beautiful rainbow captured in the spray of the glacial runoff...see that tiny crazy person in orange?! Alright, so this ' hike ' is basically a nature path with stunning views (see below!) but it's still about 3 miles, and we took the kids, so we're going to stick with Hikes With Kids. :) We went on this hike the other day to get out of the house on a beautiful day even though it was afternoon, and we have a couple dogs staying with us for a few weeks while their owners are on holiday. Stefan and I knew that although the dogs are older, they'd still be able to do this hike well, the kids would be able to 'walk' them (they love walking them!) and we could get outside in the sunshine and exercise for awhile. You may remember this view from when we did it about 10 months ago, but what a huge difference a seasonal change brings! The glacial runoff is in full force right now in the early Spring, and late last summer, the same area was basically a tric...

Well, as if the title weren't clear, we were unable to complete this hike but we will conquer it at some point! Elk Mountain is quite a bit outside of Chiliwack in the boonies. You go past the city, past the last neighborhood, and a solid 10 miles through the mountain farms before getting to the lower edge of the trail. This view above was taken on our way down the dirt road just a short ways from the parking area to start the trail! What a view already, huh?! It was too gorgeous not to snap, and I'm glad I did because I didn't get any other photos....hopefully when we've ascended the mountain I'll have another one or two to add. This hike is definitely off the beaten path but that doesn't stop it from being popular. When we arrived in the afternoon at the trail head (our first mistake-not going in the morning!) there were at least 20 cars parked. The trail is 7km round trip (just under 5 miles) and is heavy on the ascent, so we knew it'd be har...

A few weeks ago I decided to play along with Ali Edwards  on instagram ( here I am!) with her own version of a Day in the Life...here's my captured scenes from about 6AM-8PM including original post captions. 6AM and there's a (reading) party in my bed. Mornings are for quiet, reading, bible study, and scrolling through my favourite online haunts for an hour before an hour of exercise (T/Th: spinning, M/F hiit video) and showering. Kids are up and at em at 8! (Playing along with  @aliedwards #adayinthelife  today, let's see if I can remember after this one.) what are you up to today? 8:08AM like clockwork, everyone's waiting for their breakfast, even the teddies, while I'm stuck on NPR tiny desk artists and stretching (drying out) before a late shower. Tuesday's = oatmeal. #adayinthelife 10:12AM and we're out running errands before hitting the beach on this glorious morning! Favorite errand: library. Obvs.  #adayinthelife 10:...

 a sunny view of the wraparound cove at Buntzen Lake Last weekend we went on a hike that we learned about from my kids' babysitter. She belongs to an active family and so I knew anything she recommended we could do as well. She said Buntzen Lake was a great hike, and she was right, I loved this hike!   almost halfway view This hike is a wraparound lake hike, and for at least half of it, you're very close to the water. There are times when the trail meanders into the forested area and you can't even see the large lake. There is a small suspension bridge, outhouses at the half-way mark (along with a rest area with benches and picnic tables), and the views were great. We went for a morning hike and were done by 2. I believe it took it 3 1/2 hours, plus a thirty minute stop for lunch at the half-way mark.   Lukka looking at the lake from early on  It's a 5 mile hike (8km) and we were all tired afterward. There is an overall ascent of 100 m but it took...

Although I don't have more than one item crossed off on my 16 in 2016 goal list, I am working on a few more at the same time, and this post is to document the in-between.  One of my goals was to travel to Banff National Park and see Calgary   (and who am I kidding? ride horses like in Heartland ). We're heading out that way in mid-June for a family vacation with my mom and stepdad as well. We'll stay two days and nights in Banff where hikes and nature will be prime priorities, and then just under a week in Calgary before we drive back and the 'rents fly home. We've got our places booked thanks to airbnb , and we've got tons of things to do and places to explore thanks to the great tips I got on facebook. Are you familiar with those areas? Leave me a comment with the best places to eat or family-friendly things to do. Another goal I have is to explore Vancouver island . I've been to Victoria perhaps 3 cumulative days before and never anywhere el...