Our House in the Middle of Our Street

Anikka is 11 today! This year she has grown in so many ways--she is so tall (!) now, and has started to love dance again, after many years haitus. She is always moving: kart-wheeling, bouncing on her huge yoga ball, or jumping around on our mini trampoline. She still loves reading and art, and does both of those in the majority of her free time. She has gained more friendships this year and has been practicing bravery and is seeing the fruit of that in various aspects of her life. We're so proud of her! We love you, Beaner! Ani practicing flexibility    What is your favorite color?  blue  Who are some of your friends? Lilah, Audrey, Anya, Marie, Kate, Ophelia, Charlotte, Charlee, Summer, Emily, Isla, Kathryn, Anna, CJ What do you want to be when you grow up? a mom What makes you happy? kittens What makes you sad? movies about dogs dying! What is your favorite animal? cats What is your favorite book?  The Girl Who Sailed the Stars What is your f...

Every year I make a list of loose goals and try to start/finish/try/plot/etc. them before the year's end. Some are hard, some are goofy, some are ridiculously easy or that I've been chewing on for awhile but just need to actually write it down to get it done. Most years (most) of them get completed. Sometimes they don't. You can view past years' lists and the What Happened post HERE . I'm still mulling on my 2020 list, so you'll (probably) see it later January. 19 Things in 2019 * Watch Lo + Behold with Lukka (completed, Spring). This netflix documentary about tech was something I wanted (and was able to make) time for with my son. He liked it. I was 'meh'. * Go to New Media Gallery for another exhibition (completed, multiple installations). I love this gallery...it's not even something that needs to get written down anymore, I just go every time they have new work! * Take Ani to the Vancouver Art Gallery (completed, December) I finally ...

Happy Birthday, Anikka! It's hard to believe our baby is now fully in tween-hood and double digits. We love you and love who you are: an artist, a good friend, a deep-thinker, a cuddler, and someone who shows courage. We pray health and joy over your next year! Candid of Ani checking out Frida Kahlo's art and self-portraits during a co-op Art class   What is your favorite color? blue and purple Who are some of your friends?  Isla, Kathryn, Rachel, Nyah, Marie, Anya, Phoebe, Audrey, Charlee, Charlotte, Ana, Anna, Ashlyn What do you want to be when you grow up?  a mom What makes you happy?  art, and Copper What makes you sad? death  Ski bunny Ani! What is your favorite animal?   cat, dog, horse, unicorn , bird What is your favorite book?  Wings of Fire (series) What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?  read or bake What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?  play games What is your favorite thing to do with Lukka?  bou...

view from the top of Salt Spring Island, BC I always love making an intentional list for the year ahead, but as I've been reflecting on the past year in my personal time, along with reflecting on our past half of our homeschooling year thus far, I've staretd to jot some 'things' down for this year as in years past, but I haven't been able to fill up the whole list and I have no idea why.  Maybe it's that I don't feel I have the brain space, maybe because it's nearly Feb. 1st already and I'm feeling behind already, or maybe it's because I just haven't let it sit and stew enough. That's ok. I'm learning to just go with it. I have about half.  I add to my list in my bullet journal, I more than likely won't remember to edit this post but (shrug), Oh Well. Such is life!  19 in 2019 (or, ahem, a few less) 1) Watch Lo & Behold technology docuseries with Lukka. We watched Cosmos last year and that was a wonderful ex...

looking into Vancouver from Jericho Beach I first saw this type of list from Sarah VonBargen's blog Yes and Yes , and I immediately understood the practice. I'm pretty sure I've been doing lists in this vein for at least 6 years on the blog, and I love it. Every year I leave a few blank to fill in at later dates, but here's my tentative "18 Things in 2018". What are you really hoping to do in 2018?  1) Be in More Photos (and all the moms said "preach!") 2) Getaway on the Sunshine Coast 3) Visit the Night Market in Richmond   4) Visit Britannia Mine ( completed !) 5) Go to Shop Suite during the Christmas Season (I have yet to find a worthy handmade market up here but I've heard good things about this one!) 6) Buy a better swimsuit (for the love ). 7) Visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead in De Smet with Grammy + kids. (Booked our airbnbs for #7,8!) 8) Take the kids to Ashfall Fossil Beds . Same trip as a...

It's pretty much a lie that my daughter, my baby, is 8 today, but alas, so says the calendar and the time just keeps marching! Here is her yearly birthday interview. Happy Birthday, my sweet girl! What is your favorite color? purple Who are some of your friends?  Kathryn, Isla, Ashlyn, Rachel, Lukka What do you want to be when you grow up? a mom What makes you happy?  mom reading to us What makes you sad?  getting my feelings hurt   What is your favorite animal?   horses What is your favorite book?  Time Pieces What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?  spend time together What is your favorite thing to do with Dad?  spend time together What is your favorite thing to do with Lukka?  play What do you like to do with your friends?  play, crafts, talk What do you like to do outside?  play with Copper, play with Nya and Brody Where do you like to go?  to the Great Escape, the library What is your favorite fo...

At the end of June we finished a monumental task- we finished the entire Laura Ingalls Wilder series; nine books where the shortest one was 150 pages, and most were well over 300. It took us a solid 7 months of reading aloud, during school time, bedtimes, bored times, etc. and I am so glad I made this a year-long goal, because quite frankly, it was a doozy. I had never read the entire series myself, I remember reading at least two of them, but I knew my kids were at the right age to enjoy these books. There are a number of series I have 'planned' to read to them through the next 3 years or so, and these were the books that I thought best to start with, because the kids would enjoy the simple stories of pioneer life, and were considered the 'youngest' of the series. The last two large books, Little Town on the Prairie, and These Happy Golden Years, were listened aloud on audio with Cherry Jones (thanks for the tip, Jamie Martin! ) because I needed a break, and my ...

Ani and her elephant stuffy, Mary     Anikka is turning SEVEN today. My little Valentine girl has grown up so much in this past year, and has had big changes from last year, even in little things like inches grown, a big haircut, learning to ride a bike and ice-skating with more confidence, and learning things like somersaults and cartwheels in gymnastics, and going to a girl-scout-like group at a local church, all by herself. You can see her interviews at ages FIVE and SIX by clicking on those links.      Ani and her new Rainbow Dash and new Cinderella blanket from Grammy What is your favorite color? blue and green Who are some of your friends? Rachel, Kathryn, Isla, Ana, Ashlyn, Danika, Ziana, Eva, Keziah What do you want to be when you grow up? work at a dog shelter What makes you happy? jokes, laughter What makes you sad? fighting my brother Ani at Terra Nova Park in Richmond, BC  What is your favorite animal? panda ...

 The 30 ft. pool at Lynn Canyon The list that I've tried to come up with has been a little harder than in years past but as I let it sit and brew for a bit, I had plenty of fresh ideas. The yearly lists (you can see 15 in 2015 , my 29 before 30  birthday list here , and 28 before 29 here ) help me focus on small/big, personal/family/friend, and creative/mental goals I have in any given year. Sometimes they are silly and sometimes I get them done before even writing them down, as you'll see below. They are just things I want to try, things I want to do, or things I want to enjoy with others. Some are big Bucket/Lifetime goals (1 below!) but most are pretty small things that niggle the back of my mind and writing them down helps me attain them quicker than forgetting about it 3 times.  16 in 2016 1) get a dog! (this didn't happen for various reasons last year, this year we're still considering it) 2) make ' sweet treat ' hair clips for the gir...

view from Ft. Langley bridge of Brae Island's chapel For many years I've set up some sort of a yearly list of things to do. They're sometimes small, sometimes big, sometimes silly, but always things I just want to make a little bit of space and thought to do and 'name it', if you will. I got 1/2 done on my 2015 list, but in my defense, I planned it around my birthday, which means I only gave myself 9 months in 2015, not 12. I'll have a new '16 in 2016' list soon, but for now, here's what happened, and what didn't. See the original list HERE .  I'll start and link to what did actually happen: I got professional family photos done , I wrote an actual Christmas letter and sent it to family, I * tried * turning Ani's bone & shell collection (it didn't look as great as it did in my head...) into artwork, hiked Deep Cove/Quarry Rock with my family, watched The Sound of Music with my kids , baked Confetti Cookies , and ...

The contents of the Kith and Kin sun prints box* For some reason, I tend to have a lot of luck in the giveaway department. I literally spend a total of 5-10 minutes a day entering giveaways that I find on instagram, blogs, facebook, what have you, and I have won quite a few of them. I was excited to win the Kith and Kin sun print craft box, because I knew my kids would be in heaven creating with it.  It was around the time we'd be heading to Nebraska for a few weeks, so I had Kith & Kin ship it to my mom's house, so we could enjoy the contents there. Turns out we had relatively no free time outside of planned grandparent & friend activities, so I brought the box home with me to BC and we did it during the kids' school day as an art project.  I don't know about you, but I love receiving Happy Mail...that'd be anything aside from bills or ads. The Kith & Kin sun print box was definitely happy mail. As you can see above, they include all the ...

Happy Canada Day! We spent the morning hopping on our bikes down to the Fort's big July 1 celebration. It involved tons of free crafts for kids, vendors of all sorts, a Mountie or two, birthday cake, and free drinks, popcorn, balloons, and Maple-leaf flags.  At the community event the kids especially loved the museum (which we unfortunately didn't stay long at--too crowded), and the petting zoo, where each kid got to hold a little bunny, pet a piglet, and cuddle with a lamb. In the afternoon we went to the Al Anderson swimming pool for two hours in the water. Since the heat has been really high the last week or so (with next week not looking good, either), it felt amazing to be in the water! Canadians sure know how to celebrate--all events and activities we did were free today! 

Ani painting her first diarama The subscription service business sector is exploding the online retail market. You can now buy toys, pet products, clothing, stationary, beauty products, eco-cleaning supplies, and even organic snacks all in monthly packages with excellent branding. While print magazines are slowly fading away, a new type of subscription purchasing is taking place in droves--for those who are too busy or depleted to run one more errand (hand raised here), you can get a fun surprise on your doorstep for a decent price. These are excellent as curriculum because all the work of planning and gathering has been done for you! Now it's just up to the child to execute and enjoy the process.  I have tried a few subscription services as either birthday gifts or a trial run for homeschooling, and let me tell you there are some awesome businesses going up! I want to highlight a few of them for you that can be used as homeschooling curriculum for elementary grade kids....