Our House in the Middle of Our Street

This is nearly 6 months after the fact, but better late than never. I wanted to write about our Cumberland vacation in July because I wanted to share this wonderful little town (and larger Comox Valley) with anyone interested in an outdoor-focused, local(ish) vacation.  We travel light, and expect most of our activities to be somewhat free (hiking, biking, swimming) with our money mostly going to a nicer Airbnb rental and a few treats/meals out in the week. We mostly make all our food, and that helps keep our costs low. This was a really affordable trip for our family of 4, and frankly, the majority of our money went to our lodging and the ferry ride (oof), our splurge was surf + boogie board, wetsuit rentals.  We found so many of these great spots from friends who had been in the area, or had previously lived within a 20 mile radius. Always ask a local!  With our large Europe trip cancelled because of Covid, I wanted to go to the Island because it would feel like we "wen...

Eek! That photo above is terrible lighting, but taken in haste as I wrap up another month of book titles to be added to the 2019 completed list. Two of these books were daily devotionals-one for an entire year and one for Advent, which was quite small, so if we're really comparing, I completed 4 books in December; one of them being read aloud to the kids. Soon I'll have a Top 10 list of my favorites. * The Wealthy Barber Returns by Dave Chilton - I didn't complete the first Wealthy Barber before I had to give it back to the library, and this one was very different. Whereas the first was practical financial advice in story form, this one reads more like a manul or self-help guide in finances. I still gained a lot of knowledge, but I think for this topic, I need the story format. I plan on returning to the original  in the new year. * Hallelujah: A Journey Through Handel's Messiah by Cindy Rollins - This was a small Advent devotional broken up into essays and ...

science experiment with friends What is your favorite color? Blue--sky or navy Who are some of your friends? the Imoo family, the Hieberts, Zack + Dillion, Cole, Ethan, Daniel, the Goheens, Kellan 3-D puzzle completion! What do you want to do when you grow up? car designer and car company owner, or something to do with cars What is your favorite animal? tigers, dogs, turtles, cats, horses Lukka interviews a family friend in front of his co-op friends What is your favorite thing to do with Anikka?  play chess What is your favorite thing to do with your friends?  play video games, go swimming, play games  Lukka loves covering himself in mud + clay at the Fraser river What do you like to do outside?  bike ride, swim, skiing, frisbee, go to the beach What do you like to do inside?  xbox, watch Family Matters , read, play my piano posing for a pic at Mt. Seymour What is your favorite food?  mac n' cheese, pizza, ...

a lavender cart using the honor system  My friend Susie and I tooled around a new-to-us place, Vashon Island in Puget Sound, this past weekend for a very quick (but very full!) girls' trip. Susie comes stateside once a year and I'm lucky to live close to her husband's family, so I often get a visit, too, though she's usually with her family in Nebraska. We had both heard about Vashon Island but had never been, and found really cheap accommodations through airbnb.com. I read this article and this one in preparation and rented a car, while she communicated with our hostess. It worked out brilliantly. We headed down to the Faunterloy ferry in West Seattle and got there around noon, and although we had a bit of a wait going out, the price was so cheap! Something like $20 for the two of us and our car roundtrip . We had reservations at The Hardware Store for dinner that night and very little expectations for the rest of the time. Lighthouse on Point Robinson ...

Day 1: Giving love to the giant farm dog Day 2: our first peek of snow! Day 3: Ani playing catch with snowballs + Copper Day 4: potentially the only picture in 2016 of just us Day 5/6: fort-building on Christmas break  Day 7: cozy Christmas in the basement suite

 Day 1 - playing in Blaine after some errands Day 2 - knitting for my grandma Day 3 - the paperwork for our  sponsored Compassion child  Day 4 - Ani decorating the tree  Day 5 - quiet hours while my kids are at co-op (!) Day 6 - a gorgeous and chilly day for a walk, after nearly 2 months solid of rain and overcast Day 7 - the goofball posing for me

My friend, Rebecca, from View from the Prairie Box , has been doing the DPP for years. I've loved joining her each December because it makes me realize I just have to snap a photo or two of something I'm enjoying, engaged in, watching my children do, whatever, and I have these awesome memories of our Advent and Christmas time to look through.  They don't have to be holiday related at all. Her friend Jenn , made this amazing Blue Room series last year (ack! I can't find it to link up to it, trust me it was epic), and I love following the facebook page to see how hundreds of people, all across the world, are now playing along. It's a pretty neat thing.  Go here to sign up, play along on your blog, IG, or the facebook page, and enjoy! All photos can be tagged with #DPP2016. Easy peasy.

fallen tree = instant playground Okay. So, I have no actual photos of us biking around Stanley Park 's seawall, but that'd be because we were biking. I do, however, have a few lovely photos to share from the time we spent at Stanley Park, mostly pausing for breaks for the kids, lunch, or just a pretty location for a picture. Stanley Park is one of my favorite places in Vancouver, and this year was the first time both kids biked all the way around the (5 mile) seawall on their own. The last time we did this , Ani was 4 and in the bike trailer, and Lukka had a bike so small he looked like he belonged in the circus.  rowing practice for crew members Both kids made it around with plenty of energy to spare (we considered going around twice), and enjoyed a picnic lunch at Third Beach, shown below, while the kids played in the sand on a beautiful Fall flavored day. The air was a perfect temperature, maybe 65, while the sun came in and out of the clouds. We spent time s...

thankful to dip my feet in the water, at least until the wasps came This trip happened just a little over a month ago but it feels like it was months and months ago. The four of us took off to camp with friends at their cabin on Allison lake, in the Oakanagan region. It was hot the days we were there, but we had a lake to splash in, with rope swings, a kayak and a paddle board to try out, and plenty of kids to entertain ours! I mentioned to Stefan that this was probably one of my favorite camping trips to date because of three things: 1) other kids to play with our kids 2) going with our friends, and 3) indoor plumbling on the premises(!). Thanks to our generous friends who own the cabin, we were 1 of 5 families who set up a tent and enjoyed the area throughout the weekend.  The first day we took a long hike with half the kids in very high heat and pooped ourselves out (the swim after was amazing!), but that's not the one I'll tell you about, because it's not e...

Wouldn't you know it? I traveled back to Nebraska for a week of wedding, and I didn't take a single photo except a 'plane window' photo the first day, and a token 'bags in the airport' photo on the way home! I didn't take my phone because it doesn't work outside of Canada, so my photo options were limited to my ipad, which I didn't take everywhere I went, though I should have brought it along to document the wedding week lead-up. I was too busy having fun and making memories with my elementary school friends and the bride's college roomates before horsing around (literally) with my friend at her ranch, Hickory Hallow , before I flew back home. Leading up to the wedding, most of the bridesmaids spent the nights in a suite together and the first night out (Thursday), was the bachelor/bachelorette party, in which I had the best cocktail I've ever had (a peach mojito), and the longest I've stayed awake in what feels like a decade (nearly...

 The huge bridge connecting the West and East banks of Kelowna, BC Two weekends ago we went for our annual visit up to the Oakanagan area, where Stefan's paternal grandparents live. It's a beautiful part of B.C. with a massive body of water, hills, seasons, and fruit orchards everywhere. Imagine me telling you--forcefully-- these photos just do not do the area justice. I haven't met a person who doesn't like going up to the Oakanagan. It's beautiful.  The first few photos are of the Oakangan lake (it's huge and spans many large cities) and crossing it on the Kelowna bridge that separates the East and West banks. Peachland, where we spend our time, is about a 30 minute drive to the 'big city' part of Kelowna.    The view behind on the bridge The kids enjoy the trip up to see their great-grandparents, stay in their own room together (oy, the nights), though this time driving up was a trial. It was incredibly hot the day we drove up, (43...