Harvest

Party in Parksville

We gathered together here last September for their wedding, and are trying to make it a tradition.
(Next year, when we do it again, they will have a baby of their own to dip little toes in the tide.)

As for the wedding day one year ago, the weather, while not the greatest of forecasts, was lovely.

The kids and Chris discovered a working raft on the shore on the first afternoon, and immediately put it to use.

Isla wasn't so sure about it, but the other two were overjoyed.

The sun came out for real the next day when everyone was there to frolic with us.

When Chris mentioned that pulling the kids out of school to hang out on the beach for a couple of days would result in life education, I think this is what he meant.

Labour Day Weekend

A weekend up at Little Heaven Ranch was just what the kids had been waiting for this summer. Unfortunately, we weren't able to make it happen until the last weekend of our holidays. The up side: mosquitos, which are bad there, are pretty much gone. The downside: more chance of rain.

As you can see, it rained:

Jay and I had a hilarious quad ride together through icy rain, that made us feel carefree and young and foolish, not something we feel very often in the years since becoming parents, but so good for us, just the same. Thankfully, there was a woodstove to light up when we returned, so our clothes and bones could get warm and dry...

Sharon and I trecked through the forest to a small clearing at a creek, filled with mint. I brought a huge bucketful home for tea. Though it was too early for the rosehips yet.

And the rain stopped the morning we were leaving, so the kids could join Sharon on a quest for treats for the horses. Bliss.