Shea Is Seven

What better way to celebrate our little Sith Lord than with a Star Wars Party?

a Death Star pinata,

Costumes (we had a Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and R2-D2)

and a "Flames of Mustafar" cake.

I'm quite proud of my ability to make a simple chocolate-zucchini bundt cake look cool in the eyes of seven year old boys. (Also funny because the Mustafar scenes of Episode 3 are the ones Shea seems most obsessed with in the Star Wars saga, and it is the only Episode we haven't let him watch any of!)

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.

Okanagan Abundance

Kyla, Roxanne and I took a road trip up to Kelowna for a weekend of canning. Sarah, who lives there in the summers, had worked her magic at the farmer's Market. She had found lovely, unsprayed peaches (60 lbs), tomatoes (90 lbs), and pickling cukes (40 lbs) for us, along with 60 lbs of organic heirloom tomatoes for herself. The plan was to lounge on the dock and in the boat on Friday (the only forecasted hot day), canning Friday night and all day Saturday, a bit more on Sunday with a break for Kyla, Sarah and I to drive to Okanagan Falls for the Feast of Fields, then home again Monday.

Peaches...my family's favourite winter treat.

Everything ready for pickles (notice our amazing view?)

Heirlooms, getting ready to roast.

Crushed tomatoes, bubbling away.

Sweet success! (literally. we've never tasted such sweet tomatoes)

We took the long way home, packed into Roxy's smallish car, floorboard to roof with boxes of full canning jars, then every other space stuffed with local produce from the farm stands in Keromeos. I love the beautiful scenery on the old highway.

Day 12: Last Day

We tried to do a bit of everything today as we are leaving in the late morning tomorrow. A bit of tidying, putting the boat away and all the floaties, we smoked three of the salmon, and then eaded to Rathtrevor for one last hurrah. The tide was so far out that after walking for a looooong time, I looked back to our spot on the beach, then looked at the water, and realized I was only halfway. I've used it as exercise time in the past because walking over the rippling wet sand works your legs amazingly. Today I felt lazy, though, and returned to te blankets and cooler for a beverage and my knitting needles. The others played bocce and threw the football. Usually when the tide is out there are large tide pools full of warm water for the kids to play in, but they weren't there this year. So we just stayed hot and dry.

I'll miss looking at sandy shoulders. I won't miss sandy bedsheets, though!

In the evening, the grandparents looked after the five kids and we went out for dinner with Dan and Johanne. We went to the Rod and Gun. Classic Parksville. We haven't been there in years but had such lousy service at the new resort down the street that we decided to forgo the view and actually get treated well. We laughed a lot, drank a little too much, and walked two blocks home to laugh some more on the back porch.

Day 11: More Sockeye

There was another 4:30am wake up to go fishing. This time, Faire got to go. She was so excited, and had a good time, but oh, she was so tired when they returned.

Jay and Dan fileted all the salmon, and I wrapped. Tomorrow morning I'm smoking three of them.

(I call Dan Kenny Chesney because he looks like a country western star when he's dressed for fishing.)