She Is Born

My sister had a baby on Thursday morning. It was an awesome birth at home, surrounded by friends and family, and the most treasured midwives. Faire was so excited to go, and she was so amazing - right in where all the action was, ignoring the extremely-frequent cursing coming from Colleen, and just enjoying the whole process. At one quiet moment, she said to the midwife and I, "This is going to change my life". Umm, yes, we all melted. The midwives had her help to weigh baby, and also gave her a full "tour" of the placenta, telling her it was training because they think she'll be a midwife when she grows up.

Oh, I can dream, can't I?

Anyway, a baby!

Brynn Elizabeth, welcome to our chaotic family! You will be treasured and loved! And I will knit you more 70s-style ski touques with pompoms to join the one Uncle Jay wore in 1974! Believe me, Auntie Bonnie can do better than acrylic, my little sweetie!

(photo above of Brynn with her big sister Maya)

Wet Walk in the Neighbourhood

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.