a afternoon trip to Sointula.....

Yesterday we headed over to Malcolm Island and the town of Sointula just for the fun of it !  Ms. Janel and her littles joined us in the big white van...it was nice looking in the rear view mirror and seeing all their little faces smiling back at me....I miss the days when all the seats were full !  We headed out to Bere Point to check out the campgrounds there for the future and then it was out to the Ash's ( they man the Coast Guards light house).  After visiting a bit & poking around the shore line we headed back to Sointula to check out the town.  We were hoping to check out the local museum however, it was closed.  Instead we went for a drive around.....Ana really wants us to paint "our house like all these pretty artsy ones".  We'll most certainly visit again, maybe on a Wednesday so we can visit the museum and take in the blacksmith demonstration.

sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun, sun

We've been enjoying every minute !  Sadly though I don't have many picture to share......Oh! here's one....

( spuds from our Homeschooler's potato patch)

 while the kids and Piper ran around the yard building forts & spraying each other with the hose....I managed to put the new BBQ together.......well maybe I have more pics than I thought....

I went on a mission to acquire BLUEBERRIES and was successful !  To date I have frozen about 16lbs, eaten 2lbs or so myself and because I'm a generous momma....I've shared another 4lbs or so with my little darlings.....

Anthony has developed a new love for fishing in addition to crabbing this summer....he's out on the boat this exact moment catching dinner I hope !  Papa you would be so proud ....he's got all kinds of ideas for you & him when we see you next !!! update...He caught 4 !!!

We've been enjoying our after dinner walks/plays at the park....a lovely new tradition.......

The kids have been swimming up a storm....having the outdoor pool so close is such a priviledge.

We tore apart my room finally....ripping out the old disgusting carpet, cleaning the walls and fixing some of the "mold" issues ( one of the not so pleasant aspect of living in an old house in such a wet climate).  My pals Matt & Janel and Keith showed up just in time to give me a hand, so much appreciated !  Matt actually was able to wrangle me up a new piece of carpet when we discovered that the lino in the closet did not continue out into the room  like the other bedrooms....Oh so thankful !

The weather report is predicting that summer is not quite over let......at least another week....here's hoping their right......let's see what should we do this week?

Your the best kind of " Crazy" !!!!

Down loaded some pics this morning..........

I sure LOVE this girlie of mine....she just cracks me up !!!!

Good Morning

I Love this boy so much!  I especially Love his sleepy face of late......

Well, I checked the weather forecast just a few minutes ago and guess what it said?  Sunny & warm with only minimal chance of rain for the next 7 days.  That's right you read that right...the next 7 DAYS STRAIGHT....meaning consistent....in a row....believe it or not !

Now to figure out what to do with this gift........

LOOK, LOOK, LOOK.....

....a warm, dare I say HOT day here in wee sweet wet Pt. McNeill !  The weather channel said sunny/rainy/cloudy/clear...the typical forecast for here.  Monday was a total surprise....one we weren't going to miss a single drop of.  We started our morning with getting dressed in " summer clothes", then it was a quick breakfast & out we went...bike riding, hanging the clothes out on the rack, gardening....a really enjoyable goodbye lunch with our dear sister missionaries....they're on their way home !  We had bbq...burger's.  Since the weather was holding we decided to head to beach....Stories Beach to be exact.....

 ( Seaweed for my garden....)

Then we made a quick stop at the store and head home.  Dinner was leftovers.  It was still nice so we met up with Ms. Janel & family for a visit/play at the park.  What a great day !  Today, it's grey and spitting....yesterday was such a pleasant blessing...Oh so thankful !!

Two wheeling !!!

This weekend was very enjoyable.  The sun was out warm & consistent.  Everyone was in great spirits for the most part.  While working out in my garden Liam announced he was taking off his training wheels, himself !  To be honest I didn't feel that he was ready....but he did... so off they went.  Ana gave him some pointers and off he went......

I took this little video off him Monday morning !  A reminder for me not to second guess my kids......

Inspiration.......

Over lunch today we got talking about Christmas....I know it's July !  I have tried to adopt a less is more approach to gifting over the last decade or so and now that everyone is growing up I think it's time that it becomes more of a whole family "thing".  They have always participated with parts based on their age, ability to keep a surprise and my patience level.

We pulled out some paper and started jotting down some of our collective ideas.  They had some really realistic ideas.  After delivering Ana's papers we headed down to the library to search out some inspiration....34 items later and a longer list on order....we're hoping to get ahead of everyone else.  I'm curious to see what other ideas they come up with......Homemade as much as possible is the plan......

a peek at the garden........

 Rainbow Chard...Oh ! so close to eating.....

 Green Beans

 One little tomato so far.....

 The Carrots are growing....

 the Patty Pans are trying to decide what they want to do......

 the Rutabaga, green onions & Scarlet Runner Beans are coming along nicely.....

 I'm laying things out for a new bed....maybe for potatoes next year.....

 when the bulbs fade away the corner garden is still full of color & life....

Well, that's the most of it.......we actually tamed to meadow aka lawn.....I don't know what I like better !

From my kitchen - some gluten/dairy free lovelies

 Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

 Chocolate chip cookies - from " Cooking for Isaiah"

 Crunchy Flax Cookies - from "the Best Gluten-free family cookbook"

 Meat filled pocket pies - pastry mix from "Celimex"

 Sunflower Flax Bread - from " the Complete Gluten-Free cookbook"

Mixed Berry Pie - crust from "Celimex" mix

How are you feeling ?

 maybe your feeling peaceful, content, happy....

 maybe your feeling silly.....

 or maybe your a touch annoyed or angry....

 Oh no !  Your sad....but why?

 no that's not it...your full of so much energy & confidence you think you can fly .......

no still not it......now your the ruler of your domain....big & strong like a T-Rex.....

How are you feeling today?