Merry Christmas!

It's the week after Christmas and our company left this morning, except for Wayne's mom who will be here another week. Wayne's cousin Steve, his wife Yukiko and their son William drove here from Calgary - much fun was had to say the least! Lots of laughs, tons to eat and drink, not to mention we were always on the go over the weekend site seeing and having lunch along the way. Boxing Day brought us to the beach in White Rock where we strolled along the shore and walked the pier. We had lunch sea-side at Charlie Don't Surf with my favorite view of the palm tree just out front. It was a lovely sunny day... no snow which is a complete turn-around from last winter. Sunday we headed downtown Vancouver for Chinese Dim Sum and then shopping in China Town. I bought a couple of more soup bowls to match my Rice Pattern set, along with some great matching soup spoons. Was a chillier day than the previous, but nonetheless it was a great day all around and more memories for us to look back on.
Sammy and YaYa also had a lot of work to do in the kitchen with all of that baking!!
This morning Sammy did not want to see William go, she shed a few tears but knows we'll see them again soon. We all hated to see them go, although I'm not sure if I can speak for Max who was most likely more than willing to escort their dog Coco to the car. he he

First Day of Preschool

Sam's first day of preschool and she's so proud!

and of course a photo op wouldn't be complete without the typical crazy face pose....

Pumpkin Patch

Sam's first preschool field trip of the year...to the pumpkin patch. Her favorite part she says was the corn maze. She lead the way while I tried catching up looking through the lens.





She was a bit overwhelmed picking out the perfect pumpkin, however we did finally come up with one she agreed would come home with us.

Plans for Fall

It's the beginning of September and now look at Sam's banana tree! Here it is in April when we planted it.....

NOW.....

WOW the summer flew by so fast and now kids are back to school.... talk about trying to enjoy it while it lasts! I hate to say it but there's only 3 more weeks left of summer. Sam starts preschool in a couple of weeks - it's been delayed due to maintenance in the building so that means we can still enjoy a bit more time out and about. This is Labor Day long weekend and today we planned to take Sam to Dinotown, formerly known as Flintstone Park. We got nothing but sun everyday all summer and it now has to rain for the next 5 days! Since the park is obviously an outdoor activity we're postponing it and heading to her favorite place in her little world, Jungle Jacs.

When we got back from Vernon I took Sam to the library for the first time where she was so proud to get her own card! I'm working on her book collection and getting her interested in different kinds of reading material. I would love to see her start reading besides some 3 letter words. Next year in kindergarten, her school a block away has them reading by Christmas time so that gives me some inspiration.
Speaking of which,...we're excited to learn that the BC government has decided to start funding all-day kindergarten starting in 2010! This means I can actually go back to work a year earlier than expected! It sure has been hard for Wayne to take it all on himself since we moved here 2 years ago. I can finally join the work force again and not only for my sanity, but to help ease the financial strain we've had for so long. This gives me a good year to figure it all out, as I have so many options. Although I would love to return to the vet hospital, the pay is very minimal. I'll most likely just jump right into makeup full on and look into some good high end spas. At the same time I'll make up new business cards and rebuild my freelancing in the film biz. Here in our Vancouver burbs I run into a few movie sets on my daily errands and wish I was armed with cards!! I've done some searching in my area and found a film liaison I will contact soon.

In the meantime I've started some yoga at home again as I used to be into it a lot since before Sam was born. Now she likes to join me and we both get some stretching in. Once preschool starts she'll be back into her swim lessons too. Since her preschool is right in the same building, I could drop her off and take a swim for a couple of hours myself.

Here are a couple of things to look forward to: Wayne's mom is coming for Christmas, as well as Wayne's cousin from Calgary! This will be another awesome Christmas...I love Christmas so much. Already picking up little things here and there for my stash. ha ha Must start making and freezing pumpkin pies. There's some fall activity I can get into!
Another major event is my 20th high school reunion in a couple of weeks! I'm pretty excited and of course nervous, nevertheless it will be so fun to see everyone. Facebook has been quite a bit of an ice-breaker for most of us, so it will be a bit easier to make the grand entrance! I already have my outfit picked. Can't go without a good wardrobe plan!

August Long Weekend

We went to Vernon for August long weekend to visit Mom and Rick and the family. It was HOT HOT HOT and the smoke from the forest fires kept the heat locked in for days. Swimming was in order, so Sam had a lot of practice with the help from her life jacket and cousin Cole. I'm glad she got so much swim time in, I've noticed a big difference in her confidence and skills....she's going to pass her next level with flying colors!
Then there was the much anticipated trip to Davidson Orchards! The pics speak for themselves.




Ready for a very bumpy tractor ride through the orchards.


After the ride, the kids got to sit on the ol' 1957 John Deere .


Of course we can't leave without seeing the barn animals!


Cole and Sam pull some food up to the goat's bridge.

July Heat is ON!

I can't believe it's mid summer already, which means a lot has been going on in my rock garden landscapes. I've been switching things around, adding new ones, taking divisions from neighbours and enjoying watching the newly established palms get bigger! My latest addition is a re blooming lilac dwarf shrub...'Miss Kim' is her name. Known to have the most fragrant flowers of all lilacs, she blooms mauve in spring and deep burgundy in the fall. It's a great border to finish off the path to the side of the house.
I also separated one of 6 pups from Sam's banana plant, transferring it to the front yard rock bed. It's 2 ft. tall and even has it's own pup. I was pretty nervous about doing it at first but with the help from my Bananas.org forum members, I was able to successfully make the slice through it without harm to the mother (not to mention myself! YIKES!!!) The root on the mother is enormous!!

Everyone is out everyday watering lawns and gardens since we've landed record breaking dry conditions for Vancouver this season. We haven't seen any rain since the first week of May and the temperatures are only going to soar higher into the 30's this week.
*UPDATE* We had a wicked storm last night for a few hours, bringing a ton of rain with it!

Click on the images to enlarge for a closer look if you wish.

Welcome MISS KIM


Front yard bed


Red Hot Poker

Sam's Banana Pup, a new Red Flax and a division of grass from a neighbour.

Back Yard


Palm Tree and Sam's Banana. Another division from a neighbour, of yellow daisies.


Droopy banana leaves in the scortching sun and heat. Also planted 4ft. daylillies divided from neighbours, which are also try to establish in this heat!


Yucca (Adam's Needle) about to bloom and New Zealand Red Flax I relocated beside it for better contrast.


Sammy having a lunch in the shade


I saved the Rhododendron and Lily of the Valley shrub from the full sun and planted in mostly shade. They used to be yellow and dying...now nice and green!

Trip to Camrose

We wrapped up the end of June with a long overdue trip to my hometown Camrose, Alberta. It's been 2 years since I saw my dad and grandmothers and Sam's first time to really understand who all of these people are, however it's not her first time in Camrose.
Grandpa and Grandma Hagen worked hard in preparing for our arrival. They put together a toy box for Sam full of puzzles and toys that kept her quite happy for periods of time. She was also taken by a huge stuffed turtle that grandpa bought for her and instisted she slept with it almost every night. I usually ended up using it as a pillow. Too bad it was too big to bring on the plane back home! Grandpa also grabbed up a stack of Disney books from a garage sale, which made for perfect bedtime stories. Grandma got a huge brown paper roll and markers for Sam to roll out across the deck....Sam was in her element in endless amounts of artwork. One of Sam's favorite things to do was run through the big field to the park down by the water. She could play there for hours. Bubbles also kept her busy in the backyard and watching for any of the three cats to come home from their outdoor excursions. Speaking of backyard, dad has built the cutest little guest house. He's always been extremely skilled with renos and building since we were kids. Here's just another example of his beautiful work!



Great Grandma Hagen has been waiting for a long time for us as well. She will be turning 90 yrs. young next year so we will definitely be heading out for a nice party with everyone! We also got to visit her other great grandma Foss, who was so excited and surprised to see us! I teared up when she said a teary goodbye to us. I only wish we had longer to visit. We also fit in a good visit with Sam's big (half) brother Cody, who is now 18 1/2 yrs. old, along with his mom, and my beautiful friend, Geri. Of course a Camrose visit wouldn't be complete without seeing my best childhood friend Louise and her daughter. Sam also got a playdate in with her second cousins Rilan and Dixan, the sons of my dear departed cousin Craig. They've really grown up, it touched my heart to see such a resemblance of Craig in both boys. He definitely lives on in them.





Here's a four-generation picture great grandma Hagen wanted of us.....