Bridgeport WA camping photos

Bridgeport WA, Aug 2012, a set on Flickr.

Our first group camping with the kids. It was a lot of fun!

Shuswap Lake photos

Shuswap Lake, Aug 2012, a set on Flickr.

August recap

September is almost over but I still wanted to recap August because a lot of stuff happened.  What a busy, busy month! Be warned, this is a long post.

It started out with Sophia’s birthday cake celebration at daycare on Aug 3.  Ed and I brought the cake and a balloon to the daycare centre just in time for the kids’ afternoon snack. The staff had made a birthday crown for Sophia, which she proudly wore, and they got the kids to sit down and wait for their snack. They were given apples first, then the staff led the kids to sing “Happy Birthday” while the cake with a lit candle was brought to Sophia. Sophia blew out her candle (with some help from Julia), then the chocolate cake was served. It was yummy and everybody seemed to enjoy it.

  

The next day was Sophia’s birthday but we didn’t have any more celebration. We spent most of the day in the car, driving to Shuswap Lake. Our friends, Len and Shirley, have a beautiful house by the lake and they graciously invited us to spend a few days and enjoy the lake with them. We really enjoyed our little get-away. The weather was fantastic and the lake was warm enough to swim in. The group of friends we were with were wonderful company and Sophia had a great time playing with the other kids in the house, Selena, Stephanie, and Connor.

 

The following weekend, on the 11th, Ed, Sophia and I got to enjoy a Vancouver Whitecaps game. It was Sophia’s first time attending a sporting event and she seemed to enjoy the experience. She clapped when everyone else clapped and when the Whitecaps scored, she too jumped to her feet and cheered.

 

While we were at the Whitecaps game, my brother, Eric, and his family arrived from Virginia for a week-long visit. It is always such a treat to see them. I took time off work and the next few days, Sophia and I spent as much time as we could with them. On Monday, we went to the Cultus Lake Waterpark. On Tuesday, we visited Granville Island and Stanley Park. On Wednesday, we enjoyed the tour of Brittania Mine in Squamish, had a late lunch in Lonsdale, and went for a hike and a swim in Lynn Canyon. Sophia loved being with her cousins Andie, Ally, and Sabrina. She kept pronouncing Ally’s name as Owie. When Ally sustained a little injury in one of the pool rides in the water park, Sophia said, “Owie has owie”. So cute.

 

 

My brother and family were staying until Friday but Ed, Sophia, and I were leaving on Thursday for a camping trip to Bridgeport, WA. This was our first camping trip with a kid and were quite excited to go. It was quite the learning experience but overall, I think Ed and I did alright for our first time. Sophia has a great time! Her playmates Joshie, Aves, Maddy and Ethan were there, too, and she had a blast playing with them and going back and forth between our campsite and the VanDops’ campsite. She loved playing with Avery’s bike and following Joshie around (her crush!).

 

 

As if our calendar was not filled enough, the 25th was the big cleaning day for our townhouse. The kitchen and bathroom renovation was finally complete enough for us to move back in. As with any construction project, dust got into everything. So every room, shelf, and item on the shelf had to be vacuumed, mopped, wiped down, washed or dusted. We spent Saturday cleaning the essential areas as much as we could and Sunday moving some of our stuff back in. There were boxes everywhere! But we managed to get enough done to be able to start sleeping in our house again that night. We moved the rest of our stuff incrementally over the next couple of weeks. I have to say, I LOVE our new kitchen! The bathroom is pretty awesome, too. Yay! It still feels surreal.

 

 

So that was our August. Super packed with activities, adventure, and fun. Too much fun, maybe, because we all got sick a week later. Definitely, a little more downtime wouldn’t hurt right now. I’ll just sit in our new kitchen and enjoy my tea.