SUMMER HOLIDAYS

This summer we had the opportunity to take a mini vacation to Adams Lake thanks to Stu and Sarah. Real was able to take a week off so we drove to Kamloops, shopped for toys and food and headed to find the cabin. We had to take a small ferry operated through a pulley system; it was quite the experience the first time on it. We drove onto a ramp and the ferry gets pulled across the lake. We finally found our way along some twisting and turning roads and we expected a qaint little cabin, but what we found was a huge house filled with all the amenities. The cabin has its own little creek and little wooden bridge running right through the property. It was peaceful and beautiful. They had their own dock, boat, quad, dirt bike, everything you need and more. I lost track of how many rooms there were. Even with all that space, our boys still managed to sleep on the floor on an air mattress in our room. We stayed for five nights and enjoyed every minute. The one day it rained (just for a couple of hours), we went to Kamloops for shopping and Starbucks. The boys had a great time soaking up the sun, swimming, quading, boating, and just lazing around. My favourite part of the day was first thing in the morning with a cup coffee on the deck reading my yoga books peacefully listening to the creek. Why don't we have more of these moments? Real would take an afternoon nap on the deck or the dock. The neighbors were very friendly and waved at us every morning from their dock, just like pleasantville. We went boating and tubing. Kolby went on his own for the first time and loved it. Real went tubing too while I drove and almost lost his shorts because I was driving too fast. Apparently, when he signed to slow down, Kolby thought it meant speed up. Who ever had binoculars at that moment saw a full moon. Kolby and I thought it was pretty funny. It was Kade's birthday while we were there and we went go-carting and mini golfing. It sure is nice having Kade old enough to do more fun activities now. He is getting more brave to try new things. He wanted to go faster on the quad and faster on the go carts. Kolby was right in his element in the outdoors. But I think Jaada had the most fun of all. She got to be with her family all day long and play and sleep and eat. She slept right outside our door every night. She did really good in the water, huge improvement; she joined us on her own by swimming way out to us on our floaties. We were very sad to leave because we knew that we probably would never see the cabin again. They are thinking of selling it and we could never be able to buy or even rent a place like that with all those amenities. So we cherished the time we had there. We felt re-energized by the sun and water. When it was time to go We drove to PG, stayed at the Treasure Cove for the pool and good breakfasts. We shopped the next day and headed home. Even though we loved our mini family vacation, it sure is nice driving home with all the beautiful greenery and the rich lush mountains with the strong waterfalls. We sure are lucky to live in such an active environment Sometimes we complain about the weather, but I love home. For the rest of the summer we will enjoy our backyard and maybe go camping for a few days. Kolby had hockey camp this week and spent time with his friends. Kade will get together with his friends and maybe indulge in his first sleep over. It is still summer and I am going to enjoy every minute of it before school starts. Here are a few more pictures in random order.

I NEED TO POST MORE OFTEN

Well, a lot to talk about. It's been almost three months since my last post. All three of you who view my blog may have lost interest by now. But I promise I will post more often.

Our kitchen reno has taken Way longer than we had ever planned. But I finally have a sink and stove. I am getting the rest of my counter tomorrow. My list of what Not To Do in a Kitchen reno is increasing. It is so worth the wait, I am loving every step of the way and I can't believe we lived with that ugly kitchen for eight years. I will post some pics of the finished project soon.

School is out and I am thoroughly enjoying my summer holidays. I always feel very tired the first two weeks of summer. Now I am getting my groove on, preparing our years fish, cleaning and organizing, working out again, and now I am getting ready for our holiday in the sun. We are heading to a cabin on a lake where the heat is. It is just for a week, but we will take anything. Real needs a break from the water. He has been going steady on our charter business since May. I can' wait to get away from the tv and ringing phones.

We have been fishing a couple of times this year and picked up some spring salmon. We have taken a few trips to Pike Island for picnics. We went on a Family Camping Trip to Water Lily Bay ( a beautiful lake not far from home). I have been going on dates with my girls to the movies, dinner and drinks. We have been busy, but we take time to relax as a family too.

Here are some recent pics and not so recent pics in random order:

Kitchen Renovations

Yes, we are renovating our kitchen. I know it will look awesome and it will put value into our house, but it SUCKS!! It is a messy, dusty, dirty, unorganized, crowded, confined, long, so very long process. I shouldn't complain, its been what I always wanted and Real is being patient and working hard. Carpentry is not part of Real's fortay, but he is learning, we both are learning a lot, mostly of what not to do. So if anyone wants to renovate their kitchen, call us and we will tell you what Not to do.

For example, do not:
*call the permit guy
*get your Ikea kitchen shipped (its cheaper for everyone to drive down and bring it up yourself)
*start renovating without a back-up cooking station
*live at home during the reno
*pack up your whole kitchen (get rid of stuff when you can)
*get a new puppy just before you renovate because you might have to pay a $900 vet bill if she breaks her leg
*do your income taxes during the reno
*move everything into your living room
*leave your furniture uncovered, actually anything uncovered

Here are some pictures of the beginning of our reno and some before shots.

"Parents VS Kids"

Kolby was so excited to play against his dad. He said, "we are going to own them!!" I think Real was more excited than Kolby. The game went well, very cute to see the kids try even harder to skate passed their parents. Kolby scored two goals and Real scored three goals. He kept asking 'did you see that, did you see my goals?' That was Real asking, not Kolby. The game was tied and ended with a shoot out with all players and both Kolby and Real scored one each. The kids won it in the end and everyone celebrated with pizza. Fun Day of Hockey.