Finally Caught Up

Admittedly I have been pretty horrible keeping this up over the past few months, but life and motivation both get in my way a lot of the time. But I thought I would catch you up the best I can with a few snap shots of life in general. In between, developing our basement has been taking up some time and attention, but I don't want to post pics of it until it is looking a little more pretty! Suffice to say I can hardly believe it's October and fall has set in already. So much has changed and we are still getting used to life as we know it. Despite this, Rowan keeps growing and maturing and you almost have to see it to believe it...many say she is 2 going on 20. Anyways, she is doing really well and as always, it is simply my goal not to do her too much damage as we continue to figure things out! Hope all had a good summer....

Off To Guelph

In September we took a little trip out to Ontario (my first) to visit some family friends in Guelph. Rowan and I stayed with Doug and Helen, and were joined mid-trip by Chad, Michelle and Kayden. We kept things low key; just seeing some local sites and basically keeping to our routine in someone else's house! But we did manage to have some scenic lunches out, like here, at this lookout over the Gorge in Elora. We lunched on the little balcony in this picture. We also took in the local African Safari park for a half day, where Rowan was able to see lions, giraffes and monkeys and the like, played in local parks, took a trip to see Niagara, have lots of hot tub play, and spend a good amount of time sharing meals and stories with good friends. Thanks for hosting the gong show, Doug and Helen!

Checking out the falls at Niagara.

On the way back from the falls!!

Hangin in the hot tub...

Big Girl Bed

So this summer I took the plunge and transitioned Rowan into her big girl bed as she was beginning to crash around her crib a little too much. Granted in the first few weeks I was questioning my sanity on this move as she was getting out of bed numerous times before falling asleep and again several times throughout the night, but things have since settled and she is now pretty comfy with her newfound freedom and we are both getting more sleep. I will even admit there is the added perk that when she wakes up she no longer lies there and yells for me, she simply gets up and comes into my room for morning cuddles before we get on with the day.....I am liking that I do not have to get out of bed for this!

Shuswap 2010!

Lena, Makaila and Jackson graciously offered to include Rowan and I in the scheduled summer holiday, so in August Lena and I packed up the (rented) minivan and set out on the 8 hour trek to the far side of the Shuswap lakes. She had rented a little 2 bedroom cabin that we all found cozy and more than accommodating for our 1 week stay. The weather held up beautifully for us and we quickly fell into a routine of morning play, beachtime, picnics on the beaches, naps, more play and cocktails, dinner, cleaning of the day off the children, wine time (while kids went to bed), and sleep. Yep, we pretty much did that everyday....

Interspersed with all of that the kids got to explore a few local parks to play in, check out a couple of different beaches, visit the nature center to walk the trails and paint their own t-shirts, and play many a round of "what time is it mr. wolf?" It was a good holiday.....