The first week of school has finished and the second has begun. G. is absolutely loving Kindergarten! She sets her alarm before bed every night and when it goes off in the morning she jumps out of bed to turn it off. She is so very excited every morning. Her teacher is amazing and she has already made a few new friends. I am so proud of her!

For me, I am struggling with the thought of lunches. So far we have only done half days and all G. has needed is a snack. This week we start with the lunches though. I have been picking the brains of all my mom friends for ideas. I guess I am struggling because I always hated the lunches my mom packed me when I was a kid. I wasn't (and still am not) big on sandwiches. Here are some of my ideas:
- cheese and crackers with veggies
- leftovers ( I always loved leftovers as a kid)
- the dreaded sandwich!
- tortilla spread with cream cheese and jam, rolled up and sliced
- boiled egg and veggies
- soup in a thermos with bread or crackers
Any amazing lunch ideas out there? I am dying to hear them!
Hope you have a fantastic day! xo

Things around here...

have been a whirlwind of activity.
Someone turned five. We had a birthday party with her friends at the park in the afternoon.

I made her an awesome dinosaur cake which she promptly told me was not a dinosaur but a dragon. I still thought it was rad.



Don't tell anyone but I am pretty sure she did too.
When we asked G. what she wanted to do for her birthday her first response was that she wanted to have a bbq with her aunt and uncle. This is the uncle that scared the crap out of her for her first few years of life. We definitely had to honor that request and so we had a family bbq at our place. The Mister made his famous ribs ( Oh-my-goodness, these ribs are mind blowing!) and my brother brought some salmon that he had caught. It was an exhausting day. But oh-so-much fun!
We have also been going to the beach,

....wrangling bugs,
...canning peaches,
...and pickles,

Everything in this jar came out of our garden!

...picking veggies,
...and sewing lovely things.


Now we are going to soak up the last days of summer. And we are getting ready for the new routine of the first year of school. How did that get here so fast? G. is excited and a little apprehensive. I think that is to be expected. I'm just glad there is excitement in there too.
Wishing you all a lovely day! xo

Five

Tomorrow my daughter is turning five. I cannot believe how fast five years has flown by. It seems like just yesterday I was looking at her wrinkled little face for the first time. Smelling her hair and kissing her cheeks for the first time.

She is such a wonderful little person - hilarious and kind, generous and feisty. Her intelligence is staggering, her joy breathtaking. And she is getting so big. She is on the cusp of Big Kid-hood. I am a wee bit torn here - on one hand I am so proud of the person she is becoming. On the other, I miss the chubby thighs and the finger dimples.

They have been replaced by impossibly long legs and bony little elbows.

She is still my snuggle bug and I cherish every moment that my girl wants to be cuddled up in my lap.
Before your child is born it is hard to imagine how much you are going to love them. And then they are born and you can't imagine loving anyone more.

Happy Birthday, my sweet girl!
xo

My mom came for a visit today and with her she brought a photo album of really old family pictures. They were so wonderful! I don't have many pictures of my family but when I was little I remember pouring over these albums full of black and white photos. I had never seen the album she brought with her today. Here are few that I took photographs of:

My grandma and grandpa, great uncle and great aunts - just having some beers...

My Grandma and Grandpa on their wedding day

My Grandpa

I love this picture of my Grandma. My Mom is the one in the snowsuit.

My Mom. Cuteness.
This dress was made for my mom by her grandmother. It was passed down
to me and then to my daughter when she was born.

I practically swooned at the sight of all the gorgeous dresses and fantastic hair dos.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! xo

I am...

...so totally in love with this dress!

The website is amazing too.
xo

Tuesday Tune...

...a day late but Shambala happened.
This festival brings at least 10 000 people to our little corner of the world.
Town/work has been bonkers and getting anything done has been challenging. I have pretty much avoided downtown for the past week, with the exception of going to work. Here's hoping things begin to chill out a wee bit.
Today's tune is from the Reverend Horton Heat. He is playing at the Royal on the 1st of September. Gotta make it out to this one!



I love me some Sabbath...





The Mister used to play this song to our daughter while she was in my belly. It would make her wiggle and kick. When he played it for her once she was born, her little face lit up and she started to wiggle in time. How could I not include this song!



xo

Tuesday Tune

Tunng....