Endless Summer

         We are wrapping up our first week of vacation in the Okanagan- so far it's exactly what a vacation should be- lots of play time- loads of beach time! This week has been the kind of week I grew up having- when a kid headed outside at 7:30 in the morning and didn't come back in until after dark- roaming the yard and swimming in the cool waters of Okanagan Lake. Our city kids have already declared they don't want to go home! They are eating cherries from the trees and carrots from the garden- running barefoot and feral as children should in the summer.

        We celebrated Canada Day in great style with a day at the beach- surrounded by folks we have known forever- ladies who have known me since I was Miss Lo's age- kids I grew up with- now our own children are the ones hopping in and out of the lake- needing endless snacks and drinks while the Mums and Dads relax in lawn chairs- feet dangling in the water. The highlight of the day was an hour long parade- the Littles collected more candy than at Halloween! As evening fell we all retired "up the hill" to my parents house- kids ran wild- a small fire erupted on the BBQ- memories were made.

        The week has flown by so fast- it's difficult to reconcile all we have witnessed- including our sweet niece's wedding in her parent's back yard- such love and happiness. We have said "see yah later" to Peachland and are in the North of the Valley at Omi's house in Vernon- more swimming and lots of World Cup action! I think what makes this trip so different is the pace we are setting ourselves- no hurry to see everyone and do everything all at once. We still have a week left to go- more adventures- new beaches and of course more Farmer's Markets!

    Dear Friends it is Friday- the week- it turns out- goes just as fast when a person is vacationing than when they are at home facing the daily grind! With only nine more days to go we are going to keep it slow and savour as much of our time here as possible- this weekend I'm sure will hold more visits with friends- babies- puppies- all that good stuff! Happy Friday Friends!

Confessions of A Recent Disney Convert

      I will admit that when my husband came to me with the idea of taking our kids to Disneyland for Christmas it was with the utmost reluctance that I agreed to go along on the trip- my idea of a vacation does not include being surrounded by throngs of children with little to no booze available. This is what I imagined Disneyland to be like- the PNE but bigger, dirtier and more expensive. To say I had a bad attitude would be an understatement- but because couples make compromises I went along with his plan and even tried to get excited about it. I was excited to be spending time in California but I would rather spend our precious time at the beach rather than paying some multi billion dollar corporation to have mindless fun- cause I like to ruin things like that.

      I will be the first to admit that I was wrong- it literally took me two seconds inside the gates at the Magic Kingdom to convert to the Disney- side. I started smiling and didn't stop for the next three days-ps. reality doesn't exist at Disney. Walking in the shadow of the iconic Princess castle I couldn't help but think of my sister and how I wished she was walking beside me. I was reminded of how badly we wanted to go to Disneyland as kids- how we had a penny jar that we referred to as the Disney fund. In a rush of emotion I was 8 years old again playing along side my kids- yeah it was like one giant sappy commercial.

       Disneyland during the Holidays is extra magical- the decorations were amazing and the costumes were wonderful- even the castle was draped in lights and they made it snow after the fire works! The thing that I loved best was how happy every single person was- there was no room for "cool" since everyone was waking around in sneakers with big huge smiles on their faces. 

        This isn't a post about things to do and see in Disneyland- although I do highly recommend Cars Land- it was pretty darn cool- we went at least five times- it's most pretty at night- just like the movie. Also dinner at Flo's Diner is pretty darn good- possibly the best roast beef and mashed potatoes I have ever had! It's not about all the fun and cool stuff you can do like collecting all the buttons (for free) in Cars Land- going around and answering trivia questions- watching your shy child overcome their reluctance because they really want that next button.

          What this post is about is how I went to Disneyland with a slightly bad attitude and came out happier, lighter and more excited about life- I can't wait to go back! This was possibly the best Christmas gift our family could ever have received- three days of just the four of us- playing and having fun. There is so much to see and do that our kids just kept going- walking for the most part with out complaint- sure they got tiered and we would stop for an ice cream sandwich in the shape of Mickey Mouse- then they would get up and walk to the next adventure.

        I think the best part for me was on Christmas day- Miss Lo and I stood for almost an hour in the blazing California sun- waiting in line to see Tinkerbell- when we arrived at Pixie Hallow Miss Lo was totally on board and into meeting Tink- however after about 15 minutes interest had waned. Still we waited- I was determined even if she had forgotten- it was hot- she cried- I wanted to cry- she was bored- I was bored. Finally it was our turn to meet Tinkerbell and as we stepped into the cool shade of Tink's glen in Pixie Hallow Miss Lo got a gleam in her eye. She was still shy as she approached Tinkerbell but she went on her own- I stepped back and just watched- it was magical- it was a perfect moment for Miss Lo- her little world was complete right then.

           So in conclusion I will confess that I was wrong in my crabby opinion about Disneyland- sometimes it's Ok to let go and not worry about corporations and recycling- sometimes it's a good thing for my children to see me having fun. We had a super time and all of us can't wait to go back- next time definitely with my sister because I want to ride the tea cups with her! I think I benefited from having a little Pixie dust sprinkled over my life- I think in the right context Princesses are all right- I think it's safe for Lola to embrace her inner sparkly Princess with out becoming consumed by it. I also think there are many more rides for me still to go on and for sure next time we visit Disneyland I will go on Splash Mountain!

Home: Peachland

        I am home- sitting on my parent's deck- above is my morning view as I sit beside my Mom sipping my latte and listening to Miss Lo chat it up with her Grandma. We couldn't ask for a more glorious day- the sky is cloudless- just what the Okanagan is famous for! The sky, the lake and the hills variegated blues.

         We are taking things easy- just chilling out and heading to the beach yet again- we have been in the lake every day since we got here! The water is perfect- so warm and clean- it hasn't changed at all. I remember as a kid going to the beach and playing until dinner time- unaware of the passing of time- snacking on cherries and Pringles chips- not wanting to ever come out of the water. This scenario was replayed all weekend- Miss Lo said " Oh Momma I don't ever want to leave!"

        My brain is in vacation mode this morning- which is just what I need- to sit on the back deck and drink coffee with my Mom- nothing to do and no where to go- except the beach with cousins! Simple summer fun in the Okanagan.

Away We Go

       Friends we are getting ready to hit the road again this weekend- this is our main trip of the summer- a whole ten days away from home visiting our family in the Okanagan- and for the majority of that I will be parenting solo- good thing there will be wine! I am looking forward to enjoying this view ASAP on Saturday afternoon- we hit this teeny tiny little beach last summer during our niece's wedding and loved it so much we are going to go back. It has all the things that make lake swimming so perfect- it is quiet- well off the beaten path, has a bit of shade, ice cream near by and shallow warm water!

   The Littles and I were chatting about what to expect when swimming in a lake- they imagine lakes to be teaming with sharks, jelly fish and clams- I had to burst their bubble and explain that "No lakes are for the most part very safe with no sting rays or wolf eels". Who's kids are these anyways? Yeash!

    Anyways I am hoping to post next week with the final of my three projects from my artist talk at Opus last weekend as well as a few new projects that we are getting help from Poppa on! Also I am running my screen printing class next Tuesday in Peachland- if you are in the Okanagan and interested I have one spot left! Just leave a comment or Facebook me and I will get back to you ASAP!
 
     I will admit I am a tiered Momma- I am looking forward to a week of my own Mom talking care of me- yes Mom that is the real reason I am coming home! She and I have some big plans cooking for a week of yoga, many lattes and glasses of wine on the patio! Plus I know the Littles are stoked to spend time with Poppa and all their cousins, Aunties, Uncles and Friends! Not to mention all the time we plan to spend at the lake- oh heaven!

     So I am signing off on this beautiful Summer Friday- I hope you will all be relaxing with a glass of fine boxed wine while we battle traffic to get out of town! May you have sunshine on your shoulders and in your hearts Friends! Happy Friday!

Island Adventure

     Have you ever just wanted to jump in your car or onto a plane or a boat and disappear for awhile? To hide out and pretend your life is something that it is not? Some would refer to this as a vacation or getting away from it all- I refer to it as trying a town on. Similar to trying shoes on I like to go someplace and imagine myself living there- what would I do? Where would the kids go to school? How would my Mr. get to work? Just for a day I like to step out of my own life and into another- this is exactly what we did this past Sunday.

    Bowen Island is a wee little island just off the coast of North Vancouver- in fact from what I can gather it seems to be part of the District of North Vancouver- it is tiny in size only 12 Kilometers long with a fluctuating population of about 3500 in the off season. This place has been on my "Places to Visit" list for years now and for some reason we just never quite got around to going- until some friends mentioned that they went for the day a few weeks ago. The old light bulb clicked on for me and I said to the Mr. " next weekend we are going to Bowen Island"- the plan was made and before we knew it the weekend was here again.

   
      We parked our car and made the journey as walk on passengers- which was quite exciting in its self to The Littles! It is always a treat for them to take the ferry anywhere let alone being able to walk on and off the boat- over a bridge right out over the water- oh and the buttons and levers and gadgets- I seriously thought The Boy was going to levitate right off the ferry deck when he saw what was going on!

   With a few vague directions from our friends and a recommendation from another to check out the candy shop we hit the island and started out on our adventure. Our goal for the day, if we ever really had one, was to hit the trails in Crippen Regional Park- this was to be The Little's first real hike with no stroller or back pack or carrier ( although we did pack the Ergo just for emergencies but didn't tell them). Both the Mr. and I are super proud at how well these two did- given no option but to walk and with the added promise of that candy store these two kids of ours hiked solo the entire way.

We did a fairly easy trail and it took us a few hours of wandering and exploring, lots of sticks to pick up, feathers, gnarly fungus and even a Stellar Jay or two. We had our lunch at the base of Bridal Falls and talked about the fish ladders that ran beside the falls.

    By the time we climbed the rocks at the Memorial Garden we were all ready for a little break- a few minutes later and we were back in town looking for that candy store!  The Candy store turned out to be adorable and fully stocked with any sort of candy a kid or bigger variety of kid could possibly want! Just the size of a regular walk in closet it is apparently the world's smallest candy store!

    I have to say that if I was ever given the opportunity to get away from my regular city life I would check into this town for good! It is beautiful and everyone we encountered was so nice! Realistically we could make it work as the ferry runs every 25 minutes during commuter times- the Mr. could still work downtown and the kids could go to school. I'm building a fantasy life in my head even as I type this- but that often happens after trying a town on! Until the day comes  where our dreams match up with reality we know it is only a short hop across the water to an afternoon of quiet seaside bliss!
 

ps- I think one of the best parts of the day for me was encountering the Soylent Green food truck!