Let’s build a fort!

During our September long-weekend camping trip to McDonald Creek near Nakusp, BC the boys (young and old) decided to build a drift wood fort on the beach.

Andrew was in his glory.

Lincoln had a pretty fun time too.

See how happy he looks?

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A camping we will go…again

If you know me then you know I am a planner. It is kind of rare for me to go with the flow and let things happens without having at least a week to plan ahead. So when Andrew asked me Thursday night if I wanted to go camping Friday after work my first instinct was to say no because there wasn’t any time to plan.

I’m so happy I went against my instinct.

We had a great time at Thone Lake in the Christian Valley just an hour from our house.

It was already getting dark by the time we arrived at the campsite so exploring had to wait until morning.

The first order of business? Throw the spiderman ball into the lake and watch it float away.

A nice man in a boat brought it back to us the first time but Lincoln threw it in again and it hasn’t been seen since.

Lincoln didn’t seem to mind and was content following his Dad on the path to the fishing rock.

We didn’t have real fishing rods so Andrew made a couple for him and Lincoln to “fish” with. It was a great way to keep Lincoln occupied by the campsite.

Even though the homemade fishing rods didn’t work, we still enjoyed a couple of fresh rainbow trout that night thanks to a husband and wife team out fishing on the lake.

We also enjoyed corn-on-the-cob for dinner.

Lincoln really likes corn.

 

Glenn enjoyed the fish heads, which Andrew lovingly fried for him. No, I did not take a picture of two frying fish heads, but we did take some pictures of Glenn.

And to answer the question on everyone’s mind, yes, the mullet is gone.

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A typical Saturday morning…

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On the Prowl(er) – part 2

Alright, so when we left off Andrew had just left for an overnight canoe trip. Lincoln and I stayed at the campsite for another night and enjoyed the peace and quiet of not being at home.

Lincoln had a snooze on our walk.

Then we went to the park and climbed things.

And slid down things.

And had a lot of fun!

Then our friends arrived, just in time for supper.

Rutka, Cohen and Oliver joined us at the campground for the night. It was fun camping with the three boys.

There was bike riding.

And fire wood gathering.

Then we all headed to the river. Lincoln loves throwing rocks into the river. It’s probably one of his most favourite activities.

Oliver and Cohen were a bit more adventurous.

More rock throwing.

And of course some stick throwing for his brother.

Lincoln and I had a great time camping. We even got a few pictures together, which is rare because I am always the one with the camera (thanks Rutka!)

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On the Prowl(er) – Part 1

We finally had a chance to use our new-to-us trailer on the weekend and the Prowler is fantastic!

Just ask Lincoln.

We arrived Friday night at the Kettle River Provincial campground and settled into the site that friends of ours secured with a couple of lawn chairs the night before. The sites are first-come first-serve and fill up quickly so it’s important to be proactive. Lincoln and Dad got to work starting a fire so we could cook supper.

As supper cooked, Lincoln did some exploring.

I wonder what’s in here.

Bubbles!

Lincoln quickly discovered that there were more kids camping in the site across from us. He made is way over the first night to say hi, and then all three of them were back and forth the entire weekend.

It’s quite very possible that the dogs were more of an attraction than the other kids. Either way, Lincoln spent a lot of time over there.

Speaking of dogs, this guy joined us on the camping trip too. You didn’t think we would leave him at home, did you? 🙂

And speaking of Irish Setters, look who we met…

This is Riley, an 11-year-old female Irish Setter (show stock). We couldn’t believe it when we saw her on our way over to visit friends. It is very, very rare to see another Irish Setter (that isn’t related to Glenn that is 🙂 ) yet you always hear how people used to have them growing up. Of course we stopped and chatted. They were equally as surprised to see another Setter. Throughout the weekend, whenever we walked by, their kids would come running over to say hi to Glenn – he enjoyed the extra love and attention.

The next day Andrew left for a friend’s overnight stag leaving Lincoln, Glenn and Mom on their own. Don’t worry, we had plenty of company…

Stay tuned for Part 2.

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Cherry season

Lincoln had his first cherries of the season on the weekend and loved them.

He loved them so much that he even ate a few pits.

We made sure not to give him too many, and thankfully the pistachios distracted him from eating all the cherries.

But then he decided enough was enough and he started giving Mom the ol’ chicken eye for taking pictures while he was trying to enjoy his cherries in peace.

Don’t worry Doozer, there are plenty more cherries in your future – cherry season is finally here!

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New Best Friends

Meet Sasha.

She belongs to the Ferriers but we had the pleasure of dog sitting here while they were on vacation last week.

Her and Lincoln became fast friends.

She has been around kids since she was a puppy and is very tolerant of the shenanigans of a toddler.

Glenn, who Lincoln now refers to as ‘Guy’, would never let Lincoln do this:

Lincoln kept saying “yee haw!” while he sat on Sasha – very cute 🙂

Fortunately, Sasha’s mom and I are pretty darn close so Lincoln gets to see Sasha even though she is back with her family, which is a good thing because Lincoln has been asking for her (by name I might add) ever since we dropped her off.

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Happy Birthday, Canada!

This was officially Lincoln’s first time celebrating Canada Day! Dad had to work so Mom and Lincoln headed to Rock Creek to check out the parade and visit with his little friends Dilly and Hewitt from Kelowna.

Mom packed the stroller so Lincoln could ride in style – when he wasn’t running around of course.

While we were waiting for the parade to start, Lincoln met a new dog. I have never met a little boy who loves dogs as much as Lincoln.

Then Lincoln decided to chase Dilly across the lawn.

“Hey! Wait up!”

He clearly got tired of that game and decided to let her do all the work while he stood around and sucked his thumb.

Lincoln was very interested in baby Hewitt’s tent, and both Oliver and Lincoln were very interested in trying to console baby Hewitt.

Hugs!

The parade was very short. There were a bunch of kids on bikes, one float, some ladies carrying a quilting table, a couple of people on horseback, and one horse-drawn wagon – exactly what I expected. After it was over, we all headed to the free BBQ for balloons, hot dogs and birthday cake.

Happy Birthday Day, Canada! You’re number one in our books!

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Lincoln is TWO!

This weekend was filled with birthday celebrations for our little Doozer who turns two tomorrow – yikes!

It all started on Saturday with a special Lincoln and Mom only trip to Grand Forks. We had to pick up party supplies and groceries but I made sure we had some fun along the way.

First stop, lunch at the Sun Beam Cafe. We shared fresh hummus, veggies & pita, some tasty spring rolls with a delicious peanut sauce and then, for dessert, an apple cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting.

Afterwards, we headed to the park to burn off some energy. Lincoln made friends with two little girls who were also at the park with their grandparents.

There were bridges to cross.

Rocks to sort.

And ladders to climb, repeatedly.

When we got home I decided to start decorating Lincoln’s birthday cake. Lincoln decided to eat the sprinkles.

Like Aunt, like nephew – right Auntie Christa? 🙂

This morning (Sunday) we started the day with special homemade coconut pancakes with blueberry-banana sauce, fresh blueberries, banana slices and real maple syrup. A special birthday breakfast for a special little boy.

After a quick clean-up, Lincoln and our friend Doug played with the balloons in the pool while Mom prepped the party food.

Balloons!

Then this happened.

Andrew and Doug decided that two big trucks were better than one when it came to removing a tree stump in our yard. I gave them until the first guests arrived for the party to “play”. For the record, the tree stump is still firmly in the ground.

On to the P-A-R-T-Y!

My very good friend and fabulous photographer Nicole lovingly agreed to be the official photographer of the day. She is just starting up her own photography business, True Blue Photography, and captured the day perfectly – thanks Nic!

We kept the party low-key this year and only invited Lincoln’s little friends. It was the perfect day for a pool party.

The birthday boy!

Hanging out by the pool.

Opening presents.

Airplane!

Tractor!

Time for cake.

Who needs a fork, or hands for that matter.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, butter cream off of Buzz’s foot.

Family shot.

Lincoln and Dad were all tuckered out after a day in the sun.

So was Glenn 🙂

Thank you to everyone who made Lincoln’s 2nd Birthday a special one! He finished the day off with a Skype session with Nanny and Poppy Hicks so he could open his present from them (interactive Buzz and Woody!). Even though we are so far away at least we have the internet to stay connected – love you lots! note: Eek! I mistkingly wrote the wrong grandparents names the first time this was posted! My sincerest apologies to Nanny & Poppy Hicks! We love you guys!

And remember the tree we planted last year in honour of Lincoln’s 1st Birthday? Here is what it looks like now.

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Rock Creek Fall Fair

Life has been busy around here. I started a new PR course last week, which takes up much of my free time in the evenings, and we were gone Monday (council meeting), Tuesday (Andrew’s birthday dinner), and Wednesday (me for ladies hockey) night. Needless to say, I am back and ready to update on the Rock Creek Fall Fair.

We have only been to the fair one time before and that was when we first moved to Midway. It wasn’t of much interest to us but now that Lincoln is here it is something we will be attending annually.

Rain was in the air when we arrived but it held off until later so we managed to stay dry.

First stop were the barns. Lincoln was frightened by the sheep when it baa’d in his face, but after that all of his animal interactions were without incident.

Lincoln has met horses before and this one was just as nice as the others.

There were a lot of cows at the fair. This one belongs to friends of ours who we get beef from.

Lincoln got to see his first live pig – oink, oink.

Here piggy, piggy…

Lincoln is too little to go on any of rides, which is quite alright with me! Even the little roller coaster made my tummy turn. There are also a lot of animal related activities to watch including mutton busting, show horses and others. We didn’t check out any of the events this time around but Lincoln might be ready to participate in a few next year.

After lunch we headed to the kid’s play area to take some souvenir pictures. Everyone got in on the fun!

Sunflower kids

Cohen, Noah, Lincoln and Oli

Sunflower adults

Owen, Andrew, Jenny and Rutka

Sunflower Simmonds – I’ll have to Photoshop Glenn into the picture one day!

Dad, Lincoln and Mom

Lincoln LOVED peeking his face through the openings!

Lincoln had a lot of fun and fell asleep as soon as we got back to the car. Next year will be even better!

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