progress

The weather hasn't been that sing song summery this week - but Cody and I have managed to get a lot done around the house. Most of it is in preparation for the much anticipated backyard retreat. I'm sure most of you know that we are putting a pool in this summer/fall and in the past days we have said good bye to half our trees and hello to a new spot for the kids jungle gym and as of this morning a hot tub.  Tomorrow we expect the electrician to actually hook up the tub and maybe we can fill it and enjoy it by the end of the weekend. Given the current weather, a hot tub is more useful than a pool.

Take a peak at the changes...

Timber. Over and over again.

Guess who declared they wanted to become a lumber jack after watching this guy climb tree after tree with a chain saw? Yup, Elliott. He wants to be a lumber jack but he wants to look different than our crew did. Ouch!

Our new clear cut.  The kids are enjoying it as a new place to explore.

Cody's big project for the week. Building an enclosed space for the gym. Next up - me repainting the thing.

 

The payoff: our Nordic Tub. Mmmm, it reminds me of a beautiful wine barrel. 

Stay tuned to further progress reports. The pool itself is in the permit phase but rumour has it it's slated to start in a week and a half. From the look of our yard they have a pile of work to do. Yeah!

Cheerio y'all.
AJ

yeehaw

Ten days came and went so quickly. Visiting Calgary in summer with Cody is so very different from a Feb/Mar visit with just me and the kids. It was hot. It was busy. But it was fun and pretty easy going.  Well except for that family photo session. What the heck!#?* Kate literally aged me a full two years that morning. 

Ten minutes after arrival and we all were sporting staches and playing some game that we had no business to be. The rule book was missing so we made it up. I'm pretty sure I won.

 

Up bright and early the next day (which wasn't too bad as we were still on Moncton time) for a little Stampede Road Race. A 5 and a 10km - you guess who ran which.

And the nerves have set in.

 

Shhh... Don't tell our kids but there was a kids race too - with medals. My lovely friend Becky and her three beauties partook. Amazing. 

While we prepped for my Mom's surprise 60th birthday party, my Mom and Dad took the grandkids to Heritage Park for some good old fashioned fun. And fun they had.

 

Kate and Elliott's first time on a ferris wheel and they did it solo. To hear them tell it they were very pleased with their bravery. 

The stage was set all we needed were some guests and the birthday girl. Much to our amazement - it was an actual surprise to her.

 Happy birthday to you Mama - we love you and red velvet cake very much.

Where the heck did all these big kids come from?

  

My fam jam.  

Monday morning we were off - North to Leslieville to Cody's cousin Autumn's house where fast friends were made between little cousins Anna and Emme.

The kids caught butterflies, frogs and bulrushes.

Love this shot of our happy little explorer.

Walking East Village with my Mom and Stella the dog. So pleased with our progress we rewarded ourselves with delicious bread pudding. Can anyone say Paleo?

A delicious Jorgensen Bedard sandwich.

More friends - Amanda and Erik's stunner son Carter with my stunner CJ.

Stampede! Best friends readying themselves for an adventure.

I love this shot and Kate's Nascar thumbs up.

 

First time on a turning tube - check out Kate going horizontal. 

That is one pleased Cowgirl.

And this is one pleased Cowboy. An $11, three pound ice cream. Paleo anyone?

Hiking Heart Mountain with my love; revisiting one of our first dates. The shot on the right was taken after hiking 40 minutes straight up, we still had to get to that peak.

All smiles - we did it. Ten years older and ten years wiser. No fights, no falls and very little water.

Saturday night is when we did our real Stampeding: 5pm to 5am.

 

This might be hard to make out but that's Elliott in the lead walking Parker, Aidan walking Muffin (aka Kate), Rhonda walking Pedro and my Mom walking Stella. We're not much on cats.

My chipmunks at Aidan's new neighbourhood park - one of the final activities of our stay.

 

And that's it. A great summer vacation jam packed with memory making. As always a huge shout out to my family and friends who clear their home and their schedules in order to make room and time for us. We thank you, we thank you, we thank you. 

All our summer lovin'  - CAKE