Berries and More Berries

Another trip to the upick and my freezer is officially full!

I attempted a pie and it was okay.  The filling wasn't quite thick enough and the crust didn't golden up!  I shall try again because I do like to perfect things.

Rock Heads

Keith was away this weekend visiting extended family in the Island with my brother.  A time to get away and destress from work.  We kept busy back at home and ate lots of junk food!  It was a break for all from the usual routines. One of the activities me and the kids tried was decorating garden rocks.  I have a spot in my yard that us a bit dreary so I thought some pretty painted rocks would liven it up.  We learned through trial and error how to best paint the rocks and that none of us are exactly artists!  But we had fun and will likely paint more soon.  I think that our artist in residence will really like to give this a go!

Dump

A few weeks ago we had the most intense dump of rain we've had in a while.  The skies opened up and it rained HARD for a good while.  It was good for the lawns and trees....

 ....but not so good for my boy who was riding home from work on his bike.  Absolutely soaked to the skin!

Raspberry Picking

This year I actually did what I wanted to do...U-Pick!  We are trying to be a bit more frugal this year and so instead of paying someone else to pick my berries I figured there wasn't any reason why I couldn't do it myself...and with a little help by the boys.  We chose to pick at Willowview Farm at the south end of McCallum Road.  We really like that place for pumpkins too.  The rows were beautifully maintained and there were very few people.  The bushes were loaded and we picked three pails in around 25 minutes or so.  It was very nostalgic as I picked berries for many summers as a child.  I absolutely hated it and made my mother miserable with all my moaning about it.  My kids enjoyed it but it was just a wee sampling of berry picking!

Awards Day Clean Up

Chad once again blew us away by collecting an armful of awards at school this year.  He almost (so close) got straight As again this term but missed by 1% in French with an 85%.  Bummer!  No cash prize for him but we did treat him to a sushi supper. 

Secretary's Day Out

Back the truck up.  I have a bit of catching up to do.

We were surprised (as we are every year....we don't catch on quick) by Heather and Jeff with a day out of the office back in June.  They drove us to a mysterious destination which ended up being the gondola just outside of Squamish.  My words couldn't do the scenery justice...so have a look!

 

 I was desperate for the loo on the way up.  We had been treated to Starbucks at the start of our journey and that iced coffee went right through me.  We stopped at Brittania Mines and I was so very frantic that I didn't noticed that I used the men's bathroom.  Hilarious actually!  We laughed for a long time about that because Kori just blindly followed me in there and used it too.

 The ride up to the peak was stunning to say the least.  I was a tad bit nervous as I don't like heights.

 But this fantastic view was worth it.  The air was warm and we just sat and soaked up the views.

 Wow.  I highly recommend.  There are hiking trails up there and a lovely restaurant with a huge patio.

 

 

 We were treated to a yummy lunch where we just sat and talked the afternoon away.  I love my job but that did beat working in the office for sure!

 On the way back down we saw these workers....ummm....never ever could I do that!

 The gondola stopped at one point which made me a tad queasy.  Good thing I travel with an airline barf bag!

 Not quite our wheels home but it's fun to dream!

 

Simply the best school office crew there is to be had!  I'm so very blessed.

Summer Cooking

BBQ chicken pizza....always a winner!

A Very Hot Canada Day!

So we had Nate and Liam watching the parade with us and Chad marching in the band.  Good thing the dress code was beach theme or those kids would have passed out in their uniforms!!!  It was nice not to have to rush the kids to their ACT float this year...change is good!  Hope you had a great day of celebrations.