Oh these summer days go by so quickly and so packed full of fun and adventure. I haven't written for awhile so this will be a lengthy update. Hope you enjoy!

:. A new thrifted story book from days past....Harry likes the illustrations

:. Speaking of books....imagine the boys delight when I found a box of books that had not been unpacked from our return. They spent much of last night and this morning pouring over their much loved friends.

:. I attempted my first solo sewing project. I bought a kit for a simple bag and well, it actually looks like a bag. Mum and Cath, you need to know that if it had not been for your wonderful tuition in Australia I would never have got through this project. There is one flaw, if I was going to be picky you know, the handles aren't on correctly BUT they are on and they work great :)

:. I had a day shopping with a friend and it felt great. I rarely spend money on myself and I still find it difficult. However, it was a successful trip with my major purchase being new riding boots. I also managed to get 2 pairs of riding jeans from a thrift store for $2!!! I am looking forward to 'breaking' them in.

:. I also found this wonderful sign that I was unable to walk past. It is in keeping with my theme of late and is a constant reminder to slow down, enjoy the moment and live simply. Some days the simple life feels so natural, so easy. Other days I feel like I am fighting myself. That is when this sign will come in handy. To help remind me it is one step at a time, one day at a time. Change is good and gradual!

:. Our new clothes line is a hit with the boys. I didn't realise that they have not been able to help hang the washing ever! In Australia the line was too high and they were to small. I have a small rack in the laundry downstairs but they have never showed an interest in it. Now every time I head out the back door with the laundry Harry is right by my side. He started slowly with socks (oh brother, he really does over think things!!!) and then informed me he was ready to 'graduate' to pants and things.

:. Board games and dress ups - need I say more!

:. More camping! This time down to the States to Sullivan Lake. We weren't able to camp right on the lake but ended up out at the Mill Pond. We had a lot of fun amidst the rain, hail and stormy weather. We were only able to go to the beach twice in the 4 days but we made our own fun at the campsite. Sam insisted on having his training wheels taken off and of course, later that afternoon he was riding a two wheeler!

Where do you find two mischievous little boys in the drizzling rain? Why the dog cage of course! (Just to clarify, they put themselves there!!!)

The simple things....

This past week has been about the simple things. I find myself getting so worked up in my working week to get all the things done - the cleaning, the cooking, the yard work etc. This week I decided to just let it go. It is summer after all and such a short season. Soon enough I will be sitting here wishing I could lay on the grass outside as I watch the snow falling. So I have taken each day and opportunity as it comes and it was fantastic.
:. We have been eating almost all our meals outside in our front yard. We have a wonderful, large deck out the back but unfortunately it is smoking hot in the afternoon. I put a little bench on the front porch and it is perfect.
:. Mmmmm...eating as many cherries as possible and marvelling at how master 3 year old manages to puree the cherries against his face and hands!!
:. I have a clothes line after 3 years!!!! It is truly wonderful to be able to hang the clothes outside again. We had been perplexed as to where to put the line in our yard and finally came up with a plan and thankfully it worked. I don't think I have ever seen this style of clothes line in Australia but they are very common here. There is also no bending and stretching as the line is straight off the deck at arm height!

:. With Sam's growing obsession with his roller blades (yes he still uses them everyday and everyday it is a fight to get them off him) we thought Harry might be ready to try again. Last year he just was not interested and I understand that he will not have the obsession that Sam does but Kevin found some skates for him and what do you know, he likes it. Sam being the skilled rider that he is was being kind when they were racing and gave Harry a head start. He still flew past him and yelled "look Harry I do speed limit!!!".....priceless.

:. A trip to Nelson for the day with a lovely friend of ours. Nelson is about an hour from here and a funky little town. For all you Aussies, it is like Byron Bay in the mountains. After lots of shopping, great conversation and an amazing lunch we headed back to Salmo for a swim in the river. We brought home many treasures including a large piece of driftwook that Sam insists is a surf board!

:. We have now entered water restrictions so no more play dates with the sprinkler. However when it was our allotted time to water on the weekend I noticed 2 new plants that I hadn't seen before enjoying the water.

:. I am totally in love with my lavender bushes. They are in full bloom and smelling amazing. I took a little bouquet with me to work on Saturday to remind me of home.

:. I bought a second hand sewing machine last week and I have been itching to try it out. I found some time yesterday and started making a bag which I hope to share with you soon. Once I worked out how to fill the bobbin, it has been going pretty smoothly. I am totally addicted and keep thinking about running downstairs to finish my project. I sure hope the enthusiasm lasts!!

:. Impromptu mountain bike ride late yesterday afternoon. Kevin's parents came with us (just to fill you in they are in their 60's and were game enough to come biking with us. I sure hope I am doing things like that when I am 60. Way to go guys!) After we had dinner at a local pub in Rossland. These are the days I am grateful to be alive. Fresh air, beautiful scenery, great food and a loving family to share it all with.

:. I spent a good chunk of yesterday morning weeding the garden and hanging out with the bees. There is something so magical about methodically pulling weeds to the hum of the bees with the distant sound of children happily playing in the background. Kevin was working away on his own project in the 'shop' too. Happy days.

More New Denver

Did I mention already that I love camping in New Denver?!?! I love being by the lake watching the kids play with the rocks or a log that washed up on the shore. Both mornings I was able to do yoga by the shore, this one is in the lovingly maintained garden just on the outskirts of town. It makes me feel calm just looking at it.

Kevin and the boys bathed in the lake each night, a little to cool for this Aussie blood. I enjoyed watching the sun setting over the mountains instead.

I even managed to finish off a special craft project for a friend. Sam loves them and I hope our little friend will like them just as much. Who could resist knitted finger puppets? I made them using 90% stash yarn left over from various projects both mine and a friends stash. They were pretty easy to knit up, here is the free pattern for those interested.

There was lots of craftiness going on in the campsite, my friend Krista made this great bag which has inspired me to make one too (but more on that later) and lots of good old fashioned card games being played. Sam was still loving his ball glove and the bug exploration was enjoyed by all. I think we need to find a bug net for our next trip.

A mountain biking adventure

After having, shall we say, a 'blah' emotional week, this weekend was a blessing. There is nothing better for my body and mind than a weekend away with my loving family and friends and the great outdoors. Our first night, after a lovely afternoon of setting up, swimming and a visit to the local craft markets, we had a night by the campfire laughing, playing guitar and singing. It was exactly what this Mumma needed. We were camped at one of my favourite places in the world, New Denver, B.C. I feel so at peace there and the natural beauty is breathtaking. I had only previously explored the town, the beautifully maintained gardens and the beach, so when Kevin suggested we go on our first family mountain bike ride, I was excited to see more of this amazing place. I wasn't even thinking about the actual ride! It was THRILLING though!!! I was so excited the whole time. I kept thinking "Oh my, look at that", "Wow, look at all the wildflowers", "Look at my 5 year old go up this mountain", "wow, look over there!!!!!!!". The place was full of history being an old railway bed and truly spectacular scenery. Harrison did so well. We took our time (which allowed me to take a billion pictures), walked when he felt unsure, but mainly we just cruised along. About half way up the trail we met up with a raging river where they have a pulley cable car crossing. Harry was getting pretty tired by this stage and Sam was sick of sitting in his seat so we crossed the river and had a look at what was once the rail bridge. The river crossing was pretty fun and scary at the same time. If we had continued on about another half an hour we would have reached the abandoned town of Sandon. Perhaps next year we will be able to venture the whole trail. For now I am just so excited that we were able to get as far as we did and have such a great time.

There will be more posts of our lovely weekend coming soon!!!!