Ducky Adventure

We travelled to the North Island Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre again last week.

Having an annual membership has paid for itself many times over.

This time we had a wonderful experience hanging with a family of ducks.

They let us get right up close and some even let us touch them, although I dissuaded the kids form doing so.

What magnificent creatures ducks are.

E had the best view, flat on the ground, up close and personal.

She picked some salmon berries to give them.

Lucky girl.

Aboriginal Day

This afternoon we enjoyed a wonderful couple of hours over at the native long house where they were hosting a celebration for aboriginal day.

J is native, from the Stolo nation.

We have great pride in teaching our girls about their heritage.

But since his family is over on the mainland we seldom get to watch/partake in festivities and events.

Today was great for the girls.

They were able to watch dancing and listen to the drumming and the singing.

I sometimes wish we still lived in the Queen Charlottes.

It was so rich in native culture.

There are so many native stories and cultures that it is difficult to teach about them all.

The sense of pride and history told in throughout generations in the ancient ways of dancing and singing is thrilling to experience.

Crammed into a longhouse, filled with smoke from the fire and the singing and chanting is mesmerizing.

The girls came home and started to do their own dances and chants.

One other special thing about native cultures is the food!

The girls had their fill of bison stew, baked salmon and of course bannock.

Again, how lucky are we to live here?!

I don't think I will ever tier of this beautiful, bountiful land.

No Lock-Out Around Here

I have seen many parents do this with their children and I don't know why it took so long for me to jump on board.

The idea is simple.

A mail box for each kid to receive "mail" of their own.

I made them quite quickly with scrapbook paper on toilet paper rolls and tacked to the wall.

In this day and age of technology, e-mails, texts and even the telephone, the written word and tangible mail/letters are almost obsolete.

This has proven to be better than I had hoped for.

I thought I would send cute messages and love notes to remind my ladies how much they mean to me, and I have.

But better than that is the letters, notes, artwork and coupons that the girls make for each other.

It is a great resource for reading and writing, but even greater for the love and attention it has showered on each of the girls.

I love reading the little notes they create.

I strongly believe that every family should have this "mail" system.

Books on my Shelf Today

It's no secret that I am an avid reader.

I have a huge library of books that I have collected and read, that I keep with pride on an entire wall in our living room.

I just finished The Room and it was a great read.

Actually our book club will be meeting tomorrow to discuss our opinions on this book.

It should prove to be a great night.

I read the Hunger Games last week and I had to get Catching Fire, the next one in the trilogy, as it's kind of catchy.

John Valliant, who wrote The Golden Spruce, recently released The Tiger and I started that last night.

Great so far!!

But my most cherished book at the moment is Go The F@@K To Sleep.

For every parent this is a must.

It is a mock kids book meant for parents.

I bought it as one of those classics that I will treasure and pass onto my kids when they have their own little ones.

The best though, is listening to Samuel L. Jackson narrating it.

You have got to find it on youtube or download it free from Amazon here.

Weekend Project

When J only gets a day off a week it can be hard to get things done.

He has struggled recently with juggling what he needs to do with what he can do and of course what he wants to do.

Last weekend he actually had two days off for Fathers Day.

So he set his mind to getting at least one project done, a deck for the addition.

It was a simple plan with a handful of materials needed, a floating deck to unify the space between the addition and the laundry room.

He started mid day and finished by nightfall.

I love it.

It is so nice to not have a mud pit outside the backdoor.

It will really be great once we put siding on the addition and add a roof/pergola.

I put the BBQ on the left side just out of view on the picture.

It is going to be a great place to entertain this summer.

Away We Go A-Fossil Huntin'

There is something absolutely amazing about finding a fossil.

The fact that the rock in your hand was, millions of years ago, a living creature.

A few days ago we went with our homeschooling group to our local museum for a tour.

Then we headed to the local hotspot, the Puntledge River, where an Elasamasoarus was found.

With our palaeontologist tour guide we all had our turn to chip away at the rock beds to see what we could find.

The girls and I had so much fun.

As I am always intrigued with rocks, I have quite a collection actually.

I easily could have spent the entire day staring at the rocks and shale I was chipping away at.

This one has a full intact shell imbedded in it.

This is a fish jaw, so I was told?!

How fortunate are we to be able to find fossils in our back yard?

This Valley is truly rich with everything needed to raise a family.

I feel so lucky.

Pool Party

K had her birthday party yesterday.

We rented the pool at a new hotel in town.

It was "everything she dreamed of"she said.

That made me so happy.

We were only allowed 10 kids and we initially had some complications as quite a few of her friends weren't able to make it because of it being Fathers Day.

But we had no troubles filling the spot with siblings and family, so we partied on.

The pool was a perfect size and the kids had it all to themselves.

After an hour and a half they all were tired and starving.

Perfect time for snacks and cake.

K was set on having strawberry shortcakes and it was a hit.

Of course a few umbrellas for the beach vibe.

I have to say it was a great way to entertain all the kids, and I was able to go home to a clean house.

Perfect!!

Fathers Day

Life is perfect in our little world.

We have love, laughter and respect.

We have family, friends and our animals.

We have health, harmony and a strong, bright future.

I feel so amazingly fortunate for all that we have and all that we are as a family.

But a family isn't anything without a father.

A man who loves unconditionally, cares about his loved ones more than words can say and puts every effort to make sure his family is a priority and well cared for.

Our girls are completely in love with their daddy and even on those crazy tired days when he gets home late from work, he will make every second count and puts the girls at the top of his list.

He is, without exception, the worlds best father, the worlds best man.

He has taught us so much about love and has been the greatest person we have ever known.

For all that you are and all that you do, know that we love you.

Know that we know how hard you work and how much you do for this family.

We will never for a moment take you for granted.

You are the most loved daddy, and husband, on this earth.

Thank you

xxx

What To Do With All Those Bread Clips???

We seem to collect little things in our house and bread clips are one of those items.

But what can you really do with them.

I use them to tag each of my cords under my computer desk.

They are great for tagging pots in the greenhouse.

But as as craft I find that they are limited.

That is until I threw some in the toaster oven one day.

I heated them at 350 degrees for about 3-5 minutes.....

....and they curled quite nicely.

They curled well enough to string them on a cord, making a great easy craft for the kids.

I see plenty of opportunity for designs and such now that I have figured this out.

Once the collection grows I will co-ordinate colours for some fancy creations.

Love+Art+Pain=Tattoo

In April I had a 6 hour session with world renowned tattoo artist Steve Moore.

He has a studio in Naniamo that is a small slice of heaven.

The walls are covered in drawings of the most exquisite art work that actually are templates of current tattoos that he is working on.

I could stare at them for days and still be in awe.

The colour and creativity is astounding.

People come from around the world to have Steve work on them.

Most of his pieces are no less than 40-200 hours.

It is art at its peak of amazingness.

You can check out his website at here.

I feel so lucky that Steve accepted my tattoo as something he was willing to work on.

I feel that I was his canvass and that he was able to read my mind when I initially told him my concept.

From my jumbled words he was able to draw a sketch that was exactly what I had envisioned and yet so much more.

Somehow he just got it.

So with the picture drawn up, it was just getting down to the business of getting it done.

This is where the pain hits.

The first session was crazy.

I think I was tense for almost all of it I finally hit a wall and went sort of numb to it all.

That was great until the last piece of the large raven was started.

I actually moaned and grunted like I remember doing in child birth.

Not very lady like I tell Ya!!

I left feeling like I was hit by a train.

Exhausted but elated.

Today I went and had the colour put into my piece.

My other tattoos are all black so colour is new for me.

I was excited.

Well I thought I was.

About 10 minutes into the sitting I began to feel woozy and would you believe me if I told you I just about passed out.

One eye went left the other right, I was white as a sheet, sweating and cold, tunnel vision and ears turned off.

Yup out I was going.

It was crazy!

I didn't even see it coming.

I thought I was relaxed and perfectly fine.

Apparently my brain had other ideas.

Must have had flashbacks to the last session..haha!!

Anyways, after 10 minutes and some water, a relax laying down and a sugary snack.....I was ready to go.

I did and hour and a half, painful? Yes!

Did I pass out again? No!!

Some would have just have ran at this point, and I have to say the thought crossed my mind.

But I knew what I was there for and so I buckled down and got to it.

Poor Steve, he was so kind and gentle through it all though.

We had a pretty good laugh at it.

Looks a little like an open wound at the moment, but once it is all set and healed I'll post the results.

I can't wait to take the bandages off tomorrow and see what I got.

Hope this didn't dissuade anyone from getting a tattoo!!!

Katie The Birthday Lady

This is the smile that has melted my heart for the past 8 years.

Our happy little lady had her birthday on Sunday, but her "party" isn't till next weekend.

Over the years I have had the best experiences being a mother.

I have walked around with my heart outside of me since my girls were born.

I have learned so much about life, love and family and she has taught me so much about all of those but also about myself.

I feel so lucky to be her mom.

Everyday I get to enjoy her, teach her, laugh with her and love her.

Her happiness is what I strive for daily.

I am in love.

While she slept I decorated the house.

She awoke to gifts, her favourite breakfast and all the songs and birthday cliches to be had.

I had a moment of hesitation when she requested a DQ ice cream cake.

I usually make the cakes, I felt a bit sad that she didn't want that.

But I remember being that age and wanting to do things a bit different.

Where does the time go?

2 more years till the double digits.

Hard to believe 8 years ago we embarked on this journey of parenthood.

Through all the moments, good and bad, I have always know this is exactly where I want/need to be.

I hope as the years (and hormones) go on that she will still smile at me as she does today.

That she will ask for my help and trust in me when she needs guidance.

That she will grow to be a happy, strong, confident and content woman.

That her life will be filled of all the love and wonder as mine has.

xx