first day

Avery had her first day at Kindergarten today.  Just a short morning, really, but a first is a first.  Over the next couple weeks she'll be eased into the schedule and structure of school, which I'm grateful for - for both her sake and mine!  She was really excited and although she felt nervous and shy entering the classroom this morning, she stepped up to receive her nametag and joined the line-up to leave the mom's and dad's without a pause.  It was quick and smooth, and she didn't cry.  :)

- A Survey with Avery on the Day she Began Kindergarten - 

Something you can do now that you're five?  Run faster

What is something you like about yourself?  My pink lips

Favorite food to eat at breakfast?  Fried eggs

Favorite food to eat at lunch?  Peanut-butter and honey sandwich

Favorite food to eat at supper?  Pancakes (and suddenly they're not "paypakes"... sad)

Favorite treat?  Ice cream

Favorite thing to do with Daddy?  Mini-golfing and visiting the pet store

Favorite thing to do with Mommy?  Read stories

Favorite thing to do with Ella?  Play in our tent

Favorite movie?  Cars

Favorite TV show?  Justin Time

Favorite storybook?  The Wizard of Oz

Favorite bible story?  Mary and Joseph

Favorite small toy?  Polly Pockets and Little Pet Shop

Favorite big toy?  Play kitchen

Favorite color?  Pink

Favorite songs to listen to?  Ballerina music
What are you looking forward to about school?  Seeing my cousins walking the halls
What do you want to be when you grow up?  A librarian

fifth birthday

We celebrated Avery's fifth birthday a week-and-a-half ago.  We had planned to go camping over her birthday weekend, but decided to cancel at the last minute and ended up having a really fun, low-key weekend celebrating her and treating her to little surprises and dates along the way.

Levi found the first two graphic novels in the Wizard of Oz series for Avery, hoping to introduce her to comics and strong female protagonists.  Levi's been reading to her each night before bed and she is gobbling the stories up.  She also received a nice new stash of Lego, a handmade dolly and matching top from me, a new Strawberry Shortcake play set, money for new school clothes, and she's still enjoying her bike, which was pre-birthday present so she could maximize all the early days of summer.

By Avery's special request, her cake had pink, peppermint frosting and ballerinas on top.  On the evening of her birthday we invited a little bit of family over and enjoyed a big pancake feast, which seems to be becoming a tradition for our girl.

Five is a big deal.  She's been happily reporting her new status to anyone she meets, usually with all five fingers spread wide.  We're so proud of who she's becoming and how much she has grown this past year.  Happy fifth, sweet Avery!

family time

Just some pics from last weekend.  Family was in town!  We farewelled Levi's Mom and Dad - off to South Korea for another year, but this time together!  We beached.  We played games.  We walked.  We did up a delish Greek feast to celebrate.  Levi and I totally relaxed while everyone else played with our kids.  We loved it.  It's always a good time when family's around.  

 - Ian and Kathryn helping Avery dig a personal swimming pool or two -

 - The mermaids -

- Patti and Rhonda - 

 - Island Avery getting buried by Uncle Ian -

Happy weekending!

ella bear

This one.  Oh my is she ever exerting her individuality these days.  Loudly!  Some of Ella's favorite things to do, as of late:
- Yell or wail at a certain pitch that she specifically aims for, knowing it will obliterate any other thought from the minds of those around her.
- Dress herself - usually from a random selection of Avery's clothes, and usually upside down, inside out, two legs in one hole, etc.
- Eat only what she wants and then spend a big part of the meal demanding more of that one item.  Then she stands up in her highchair and grins because she knows I'll scold her to sit down.
- Join in on laughing, like a little grown-up, with a whole lot of twinkle in her eye.
- Play the "push" game, where she pushes on you with the strength of a kitten and says "poosh" until you fall over and she falls on top and laughs and laughs and then licks your arm or presses her cheek into yours.
- Snuggle up with her blankie, all bunched up in her arms, and squirm with pure pleasure.  She's not easy to pry out of bed after a good sleep.
- Copycat.  Anything and anyone, but mostly Avery.  This little monkey is watching closely and she pretty clearly thinks her big sister is the best.

She came outside this afternoon, after I'd tiptoed away, to make sure I wasn't doing something by myself and made quick work to improve the backdrop I'd quickly drawn for a product shoot.

Something new for my shop!  I put together this little bear as an experiment, a small change here and there to my dolly design, and I think I love it.

This little clown has no chance ... we're gonna love her to bits no matter what.

in the woods

Last weekend we took off for a little camping trip, just the four of us, out in the Kootneys at Blanket Creek Provincial Park.  It's a great little campground for families, with a warm lagoon for swimming, soft, sparkly sand to play in, beautiful forest and mountains, a playground and several hiking trails.

It's a lot of work, the whole camping gig.  But, the girls were happy and full of boundless energy.  They explored the forest and built a rustic lean-to, they dug trenches and built castles in the sand, they waded along the shore and searched for tadpoles and frogs, they ran hopelessly unequal races, they got sticky and dirty and bruised, and still had energy to be giggling side-by-side in the tent long after bedtime.  Each night, we waited until dark and then built up a hot, crackling fire for two, played games by lantern light, drank wine and talked and ate jiffy-pop.  All the work of camping was so worth it.

- - - 

On our way back home on Sunday we took an impromptu pit stop at The Enchanted Forest, dirty and tired as we were, to give the girls a treat for being such good little campers.  They skipped around visiting all the familiar nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters, stooping through tiny doorways and climbing up winding stairs.  The place is enchanting and quirky and fun and I'm so glad we stopped.

sunday

Since our Saturday turned out to be a little bit adventurous, our ideal "let's explore a new park Sunday" ended up being a simple trip to the beach.  We waited until afternoon, after Ella's nap, when the clouds were blocking the hot sun and the breeze was cool.  The girls are so easy to take beaching.  Avery has changed immensely from the previous years and is so much more willing to splash and play in the water, to dig and build in the sand.  And Ella just bumbles around the blanket.

Afternoons spent just like this make me feel so lucky to live here.

up on a mountain

Best day ever.  Seriously.  Let's start at the very beginning: lazy oversleeping, warm cinnamon buns and fruit salad out on the deck, a quick clean up and gathering of supplies and then we were out the door for an afternoon of adventuring.  We took the girls up to the Boulder Fields in Myra Canyon.  The drive up the bumpy gravel roads was thrilling on its own for our giggly girls, but up in the cool air of the mountains, with bright green baby trees surrounding us and twisting, rugged trails to hike around we were all in heaven.

We brought a little picnic lunch to eat on a rock overlooking the canyon.  Avery was a great little mountaineer.  She worried over the steeper sections a little bit, but otherwise she never whined or grew weary and just kept on moving.  Ella was happy as a clam in the backpack up on Daddy's shoulders.  They were such troopers.

- - -

On our way back down into town we thought we'd take a side trip to check out what the new Kelowna Mountain is all about.  The girls weren't yet exhausted and seemed to have some spunk in them still, so we decided to go right in.  Turns out this is the last weekend they'll be allowing guests in for free, so lucky us!  It's going to be brilliant once it's all complete, but for now we enjoyed hiking over three of the suspension bridges (one of them being the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in North America), checking out the waterfall and looking out over our beautiful city.

Avery had no problem going over these long, wobbly bridges.  Pretty sure I wasn't that tough when I was four.

Seriously beautiful day.