We are home and recovered from our trip to the cabin! I cannot believe summer vacation is half over and Emilia is starting kindergarten in just over a month. Having feelings about this!
Since we got home, we've been busy of course, but I've also taken some time to get the house in order a little bit and was able to tackle some of the big chores I've been meaning to do.
When we got home from the cabin, the next day was a catch-up day with a trip to Costco. That afternoon Emilia had her last scheduled horseback riding lesson. She's done her 4, and desperately wants to keep going. I just don't know how we can make it work yet. I'm hoping to procrastinate a bit to hold our spot and see if we can figure it out. It's so great for her. Her last lesson was the best yet. She had one on one instruction with a new (to us) instructor and he was awesome with her. She left feeling so confident and excited. Melt my heart.
E: Wiping her butt (haha!), Tidy, Playing with Eva
We realized at dinner one day that we have many different colors/shades of eyes in our family :)
Getting the kids involved in cabin clean-up. Soapy water and mud kitchen toys that needed some serious cleaning!
We keep losing Eva and finding her snuggled up in our bed like this.
We got a new to us oven. Our old one had been on the fritz for a while, so I finally called an appliance repair guy. He diagnosed it and figured it would be roughly $700 to fix, and given the oven is 9-10 years old, don't bother. I was so sad. I loved that oven. We got a different one on marketplace and talked them down to $400. It's a fine oven, but I do miss my old one. One problem we're having though is that it gets quite hot on the top of the door and front of the stovetop when the oven is baking. Like dangerously hot. My research indicates this is just normal for some ovens, but how is that safe?! I have three little kids and a dog running around while I'm cooking. If it isn't fixable we may have to look at getting a new new one (boo).
Last Thursday, Mom took the kids from 9-3 and I got to do some cleaaaaninnngggg! Oh man there is something magical about having the house to yourself for a few hours. I tidied, cleaned the kitchen, baked, did a bathroom, carpet-cleaned the couch and the living room rug, reorganized/packed away some toys... and that's about it, but that took many hours haha. I love hiding toys away because suddenly the toys that are left are played with much more, and there is less mess. If only we could keep it this way.
I had planned a big crockpot pasta for that night, so we invited Jeff, Marta and O over for dinner.
Last Friday Dave took Dom to one of the last home games for the Vancouver Bandits, who play basketball at the Langley Events Centre. It was Dom's first game, it started at 730pm, and they made it until halfway through the 3rd quarter before Dom decided it was time to go home. He felt so special and was completely amped when they got home. They were offered a seat right court-side on a big yellow couch as they met the criteria for that special treat, but Dom felt more comfortable in their original seats. Too bad, but I definitely understand!
While he was out, Emilia was having some FOMO. I put Eva to bed, and then her and I stayed up and did a puzzle together and planned a Mommy Emilia date for Saturday after a walk to the park with Jesse & Kirstin.
For our Mommy Emilia date, she wanted to go get a donut. We went to Black Tiger Coffee Co. and got a donut, hot chocolate and a latte. She found us a seat and promptly pulled Un (Unicorn) out of her bag and set her down. I don't know why that was so adorable. After coffee, we went to Willowbrook Mall. I had to get a couple things, and we went to Claire's where I told her she could pick out one thing for herself. She could have bought that whole store. She was in heaven. In the end she settled on a tiara. After the mall I wanted to get my ring cleaned and inspected, so we went to Spence and tried on some diamonds together. She was all in on that one.
That evening we were throwing the ball for the dog and Emilia asked if we could check out the bushes by Fraser Highway. They were FILLED with blackberries. We spent 20 minutes picking and eating and saved ourselves a solid $10 on berries! Dave and I watched Dodgeball in the theatre that night. Such a classic!
Sunday was Gramma & Grandpa's 40th wedding anniversary! We went out in the morning and stayed a full 24 hours as they were having a party Sunday afternoon and we wanted to make the most of it. The big kids stayed up til 10pm, we were up past midnight, and we had an awesome time celebrating with everyone!
Monday morning we drove home with three very tired children (and two very tired parents). I wanted to nap during quiet time, but Emilia was just feeling weepy. I tried to convince her to nap with me, but she fought it for an hour. Finally I won, and she slept for a further hour haha.
Monday evening Janine and I finally got to go out together! I always love seeing this friend and miss her! <3
Tuesday morning did NOT feel like the end of July. It was cold and downpouring. Ashleigh texted and asked if we wanted to do a rainy playdate at Williams Park. Good thing people invite me to do these things or they would just never happen. I'm glad we went though! She showed us around some of the trails that she does with her Forest Preschool and the kids all tested the limits of their rain suits.
After dinner I was picked up by Rachel and Shelley and we went downtown to Bard on the Beach, where they were doing "As You Like it," a Shakespearean play with a modern, comedic, musical twist. It was all Beatles music and it was so so brilliantly done. It was hilarious and enjoyable start to finish. Perfect way to spend an evening in my opinion! We didn't get home until past 11:30, so it's been a few late nights, but I loved it.
