Summer 2012

As the last couple of days of summer are upon us I'm trying to soak up all the wonderful parts of summer and all the wonderful things we did. It does feel like summer pasted so quickly. We did so many fun things, both here and in Kelowna. Some of the things I really relish about summer is the lack of schedule. I love sleeping in and not having to rush in the mornings. Even on the days I had to work, there wasn't a bus to miss, so it seemed less busy.



 The summer started out (as it does every year in Calgary) with Stampede. My work sponsored a dinner, so we got to see the dress rehearsal of the bandstand show and it was great. I got to add Paul Brandt to my concert list, even though I never thought I would. They also had really tasty food. Gourmet barbeque. Then Darryl's work had a Stampede breakfast and we had our picture taken with Kelly Sutherland (who is a big chuck wagon racer). I also took the boys to Stampede which was busy, but a fun experience.


 The week after Stampede we headed to Kelowna for the first time with our best friends. It was a week of great laughs, food and fun. The weather was perfect, no one got sick and everyone got along.  One of the most memorable days was when we floated down the canal in Penticton.  The boys loved it and so did the girls.  After we headed to Davids Tea in Penticton and Wendy's for lunch.  After Nathan drank a bunch of tea and a drink from Wendys he had to pee about half way home.  So we made a stop in Peachland.   We took Nathan to the visitors centre to pee and when we came back the boys were all throwing rocks in the water.  We sat there for 5 minutes and I was hot.  I saw a dock and suggested we jump off it.  Once I did all the kids were willing to try.  And that water was cold!  We were all nice and refreshed after acting crazy!  After a week of working on our tans and smiles we headed back home.


Lucas went to gymnastics camp and I went to work. Then we headed back to Kelowna. This time with Darryl. Again more good weather, good food (Darryl's traditional gazpacho) and great laughs. Kelowna is definitely one of my favorites places. I love sitting on Oma and Opa's deck, having breakfast. Chatting with Oma about gardening, or reminiscing about their lives when my mom was young, going to some of my favorite beaches. Floating down the canal, picking cherries, eating fruit, drinking wine. It's all heavenly. And I'm glad I have such a wonderful (and affordable place) to spend my summer holidays.  This year we had a couple of funny experiences with Emma.  One day we were in Peachland and we took Darryl to "our" dock.  There we threw the stick off the end and she jumped right in.  The only problem was it was a big enough jump that she went right under the water.  I was almost ready to jump in and rescue her when her head came bobbing up and she swam, with no stopping to get the stick, right to shore and did not jump off that deck again!  Although shortly after that we rented a peddle boat and took her for a boat ride. 






When we returned Grammie came out for a visit. The boys were so happy to have her around and it made Darryl and I really happy too. It was her birthday while she was here and they went hiking in Johnston's Canyon.  We also had lemon meringue pie and sang her happy birthday. 

Lastly Lucas turned seven.  We had a really fun drive in party for Lucas where we showed a movie outside and had popcorn.  For Lucas's birthday he got a lot of fun stuff.  Shows how he's growing up.  New rollerblades and a new bike because he is a sporty kid, who is growing up!

Hope everyone else has had a great summer !

Till Next Time

Jenn