Summer So far.........

Well today the sun is out but we're in between rain showers according to the forecast.

Summer so far has been great! We've had 3 weekend trips to Kelowna to visit with the sibs & kids and our usual week at teen camp in Nanoose Bay. The kids have been great but I have noticed them getting a little bit bored the last week or two. Obviously time to go back to school is upon us!

I've made another couple of cakes since the last post - one for Sherisse's Mum's vacation bible school - a Mexican fiesta party - and one for my boss' daughter's wedding. That cake just got picked up this morning. They will be adding figurines of a bride fishing her husband out of the pond I put on the wedding cake! Very whimsical, the wedding is on Salspring Island and they wanted a forest floor, a tree stump, a pond and meringue mushrooms. My boss told me I'm promised a copy of the professional photographer's cake picture once the final assembly is complete.

So now I'm just relaxing with a cup of tea and contemplating what's ahead. School supplies are already purchased - early this year to avoid the rush - HOORAY!, and church programs and sports etc. will soon be underway. As my friend Vicki, a lover of Fall will tell you, I'm not too good at accepting summer might be drawing to a close. Which is why I won't mention it and instead will tell you I'm still planning several rip-roaring barbeques. After next week's forecast rain of course ;)

So I'll leave you with a few photos of our last few weeks - one of my favourite pictures, a photo of all of the cousins on my side, together on my sister's couch in Kelowna.

July Update......

So the sun has finally shown up in Victoria and we've managed to cram lots in since it's first arrival. Darrell had a baseball tournament scheduled one weekend so I took the kids to Kelowna so I could be at Anna's baby shower for little Caleb. It was so great to meet the little guy. At just a month old he pretty much slept the entire time we were there. He looks like Jack's baby picture quite a bit. And Jack - what a little charmer! He has cute little dimples and smiles and hugs bundles (Auntie Rachel like!)





Then this weekend was a whirlwind of activity - the kids were at kids camp for the first time (& loved it!) so that gave me some free time to bake. I made 30 cupcakes for a surprise ENGAGEMENT PARTY! for Oliver (complete with chocolate O's and H's (fiancee's name is Hannah, a sweet girl from Wales). He took Hannah out on a jetski up at his parents cabin on the lake and when they returned they had got engaged, and returned to see 25 of us sitting on the dock. They didn't know we would be there and all of us (except me I think....) didn't know we were coming up for an engagement party! That Florenda, she's so sneaky........

Last but not least, I had to make a wedding cake for Megan & Rommy's wedding up at Bear Mountain. Which, by the way, I had never been to before. BEAUTIFUL! If you're not yet married, you may want to scope it out for a location. Seriously gorgeous. Anyway, the wedding was amazing and the cake, well....let's just say the intense heat of my house after I returned from the cabin was so bad that everything took a little longer than it should have. But Vicki was a lovely cake assistant (!) and helped me drive it up there as I sat on the back floor of my van with the cake box between my legs so it wouldn't slide!


And now I'm tired......but happy.....

Colds Suck

I'm not a good sick person. Don't get me wrong, I'm nothing like my husband, my Dad or my brother. (How could any girl be?) But I am such an A-type personality that colds shut me right down and leave me completely frustrated. So, here I am at 12:28pm, having moved from my bed to the couch yet again in an attempt not to disrupt anyone else's sleep (read: Darrell) upon realizing I can't stop coughing.

I've always been such a fan of Ny-Quil because my theory is that colds don't get better because we can't sleep when we have them. If we could just 'sleep it off' they wouldn't last half as long. This is where the Ny-Quil comes in. It knocks you out so you are at least catching zzzz's through the night, thus leaving you feeling more 'healed' by morning. Now, granted, it does also leave you with that 'hungover' feeling. Which is why, at the time of this writing and upon realizing I was out of Ny-Quil, I am now updating my blog sipping on a hot brandy.

Heck, if the meds won't do it surely the alcohol will.

Nighty nite.

It's Another Boy!

We are pleased to announce that my sister and husband, Anna & Mike have welcomed a precious baby brother for Jack into their family. Caleb Joel Mason was born at 7lb., 6oz. and apparently had the longest umbilical chord the doctor had ever seen! And in the style of myself and my siblings, the middle name is yet again named after a family member - my brother Joel. Joel's son Roman is only a few months younger than Caleb so I'm sure the cousins will become great friends.

Well done Mason Family! Can't wait to meet him.

Wedding Weekend

Last week was very busy but ended with the lovely wedding of Jacquelyn and Craig, friends from Calgary who chose to get married in Victoria. Unfortunately the sun did not make much of an appearance but the drizzle did not take away from the beauty of the day. The ceremony was outside under a tent at the Ocean Pointe Hotel and overlooked the water. Little Aria made a perfect little flower girl and Alison once again went above and beyond by doing all of the flowers for the weeding and much more planning to boot. Leon of course sang at the ceremony and the reception as well as serenaded Jacquelyn along with Joey of Destino.
I was very pleased with the final result of the wedding cake although there were the usual baking for a deadline stresses along the way. But two days of baking, icing and decorating paid off and the bride seemed very pleased. Dinner was delicious and 68 of us dined as we overlooked the water and the evening lights of the city.





And without a DOUBT the Green table was the most enjoyable! All of the tables were colour coded by placecards, centrepieces (done by Alison) and accents. The whole theme of the wedding was monochromatic black and white with the flowers providing the colour.

Calgary Weekend

This past weekend was most enjoyable for me. A couple of months ago my friend Alison invited me to her sister's bridal shower in Calgary. How could I NOT want to be at sweet Jacquelyn's shower? The timing was actually perfect. I had planned to visit Calgary after the birth of my new nephew anyway, and although I probably would have waited a couple of months so he was a little bit bigger (and awake!), it meant I could do both in the same weekend.ROMAN
It also meant I could see my brother & sister-in-law's new house as well as be in town for my niece - Tatum's - birthday party. WOW! What a great way to cram so many things in to a weekend.
I arrived in Calgary on Friday afternoon and Joel & Tania treated me to a lovely Greek meal at Van Gogh (thanks bro!). Let me first say that my nieces are a complete crack-up! Chloe is convinced her prayer life raises dogs from the dead. You will have to ask me for further details, the story is a riot and let me say - that kid has faith that can move mountains. This became a running joke.....driving on that highway will kill ya but at least Chloe's close by....... If you ask I'll give you the full story. Her language is very advanced and she was such a source of enjoyment, pretending she is Moses and chasing Tatum around the house "I love you Sapporah, I love you".

Saturday morning was Tatum's 2nd birthday party with a Veggietales theme. What a little doll she is. Tania had baked a yummy cake and we got to decorate Bob, Larry & Jr. Asparagus. I would say it was a success!
Then at lunchtime Joel kindly drove me to the South West where Jacquelyn's shower was being held. Ever since the invite, it was kept a secret by Alison (and everyone else involved I guess) that I was coming. When I walked in she looked at me a bit confusedly and then her eyes grew as she realized it was really me. It was a lot of fun - I love surprises.Alison had done her usual fantastic job of taking care of the food and the decor and I got to meet Alison and Jacquelyn's lovely friends who until this time I'd only heard about through blogger and facebook! Look forward to seeing some of you again at the wedding! Jac's Mum was very sweet and gave me a gift for making the trip out. Then after the shower I got a visit with Craig who popped in to pick up all the loot and a lovely visit with Alison and Aria as Alison kindly drove me back 'up north'. It was so great to see you two again! I can't wait to hang out again in a few weeks.Three cute friends!
Aria - still a little doll!
Sunday had me at Joel's church for a wonderful morning service, lunch home with the fam. and a delayed but uneventful flight home in the evening. A wonderful time spent with wonderful people who I love very much.

The Teddy Bear Picnic!

(Blogger is being stupid and won't let me load all of the photos - stay tuned for more in the next day or so!)
Well, Brooklyn is now 7. The sad part for me is that she is no longer a little girl, but 'a girl'. I always thought that up to 5 or 6 years old girls were 'little girls' and from 7 onwards they were 'girls'. Which means, that my baby is growing up. I will adjust, but it's a strange concept.

So, with the ENORMOUS popularity of Build-A-Bear we had a Teddy Bear's Picnic at our house. All the girls had to bring a bear with them (although we also had 3 rabbits, a cat and a cheetah!) and Brooklyn specifically asked that they be clothed and not arrive naked. Quite funny I thought. So I of course had to make a bear cake - now you need to understand that I am NO artist, and have no concept of proportions. But, I did manage to copy the swing jacket that Brooklyn's bear has and put it onto the cake. After the party games the girls all ate food on our teddy bear blankets and received Teddy Bear gifts as their goodie bags. What pleased me the most, however, was that Brooklyn decided instead of presents she would like to ask everyone to bring $5, and she would keep half of it for her present, and give the other half away to charity. I was a very pleased mother - I want to foster those sentiments in my children as much as possible and for her to decided she wanted to do that was very special to me.

Enjoy the pictures - this exhausted mama has to go to bed - on top of the party my sister, brother-in-law and nephew also surprised us at our front door for the weekend - they live in Kelowna! So as you can imagine we are laughing and crying (with laughter!) til the wee hours of the morning.

G'nite all.