Family Skate

Christmas 2008

Playing in the snow...

watching dad play hockey...

A cool hat

A "big" brother

I wanna be a cowboy

NewCastle Island

For Thanksgiving, we headed over to Vancouver Island to visit out relies out near Nanny-Mo. We took the 6:30AM ferry in the hopes of beating some of the traffic and getting to the island with plenty of hours with which to make the most of our day trip.



After breaking the fast of the night, we visited the "neat and tiny" Petroglyph Park, we took a small harbour ferry across to Newcastle Island. What a great call it was. There were a few people scattered about, but what a beautiful place. There are no cars (except the park folks), you can camp here, and there are trails all over the island. We packed Brandon in the backpack, and went for a walk in the woods.

Fall

Getting clean

Going up the Indian Arm

This is something that I have always wanted to do - take a boat trip up the Indian Arm! Finally! I have seen the end... and I couldn't help but think.. we live in such a beautiful place! The weather was great, we saw several seals, and it was just stunning.

Sand Castles at Harrison Lake

Can you believe these art works are sand???

In a word - Stunning.

Hicks Lake

Our feet. Why, because this is me.

The finals kicks of summer. I am pretty sure that this will be our last swim outside (in Canada) for the year... what a great day - the sun, how warm it was, and being out at Hicks Lake - a surprising jewel that I barely remember from camping at 20 years ago. I would go back in a heartbeat.. what a great swimming lake!

late summer

September has turned out to be a lot BETTER than June!!!!

Not so little boy anymore...

Brandon blitzed by two years old... and pictures like this capture that he is still my baby but he is leaving his nappy days quickly behind him. Things are happening pretty quickly - Brandon's vocabulary is impressive, he has finally taken off with his walking, and he has 2 out of 4 of his two year old molars. He is showing some interest in using the toilet (not pushing that yet) and he loves the "big boy" bunk bed that we iherited from his coz.

Thataway to Chataway

A cabin the woods for a family getaway.
(damn those pine beetles)

Around the campfire...

Going for a walk around the camp...

And just being *cute*.

Deception Pass

At camp - having a snack...

A cool shot, taken at sunset...

My dad, my baby, and my hubby! The three men in my life!

At the aquarium...

Happy Birthday!

Can my baby really be 2? I guess he is tall enough... Brandon, meet your cake.

Here we are!

It has been a while, so hopefully I can get Brandon's blog updated and a lot more current than May 29th. Which I am sheepishly admitting too.

Where does the time go? It flies. Indeed. Balancing a career, home, and maybe even life and a smidgen of selfish time is a tricky balance - as is getting a few dates in with my husband! Which we are slowly getting better at doing! We have been out to a few movies! And we are going to see Spamalot on Saturday... to say that I am excited, well, that is an understatement.

Brandon is getting closer and closer to two! I haven't weighed him in a while, and I am sure that he is over three feet tall. He is working on his two year old molars (there are a lot of four letter words to describe the joys of teething, but I won't bother you with them right now) and he talks up a storm. He is really, really close to taking off as a runner, and is getting closer to that milestone every day. Yup, a little late on that mark, but he is getting there.

Brandon is a charmer (yes, I am biased, I am his mother after all) and is a lot of fun to hang out with. Man, does he talk though. I didn't really conceptualize how many words he would have before he was two, but talk, and sing, and well, just come up with the "darndest" things already. He travels well, loves being outside, we chase Canadian geese on a regular basis, and he rocks my world. What else is a parent to say about their kids? We have fun, and we enjoy spending time together, and Brandon loves to read together, and play in the sandbox, and he is growing like a weed and changing all the time. It is a grand adventure this thing called parenthood. Welcome to the club eh? It's like something you feel like you are playing at in the beginning - a total rookie, and then you wake up one day and it is natural, and you are the one whom is giving other people advice. Crazy stuff this circle of life.

So, it is catch up time - looking forward, looking back, take a peek at some of the older pages, they are probably only moments, or maybe days old as I catch up over the next few days. Especially now that more friends are having babies, and don't always live close, those pictures mean the world to be able to look at, and share at least a little bit of what is going on in their worlds.

It has been a crazy year - I can't believe I am at job #3. I miss my old friends from work, and even though I have been too busy to drop a line, it doesn't mean I don't remember. It has also been cool for me to move forward, and experience new challenges, and carve a new niche out for myself, so as much as you leave behind, you also bring forward with yourself.

Great for sandcastles...

Egads. It almost looks like Brandon has a mustache! To me it looks like a good time at the beach. As does this great big hole we dug. Mission accomplished. Fun at the beach.

Just discovered the joys of popsicles

Up until Friday night, well in to the throws of teething, Brandon finally discovered the joys of eating Popsicles. As you can tell, it didn't take him long to master this new talent.