A Perfect Day

Today was as near a perfect day as anyone could ever ask for.  We woke up to an amazing blue sky, a warm summer day.  Everyone was happy and contented and we were all out in the backyard in our pajamas before 8:00am ever hit.

We ran our usual Saturday morning errands but added a few fun things today too!  Stopped at Toys R Us to pick up a new toy for the backyard for Sydney this summer, her new sand and water table.

She loves it!  It is the perfect combination of sandbox meets swimming pool and the umbrella provides as much entertainment as the table itself.  She quickly learned how to open and close it and twirl it around.  I have the feeling that she is going to spend many a fun hour at this table this summer!

We spent a few hours wandering Main Street today, exploring a new neighborhood and checking out some cute shops and restaurants.  It is such a neat, up and coming area of Vancouver, we really enjoyed seeing all that's changed there recently.  We stopped and had a coffee at our favourite coffee shop there, JJ Bean and went for a quick visit at Paul's barber's new shoppe.  It was a fun way to spend part of our day!

It was a hot, hot day today.  Felt like the mid to high 20's outside!  It was one of the few times I was actually grateful to have Saturday afternoon swimming lessons with Sydney for a refreshing dip in the pool this afternoon.  Our lesson was sadly cut a bit short when one of the kids in her class barfed in the pool and everyone had to evacuate the water so that it could be disinfected for an hour.  Poor Sydney never did get her ride down the slide, she was a bit disappointed!

We stopped on the way home and grabbed some steaks for dinner and, for the second time this week, grilled up some fabulous steaks on our new barbecue!  I made baked potatoes and corn too, perfect summer fare!  We ate our first dinner of the season outside on our patio table, it was pure perfection.

While dinner was grilling, Sydney decided she'd like to paint a canvas painting as a birthday gift for her brother Zach's girlfriend Miriam.  I think it turned out pretty well!  Another great masterpiece from my little artiste!

The photo for today is dubbed '12 o'clock'.  This was sort of twelve o'clock, more like 2:30pm but you get the drift.  Grilled cheese sandwiches for everyone along with a few favourite sides!

Just when I thought the bouquet of flowers that my Mom got for me while she was here couldn't get any more beautiful, the tiger lilies in it decided to bloom today, gorgeous!

Our evening ended off with Paul and I brewing a hot cup of tea and lighting our first fire ever in our outdoor fireplace.  We bought it last year and never did get around to using it with the incredibly anticlimactic summer!  It was an absolutely magical time!  The sound of the roaring fire, crackling and burning and a beautiful star-filled sky above us.  It felt like we were on a mini vacation!  It was so fun sitting around a fire and drinking a hot cup of tea together after Sydney went to bed for the night!

It really was a perfect day with my Big and Little Loves.  May we have many more days like this ahead of us!