Dahlias

For those of you who read this blog on a regular basis, it will come as no surprise that Sydney and I absolutely adore flowers.  We can often be found picking bouquets of wild flowers or admiring bouquets that we have bought or been given.

This past weekend we were invited to a very special lunch at Carmen, Sydney's preschool teacher's, house.  Carmen is such a loving and friendly, warm person.  She and I have become dear friends over the past two years that Syd has been in preschool with her and we have vowed to stay in touch long after Syd has gone on to elementary school and beyond.

Carmen made such a beautiful lunch for us and we enjoyed visiting with her, Jen, Emmy and Michelle, another former preschool teacher.   We sat outdoors on her patio overlooking the river in her beautiful, new Richmond home.

Sydney and Emmy did crafts together and enjoyed a walk on the pier with Carmen to pick blackberries for the shortcake that we had for dessert.

It was so wonderful to connect with Jen and Carmen again over the summer.  We love them both so much and hope to foster a long and lasting relationship with them in the years to come.

On the way driving home from Carmen's Sydney and I noticed a roadside stand at someone's home where they were selling giant buckets of dahlias from their garden.  We couldn't resist stopping to pick one up!

The flowers were absolutely stunning!  Each one on it's own is a masterpiece and together they made the most amazing, huge bouquet. 

I took a ton of pictures of them before Syd and I separated them into four different colour specific bouquets.

Our house looks like a flower shop!

We have had a beautiful run of weather for weeks now, only today has the weather taken a turn for the cooler.  I hate to admit it, but the cooler weather has been a lovely reprieve from the heat!

Sydney and I have enjoyed some great water time with a trip to Splashdown Park in Tsawwassen with Jack and Christina and a late evening swim at Maple Grove pool the past few days.

We also finally got around to getting another long awaited item off of Sydney's summer bucket list and rode the Aquabus together.  We boarded at Granville Island and rode all the way to Yaletown making a few short stops along the way.

Once there we wandered up to Urban Fare for lunch and sat by the water for a long while before heading home.  It was a wonderful summer memory together!

Yesterday I had the chance to get together with my sister Liane to celebrate her birthday together.  We went for a beautiful lunch at Horizons Restaurant atop of Burnaby Mountain.  It was a blazing hot day and the view from the restaurant was amazing!

We enjoyed a delicious meal and visit together and of course had a special dessert all alight for her special day!

Sydney and I got together this afternoon at Whitespot with Paul's niece Tybie and her babe Avior.  We had a great visit and always love seeing how much Avior has grown and changed over the past while.

After lunch Syd and I headed to Pure Nails to get our toes done, nothing like a pedicure mid-summer to keep those feet looking fresh and fun!

Syd chose a fun green and purple combination today, loved it!

Looking forward to the last few weeks of summer and all the fun and memories that it will bring!