Settling into Summer

For the first time in a few weeks I feel as though I can exhale.  The crazy business of the month of June is behind us.  All of the school parties, wrap up activities and last minute playdates and outings have taken place.  We are officially on summer holidays and it feels good in a way that is hard to explain, especially this year after Sydney's first full year of school.

Sydney came home on her last day of school with a heap of things from the year, precious work that was evidence of how much she'd learned, how far we'd come from that first nerve wracking day in September.  The most precious thing in the entire pile was, of course, her Kindergarten Portfolio, a book that took a year for the teacher's to compile filled with all of Sydney's best work, drawings, photos and memories from her Kindergarten year.  It is something that I will treasure forever.

Not being in school has left Sydney feeling a bit out of sorts.  She is used to a day with structure and stimulus and isn't quite sure what to do with herself without the comfort of her classroom, friends and teachers.  We have had a few harrowing moments trying to settle into summer around here!

Last week I took Sydney to see the Broadway production of The Lion King at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.  What an amazing show, we both loved it so much!

We just returned from a weekend away with Paul to Ryan and Christina's beautiful home in Suncadia with our Sally, Allan and Ollie.  What an amazing weekend we had enjoying each other's company and the 38 degree weather!  On Saturday we rented a catamaran boat and jet ski for the day and spent the entire day on Cle Elum lake.  It was amazing!  The boat rental place gave us a huge 25 foot floating mat which we could literally all float on in the middle of the lake.  The kids loved it and I was so proud of myself floating out there on the mat and even floating and treading water with my life jacket in the middle of the lake, first time ever!!

On Saturday evening we got a babysitter to come watch the kids and the adults headed out for an amazing dinner at the winery together.  What a lovely treat to have some time on our own and enjoy a delicious dinner together.

The kids so enjoyed each other's company too.  I love this shot of them hanging out eating popsicles together, summer bliss!

This morning I brought Sydney's little table and chairs up from the playroom and surprised her by setting up a little space in the kitchen as her 'summer office'.  She was thrilled and immediately got to work busy working and writing lists.

While we were away in Suncadia we went to the Sunday morning farmer's market in Roslyn.  What a sweet town it is and I got Sydney her very own bouquet of dried lavender flowers there which she has proudly displayed in her new office.

Besides working on her writing Sydney and I have been plowing our way through some Fancy Nancy chapter books together.  She is loving reading so much and I am only too happy to foster that love over the summer while she's out of school.

Sydney has been enjoying having her Mandarin tutor, Jean, come every Monday morning.  The have such fun doing crafts, singing songs and learning all sorts of words and phrases in Mandarin.

We have lots of summer fun ahead of us, I am so grateful for this time with Sydney, the amazing weather and to slow down our pace of life.  Feels good!

Countdown's On!

It is almost midnight and I know that I should be off to bed to catch some precious sleep before another full day tomorrow but I can't help but stop and take a few moments to reflect on where we are at in Sydney's life.  In nine more school days she will be finished Kindergarten.  It seems hard to believe that an entire year has gone by.  She has had so many wonderful memories and learned so much during this first year of school.  It has been life changing for us all!

Sydney's class has been doing a 'neighborhood' project for the past several days whereby the girls set up different businesses and run the classroom like a neighborhood.  They have a bank, food market, art gallery, airport, travel gift shop and restaurant.  Each girl takes a turn working in every business or being part of the family that frequents the businesses on any given day.

I have had the fortune of being able to volunteer in Sydney's class several times for their neighborhood project and have so loved watching Sydney interact with her classmates and have fun role playing!

This morning she was the pilot of the 'Super Fly Apple Fly' airplane.  She flew her classmates around the playground to India, Hawaii and Australia.  It was adorable!

We've also had a special event at Sydney's school where we said goodbye to Ms. England, a Kindergarten teacher who has been with the school for forty years.  We had a lovely tea party for her and Sydney even had the chance to make her own bonnet for the occasion!

We've been trying to squeeze in as many playdates as possible before the end of the school year!  Sydney had her friend Julia over today to play, the girls had a great time bouncing in the bouncy castle, having a picnic outside and playing hospital.  I love that Syd and Julia have known each other since they were two years old and that their friendship keeps growing and blossoming!

It has been record breaking warm temperatures in Vancouver the past several days.  I took Sydney to Emma Lea Farms on the weekend to pick strawberries which are several weeks ahead of schedule this year with all the good weather we're having!

I just love watching my very own Strawberry Shortcake in the strawberry patch, it's adorable!

What a precious time it is as we wrap up Sydney's first year of school.

Speed of Light

The title of this post today sums up how life feels right now.  It is humming along at a speed that I can barely keep up with.  I realize, looking back at past years at this time of year, that it is a notoriously busy time of year.  Things are wrapping up, school, activities, commitments and plans are busily being made for the summer months that lie ahead.

Rangoli Rave 2015

Whistler May Long

Elizabeth's 6th Birthday

I am trying more and more each day to embrace the craziness of this time, realizing that in the busyness I can miss those precious moments that come and go so quickly.

Yesterday afternoon Sydney had dance class after school.  I arrived at 4:00 to pick her up after working a full day with Paul at his office.  It was a beautiful, sunny day and Sydney wanted to stay in the school playground for a while to play so I found a comfy spot in the sun and watched her do the monkey bars like an expert for well over an hour.

In that time I had a wander through the school garden, a wonderful chat with the gardener and Sydney's teachers.  I connected with them in a way that I hadn't before simply because I had taken the time to slow down and let Sydney stay to play instead of hustling her off home, on to the next thing.

When we finally arrived home I realized that I was never going to make my 6:00 gym time so I called an cancelled and after a quick dinner Syd, Paul and I packed up and headed to Jericho Beach to watch the sun set while Sydney collected shells and barnacles and sea glass.  It was one of the most precious times that I can remember us spending as a family in recent memory.  I loved every second.

And yet, I struggle because I love to be busy.  I get such a rush looking at my daytimer and seeing days bustling with activity, from one thing to the next.  But the most magical moments with Sydney, they happen when we aren't doing something scheduled, they happen when I just let time unfold as it may.

It's a lesson that I'm just now starting to learn and I feel may change the rhythm of our lives if I can somehow embrace it.  We'll see...

Mother's Day

Today was Mother's Day, my sixth since becoming a Mom when Sydney was born in 2009.  I love Mother's Day so much, far and away because the most magical of all the days of my life was the day that I became a Mom.  Sydney's presence in my life makes everything in my world better. 

I have treasured every Mother's Day with Sydney since she's been born.  Each one has been different with the overall tradition of spending the day together doing something out of the ordinary.  Today was no exception.  I have been diligently working on my list of '40 Things to Accomplish in my 40th Year' and one of the goals that I have is to run a 10K race.  In keeping with the training that I have been doing towards this, I signed up to do the 5K Fairmont Mother's Day Run this morning.

It was so exciting heading down to Stanley Park with Paul and Syd bright and early this morning to a sea of yellow shirts waiting to start the race.  I met up with my friend and Sunday morning running partner Angela, along with my beloved friends Sally, Allan and Ollie and we ran together chatting all the while.

Sydney made me the cutest poster that read "Go Mommy Go" decorated in her own special way and it was such a delight to see her and Paul waiting at the finish line for me cheering me on!

What a wonderful way to start my day, a beautiful run through an amazing part of our city with great friends and my two favourite people in the world waiting for me at the end of it all!

I love that Syd wanted to wear my bib at the end of the race and wore her running clothes as well in full support of me!  

Sydney has been diligently working on a special Mother's Day gift for me at school all this past week.  This morning I finally got to open it after days and days of hearing about this precious surprise.

It was such a lovely gift, a frame that Sydney had custom painted with a picture of her holding a chalkboard that read:  "I Love my Mommy because she takes care of me" in her own handwriting!

And then there was the card, so beautifully painted but the message that she wrote to me inside brought tears to my eyes:

Dear Mommy,

Happy Mother's Day

I hope you have a good time doing the Mother's Day run with Susan, you, Angela and Sally!  You will reach in to the bag of surprises.  I hope you have a good time doing the Mother's Day run.  Me and Daddy will cheer you on at the finish line.  Have a good Mother's Day.  I love you so much, you are my best friend.  Me and Daddy love you.

Love, 

Sydney

My sweet girl, I am blessed beyond measure! 

We took some time today as well to visit Paul's Mom at her graveside as this is the first Mother's Day without her.  She loved lilacs so much and we always made a point of bringing her a bouquet every Mother's Day in the past and today was no exception.  It was lovely to remember her in this way and for Sydney to see her graveside for the first time. 

It was a lovely day, I truly am so blessed!

Playing Hookey

Since Sydney started Kindergarten way back in early September, we have missed only one day of school, a planned absence for Rosh Hashanah.  Sydney has had a stellar year health-wise, not even missing a single day due to illness, I am so grateful!

This time of year is so busy and I was sensing lately that Sydney was just needing some really focused time with Mom so I cleared a day for us to play hookey together.  We chatted about how we might like to spend this precious day together and she ultimately decided that she wanted to head to the states together to go shopping.

Oh the best laid plans...we were getting ourselves ready to go last night running a few errands when my car mysteriously started overheating and the heater quit working all together.  Something was clearly wrong and it became evident quickly that a road trip was out of the question for today.

So I gave Sydney the option of heading to school this morning but she decided that she'd rather still spend the day with me so we spent a precious day together.

We had a long soak in a bubble bath, followed by a snuggle on the couch to watch one of her favourite shows, 19 Kids and Counting, together. 

Then we strolled around our neighborhood and collected a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

When she was ready to head out for the day, we drove to Jericho Beach where she had the best time beach combing, this time collecting shells and rocks covered in barnacles instead of the usual sea glass!

We headed straight from the beach to Whitespot for lunch, Menchies for dessert and then to Sydney's cousin Avior's house for a visit followed by side by side pedicures at Pure Nail Bar.

The evening continued in a special time together as we made dinner side by side in the kitchen and then played in the garden and backyard all the while enjoying each other's company.


It was a precious day and left me wondering why I hadn't done this sooner!

Enjoying our Garden

Here we are, five days into May and I can already taste summer a little.  The days are getting warmer and longer and I'm longing for a little downtime in our backyard soaking up the sun. 

Sydney and I had a fun time this past weekend getting all of our planting done in the garden.  We were up with the birds at 6:30am on Sunday morning and out the door immediately to the Stongs garden sale which happens every year on the first Sunday of May. 

We had the best time wandering up and down the aisles looking at all of the plants and I let Syd choose whatever she wanted for her vegetable, herb and flower gardens.

We gathered everything we needed and spent the morning planting.

I absolutely love her new veggie container garden planted in a Veg Trug from Lee Valley.  Sydney planted fennel, kale, broccoli, Swiss chard, green lettuce, red lettuce, red bell pepper and spinach.

Here's her sweet herb garden.

And her flowers, pansies and marigolds in bright yellow containers.

We also planted a cherry tomato plant that we got in our takeaway bag from Weston and Gwen's party and a strawberry plant.

We got our geraniums in this weekend too, love how bright and cheerful they make our backyard look.

And speaking of cheerful, nothing makes me happier than to see how amazing my lilac bush looks this year!  It is bigger and with more blooms than ever before!

I couldn't resist cutting myself a bouquet for my kitchen to enjoy.

We are truly enjoying our garden this year and looking forward to many long summer days enjoying all that we've planted.