Second Time's a Charm

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you will remember last April when I took Sydney to Disneyland for the very first time.  We were giddy with anticipation of her first visit there and were so disappointed when she fell ill the during the trip and ended up at Children's Hospital of Orange County, which is definitely not the happiest place on earth!

Ever since that fateful trip I promised Sydney that I would take her back to Disneyland and this summer it finally came true!  Auntie Liane joined us for four days in California that we won't soon forget!

It was neat to see how Sydney was into different things this year over last during our visit.  Last year was all about the princesses and while they certainly were a big part of our trip this year, she was also much more into the rides and the experiences.

We met lots of favourite characters, Daisy Duck, Cinderella, Belle, Snow White and even Anna and Elsa which was definitely a highlight for Syd!

This year Disneyland is celebrating their 60th anniversary and they had things decked out in such a fun way for the celebration, including the castle which was topped with sparkly blue turrets!

We so enjoyed Downtown Disney this year as well having many lovely meals there and doing a little shopping on the side!

Sydney's favourite rides by far were King Arthur's Carousel, It's a Small World and The Little Mermaid ride.

She loved the parade too and took dozens of pictures of all of the great characters.

We spent some time at California Adventure Park too watching the electric light show and hanging out on Promenade Pier where we rode the ferris wheel together.

Sydney spent a very special morning at Anna and Elsa's boutique having her hair, makeup and nails done to transform her into Queen Elsa for the day.  It was pretty magical!

Everyday while we were on vacation I told Sydney that she could choose just one souvenir from Disneyland to take home with her.  She decided on day two that she wanted to take home a special Build a Bear from the Build a Bear Workshop store in Downtown Disney. 

She chose a big pink bear and dressed it up like Minnie Mouse and proudly named it Ella.  It has become one of her most prized possessions!

We managed to take a little break from the parks for an afternoon and headed to the factory outlets to do some shopping followed by a few hours at Huntington Beach.  It was heavenly!

It was a wonderful trip made all the more so by the fact that Sydney enjoyed herself so so much while we were there.  I think this might be the start of an annual tradition!

Happy Canada Day

Today is July 1st, Canada's 148th birthday.  It was a blazing hot day today in Vancouver, it feels as though it's been 25 degrees or more for several straight weeks, almost as though it will never rain again.  I am loving it!

We had a beautifully chill day as a family together today.  I got up early, before the heat was too intense, and got in a great run to keep up my training for the 10K race that I'll be running in September.  I love that I decided to run early in the morning on a sprinkling day, I literally ran through one sprinkler after another and was cool and misted the entire way there and back!

Just as I was getting home Paul and Sydney were heading out for a walk together so I joined them and we all walked up to the Starbucks on Dunbar for coffee together.  It is just so lovely to have a completely unstructured day with no schedule.  We hung out at home, folded laundry, played in the back yard with the sprinkler and in the bouncy castle, had a nap and barbecued delicious steaks for dinner tonight.  I haven't felt this relaxed in ages!

Having some extra time at home has meant that I've had more time in the kitchen to make a few homemade things and try some new recipes.   Sydney and I made a batch of mini banana muffins early yesterday morning with some overripe bananas from the fruit bowl.  Syd has made this recipe with me so many times that she can literally almost make the entire batch herself!

I had a hankering for crab cakes so I thought I'd try my hand at making some myself.  Thanks to a very simple recipe on Epicurious which you can find here, they turned out super well and were delicious!

Paul cut out a super fun recipe from the newspaper the other day for Gin and Tonic popsicles so I thought I'd give them a try!  With a very few key ingredients they were fast and easy to make and oh so delicious on a hot and sticky summer day!

Speaking of hot and sticky, Sydney has been embracing summer like never before, enjoying being outdoors, playing in the sun and water all day!  Her hair has grown so much, it is literally 2/3 of the way down her back so she often complains that it's too hot on her neck. We've been experimenting with various forms of updos, braids, ponytails, buns...loved this look from the other day.

We hopped in the car and headed to the beach to watch the sun set yesterday night.  It was an absolutely beautiful evening and Syd had such fun collecting a bucket of shells and making her own creation in the sand with them.

I hope that you had a great Canada Day wherever you were!

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.