We're Going to Vancouver... Again!

Four years ago we took our first out-of-province trip as a family. We chose beautiful British Columbia because that's where Steve and I honeymooned and we wanted to share that location with our kids. We had such a blast and knew we'd be heading back there again some day.

The following year we went to Niagara Falls and we were planning to continue a once-a-year trip to whatever location we were in the mood for (Saskatoon and Germany would have been nice!). Naturally the pandemic derailed our plans and our trips were limited to our yearly visits at Grammy's.

Now, two years later, it finally seems like a good time to consider travel again! We had a few options in mind, knowing that we wanted to keep it in Canada for now. Calgary, Saskatoon, Vancouver, and the Maritimes were all contenders. What sold us on Vancouver, other than the fact that we already knew we loved it, was the amazing deal on flights we got: just $90 per ticket!

Our trip is in July and we are very excited! This time around we'll be spending a couple of days in Whistler before visiting our Vancouver friends and hitting all our favourite spots from our 2018 trip. Here's hoping it all goes smoothly!

Whistler in July (source)

March Break Highlights

We managed a perfect balance of activities and relaxation this March Break. The girls tried indoor skating for the first time (that's some nice ice!), we went on a couple of nature hikes, did some rock climbing, and had two archery lessons. The rest of the week was spent chilling at home. We started watching another season of Survivor (37: David vs. Goliath) and enjoyed the couple sunny, warm days.

Ready for Archery Lesson #1

Already improving in Lesson #2!

The kids are back to school today with a bonus: the mask mandate has been lifted! Everyone is excited to see their classmates' smiles after nearly two years of masking. A few other COVID restrictions have changed too, like bigger recess groups and closer seating arrangements. Is it the beginning of the end? Or just a temporary break? We shall see. 

Birthday Weekend

Another birthday has come and gone! Now I'm 39 and feelin' fine. I had a lovely weekend with lots of treats and family time, including my beloved Costco ice cream, a take-out dinner from Days on Front, a sweet birthday card, rock climbing with the family, and calls and messages from loved ones. It was topped off with a steak dinner and dark chocolate mousse at my parents'!   

Ice cream... and a donut for Emily, of course!

The only unfortunate part was that COVID hit my sister's house, so we weren't able to celebrate with my birthday buddy, Lorelei! We wished her a happy 9th birthday with a quick FaceTime call. I'm sure we'll catch up on the partying later.

Opening her present from us

Danke für den Anruf, Oma! ♥

Playing games at G-M's & G-P's

♪ And many more! (please)

Nathalieland Update - School/Archery/House/Hair

It's been a quiet start to the month of March! Just a few tidbits to share:

Character Dress Up. It's Spirit Week at school with a different dress-up theme every day. The only one the girls were interested in was today: dress up as your favourite book/movie character. So they were Clove and Katniss from Hunger Games!

Kingston Archery Club. Given the girls' interest in the Hunger Games, we thought it would be fun to sign up for archery lessons with the Kingston Archery Club. All four of us will be taking beginner lessons together on Saturday afternoons for 6 weeks (first lesson is this weekend!). We'll see how that goes.

Construction Next Door. Remember the empty lot/hole next door? It's finally turning into a home! A concrete retaining wall was put in place a few weeks ago and now they are filling and compacting the hole, getting it ready to put a foundation. About time!

A Healthy Trim. I'm having fun growing out my hair to see if I can rock long locks with gray streaks. But after six months of no cuts, the ends were looking scraggly! It was time for a healthy trim.

Other than that we are gearing up for the main events of the month: my birthday and March Break!

Picture Per Hour - March

 

March 1, 2022

6:00am:

Programming my run

7:00am:

Ironing my shirt

8:00am:

Morning snacks for the girls

9:00am:

Walking Jessi to school
(Emily stayed home sick)

10:00am:

Visiting Ludy (and rollerblading)

11:00am:

Playing Mario Kart

12:00pm:

Doing some school work

1:00pm:

Going through my childhood keepsake boxes

2:00pm:

Watching an Easy German video

3:00pm:

Reading a funny book from my childhood with E

4:00pm:

After-school screen time

5:00pm:

Playing with friends

6:00pm:

Making dinner

7:00pm:

Laughing about something on the couch

8:00pm:

Bedtime reading and snacks with J

9:00pm:

Emily's bedtime reading with Daddy

Lights out for me shortly before 10:00pm, just the way I like it!