let's celebrate....she's 8

Happy Birthday To Sundee!!

 time seems to have gone by very fast.  you have grown into a very lovely girl.  you are smart, kind, fun, energetic, full of drama and non stop excitement.  we love you and look forward to seeing what the next year will bring.

Rockin' around the Christmas Tree

I am definitely getting excited for Christmas.  I love everything that involves Christmas.  The  baking, decorating, lighting, gifting, wrapping, snacking, loving....... the list goes on.  


We got the tree out this weekend and the girls had a blast decorating it.  They are so good at it, I have taught them well. :)


Here's some pics.

Bribery

I am not one for bribery, it has this way of backfiring on you so I try to avoid it.
Today I am celebrating it's worth.


Sundee came home from school 2 weeks ago begging for a hair feather.  "Everyone's got one"
And she's almost right, the percentage is pretty high.  I wasn't too sure so I used a good standard line, "ask Dad."  He said no.


Later that evening as we were sitting watching tv, Sundee displayed a habit that lets just say she's had since just after she was born.  We have tried countless different tactics to rid her of this.  All to no avail.


 The lightbulb went on, and I issued my case.  She stops and she can have a hair feather.  "Ok I've stopped she said"  We made it 2 weeks and she agreed.


Basically I kind of forgot about this quite quickly.  We have movie nights on Fridays and she was quite squirmy, not as relaxed as usual.  Her very loved friend wasn't lying around for me to kick back into her bedroom, she was a little more grumpy and was waking up a little earlier.  Suddenly it hit me.  She had stopped her bad habit.  It was working.
  
She is a determined little thing but I really didn't think she wanted that feather so much.
Three cheers for her I must say.  Last night she said to me " you know I don't even think about "it" (her habit) anymore"


So here she is with her "feather in her cap".

Camping 2011

Here are a few photos from our recent camping trip to Tofino.

It may have been chilly at times but it sure was beautiful.

We had an awesome campsite filled with all these crazy trees

with giant roots sticking out for climbing over and under.

MacKenzie Beach.

"Kelp Skipping"

What an awesome sunset. I love those ripples in the sand.

We bought the kids a skim board. Here's Sundee trying it out.

Willow's turn. It was a very cold day here at Long Beach

but there was no stopping them.

Is this a skim boarder or an African dancer?

So excited to see starfish. All colors and sizes.

There was no need to hire a boat. All you need is Tery

and a boogie board.

Sundee sizing up the surf.

It was a fantastic long weekend. We came prepared with lots of warm clothes and blankets.

We left with a small fear of encountering a cougar but thankfully we didn't. Saturday we had the best

weather and ended the day with the most delicious pizza. I would chalk it up to be the best pizza I've ever had. All in all - Good Times.

AUGUST 18

I'm not sure what happened but I woke up this morning and there is a teenager in my house.

It's scary. How did this happen? Isn't she still supposed to be smaller than me, able to fit on my lap, sitting in the back seat of the car with her chubby cheeks giggling?

Instead I now look at this gorgeous leggy girl. With a beautiful smile, full of energy, great love and compassion. She blows me away with her insight, she is gracious and a wonderful sister. She loves life and lives it to it's fullest. Not only does she continue to grow taller but she also grows more mature.

Happy Birthday Willow. May your adventures as a teenager be full of joy.

Road Trip

It had been a long time, so it was about time. We packed our lunch - because we don't roll without a good spread (which also caught the attention of the crow that stalked us the whole time), and headed out. Destination - Botanical Beach.

After a wonderful drive, we arrived and as guaranteed by Sundee, the sun was shining.

There was a short hike to the beach where we saw some really cool bonsai trees and thankfully did NOT encounter any bears or cougars.

the marine biologists hard at work looking for a new discovery

these little pot holes were every where and filled with different kinds of creatures.

those little holes are filled with purple sea urchins.

The rock is sandstone and then behind this the rock turns black. Which we found out later is shale with lines of quartz running through it.

It all made for a lot of fun. So much to look at and a really good experience.

The pictures just don't do it justice. You'll just have to come and see for yourself.

qoute

Here is Willow's quote for the day.

"You can't shoot for the moon if you're too busy staring at the stars."