We were looking forward to starting the month of July off with the Canada Day Parade, a BBQ at our church and Fireworks but our littles were under the weather and so our Canada Day was very uneventful. Thankfully they had a speedy recovery and we squeezed lots of fun in the rest of the month. Here is just a few highlights...
To start it off we spent a week at Grammy & Grandpa's house in Langley. We enjoyed plenty of time outdoors, in the pool and with the chickens! It was great to visit Bethany Baptist and have lunch with the Kerby's. They introduced us to a new game (new to me, I think Jon had played it once before) called "Dominion" which we will likely add to our own collection soon.
We also had a lovely BBQ dinner at the Schunters. It was so nice catching up!
When we returned to the Island it was time for "Shipwrecked Kids Camp." This was a whole family event for us. It was a great week. The kids made some awesome crafts (fav's were drawing on t-shirts, a lighthouse and a parrot). My highlight was just hanging out at Blair Park one evening with the Summer Camp crew. The kids highlights were Gaga Ball and the Bouncy Castle. Jonathan braved leading the Pre-School group and everyone made some new friends along the way.
We also managed to squeeze in some hikes, park time, lake days, dinners with friends and a visit from the cousins in Victoria.
August was packed with so much fun that it flew by with the warm summer breeze. Rebekah turned 6 (even though I asked her kindly not to)... more on that in a separate post. Jonathan's sister and family visited from England and it was so much fun showing them our new home and some of the rest of Port Alberni too (Harbour Quay, Twin Cities, MountainView Bakery and the Hole on the Wall). We were able to return with them for a second Langley visit, take in a family reunion, catch up and soak up all the time and memories we could. Between the Lake and Grammy's Pool the kids developed amazingly in their swimming skills and water comfort levels. Another summer highlight was Joshua cannon balling down the waterslide. My littlest man never ceases to amaze me and is constantly entertaining at the least. Our littlest littlest Naomi spent the summer doing her best to keep up with her siblings and she always does a good job of that. This was true during a family outing to Parksville Mini Golf (David's Birthday Pick). The big kids and I (you have to be a certain hight) also did Bumper Boats for the first time.... but definitely not the last. Fun, fun and more fun.
We also attended a Bullhead Derby where the kids had fun catching fish. It was probably an hour before Joshua caught the first 3. Once he hooked one he had it down! Everyone except Samara caught something but she landed the first prize so she was happy about that. Joshua also won a prize.
Bringing all the fun around full circle we were able to end the summer with a picnic at the Harbour Quay and a spectacular oceanfront view of the Labour Day Fireworks with our good friends the Zvonars. It was cold and windy but truly magical. Thought we didn't quite check everything off our Summer Fun To Do List we did have an amazing few months and we are feeling truly blessed heading into Fall.
We hope you all enjoyed your summers as well as our summer update and we wish you a Happy Fall.
