Noah

July will always be a month for remembering.

It was 1 year this week since my nephew Noah died. A year of "firsts" has passed for my sister and her family, but the grief is far from over...

Slowly but Surely

Silas is finally making some progress in the walking department...

3 years

Prairie Goodness

We've been thoroughly enjoying our summer so far. The kids and I have been taking advantage of the warm weather, the big yard and Granny's garden. Erik has been working some long days at the cabin but is loving every minute of it (you can check out the renovation progress in my facebook album). Being here brings back so many memories of growing up and it's fun for me to re-live my childhood through this prairie summer on the farm...

Manitoba summers are about endless yellow fields and bike-rides down the lane.

Manitoba summers are about bonfires on the yard...

... and mosquitos :P

And don't forget the s'mores!

Manitoba summers are about taking evening walks to watch storm clouds give way to beautiful sunsets...

...and a sea of canola with a view of the town in the distance.

Manitoba summers are about picking raspberries.

Manitoba summers are about taking morning walks or runs down the quiet gravel roads. Who needs an i-pod when you can listen to nature?

Water

We've been enjoying the days and days of warm weather here. The kids have been having fun on the farm and spending some time with their cousins. And most of the fun seems to center around water!

Water on the trampoline is the favourite for most of the kids.


Except for Keziah, who prefers splashing by herself in the wading pool.

We've also set up the sprinkler a time or two...



Keziah figured Charlie needed some water too.

Silas and Charlie cooling off in the shade.

And Micah & Keziah have been busy with swimming lessons last week and this week. Micah is in "Salamander" - which I was worried about, but he is being super brave!




Keziah was unwilling to go in the water without me, so I put her in the "Sea Turtle" class - which is fine except it means that I have to go in the water too.

The kids don't seem to have a problem putting their heads under the water, but I think Micah's having trouble with his front float. We'll find out on Friday if they passed or not. The most important thing is that they're really enjoying their lessons - which is such a relief after the last few years of Micah being terrified of swimming lessons!

July Celebrations

The July long weekend was full of celebrations. First there was Canada Day, of course. We took the kids into town to watch the fireworks and were quite impressed! In fact, they were possibly even slightly better than Abbotsford's since we didn't have to listen to cheesy music playing the whole time.

Then, Erik turned 30 on July 2nd. Despite it being a huge milestone birthday, the day was pretty low key - some of my family joined us and we enjoyed some of Erik's favourite foods - pulled-pork fajitas (too bad the Boissevain Co-op didn't have the ingredients for fresh salsa) and fruit pizza for dessert.

Here's a close-up of my fruit pizza masterpiece :) Maybe you'll remember his birthday post from 4 years ago when I made another birthday fruit pizza with Erik's name written in kiwis.

On July 3rd we went to Lake Metigoshe with my parents and my sister Nichole's family for a picnic supper and boat ride.

The kids braved the lake water and even swam all the way to the dock with Daddy's help.

Silas has been practicing his standing - he's still leaning against the cooler in this picture, but is getting more confident on his feet. He's finally taken a few steps all on his own just in the last few days.

Lake Metigoshe is a huge lake. A small corner of it is in Canada (which is where my parents' cabin is) but the majority of the lake is in the US (North Dakota). Every year they have a big fireworks show over the water during the July 4th weekend. Hundreds of boats gather out on the lake and wait for it to get dark. This was a first for our family - and definitely something that should become a yearly tradition!

Canadian & proud of it!

Boats gathering to watch the ski show that was taking place a few hours before the fireworks.

Grandpa got a bit of a break while Silas took the wheel.

Getting cozy in the boat.

Silas finally succumbed to sleep.

Waiting for it to get dark seemed to take forever! But the neat part was that all the surrounding cabins were setting off their own fireworks - so there was a bit of a "pre-show" to watch.

Erik snuggling with our niece, Kailyn.

Silas woke up just before the big show started and was totally mesmerized by the fireworks. It was amazing how many boats were out there! Definitely a memorable experience :)

Summer Has Arrived

I've forgotten how Manitoba's humidity can make almost any day feel warm. I love waking up in the morning and knowing that I can put on shorts and a tank-top without even checking the weather channel :)

Yes, summer is here. And despite some rain showers & thunder storms (which I know are bad for all the farmers right now but I'm still quietly enjoying them), we've been taking advantage of the warmth.

Silas getting re-acquainted with his oldest cousin, Maddy.

Maddy going up to bat at her baseball game.

Keziah watching from the sidelines.

Cousin Judah had a run-in with a mean mosquito the night before.

Testing out Grandpa's new toy at Lake Metigoshe:

The kids loved it (but it was a pretty tame ride!)

Silas wasn't a big fan of the boat, unfortunately.

Keziah was even convinced to jump right into the lake. Micah went in as well, but much more tentatively than his sister.

Babies plus watermelon equals cute pictures: