3 klassens in a park

i spent the early evening with 3 of my favourite people - josh, leah & ev, in the park, taking family photos.
i just uploaded them all onto my computer, and now instead of going to bed, like i honestly intended to... i've been going through them, looking for some gems. this one made me smile instantly, because I think it shows the love in this family.
i will post some more once i go through them all.

the rest of the evening included uncle mikey showing up, some high quality entertainment by ev & all his musical toys, chinese food, and episodes of parks & rec.
delightful.

recipe extraordinaire!

not sure if any of you read my recipe blog BUT i wanted to alert your attention to this deliciously wonderful new recipe i stole from becky

whole wheat cinnamon buns

go ahead, read the recipe and make them.. i dare you!

colors of autumn

waking up this morning i was just amazed at the colors i could see out my window
the tree in my front yard has taken on this beautiful Ombré effect of green to yellow
one side gets more sun, and it is just neat to see how it is so different on each side
then driving to work i was just in awe of the trees that have changed to a vibrant yellow
and a few red ones thrown into the mix


i just love autumn.


when other things in life aren't so sure
or aren't going as well or "beautifully" as we'd like
i think God makes us that much more aware of the simple beauty of his creation


he never turns his back on us.

anniversary anniversary anniversary!

today is september 26th, 2011

and i have officially been married to my best friend for 3 years

time flies!

i am still so thankful for michael

and i really do believe that you fall more in love the longer you are together

he understands what i'm saying when i don't say it

he laughs at my jokes and my crazy dance moves

he is the person i want to hang out with, day in day out

he's the first person i want to call when i have news, or something bad happens, or good, or that i'm just bored and want to chat

he's a hard worker, a supporter, patient, a good listener

he's funny and handsome and just the best.

i like to make up silly songs - that is something that is just me

normally they are quite dumb and juvenile, but they entertain me

michael will still love me after a whole day of me pretending that i'm in a musical - singing everything. 

last year on our anniversary i was asking michael for yet one more goodnight hug and kiss and i made up a silly song, where the words are basically "anniversary, anniversary.. hug and kiss, hug and kiss.." it made him laugh and shake his head at me

but, i knew that i had married the right guy for me this morning (well other times too obviously!) when he was saying goodbye to me and he sang my little song. 

a year later, he knew my little song

and he humoured me! best guy ever.

happy anniversary to my bestie

i love you!

here are way too many pictures of us from the past year (and a couple from maybe longer..) i tried to only pick a few, but .. oh well!

auntie ash & uncle mike with a much younger Ev!

2 peas in a pod

at a wedding

out for supper

off to another wedding...

mike's a good sport. not every guy would get this up close and personal with his brother in law and cousin in law :)

another wedding!

out for dinner in mexico

off to the beach in mexico! 

hanging out in mexico

most handsome guy ever!

mirror pictures in mexico 

at a japanese restaurant in mexico

mexico

our little family - we joked about sending this out as a christmas card.  

road trip to BC with phoebe

on the way to bc 

at a cabin in bc

suspension bridge in bc

another wedding! 

at the farm

at our new land!!!

we were going to go to a hotel for our anniversary, but since money is tight we had a "sleepover" in the living room instead. i dragged the mattress out there and it made it feel fun and different!

we took this picture on our way out to celebrate our anniversary. :)

etsy window shopping

i could spend hours browsing the items on etsy
(and i often do...)
quite honestly, money has been very tight for us lately
the lack of rain, and the intense heat was loved by some
but not by us
the grass didn't grow
therefore, our customers didn't have to pay
(plus i hate being sweaty!)
another reason to love this grey rainy weather :)

also, with the cooler weather i was thinking that christmas is basically just around the corner
so why not start browsing for things to go on my wish list!
also, i'm not having kids yet, but to help get the bug out of my system, why not window shop for cute baby things (so, if anyone in my etsy circles has noticed the abundance of kid things.. i'm not pregnant, just itching!)

here are my current favorites, you will note an OWL theme
because, lets face it, everyone loves owls!
in real life, totally freaky
but in whimsical cartoon form
the best!

if any of you are feeling like spending some money, i would graciously accept any of these items as gifts ;) no pressure!

daileedose

it's no secret that the bluejay has a very special meaning to our family. i thought this necklace was perfectly dainty and sweet. 

gingiber

i love calendars. i could have multiple calendars up in my office, my house, at any given time i have 2-3 agendar books going. it's kind of a problem. 

knitterbag

 a bag to hide your yarn is a must when you have 2 cats just dying to play with it!

olula

suhweetieshop

not sure that i could pull off this dress, but i'd have fun trying! 

parkersflourpatch

 everyone also knows i love to bake, and in my alternate universe i'm a baker! these owls were just to sweet!

redmarionette

nothing says "helloooo autumn" like an owl wreath. but don't actually buy me this one, it's $75!!

happy window shopping :)

a safe day

is anyone else loving this weather?
as i type, rain is pounding down on my window
i have the window open so that i can hear it coming down
and i can smell the fresh air

i just love rainy days

it's nice to have a day like today, where i feel like i can curl up with a book and a mug of tea, and no one can say anything bad about it.
it's good timing because i feel like i need a day to curl up
a safe day
lately i've been taking things very personally
comments from a lady lacking tact
well meaning jokes misinterpreted
and other things that i have just simply taken personally when i likely shouldn't

my brother said something to me, that these things were not a reflection of me
and that was encouraging

i think i just needed today though
a perfectly rainy day
my favorite kind of day
to curl up
read
rest
sip a hot drink
pray
and maybe even nap a little

a safe day

snapshots of summer

today i was walking home from starbucks, listening to my iPod, and enjoying the breeze, and it made me miss the lake. since september has hit, we haven't been back to the lake. it's been nice to get some stuff done around the house on the weekends, but i am not done with the lake yet! since i couldn't get out there this weekend, i decided to post some of my favourite pictures from the summer. you'll notice there are a lot of pictures of everett, and honestly.. it's because he's my favourite thing!!

enjoy the pictures!

 canada day at the farm! this was a very sweet kitten

 the pensive look on ev's face just kills me! he was not so sure about this goat.

 poppa & ev, best buds

 i love watching everett & leah together, such a sweet pair

 my bff & i

 taking ev out on the water

 lots of fun!

 a full boat! even ruth was there that weekend :)

 i love watching ev's face when he sees Josh

 my dad discovered this nest of baby birds right by the cabin!

 when we are away.. the cats will play. came home to this mess of yarn one day.

 a gift from my friend lisa - russian dolls that are measuring cups!

 the next shots are pictures of the perennials that i planted this year!

 doing some organizing one afternoon.. my cat, chips, decided to give me a hand..

 this year i reorganized our bedroom furniture and finally put up pictures from our wedding, i love it.

 PUMPED about his play structure

 this tattoo makes me miss my grandma, in a wonderfully loving, thankful way.

 my mom & her bestie, auntie josie

 my man, showing off his moves!

 i love this one, where he's doing a "yes!" pose for landing a jump!

 we went across the sand bar one day, and i couldn't get over how still the lake was!

 my man and his summer hair! it's all gone now!

 mom & me

 dad & mike checking out the lake

and finally.. the help i get from chandler when i am doing laundry!

happy summer! and this week, happy autumn!!