A Week of Adventure and Fun!

Last week Emma and I went on an adventure. I guess it actually started a little bit before that on the Friday. Chad, Emma, Finlay and I all packed into our vehicle with a week's worth of supplies to go camping for just over a week. (A huge thank you here to my brother Lindon and sis-in-law Denise for the use of their trailer!). We did go to the lake with Emma last year as well but not for as long and she wasn't quite as mobile. I was so looking forward to getting out of the city for a while and we ended up having a wonderful time. It's surprising how much "stuff" I ended up having to pack for just Emma and I for the week! We managed to get it all in our vehicle though and there was still enough room for Emma's "guys" (her stuffies).

The weather was beautiful the majority of the time even if it did get quite hot. We had a way to keep cool though thanks to Gramma...

After a fun weekend with Daddy it was time for him to come back home for the week. Emma, Finlay and I stayed in Lindon's trailer and Gramma was in her trailer. We had a fun week filled with beach time, park time, a trip into Stettler for some shopping and just enjoying being in the peace and quiet. I was surprised that there was basically no one else out there and both mornings that we went to the beach we had it totally to ourselves. I so enjoyed not hearing traffic or horns or sirens! It was so dark at night as well without the streetlights. I have missed that kind of quiet.

 Every morning Emma would have cuddle time with Minnie and share what she calls her "candy medicine" (probiotics) with her. It was pretty cute.

 Playing in the lake. Always a little timid at first and then of course once it's time to leave she doesn't want to.

 Lots of quality time and memory making with Gramma.

 Swinging on the big girl swing!

 Eating half of one of Daddy's giant freezies. Yum!

 She blew it up by herself and she was quite excited about that!

 More lake time. She loved floating around and riding in Gramma's boat (kayak).

 Blowing bubbles!

 Down time in the trailer having a snack and watching a video.

 Off to Stettler for some shopping.

 Being goofy with the camera.

We also went to Red Deer one day where Emma had lots of fun playing with her cousins and with the bunny which she loved very much as you will see. She was sad to leave and waved and blew kisses out the vehicle window.

We got back to the lake just in time for a nasty storm to blow through. Emma and I snuggled up and watched a video and had popcorn while the wind blew and the rain came down and the thunder and lightning were crashing and flashing. Gramma was in her trailer watching the storm and said a bolt of lightning came awfully close to hitting the trailer we were in. So thankful for God's protection! Emma was so brave during it all and it was pretty precious when at one point all she said was "Hold Emma'. 

I gladly did so.

I loved watching Emma transform while we were there. She is quite timid when it comes to new things and especially if it involves getting dirty or walking through tall grass and things like that. By the end of the week she was running everywhere and her legs were scratched up and she would be so dirty by bedtime. It was so good for her in so many ways! I loved watching her enjoying and discovering the world around her.

It was finally time for Daddy to come back and that night we had a fire and she had her first roasted hot dog and Doritos. The Doritos were definitely the hit of the night!

We had such a good week and I am so glad that we went. It was a week filled with fun and laughter and milestones and making memories. I would definitely do it again but next time Daddy has to be there too. We missed him so much and it was just too long to be apart. 

Thanks again Lindon and Denise!!!

Say Cheese!

I have been wanting to do this post for a week or so now but wanted to wait until Emma's grandparents received their photos first. We had a family photo shoot with Grace from EarlGray Images back in June. She is the same photographer who did photos for Emma's first birthday last year. It was fun to do them with her again and I look forward to it being a yearly tradition. We were worried that Emma might not cooperate and play shy but she was all smiles and giggles and she asked for "Miss Grace" so many times after that day. It was pretty cute. It was a beautiful afternoon and Grace took so many beautiful photos. I won't post them all here but will try and narrow them down to my absolute favorites.

Here is the amazing family that God has blessed me with. My cup runneth over!

 Grace took a photo just like this last year as well. Fun to see how Emma has grown and changed!

 Oh but she loves her Minne Mouse!

 My precious daughter. More thankful for her than words could ever express.

 How I love being her Mommy!

 This photo is my absolute favorite. It brings tears to my eyes every time. Emma adores her Daddy and the feeling is most definitely mutual.

 Such a perfect capture of Emma's personality.

 I am going to have this one made into a canvas print. I love it. My Chad leading and protecting his girls. The tree planted by the rivers of water (you can't see the river in this photo but Grace was actually on the other side of it taking the photo).

 She loves to swing!

All photos by Grace at EalrGray Images

www.earlgrayimages.com

Transformation

When Chad and I got married we talked about not staying in our house for too many years with the desire to move perhaps to an acreage. Almost 8 years later and we are still in the same house. For quite some time I was looking at other houses and longing to move and just didn't feel settled. Emma coming helped that very much but I still looked because now I want to get her out of the city to grow up in the country. I am not sure what happened but sometime in the last little while my heart has changed. We have talked about it alot and how it makes more sense to stay where we are for a while longer to pay down the mortgage and then hopefully be able to move to a house and area that we love and could be in for a long time and raise our family. So this spring we finally did some landscaping and I feel more settled and more like our home is finally becoming our home. We also plan on finishing the basement this year which would be wonderful and give Emma and I more room and options during our long cold winters.

The landscaping was alot of work but so worth it! Our backyard feels like a backyard now instead of just a grassy area and we enjoy being out in it. We still have more that we would like to do but will save it for next year perhaps and see what happens.

I took during and after photos of it all. Of course Chad did most of the grunt work (he worked so hard!) with me helping where I could and once the gardens were ready to plant it was time for me to do the grunt work. Emma loved helping and it was fun watching her get involved.

Building the raised garden beds...

 Best little surpervisor ever!

 Chad never ceases to suprise and impress me with what he knows and what he can do!

 We ripped up all the sod in the area where we wanted the gardens...

 and then Chad spent a long time salvaging as much of the dirt as he could.

 Looking good!

 Emma has her own little garden box.

 Watering the rocks. :)

 Helping mix the dirt

 Our beautiful little apple tree

 Emma's garden

 I also did a little fairy garden for Emma

 Look! Everything is actually growing! It has been fun to eat from the garden and I am looking forward to harvest time!

 So pretty now

 Look at all those apples! There are so many this year that some of the branches are hanging quite low. Apple pies! Applesauce! Apple butter! Yum!