back to school

my guy is off to 4th grade today! 
 
kai is excited to find out who his teacher will be and hoping for his best friends to be in his class (that's always a nerve-wrecking one, isn't it?).  he is even more excited to be a year older tomorrow.
 
and so off we went... i was excited and nervous for him.   he was cool.  i can't wait to see what this year has in store for my guy.
 



to say good-bye to summer vacation i promised kai an afternoon at the fair.  he's asked and asked and asked and i finally took him on our last day together this summer vacation.  he loved everything about it, the cotton candy, the bumper cars, motorcycle aerials, the games.  but especially the superdogs - i swear he didn't stop smiling during the entire show except to tell me, 'i like this!' with a great big grin. 
 
perhaps it'll become a tradition, to take kai to the fair right before school starts... to get dirty, win silly prizes, and his favourite - to come home with a sticky cotton candied face.
 

 



 



 

 



 

  

 

i am going to miss us, our lazy mornings and our afternoons of activities.  we are now heading back into routine, packed lunches, and after school activities.  it's all good though.  happy back to school time! 

weekend pics

this weekend was consumed by words with friends (that on-line scrabble game, you know the one?).  i was unmotivated to do anything and feeling guilty about since it was the long weekend and i felt like i was missing out on fun. 

i think (maybe?) what is happening is that i've gone from a state of non-stop busyness to not too much happening.  during this bit of relaxed schedule, i should at least be tucking into a book or the mountain of magazines that are piling up, something. but instead i'm in this state of daze. i walk around the house not knowing what to do. i'm sure it's normal, i hope.  

i'm thinking that my inability to motivate means my body and mind might just need to do nothing at all... except play words with friends that is (or maybe i'm addicted to the game!?).

thank goodness for my boys... it was for them that i found myself on a little hike at the bottom of grouse mountain (we wanted to go up the mountain but it was far too busy).  instead, we discovered new hiking trails at cleveland dam park (this is where vancouver gets water supply) followed by a visit to the hatchery.  it was incredible seeing the fishes make their way up the 'ladder' - a first for all of us.  and it was lovely to be out and about.




grouse mountain... can you see the gondolas?



 

 

 

a family enjoying the view

my boys managed to bake up a storm.  first up, boterkoek, a dutch butter cake that kai discovered on our road trip to the okanagan.  whenever we pass by this particular road, stefan makes a stop to stock up on dutch licorice and a piece of boterkoek.  boterkoek is simply to make (i think i can do it too!) and very yummy to eat, perfect with a cup of tea.

 



 

then they baked creme brulee... kai is a fan of the dessert.  add some beer can chicken with corn salad as a main course and we had a recipe for a lovely dinner with friends.  kai adores patrycja and asked all day, 'what time is patrycja coming?'.  he enjoyed playing mario cart with her as well as eating up the pie she brought over.  and thank goodness she surprised us with dessert because the creme brulee didn't quite turn out (although kai was oblivious to this fact and ate it up, yup two desserts for one little boy!).  it's a rarity that stefan is off his game in the kitchen (i won't mention that even the flat bread didn't quite turn out), he says physics wasn't on his side.  but damn, his day in the kitchen was well worth it for that yummy and moist beer can chicken and delicious corn salad. thank you my dear!  and thank you patrycja and steve for bringing a pie!