A Day in WhiteRock

Saturday was a beautiful day so we decided to head out for the day to WhiteRock. My mom decided to surprise me with a visit for my birthday so it was fun to have her along too. We first walked along the path and then out along the pier. The kids loved looking at the birds, the fish and checking out all the boats. Then we gave them their buckets and shovels and they played in the sand/mud/water. So fun!! The tide was on its way out so there was lots of room to play. We ended with a late picnic lunch on the grass before heading back home again.

Flower creations

For the first day in a long while, it was raining outside. So, we had to entertain ourselves inside the house and Kendra decided that we needed some new flowers for mommy's table. So, this is what we did:

1. We gathered all the things that we would need: scraps of paper, pipe cleaners, buttons, paper cutter and a hole punch.

2. Decide on a colour for your flower and cut the paper into 6 strips. It really doesn't matter how long or wide you make them - it just makes a different shape flower!

3. Punch 3 holes in each strips - one on each end and one in the middle.

4. Poke the strips through the pipe cleaner, first the middle hole and then the 2 outer ones. Do this with all 6 strips.

5. Finally, choose a button and poke it through the pipe cleaner and then poke the pipe cleaner back through the button and down through all the holes again. Twist on the bottom under the flower.

6. Voila! A beautiful bouquet of flowers, that require no watering, don't wilt and look kinda cute on the table!

Roses

One of the first things we bought for our back yard 7 years ago was a small climbin rose bush. It was only about 2 feet high and we put a small trelis behind it to support it (which you can still see against the fence). Well, as you can see, it has grown a bit since then! Last summer it was growing out of control so this winter I took my pruning sheers and took about half the bush away. Most of the reading I did on climbing roses said that if you give it a good prune, you will likely not have any flowers that year, but more will come the next year. So, I was delighted this year, when I started seeing lots and lots of buds and with this hot weather, they grew very quickly into beautiful, red roses!! It still looks a little crazy (especially with the neighbor's large weeds behind it!) but I just love all the bright red colour it adds to the back yard!

Water park fun

It is very hot here right now so what better thing to do than play in some water! We headed down to Mill Lake early this morning, to try to beat the rush of people and before it became TOO hot! The kids both had a great time splashing in the water and playing with their friends who also came to join us!

Weekend getaway!

I spent this past weekend with my friend Monique out in Kelowna. We both decided that it had been too long since we had seen each other and it would be great to get away for a few days. So, she flew and I drove and we had an awesome weekend together - talking, laughing, shopping, eating, watching movies and just hanging out together! The weather was absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed every minute of our little retreat away!

We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast called "An English Rose Garden" on the far south side of Kelowna. It was a great place, with an amazing yard and delicious breakfasts!