Salt Spring Island

This past weekend, Kevin and I were able to 'get away' for a few days.  We had found a Groupon for a place on Salt Spring Island and so we snatched it up.  It was a place that neither of us had ever been to and it looked like a nice place to explore. We've been to Mayne Island  (another one of the Gulf Islands) a few times before and enjoyed it there.  Salt Spring is the biggest of the Gulf Islands.

 Esther and John and the girls graciously agreed to watch our children for the weekend, which we were extremely appreciative of.  We are blessed by their willingness to do that for us! - and our kids love it there!

We started on Friday night by taking the 10:30 p.m. ferry over to the island and arriving around midnight.  We enjoyed sleeping in the next morning and then we started exploring.  There is a huge market on Saturdays so after a late breakfast we headed there.  It was full of lots of produce, baking and other goods, all containg the word 'organic'.  Along with many other tables of jewllery, woodwork, crafts, clothing, etc., it was a fun place to poke around in for a while.

Kevin, of course, could not refrain from buying some second hand books.  Now, if he could only find the time to read them!  Maybe if the Canucks are eliminated after round 1 . . .  :(

After some time spent in the info center and looking at a few maps, we spent the rest of the afternoon driving around the north half of the island, just stopping at different places and taking in the scenery.   It was a beautiful day and every place we stopped at was just gorgeous.

How nice would it be to have one of those places on the coast?  We can always dream, can't we?

After a day of walking around, we enjoyed a few bevereges by the marina, along with some local fish and chips. 

The next day we drove around the bottom half of the island, spending most of it in Rykel Provincial Park.  We felt like we were the only people around for miles!  It really was such a treat to just take some time and slow down!!

Finally, here are just a few cool shots that Kevin took of places around the island. 

A few more things . . .graduation, crafts, tents and eggs!

Just a few more random things for me to blog about . . .

Owen had his Wee College Graduation last week. He finished his year 2 and was quite proud to receive his diploma, as well as recite all his verses and sing his songs!

 During the second week of Spring break, the weather was not very nice so we did more indoor stuff.  Kendra finished making her kitty stuffy - part of a kit that she received from Oma and Opa for Christmas.  Grandma had helped her start it a few weeks before and Mommy helped her with the finishing touches at the end.   It turned out pretty cute!!

 I really do love thrift store shopping. Here is my latest find.  This is now our new reading tent!  You just never know what you are going to find on a thrift store treasure hunt! 

And finally, Happy Belated Easter to you all!  We had a beautiful weekend celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord!

 All dressed up and ready for church on Easter Sunday!

 We had a small Easter egg hunt at Uncle Rany and Auntie Shelley's place.  The kids had great fun finding all their eggs, and of course, counting, comparing and trading them afterwards!

Look!  I found another one!

Very serious on her search for more eggs!

That's about all for now! 

A Fairy Party!

We now have a 7 year old in our house! Kendra celebrated her 7th birthday on March 17.  Her favourite books to read right now are a series called "Rainbow Magic" - stories about all different kinds of fairies.  So, it only made sense to have a "Fairy Party!"

 I googled "Fairy Birthday cake" and of course there were many, many different ideas for fairy cakes, but all of them a little too elaborate for me.  Kendra spotted this one and I agreed that I could do that.  This was my first attempt at an all fondant cake.  I love the smooth look it gives the cake and I was happy with my flowers.  I only wished that I had practiced the white piping  a little before I did the cake as it looks a little wobbly!  However, my 7-year old was thrilled with it, so I was happy too!

For the party, I did a few 'centers' that had to do with fairy stuff.  I knew my mom was going to be here so I had an extra pair of hands to help me out.  (Kevin took the younger two 'out' during party time so I didn't have those extra hands to worry about!)  The girls all decorated headbands with ribbons and flowers. 

Each girl also got a small clay pot.  They each got to paint and decorate their pot and put their name on the top with stickers.  We then filled them up with soil and planted a few Nasturtium seeds. (The package said they were easy to grow.   Now, a few weeks later, the plants are quite tall already and ready to be put outside.)

 Finally, they each made an origami tulip to put in their flower pots.  I added a few easter eggs in their pots before they went home and these were their 'goodie-bags', along with their headbands. 

Throw in some 'make-you-own mini-pizzas', a few treats, a game or two, some girl stuff and call it a party!! It was a fun morning!  Till next year!!

School stuff

Abbotsford Christian School - I love the school that my kids go to.  Maybe I'm a little biased as this was also the school that I was employed at for a few years.  However, now that I am  on the parent side of things, I realize just how important  a good school is.  I so appreciate the teachers that my kids have been blessed with.  I appreciate the friendships they are forming.  I appreciate the overall feel and vision of the school.  Each of my kids are encouraged to be the best they can be, they are challenged to be better learners, better friends, better followers of God.  Aside from the everyday things that my kids come home with, there are also so many great events that go on during the school year as well. 

Grandparents Day -  Kendra was SO excited for this day to finally come.  There was an added surprise when Grandma decided to surprise her by coming for a visit.  She had already sent her invitation  to Smithers, thinking that Grandma wouldn't be there.  So fun to have Oma & Opa and Grandma in her classroom!

Grandparent's Day was on a Thursday this year, and this was not a Kindergarten Day for Owen so he felt a little bummed out that he didn't get to have any visitors.  So, Grandma made sure that she spent some time in his classroom the next day!

African Festival Day - For the month of February, Kendra's Grade One class studied all things African.  For their wrap-up they had an African Festival.  They all had to dress in traditional African clothes, they did African games and crafts and had an  African feast at lunch time.  What a great way to celebrate their learning!

Jungle Day - For Owen, his theme study for the month of Februay was the Rainforest and Jungle.  They wrapped up their unit with a animal dress-up day.  Owen doesn't really get quite as excited about these sort of days as his older sister does but we did manage to convince him to dress up a little - he went as a black panther.  I think he looked pretty cute!!

Back again!

It has been a long time since I've done a blog post.  Our computer died around the end of February.  We knew it was kind of on it's last legs but thought it might last for a while yet.  Nope - it just died and would not even turn on.  At least it wasn't a virus so we knew that all of our info and pictures were safe - just locked away in a computer that wouldn't turn on!   So, after a few months of Kevin taking home his work laptop most nights for me to check e-mails, we now have a computer again.  Not having a computer during the day did make me realize a few things.  I did realize that I probably waste too much of my day doing mindless searching, blog-hopping, etc.  While those things are fun to do, I have to watch that I don't fall back into that again.  One of the pitfalls of being a stay-at-home mom!  However, I am quite happy to have a computer back again.  I can again find my recipes, do pictures, google facts that I just really need to know . . . and of course, do the odd blog post!

So, we've had a few things happen in the deWolde house hold that I'll try to do postings about - a 7th birthday, school theme days, Spring Break activities, and just life in general. I'll leave this post with a few pictures of my kiddies on some park adventures!