Our Summer

We had an awesome summer. The weather was absolutely amazing. After three years of cool, wet summers we finally had heat. Heat! It was glorious. For those of us who love hot weather it was a welcome change and will make going into another Saskatchewan winter a little more tolerable. Not much, but at least a little.

We were so happy to have had a wonderful -- though short -- visit with Dan and Leigh Ann who came on a whirlwind trip from Kentucky. We always love their visits and wish we could have spent more time with them but even the short time we had was great.

Bryn was in swimming lessons, we went to the Ex and other festivals in the city, visited the splash parks, hung out at home, went for a visit to Yorkton and to Regina. We also took a micro holiday to Banff with an overnight stop in Calgary on the way home. It was a busy summer.

The big news is Bryn started kindergarten this year. But since that's such an important event, I'll save that for a separate post.

Dance started up again last week (what was I thinking?!) and swimming lessons start again this week. Bryn has never been one to enjoy having her face in the water so she's having to repeat the level she took in the summer but I know she'll get the hang of it eventually.

Bryn's biggest passion is still drawing. She will go through a ream of paper in a month no problem. Our walls are covered with her drawings. And she wants to keep them all. I'm going to have to rent a storage locker just for her artwork. Her reading is coming along well -- though she's stubborn and will only read out loud when she wants to -- and she also likes "math", or at least her version of math.

She's constantly asking questions about something or another -- whether it's the meaning of a word or how something is made or wondering "how did God make himself?". She certainly keeps us on our toes. Thank goodness for the internet and Google, who is almost a person in our house. "Mom, let's just ask Google, maybe he will know."

She continues to keep us laughing with all her antics and the silly things she comes up with. She's decided she wants to be an inventor when she grows up. Or maybe a scientist. Or an acrobat or a rock and roll star. It changes a lot but the main theme in all her ideas about growing up is that wherever she ends up I will be going with her because I'm her "best lovey". Awww. :)

According to Bryn, her best talent is loving. (Awww again.) Tonight she asked what famous means. When I told her she said she wants to be famous one day. I asked if she wanted to be a famous artist or singer or scientist. She said no, she wants "to be a famous lover". Oh my.

Uncle Dan and Auntie Leigh Ann.

Story time with Auntie Leigh Ann.

Fun at the Jazz Fest.

Bryn and her best buddy Caia.

"Papa? Did you hear me, Papa?" :)

Katja came to visit for a few days. Bryn was in heaven.

Swimming lessons.

Bryn actually went on a few rides by herself at the Ex this year. I tried to talk her into some bigger rides but this was about as wild as she was willing to get.

The ponies are still her favorite.

I love the mountains and need my mountain fix every few years. We hadn't been since before Bryn came home so we decided to take a few days and go to Banff and show Bryn what a real mountain looks like. She wasn't quite as awestruck with the mountains as I always am when I see them, but she liked them enough that she thought we should move to "Banth". I tend to agree with her.

Our first stop in the mountains. This is the spot Girard and I always stop to say hello to the mountains when we're on our way to Banff.

The breathtaking beauty of Lake Louise.

Throwing stones in the Bow River.

I'm almost embarrassed to say this was the first time Bryn had ever had her feet in water other than a pool. It's hard to believe we live near a hundred lakes and we've never taken her to the beach! The water was ice cold but wading in the river was her favorite part of our holiday.

At the top of Sulphur Mountain.

Bryn with my niece Cara and her boyfriend Sean. Cara is living in Banff while on a work study program at The Banff Centre. Spending time with them was an added bonus on our trip!

Zonked out after a day of sightseeing.

I love this photo.

As always, we had lots of laughs and tons of fun at Glen and Luke's in Calgary. We hadn't seen Girard's cousins in years and had fun catching up with them. Mason, Adam, Jill, James, Glen, Neesha, Ethan, Tess (Neesha's mom), Luke, Clerissa and Clayton.

Bryn and her newly discovered cousin, Clerissa. They were both thrilled to find out they had a girl cousin they didn't know about and had the best time.

Our super duper hosts, Uncle Glen and Auntie Luke.

Happy Birthday, Papa!

My niece Jacey and her friend Kent. Jacey just moved to the city to attend university. Bryn is so excited to have another cousin close by!

Down at the beach on the river.

We love when Nana and Pubba come to visit.

First day of dance. A quick photo before I was shooed out the door. This dance stuff is serious business.

Bryn and Caia at the Autumn Moon Festival. I didn't get many photos because they wouldn't sit still for more than a second they were having so much fun.

Happy girls.