A Good Kind of Busy

On our way home from Little Qualicum, we got to the Crofton turn, and Q was still out like a light. Tired girl after our busy weekend! It was a beautiful day out, so we decided to keep driving and head to Victoria to see the Lampards for the afternoon. It was a lovely afternoon in the sun with Jon's family. The girls swam and played (everyone was there that afternoon - we were glad we went down, so we were able to join in the fun!). Calea grabbed the hose and got the slide wet and the girls had a blast sliding down. Makenna is getting SO long and doesn't fit on the slide very well anymore so she only joined in for a few minutes, but the little ones loved it!  Such a fun Auntie KK :)

Q is so blessed to have cousins that are her age to play with and to love. They are such good buddies.

My new shoes!!!! I can't remember if I posted them already, but if I did, here they are again! Aren't they so pretty! Good-bye shin splints! Hello early morning workouts! 

See that house down there on the corner? That is the new house being built in our neighbourhood, the one that Q calls "Elsa's castle". So funny. She loves watching the progress on this house, and keeps an eye out for the back hoe and tractor, or ladders and different tools. She is totally mesmerized by it! This is the view from my bedroom window (isn't the view gorgeous, by the way?!), and she sits here and watches so intently. She took this picture because she wanted a picture of "the new Elsa's castle!" What a girl. How sad she will be when a normal family moves in and its not Elsa... I have no idea why she even got on the track of thinking/saying that its her castle haha.

Neil was still in town, and came up on the Monday to meet us for lunch at Just Jake's. When Q saw him walking towards us, she started running and calling him, and he bent to grab her. Totally heart melting!!!!!!

He calls her "Hunny" so she started calling him "Grandpa Hunny" which is hilarious. We talk a lot about his future move out here - I for one cannot wait for that!! I would LOVE to have family nearby!!!! After lunch we said goodbye again for a few more months. We are very grateful for this guy and the major role he plays in our lives!

Family dinner up at camp that night - first night of summer staff being there for the season. Court recently took the position of Food Services, or whatever they are calling it, and we LOVE that we will get to see more of her and Ryan and their kids!! Such good friends that we don't see nearly often enough. I took this of the boys, because it made me happy. Good buddies.

Helping Daddy at work getting ready for youth group while Mommy worked - Jon sent me this, the book she grabbed to "read" while he worked. One of my old youth ministry textbooks. Maybe her heart will be similar to her parents and she will love on teenagers also?

He had a big event planned for youth week, and he along with Laura who works for North Cowichan and Alysia with Warmland youth group, rented out Fuller Arena to play laser tag. Jon is so fun, and he makes these nights so great for the kids. He spent the whole afternoon at the arena prepping. Looked so sweet!! The night was a hit with a great turnout, and the kids loved it.

She didn't want to 'workout' with me this day, so I let her watch a show on the iPad while I worked out - it was pretty funny because every few minutes she would give me "tips" - "Mama you need to bend more" "Mama jump higher" "MOM! You need to lift own arms higher!" Thanks kid. What a cheerleader! Easy to coach when you're on the sidelines ;) I do love that she watches me do this though... I am really learning how important it is for our kids to see us exercise and work hard and sweat. I workout while blaring worship music (thanks Google Play!) which is pretty funny, since its not what most would choose as music to pump them up. But it works for me, because my focus really is on glorifying God through what I am doing. And I want her to see and know that. My confidence is really started to pick up too. Which is interesting, because I don't know if there would be any 'obvious' physical changes that people would notice. I just feel better and stronger and I feel good about myself when I know I've made good eating choices and have worked hard, and have done it with the intention of being healthy and giving God the glory. I have been working so hard on self-control and self-discipline, and I can really see those two things re-shaping my world.

She pulled out all her Little People house/castles and people, and played for a long time. She goes through phases with toys, and its nice to see her play with different stuff and actually using the different things that she has. She is really starting to get into "pretend" and using her imagination. She will come up with these elaborate scenarios, and plays with the little people, acting them out. Pretty cute.

Morning cuddles on Mommy's bed. Neither of us love getting up and getting going first thing - we both enjoy taking our time and hanging out in bed together for a little bit before getting up. She also likes to rub my face and play with my hair - delightful! Love it.

Her and I spend so much time in the car together once spring hits! Our whole spring/summer will now be devoted to travelling up and down the island - home, camp, Duncan, home again, camp, Victoria every now and then! I took this because it made me happy - she is SUCH a good kid. So easy to take with anywhere, so chilled out, and really really funny. She has her moments when she drives me nuts, and she is super intense with her emotions (hmm wonder where that came from....), but she really is awesome, and I like being with her. When we drive together, we take turns picking songs - she will wait and the second that my song is over she yells "MY TURN!" and it always makes me laugh. We will argue about the songs we each pick - she doesn't love when I sing loud to Adele and I don't love listening to "Style" over and over. But we each get a turn, and we both sing to every song, and she is really getting into talking to me in the car. I will ask her how she is, and what the best part of her day was, and those types of questions.. and she just natters on and on to me from back there. She tells me how she is feeling and what she likes, and different stories. I love listening to her talk. It is a prayer of mine that we can always communicate this way... Quinny I am always on your side, even when maybe you don't feel that I am, and your voice is my very favorite sound in the whole world. I always want to know your thoughts, the things you like, what's bothering you, and I want to know all about your days. You are immensely loved! Thanks for being such a great travel buddy!!

Jon took this at one of their beach dates while I worked. The beach is definitely their thing to do together and they both love it. Look at how long her legs are! Beautiful girl.

We are busy, but it is a good kind of busy. We are making space for the things that are most important, and we are prioritizing what needs to get done. Life is starting to really gear up, and we want to jump into this season feeling excited and great about it, and knowing that we are still balancing things well. Looking forward to see the season ahead!