Canada Day + a Few Extras

I thought I was finished posting June photos but I found a few more on my camera.  We celebrated the kids finishing school by taking them out for ice cream.

I love the expressions on their faces!

They had a bubble party on the deck one morning with one of the neighbors.

We had our first beach day of the summer on Canada Day.

Kiera and Blake were collecting seaweed with new friends they made and putting it in piles on the beach.

Hard at work

Enjoying his creation

We met up with one of my Uncles at the beach and spent the rest of the afternoon with him which was great!  For supper, we went to a nearby town for a free bbq with friends and they had a bunch of activities for the kids. 

The bbq was in the Cabane A Sucre.

My friend’s Mom helped Haley with a puzzle

We got to go on a wagon ride

Sporting some Canada flag tattoos

Some sights along the way

This was my favorite…riding along the river

The museum grounds are beautiful (where the kids activities were) and you can’t see the building in the picture because of all the trees

I liked these bright pink flowers

We went to our friends’ house after for games and Toblerone (makes me drool every time I think back to it) and then we went home and kept the kids up late for fireworks!

There was a red moon that night

It was a really fun, full Canada Day and it was definitely one of my highlights of our summer!

Church Picnic

We had our annual church picnic at Penner Pumpkin’s at the end of June.  The kids always really it enjoy it there and this year was no exception.

Both Haley and Blake went on their first horse ride and their Aunty Amanda helped them saddle up!

Blake enjoyed this high play structure

It took him a while but with some help he figured out this rope maze

Blake and Kiera wanted a picture with their faces in each hole

In the background is the line-up for the zipline, which Blake went on for the first time by himself and I was thrilled that he conquered another fear!

Haley went on with me

Blake found a little room full of costumes

It was probably around +28 outside that day (over 80 degrees) and he put on one of the warmest costumes he could find!

Then, he came out with this hat on, which made me laugh!

At the end, they were having duck races

We were literally the last people to leave after being there for about 3 hours because Haley couldn’t find her new shoes that she had taken off somewhere on the grounds.  Thankfully, someone else had found them and brought them to the church building!  It was definitely a fun-filled day! :)

The End of School and My Cousin’s Wedding

Shortly before the last week of school, our city had a fair and we took the kids to it, where they enjoyed face painting, cotton candy and a caramel apple.

Enjoying the sunset from our deck

Blake officially graduated from Kindergarten and here he is with his teacher! :D

Last day of school photo (Kiera dresses herself in case you’re wondering about the socks and shoes with her dress).

There was a school picnic on the last day that we all went to.  It was sweltering hot, so we managed to find one of the few shady spots on the playground.

I decorated the house for our “last day of school pizza party supper.”

After supper, the kids enjoyed homemade Chocolate Rolo ice cream in a waffle cone (he had to remove his shirt because he was getting so messy).

On the last Saturday in June, my cousin, Josh, got married.  Being at home full-time, I definitely enjoy having a reason to dress up!

The ceremony was in an old beautiful church.  They didn’t want pictures taken during the ceremony, so I took some before and after.  I LOVE stained glass windows.

This makes me wish I knew how to play the organ.

She is Scottish, so while walking down the aisle and then coming back down the aisle at the end, there was a man playing the bagpipes.

The back of the church

Jared and I went shopping in between the ceremony and the reception.  It was such a treat to shop for clothes for ourselves without having kids along!  I found a new Spring/Fall jacket WAY on sale, some t-shirts and a new bathing suit top.  Those had been on my list for quite a while, so I was very happy with my findings.  The reception was at the Fort Garry Hotel, which we had never been to.  We were in awe of how extravagant it was!  There were people coming around with hor d’oeuvres before the reception started and the food was fancy and delicious!

It was a bit of a game at our table, trying to figure out which cutlery was our’s and which one to use when.

My cousin, Justin, was one of the groomsmen.

Here are Josh’s brothers giving speeches

Josh and Leslie saying their thank-yous

I wanted to get a good picture of them, so I was one of the “paparazzi” during the cake cutting ;)

Josh dancing with his Mom

Leslie with her Dad (I wanted to get a picture of the back of her dress)

This was the guest book area right before walking into the ballroom.  Josh is a pilot for WestJet, so he incorporated that into their wedding a little bit and their wedding favors were fancy luggage tags, which I thought was such a great idea!

The hallway leading to the reception…everything was beautiful!

I think we were on or close to the top floor!

It was a joy to watch my cousin get married, to be able to have almost a whole day without our precious children, to spend some time with my cousins who were at our table and to enjoy a wedding that was both beautiful and fun!