:: Last Weekend of Summer ::

I can't believe that Summer has come and gone... sad in some ways but I gotta say, I love Fall!! I love the crisp air with sunshine, wearing sweaters and boots, and getting back into routines. September is going to be a crazy month - we have 2 weddings (one of which I'm a bridesmaid in), one stagette, and at least 3 family birthdays that I know of, plus I joined volleyball every Monday night! So the month is already shaping up to a busy one and I'm looking forward to every minute! I love being busy and having lots of things on the go. At times I need to say "no" and take time for just me, or for Josh and me, or for our place! I'm learning :)

Josh and I had a great last weekend of summer! Josh is still off on compo, recovering from a back injury, so we were able to go away! I had a day banked at work so we turned the long weekend into a 4 day weekend. It was such a nice break! We started off the weekend by joining Josh's family up in Golden Ears for some camping. It's been a tradition of the Neufeld's to go there this time every year. We might change it up for next year though, because we haven't lucked out with weather for the past few. Grandma and Grandpa Goerzen join in, and whoever can make it comes up, whether for the whole weekend, a night or two, or a few hours. It did rain a lot and it was SO cold! But we had fun reading by the fire (at times under umbrellas!), playing games and eating... a lot of eating :) To make things more interesting, there were some mice who decided that the trailers would be nice and dry... Grandma and Grandpa G caught one little guy and we caught 3! We think there were still more with us though - those ones just got the cheese. Smart little mice! :) On Sunday my parents came up to visit but we were packing up to leave, as the weather wasn't improving and we had used up all the firewood! So we all went back to Josh's parents and had a fire and dinner there. A nice hot shower never felt so good!

The next evening Josh and I got to celebrate our friend Dean's 38th birthday! It was so nice to see old friends and celebrate with Deaners. Dean and I have been friends since 2002, and in 2004 I introduced him to Jessi, my friend from Australia. It was love at first sights and 5 weeks later they were engaged, and since then have had 2 wonderful children - Halle and Sebastian - and have bought their home in Langley. They are such wonderful people and a huge blessing in my life - I love them all to bits !

:: Josh and Grandpa Goerzen in deep conversation by the fire::

:: Josh and I - we wore touques all weekend, attempting to stay warm and dry! ::

:: Our three little friends in their final resting place ::

:: The wonderful cake Jessi made for Dean - her first time using fondant! Good work Jess! ::

:: The happy family of 4 ::

:: Amber, Jessi, Sebastian and me - no better feeling than a baby falling asleep in your arms, especially one as sweet as this little man! ::

:: Today at work, trying to show my new hair-do! It's dark underneath which you can't see in the pic, and blonder everywhere else, plus shorter and more layered. My SIL Hannah did it for me, isn't she awesome?!? ::

Green Lake!

It's become a tradition for our family to camp at Green Lake during the first week of August. My Uncle Gordie and Auntie Sharon bought property on the lake a few years ago and are gracious to invite our whole family up there - even as our family grows by at least one every year! :) They are in the middle of building this beautiful log "cabin" and have spots for RV's in the acre behind the cabin up to the road. We meet there with our cousins and their kids, and this year there were family friend's of my uncle's up there too. All in all there were over 35 of us, 7 RVs, 2 quads, 1 dirtbike, 2 boats and a ton of fun :)

:: The view from the dock - the new cabin! ::

:: My oldest nephew Ethan enjoying his pancake breakfast :::: My youngest nephew Colton also enjoying a pancake ::

:: Corban having a ton of fun in the sand! ::

:: Brandon sitting still for a couple minutes ;) ::

:: My Dad and I on the quad! Fun :) ::

The rest of the family is still there enjoying the sunny weather and good company, but I had to come back to work :( Josh's back injury is still quite bad so he is still off work and starting physio tomorrow. Hopefully he will be feeling better really soon! We had a great weekend away and are very blessed to have such an amazing family!!

6 Months!

On July 26 Josh and I celebrated 6 months of being married!! Lately I've been reading, thinking and talking about "celebrations" and how they bring so much meaning to life. I am blessed with so many wonderful people and occassions and I feel it's so important to take note of these things. Life has enough hardships in it - why not take a moment or a weekend and celebrate the good stuff?

Josh and I have hadn't had a chance to go away since our honeymoon because of work schedules. So we were so excited when we found out we could get away for a few days and that it worked out to be over our 6 month "anniversary!!" We were going to go to Kelowna but everything was booked solid. So we found this great resort in Summerland, just 30 minutes away from Kelowna and right on Okanagon Lake (Summerland Waterfront Resort). It was so beautiful there and we were happy being in Summerland - more peaceful and relaxing. We even got upgraded for no extra cost and had a loft room which was fantastic!! We had such an awesome weekend together, so nice to just relax and be in love!! :)

My camera was acting funny and some of our pics turned out fuzzy :( But here are a few!

On our way!!

Taking a picture by the road... Josh timed it for when a semi drove by!

On the walkway/bridge that ran along the lake on our resort

Josh gave me an iPod - a TURQUOISE one!!

And an armband so I can listen to music at the gym :)

On our way out... we were sad to leave!! We had a great vacation :)