So how was your summer?

Hello, it's me again. Sorry I haven't been blogging for awhile - life has been pretty busy with work and stuff. Summer here wasn't very warm most of the time, so the gardens weren't as fruitful as last year - except for the spinach, which was just as prolific.

As Curtis has mentioned in previous blogs, Isaac has learned to ride his bike without training wheels, which has given all of us an excuse to get out and ride more often. He learned about a week before he (Isaac) and I went down to Penticton (August 16 - 24th) to meet my family and some friends who camp there every summer. It's a good thing he did, too, because that was his favorite activity that week - riding around the campground with the other kids, and learning to do skids. Of course, I can't forget to mention that he also enjoyed riding through any puddle he could find! The weather there wasn't as warm as other years, and there were a few thunder storms as well to provide the aforementioned puddles.

Another thing Isaac learned this summer was to kneeboard. On one of the few days (while we were in Penticton) that wasn't too windy or stormy, Isaac decided to give it a try, and got up right away! I was so proud of him! He said that next time he wanted to try water skiing, but next time never came.

One day I decided to buy a rubber dingy for us to use, and discovered that you need to be careful when using a high pressure air pump to inflate it, or it goes "boom!" Thankfully only the bottom layer went boom, and we were still able to use it. Boy, did I feel silly, though! Poor Isaac was so upset when he thought I'd destroyed it.

One night a bunch of us went go-karting, which was fun. I made sure not to wear flip - flops there this year, and walked down the stairs very carefully. (For those of you who don't know, I broke my leg there two years ago going down a short flight of stairs.) Other nights that week were spent either playing cards, visiting, or checking out the Iron Man festival downtown. My friend Jann and her two oldest kids came up one night for a visit from Abbotsford, so that was a treat, too. They got to experience the talent show that some of the kids from our group put on (which included Isaac wearing a costume and dancing - quite a sight!). All in all, it was a great week, despite having left Curtis at home to 'hold down the fort'. If only it hadn't ended with me hitting a deer about an hour from home! I have no idea how the deer fared, as I was rather stunned and kept driving until I found a safe place to pull over and check the damages, and call Curtis. Thankfully his first words were, "Are you and Isaac okay?" We were. Isaac was still sleeping, and I was just shaken up. The van, however, despite my attempt to swerve around the deer, had sustained damage to the passenger side signal light, front corner, and the side view mirror was ripped off. It has since been repaired.

Since returning from Penticton, I've been working quite a bit, Curtis has had a few jobs as well, and Isaac has started kindergarten. Thankfully he adjusted better to that than he did to preschool, and he really seems to be enjoying it. Not that he didn't enjoy preschool after the first few days, but it was pretty stressful at first. He's in the same classroom, which may help, and has some of the same classmates, but a different teacher.

So tell me, how was your summer?

Isaac's Jumps

On our way back from church today, we stopped so I could get some shots of Isaac doing his thing off the sidewalk at Heartstrings.



Now if we could only get Mommy to try!!

Fall Colours

Yesterday I went out for a little bit by myself to get some fall shots. Here's what I captured...

After dinner activities

After dinner tonight, Isaac and I went out for a bike ride. We had an hour or so before Isaac's bedtime so I thought it would be good to get some exercise.

Isaac had the most fun when we were at the parking lot of one of the stores along main street. He's had a thing lately where he is fascinated with doing what he call wheelies or jumps with the front tire of his bike. So we must have spent a good 20 minutes or so going back and forth over the edge of the sidewalk (about 4 or 5 inches off the pavement). It was really encouraging for me to listen to his excitement and see the smile on his face as he constantly was saying, "watch me daddy", "look at me daddy".

On our way back home we found a couple more "jumps" which also made him happy.

Thankfully the only problem we had the whole time we were out was when his chain fell off once. I'd much rather have that than picking him up off the pavement when a jump goes bad!

Isaac's first day of Kindergarten

I know these aren't exactly timely, but here are some photos from Isaac's first day of Kindergarten.











He is enjoying it quite a lot. Most days so far he rides his bike to school (with either Bonnie or me or both of us accompanying him) and is quite happy to tell everyone about his "new" bike! He goes Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 to 3:00 each week, plus the last Monday of each month as well. So it's a nice break for Bonnie and me to be able to have a significant block of time in which to do other things.

He's having fun playing, learning sounds/words and the show and tell times especially.

Isaac's latest Lego creations

Here's a series of shots of Isaac working on some new Lego creations.

We're still here

Time sure goes by fast. I knew it has been a while since we posted anything, but didn't realize it's been over a month. From my own perspective I would say that nothing really spectacular or out of the ordinary has happened in the past month. It's just plain old life. I guess I thought that no one really wanted to hear how we went to the grocery store and bought bananas, eggs and grapes...

Really though, it just the same old thing.

To make a long story short, perhaps I just don't feel inspired to write anything.

I'll talk to Bonnie later today and maybe she'll want to write something about the trip to Penticton she and Isaac took recently.