Monday 30 December 2013

52 weeks of happy 47 - 52/52 (Long winded but complete!)

"the happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything"

In an effort to tie up loose ends and start 2014 fresh, here are my final 6 weeks of happy’s all in one post. As I’ve said here countless times before, time runs away from me constantly. While I have enjoyed this project greatly, keeping up with a weekly post is apparently not my thing.  I did manage to blog portrait posts but the 52 weeks of Happy and most everything else fell to the wayside. One of my goals for the New Year is improved time management so there is more time for me. Fingers crossed.

October/November brought many happy’s 
Autumn weather and nature top my list. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older and wiser (HA!) but I sure do recognize and admire all the beauty that surrounds us. We live in an amazing place and Fall  was really good to us this year. The trees were seriously spectacular. I was constantly telling the kids to check the leaves out and look around to see all the different colour. There were lots of hikes and walks in the woods and a few fires on the beach. I couldn't be outside enough!
I took my Granny out for lunch to Magpie’s Diner. She had never been and loved it. She was grateful for the time out and I was grateful to spend time with her. I’m going to try and make it happen at least once a month next year as it means so much to us both. The kids and I also joined my Dad one day for fries and milkshakes. Magpie's is a great spot. We look forward to many visits after their move next year. 
We travelled to Vancouver so Neil and Jackson could go to Canucks home opener. This was very exciting for my two men. Jackson was able to go down to ice level to watch the team before the game started. We went to the city the day before the game and before heading to our friends place we went downtown. Neil dropped the kids and I off at a skytrain station.He had some friends he wanted to meet (and records to purchase) so the kids and I caught the train to Metrotown to do a little shopping. It was their first time on the train and they were so excited about it as we certainly don’t have any trains in PRIt made me happy to see them on the train looking around at all the people and the places that went by us as we moved from station to station. Jackson was very concerned about getting off at the right spot. It was a great adventure and a fun way to start our little holiday away.
We stayed with our besties in Cloverdale for that Canuck game weekend.  We enjoyed spending time together all 8 of us,  great meals (thank you Chika!), and a  trip to a pumpkin patch. We always have fun with the Robinson family and are grateful for the warmth they show us every time we visit.
One of my best girlfriends in the city sent us home with 2 large garbage bags full of hand-me-downs for Lily. She has two girls who are a few years older than Lily and it is always a thrill to get a bag of clothing from them. Thanks again so very much Kennedy & Reegan. You made Lily’s year!
My Mom’s birthday is October 11th which is usually on or around Thanksgiving. This year it fell the Friday before so we were able to properly celebrate it before celebrating Thanksgiving. My Dad, sister and I took her out to breakfast then enjoyed a great supper at my parent’s home later that day. Wonderful happy!
Saturday the 12th we headed to Vancouver Island for a hockey tournament. While there, we stayed with  friends for a night (thank you Bisson family), then had a night at my Uncles where I discovered a quilt my Granny had made years ago. It brought memories of her flooding back and was nice to see again years later and appreciate all the work that went into it. I only wish I one of my own.  We went to Hot Chocolates and shopped on 5th Street, visited another fabulous pumpkin patch and saw some relatives I haven’t seen in years. The team had a delicious Thanksgiving supper at a local hotel and the boys won a couple and lost a couple. A great weekend was had for sure.
In mid-October we were fogged in for several days here in Powell River. It was lovely and mysterious for a day or two but on the third day I had had enough and begged my Dad to join the kids and I and head up the mountain to escape the pea soup. Lily ran the cross country run afterschool then we hiked up Valentine Mountain and got up above the clouds. It was fantastic to feel the sun and look out to where the ocean should be to see a sea of clouds with trees peaking up here and there where Texada and Harwood Islands were lost beneath all the white. I was so grateful.
Also in October, we visited the Lang Creek Hatchery to watch the salmon spawn, went to Dinner Rock park for a fire, wiener roast & s’mores and saw some amazing sunsets over Vancouver Island.
Lily can flip pancakes. Such a silly thing but it means loads to her so it makes me happy and proud to see her success.  She has been keen to help make pancakes for forever now and does pretty good with the measuring but still needs some help with the mixing partLife skills. Good stuff!
For my birthday this year, Neil came home with an iPhone 5s. Needless to say, I was pretty thrilled. We had a nice supper with family. I was taken out for several lunches with friends and got lots of lovely gifts. I had signed up for a postcard swap on IG and over the course of the year had sent out postcards to several IG friends. I received just over 20 in return. It was lovely to go to the mailbox the week leading up to my birthday, on the 30th and for a week or so afterwards and find a birthday greeting on a postcard from across the world. Lily made a super cute card with The Beetles on it, Jackson bought a ridiculous card at the store but wrote a sweet message inside and Neil purchased a Lily card for me. 41 was a lot less of a party but happy nonetheless.
Halloween was really fun. The weather was amazing. Warm and although clouds threatened, we stayed dry and the kids came home with tons of loot. See more photos here
♥We went on a hike with friends and my sister and Oscker. It was much needed and beautiful and also something I'd like to do more often in 2014. So many plans. 
I had great intentions with this year’s Christmas card and the kids humoured me and my plans that never ended up happening. Check out the photo of Lily trying to persuade Jackson into going for a pink Christmas tree. I’m a big Charlie Brown fan but my hopes for a little comic strip with different parts from A Charlie Brown Christmas sadly just didn’t come together quickly enough. Lily however pulled through with her card making skills and we printed out her designs and sent them out instead with a cute photo of the kids in the snow. 

Lots of gratitude! We are blessed/lucky/fortunate. This project was great and made me look for light even in bad times. Thank you Jen at Little Birdie. I'm not going to do weekly posts in 2014 but you will still find lots of happy's here. 

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