u pick (some more)

July and August brought with it the best cherries we've picked (ever!) and the juiciest peaches.  The kids happily picked and ate fruit right from the trees.  Or in Avery's case, sometimes right off the ground.  We'd have to bring wet wipes with us to clean Avery off before paying at the fruit stand ;)

The orchards are so beautiful in the mornings.  Practically sparkling with sunlight.  Quiet and peaceful before the tour buses and mobs of pickers arrive.

  

 One of my favourite ways to spend a summer morning.  

u pick

A favourite summertime outing of ours is going to orchards and picking our own fruit.  There are a few big orchards down the road that we frequent but sometimes a sign will just pop up at the end of a driveway and when that happens it's usually a good idea to check it out.  

June picking -- strawberries and blueberries -- at Covert Farms
(followed by some tasting of their organic wines)

Obviously, Avery did more berry eating than berry picking.

Until next year, Covert

big white

Although it's now our second winter at home we finally made our first ever trip out to Big White.  Billy's office put on a family day that included tubing, skating, a bonfire and hot chocolate.  It's a much bigger ski hill than I imagined and it was so beautiful coated in fresh, sparkling snow. 

Our drive up was as pretty as could be.  

The closer we got; the whiter the trees became.   

We packed the kids into the sled along with our skates, helmets and snacks and were greeted by one of the skating rinks.

We started out with tubing, kind of .  They called it Mega Snow Coaster Tubing and that pretty much summed it up perfectly.

It was instantly clear that Jake was never getting on one of these tubes and flying down the runs.  The tube park consisted of giant rubber tubes, a lift where one of the attendants attaches your tube and zips you up the hill, and your choice of five groomed runs that are steep and fast.  At the top another attendant gives you a push and will ask you if you want them to spin you (no thanks).  All children must go down on their own tube (!) but you can go beside your child and hold on to their tube.  They spread hay down at the bottom to help slow you down.  It was impressive and intimidating.  Billy and I took turns.  We each only went once - Ha.  

   Next up was skating.  Jake eagerly started out but a runny nose soon had him in tears and that was it.  He was cold and done.  

Look at the beautiful view from the small rink!

At this point Jake was melting down in the sled and firmly said NO to a family portrait. We warmed ourselves by the fire and enjoyed a much needed snack and hot chocolate for Billy and I.  I have no idea why our kids don't like hot chocolate! 

Bill modified the tube ride for Avery.  She wasn't impressed.    

Before heading back, we took the gondola up to the village and shared some pizza and doughnuts.  It took a little to convince these tired (and cold) kids that the gondola was a good idea but it was a definite highlight and the perfect way to end our Big White trip.

our fall summary

You can see that fall is nearing its end.  

Cooler breeze.  Barer trees.  Dark mornings.  Greyer days.  

But we really made the best of all that autumn has to offer...

 there were piles of leaves to jump into with friends on our walks home from school. 

there was golfing in the park.  

bright and sunny walks

more parks, leaf collecting and searching for acorns

    

With our fall leaves this year we pressed them flat (just for a few hours), then ironed them between waxed paper, cut them out and taped them onto our sunniest window.  After we ironed and cut, I thought they looked really dull; but once they were stuck to the window and had the light behind them, they were vibrant and bright.  They kept their colour way better than dried/pressed leaves do, so twenty of them on the window was quite a happy sight. 

We roasted pumpkins, scooped them out, made pumpkin purée and used it to made pumpkin pancakes.  Avery loved them, Jake liked them and Bill and I thought once was nice - to be festive and all -  but we kind of preferred original pancakes.  With the rest of the pumpkin purée we're going to try baked pumpkin donut holes.   

We decorated the house with gourds (and sorted them by shape and colour too).

  

we went to the beach last week - just to throw some rocks in - on our way home from the grocery store.  

and we nature walked some more 

  

See ya next year fall.  We're already looking forward to it.     

pumpkin patch kids

 Sunday was pumpkin picking day for the Thompson's. 

Although to be honest, neither one of these sweet pumpkin-patch-kids were too concerned about picking the perfect pumpkin.  Instead they ran around with the friends we came with.  Played in the corn pit and hay maze.  And Bill and Jacob navigated the big corn maze while Avery and I looked at some of the farm animals.  

We came home with two pumpkins - a little munchkin (the one Avery's trying to eat) and a nice big carving pumpkin - and called it a success.    

kokanne run

The Kokanee are spawning so we thought we'd head to Mission Creek Regional Park to see what we could see.  It turned out that all we could see was about ten small fish, but it was enough to put a little extra spring in Jacob's step.  And it was the most beautiful day; golden fall sun, warm with just a hint a chill in the air and a tinny smattering of yellow peaking through the canopy of leaves above. 

And then there was the playground.  Not just any old playground, but one taylor-made for little boys (and girls, of course) who love to climb!  I don't even know what you call one of these (?) but we haven't seen one since living in France.  Jake climbed his heart out and had Billy nervously hovering beneath warning him not to go too much higher.  Billy displaying any small signs of nervousness is a rare, rare occasion, so I was really torn between watching Jake and his climbing or Billy and his mother-hen-ing.

 We went back a few weeks later with a friend and her two girls and weren't so lucky with the fish spotting.  The kids would excitedly point at an upside-down, silver salmon, floating down stream and announce "fish" "look at the fish".  There are a lot of 'red-flags' here that a three-year-old and almost-three-year-old easily miss.  1) the fish shouldn't be upside-down; 2) they should be a vibrant red; 3) they are suppose to be swimming UP stream.  So we'd congratulate them on their spotting and cheerfully say "that fish didn't quite make it".  The morning turned into a nature walk/scavenger hunt instead and obviously ended-up at the playground.  

The funniest part of this entire thing was when Billy arrived home from work, Jake excitedly greeted him and when asked about his day he says - with the sincerest, most genuine enthusiasm - "Dad we saw SO many fish that didn't quite make it" and finished it off with a huge beaming smile.  Oh, to be three again.