wish list

http://atoygarden.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=1636
window crayons. Something for Levi to do when Oliver naps.

http://www.peapods.com/browse.cfm/wooden-coffee-maker-by-educo/4,1893.html
Levi was excited about this addition to his kitchen.

http://www.peapods.com/browse.cfm/green-toys-recycling-truck-from-recycled-bottles/4,892.html
The tugboat, seaplane or garbage truck were the favourites. Both boys would enjoy these.

Hand or finger puppets. We have a beaver and bear already.

That is what I can come up with for now!

Vancouver Island

 We went on an adventure to the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island for the long weekend. It was our first family vacation since Oliver was born and the boys were wonderful traveling companions.

 There were a couple spots with old trains that were big highlights, especially for Beaver.

Tuckered out.




And here is Beaver with a beaver totem!

Hallowe'en!

apple harvest

Look Who's 1!

This is only about a month after the fact, but I figured I'd post a couple shots from Oliver's big day.

The birthday boy loved his blueberry cake!

We Made It!

I didn't think it would happen, but we made it to the garden again as a family. Hooray!

Oliver found the raspberry patch- self serve buffet!

 Levi admiring our cantelope.

   Here is the pumpkin inspection crew!

Dad gives Beaver flying lessons...

The end of a long day. Somebody did not want to smile for the camera.

last family garden trip

 We had what we think will be our last day where all four of us can be at the garden together for a long long time. It was a beautiful day.

too darn hot!

We headed for the hills last night to have a picnic dinner and a dip in the river. Our house was too hot for any chance of regular bedtimes. Levi loved climbing the rocks and throwing them in the river while Oliver chose to sample the flavour of as many rocks as he could. That kept me and Chris busy!

Beaver & Bear

You may have noticed the title change. Clearly, Team Levi was a little outdated and we needed to get sweet Oliver in the picture too. Currently, Levi is a beaver. Truly. According to him, he is a beaver who drives trucks, especially garbage and recycling trucks, along with various other jobs. He rarely responds to Levi and demands to be called Beaver. Reading about the characteristics of Native Totem animal/spirits, I was not surprised to find that Levi's totem is Beaver. They matched perfectly. The totem for Oliver (based on his birthday) is Bear. It is harder to see personality in babies, but it is a great match so far for our snuggly little bear.

So, there you have it, our boys: Beaver and Bear!

today's harvest

We had a lovely afternoon at the garden. Even Oliver enjoyed his time there despite missing his afternoon nap completely. Maybe he enjoyed more, actually.

We are beginning to see the fruits of our labour!

nature walk

Adventuring in the woods...

We spotted a family of bears eating huckleberries!

the requisite rock throwing in the creek

We also found wild blueberries along with the salmon berries and huckleberries. We were pretty full after our walk!