Zeke is one!!!!

This little cutie turned one last week. Zeke's first year has flown by!  He has all of a sudden become super interactive and nods along with all conversation.  He (one week late) can tell you that he is one and loves to tell you "how big" he is and then clap his hands and stick out his chest with pride.  Happy Birthday little man!

For Zeke's birthday we made a piggy cake.  Zeke loves to eat (constantly!) and we thought a piggy cake would be fitting.  Hopefully he doesn't look back as an obese teenager and think that his parents set him along this path by making him a piggy cake but he is currently quite low on the growth chart so I don't think there is much chance of that. (How this can be I still don't know!! This child consumed close to 4 eggs the other night in one sitting.  He does not have his mother's metabolism!)   We are currently thinking about giving him the leftover icing in the freezer for snacks. ;)

It was a beautiful day for a party!  I thought that because the boys birthdays were so close together (March and May) that I would not notice too much difference in the weather but shockingly May is much warmer. ;)  And it stays lights longer!! Who knew?!?

I was very excited to give Zeke cake.  His older brother is not so much a fan of food and barely touched his first birthday cake, save for a couple licks of icing.  Zeke did not disappoint.  He finished a cupcake and a half and loved it!  He did not get as dirty as I anticipated, this made it much easier to put him to bed in the middle of his party.  (The only time I will do this to you Zeke, I promise!)

The weather has been beautiful lately and we have made the most of it.  We recently headed to our old haunt Island 22 and hung out on this beautiful beach for lunch.

And did some kayaking (well Marc kayaked, I did some spins.  This kayak has no rudder and is very hard to paddle). 

As some savvy picture lookers may have noticed, my mom came down (over??) for Zeke's party.  She was also here for mother's day.  I had a very lovely day and it was especially nice to share it with my mother.
Marc and Ty started out the day making me pancakes . . .

After church Marc and I headed out for a quick hike on our mountain. 

It was sure nice to take my mom out for lunch on mothers day.  We sure packed a lot into this day.  Afterwards we went to throw rocks in the water and visit the chickens and peacocks. 

This is a bit of a strange picture but I like it's quirkiness.

I finished off the day with a beer on the couch while Marc made dinner.  The envy of 1950's fathers everywhere!

Happy Mother's day Mom!!

As my mother's day present Marc made me this beautiful garden box!  Ty helped as well. We planted it last week and have just noticed the first buds.  I love gardening in the Fraser Valley, I plant it and it grows!  There is no way I could be an Alberta gardener, I am too lazy! ;)

And lastly I will leave you with my new favourite picture.  Ty is wearing Marc's Grandpa's hat in our beautiful window seat. 

nanoose bay

 a few weeks ago we took a trip to parksville.  a little over 2 hours drive plus a 90 minute ferry ride.  we had an amazing time and perfect weather all four days we were away.

 ferries are an awesome way to travel.  we dont take them that frequently, so we always fully embrace the experience.

 we stayed at a resort in nanoose bay.  our condo was perfectly situated on the water, right beside the boat launch and our baby monitor's range encompassed the resort restaurant and pools.  my parents have a timeshare and get points and side deals that make little units like this very affordable.  thanks mom and dad!

 ty had fun interacting with the tidal flats.  rock jumping is just beginning.  careful mister, the algae is slippery.

both boys enjoyed spending time in the pool and hottub.

 we brought our kayak and both kylie and i went kayaking every day.  one day i disembarked on this little island looking for pirates.  lots of seals, but no pirates.

 rathtrevor beach was right across the bay.  both kylie and i have childhood memories of making tidal forts and looking for sand dollars on this enormous tidal plain.

now we both have memories of watching zeke eat ludicrous amounts of sand.


we visited the local parks, which were gigantic and ever expanding, thanks to the energetic local lions club.

 one afternoon kayaking kylie passed right under an adolescent bald eagle.  i took ty out to see and the eagle tolerated our presence as well.  it was only a little over 10 feet in the air.  the closest i have ever been to an eagle.

 on another trip we saw a seal, as well as a number of otters.  i caught one on camera eating a fish.

we also visited coombs and ate delicious bakery treats in a bizarre square, but there were no goats on the roof.

some ancient forest trail running of course.

and back home for the evening.

rinse and repeat.

goodbye parksville!