A photo I found on my camera after Gracen, Grandma Charlotte, and Bradley visited Grae’s Great Grandpa Leo while I ran errands this morning…
♥
A photo I found on my camera after Gracen, Grandma Charlotte, and Bradley visited Grae’s Great Grandpa Leo while I ran errands this morning…
♥
This afternoon we headed into town to visit with Manmaw Sue {and Rorie and my Aunt and Uncle}. We met at our favourite spot – Davison Orchards and Grae didn’t waste any time letting everyone know just what she wanted to do – feed the animals. Luckily, Grandma Sue and Rorie came armed with a pocket full of quarters because I think we fed every single animal on the farm. Twice. Grae was even brave enough to feed a few of the animals on her own.
Putting those quarters to use!
Lulu and Manmaw.
Hungry goat.
Brave girl!
Feeding the sheep.
Sending a cup full of treats up to the top.
Spreading the love to Salsa, the 26 year old donkey.
Snacks and stickers.
The afternoon ended with a sudden thunder storm so violent that it caused Grae to break into tears, which in turn led our very sweet cashier to retrieve a big white chocolate chunk cookie for her, which in turn led me to have to {very awkwardly} explain our choice to not feed Gracen refined sugar or junk food… But that’s another story…
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I don’t know how this happened, but somehow we’re amidst party planning Miss G’s second birthday. Good LORD. The first year flew by, and this one has gone by even more quickly. *sigh*
With just over a month until our little lady officially turns two, we headed out into Manmaw Charlotte and Poppop’s backyard this afternoon (yay for being back in the Okanagan!) to snap a photo for this year’s birthday invitation.
She was such a good sport and with a little help from Papa’s crazy attention-grabbing dances, we were able to get a bunch of shots I love. Here are some of the outtakes…
Ironically, we ended up using the afternoon’s most candid shot on the invites. With the help of a free printable I found online, Brad designed a beautiful two-sided invite that will be perfect for her backyard picnic themed party. (Can’t wait to share it closer to the big day!)
Although I have mixed feelings about this whole my-girl-is-growing-up-before-my-eyes thing, I’m so excited about all of the little projects planned for this week’s vacation. Invites, decor, favours – I love it all.
Perhaps a couple of sneak peaks are in order?
♥
As I mentioned before, my dad (a.k.a. ‘Gido), rode up to the Okanagan on his motorcycle this weekend to spend some time with us. This morning, we all met up at the Vernon Lodge for brunch before parting ways and heading home. After breakfast, we decided to try and get a shot of all of the kids with their Gido, which never proves to be an easy task. Kinslee did not enjoy our mini photo shoot whatsoever, and Chay wanted nothing to do with having his photo taken, but turned on his charm when bribed with a giant chocolate brownie. Grae just kind of sat there, and Korbin Jack hammed up the camera the entire time. Here’s what we ended up with:
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Two firsts occurred while visiting Gido up at Davison Orchards today – Gracen tried her first ever Appleanche (a delicious slushy drink made of Davison’s own fresh-pressed pure apple juice) and she sat on her first ever motorcycle (Gido’s). So much fun.
♥
No matter how long our vacations in the Okanagan are, we still seem to have troubles making time to see all of our friends and family members during our stays. It just seems there are always too many plans and not enough time… Luckily, many of our family members make the trip out to see us, which is always very appreciated.
Today, Gracen’s Great Grandma Shirley was able to come out to the farm and spend the afternoon and evening visiting with Miss G (and us too of course). We played outside, went on a couple of walks, and had dinner, all whilst Grae showed her great grandma her best tricks.
♥
This afternoon I attempted my first ever batch of ‘one ingredient ice cream’ (mine is actually 2 ingredient ice cream because I decided to add pure vanilla) while Gracen and Papa put together a new wagon that Manmaw and PopPop had tucked away in their garage…
The result was a wagon ride with a bowl of ‘ice cream’ and one very happy doodlebug.
♥
Gracen’s always loved the bath, but I’ve never seen her beg for bath time the way she has these last few days…
Grandmas always have the best toys.
♥
Taken with Instagram. Find me under jkossowan.
Overall, last night’s trip was a success. While our little lady didn’t fall asleep until 9:57 p.m. (three and a half hours past her usual bedtime!!), she happily chatted, counted, read, and practiced saying “Hello Mamnaw!” until she finally zonked out when the sun went down. We arrived at Brad’s parents’ place around midnight and successfully put Grae back to sleep, despite the excitement of a bedroom filled with new treasures just waiting to be explored.
This morning we woke up to birds chirping and the Okanagan sunshine in full effect. Hello, vacation! Here are some photos of our day…
Pool filled and warming in the sunshine.
Chatting with Bella.
Loving the new tire swing PopPop made.
Very pleased with her new bracelet.
Grae’s treat of choice.
Home with her farmer’s market treasures.
An evening walk.
Gracen sends her love to all of her wonderful grandpas…
Gido, Poppop, Great Grandpa Routhier, Great Gido, and Great Grandpa Leo, we’re thinking of you today.
xoxox
Surprise #1 – Waking up to a text saying that Manmaw Sue was on the island and would be passing through Vancouver in a couple of hours.
Surprise #2 – Manmaw showing up with a hydrangea for our flower-obsessed, purple-loving little lady.And this is what we did for much of our afternoon:
Gracen sat up on her chair, hydrangea right beside her, and told me all about how it was “Grae Grae’s” flower (as she did her little sniff sniff nose), how it was purple, and how it was from her Manmaw.
♥
Gracen sends her love to all of her wonderful “manmaws”…
Grandma Sue, Grandma Charlotte, Great Grandma Routhier, Baba, and Great Grandma Shirley, we’re thinking of you today.
xoxox
Guess who arrived tonight… And guess who is up past her bedtime chomping on a slice of watermelon while showing Manmaw our {blossom-covered} garden…
What a lucky little girl Gracen is… Yesterday she got to visit with Grandma Sue and today Grandma Charlotte arrived.
In the hatch of her car? A tiny little tricycle she found on Kijiji…
Plus some fresh pussy willow branches. What a spoiled little girl we have!
Manmaw Sue is in town right now preparing for and writing her final real estate exam… Lucky for us, she was able to pull herself away from the books long enough this afternoon to join us for a visit and some dinner.
The highlight of the visit? Manmaw bringing a beautiful bouquet of flowers (purple, no less!) for the little miss. She was sooooooooo stoked.