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Tag Archives: Okanagan

Egg Hunt Round 2

3 / 31 / 134 / 5 / 13

After our morning egg hunt at Grandma Sue’s, we went back to Grandma Charlotte and Poppop’s place, attempted a nap (didn’t happen!), and then headed out into the backyard to let Miss G open her Easter basket and search for the rest of the eggs we had filled for her a couple nights ago…

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♥ 

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A Morning Egg Hunt

3 / 31 / 134 / 5 / 13

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This morning we all gathered at Grandma Sue’s house for a big Sunday brunch and a backyard egg hunt with all of the cousins.  

IMG 7455IMG 7470Now before I go on, I must admit I was totally clueless about the fact that the Easter Bunny is the one who hides eggs for kids to find.  Seriously – what?!  I knew he (or she) was in charge of leaving Easter baskets, but i guess I just thought parents hid eggs in the yard for kids… Is that crazy?  Anyways, I’m glad I had this epiphany last night in the company of my brother and sister-in-law, because I totally would have been the terrible Auntie to ruin it all by saying something like, “Okay, guys.  Your daddy and I need a minute to hide all of the eggs” after breakfast this morning.  

IMG 7458IMG 7474Knowing what I now know, we asked all of the kids to go downstairs and play while we tidied up the breakfast dishes, and Gary and I snuck out to quickly stash the eggs around the yard.  That Easter Bunny sure is a smart rabbit…  He (or she) left a baker’s dozen of one colour of eggs for each child, thus allowing the slower ones enough time to uncover their treasures (and us to make sure Miss G got all of the eggs filled with Gracen-style treats).  

IMG 7450IMG 7480The hunt went really well.  The boys’  eggs were hidden well enough to keep them busy for almost the whole time, the kids were great about only collecting their colour of eggs, and everyone was excited about their goodies.

IMG 7484IMG 7499Grae’s eggs were filled some of her favourite snacks (trail mix, sunflower seeds, healthy banana chips, cashews, dried pineapple, and seedy crackers), my homemade healthy crispy rice treats formed into egg shapes, some fun glitter glue, stickers, and mystery capsules.  She was pretty excited to say the least.

IMG 7492IMG 7500I know that there are a million perks to going and that we’ll be home for 3 months of summer each year, but mornings like this make me a little bit sad that we’ll be taking Gracen away from her cousins and grandparents come August…

♥ 

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My Babies.

3 / 30 / 134 / 4 / 13

IMG 7438Perhaps my favourite photo of the entire weekend… This bunch has my heart.

♥ 

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Easter Dinner on the Farm

3 / 30 / 134 / 4 / 13

Tonight Brad’s parents had everyone, including all of my family, out to their place in the country for a big Easter dinner.  The Okanagan has been blessing us with some amazing weather, and because of it, we spent almost the entire night outside in the backyard.  Barefooted babies, football tossing, and ridiculous amounts of delicious food made for an absolutely lovely evening.

Here is our night in photos…

IMG 7389Anxiously awaiting the arrival of her cousins.

IMG 7404Grandma Sue and her girls.

IMG 7413Dinner outdoors.

IMG 7393Girl talk.

IMG 7409Little performer.

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♥ 

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A Morning at the Park

3 / 30 / 134 / 4 / 13

IMG 7308IMG 7309IMG 7343IMG 7347IMG 7320IMG 7358Okanagan sunshine, my girl, my ma, my adorable niece, and my two sweet nephews… It all makes for a pretty great morning.   

♥

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Let’s Get the Party Started

3 / 29 / 134 / 4 / 13

As of 3 o’clock on Wednesday afternoon, my brother had officially told my mom that he and his clan would not be making it to the Okanagan this weekend.  I had no idea, and when I spoke to him later that night I talked about a big Easter dinner with the whole crew, a big backyard egg hunt for the littles, and the amazing weather that was supposed to be in store for all of those in the Okanagan.  The conversation started at 8:07 p.m. and by 8:15, he’d committed to packing up the entire crew and hitting the road by 10 a.m. on Friday.  Now that’s the persuasion of a big sister.  ☺

We all gathered at my mom’s place tonight and celebrated with a big dinner, the kids running around the backyard barefoot, and Gracen staying up way past her {usually very early} bedtime.

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♥ 

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A Morning in the Sunny Okanagan

3 / 29 / 133 / 30 / 13

IMG 7240A book tent in Grandma and Poppop’s backyard…

IMG 7241Running on the grass…

IMG 7243Swinging in a tree…

IMG 7252Learning about lacrosse…

IMG 7254And Bella hugs.  

Add all of these to the list of things we’ll miss while in Kuwait for round 2.

♥ 

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iPhoneography // Headed Home

1 / 11 / 131 / 15 / 13

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.until next time, Okanagan.

.a practice in patience.

.nearly home.

.celebrating with sushi.

Today we left the lovely Okanagan eager to get home, unpack our suitcases, and get back to life as usual…  This final leg of our Christmas holiday adventures made up hours 32 to 39.5 of our trek, and let me tell you, we were ready to be home.  While the first half of our trip was uneventful (other than the fact that the Connector was a skating rink), not long after passing the old toll booth centre, the traffic came to a standstill.  I find it easy to get impatient in these situations… Gracen had just fallen asleep moments before and it would have been incredibly lovely to gain some distance while enjoying an hour of silence, but that wasn’t in the cards for today.  An hour and a half later(long after she’d awoken from her slumber), we were still sitting in the middle of nowhere, now attempting to entertain a toddler strapped into her rear-facing seat.  Of course, we got through it.  When we did get moving again, we eventually passed an accident scene where an SUV had been crushed between the meridian and a semi truck.  And then it struck…  That mixed feeling of absolute sickness and pure gratefulness all at once. 

 

How lucky we are to have had the opportunity to wait.  How lucky we’re home safely after 3 weeks of winter road tripping.  We’re home safe and sound, and that’s all that matters.

♥ 

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Christmas Day {2012}

12 / 25 / 121 / 6 / 13

IMG 3943Our Christmas was lovely this year.  We awoke to our usual morning call –  “Mama, Mama!  All done! All done!  Grae Grae had a nice sleeeeep”, had a little family snuggle in bed, and made our way into the living room so that Miss G could open the little gifts in her stocking.  It was filled to the brim with bath fizzies, miniature kitchen utensils, wooden stamps, a couple of little clothing items, an owl puppet, and some of her very favourite nuts and treats.  Grae opened the tiny packages carefully, admiring each before moving on…  She was thrilled with all of her new goodies.

IMG 3946With her stocking opened, we took a little present break and made a big Christmas breakfast together.  

IMG 3949Brad and Gracen’s jobs?  Playing with our freshly made gingerbread play dough and entertaining the crowd.

IMG 3950With breakfast eaten and cleaned up, we gathered back around the tree for our gift exchange.  Gracen opened  her gifts (plus helped everyone else open their’s) and spent a few minutes investigating each, before thanking the gifter and moving onto a new package.

IMG 3964She was hugely spoiled with new clothes {these little black boots included}, games, puzzles, a doll stroller, and wooden kitchen accessories, as well as this giant dress-up kit filled with all kinds of costumes and accessories.

IMG 3968After a lazy rest of the morning and early afternoon {plus a good nap for Miss G}, we all got dressed and ready for the big Ogasawara family Christmas dinner. 

IMG 3971My mom  and Rorie were able to come out and join us, which Gracen loved.  She toured around the house showing Grandma Sue the gifts she’d opened earlier in the day and then settled in to play with her gingerbread play dough again.

IMG 8421As usual, christmas dinner was absolutely delicious.  Gracen’s favourites included the turkey and rosemary smashed potatoes.

IMG 3981Afterwards, us adults visited with full bellies and glasses of wine while Grae snuck in a few last minutes with two of her very favourite new things – a vintage doll from Grandma Sue and a stroller to push her around in from Grandma Charlotte.

It was a good day.  And only the start to our special days with family this holiday season…

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

♥

 
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Home for the Holidays

12 / 24 / 121 / 6 / 13

After a fairly uneventful drive home yesterday, we’re back in the Okanagan to kick off our Christmas holidays.  Today involved sled rides, icicle pops, and plenty of snow – the perfect winter combination.

IMG 3882IMG 3885IMG 3899IMG 3902Upcoming destinations on our Christmas 2012 adventure include Cochrane, Edmonton, and {the wee little town of} St. Paul.  Fingers crossed the nearly 40 hours on the road will go easy on us…

♥

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Time With Grandparents

10 / 7 / 1210 / 8 / 12

This weekend, Grae learned about My Little Ponies and Molly dolls from Grandma Sue (sadly, I didn’t manage to sneak any photos)… 

IMG 0334IMG 0339She gardened and went on walks with Grandma Charlotte…

IMG 0342IMG 0344And watched Karmin videos and read ‘the crab book’ {about one million times} with Poppop.

Next on our list… Getting out to see her {much further away} Gido and getting him out this way to visit us. ☺

♥

 
 
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Thankful

10 / 6 / 1210 / 8 / 12

IMG 0306ThanksgivingIMG 0319IMG 0324IMG 0328So much to be thankful for this year…

For the most incredible little girl (and her pretty decent daddy), for our wonderful families and friends, for bellies filled to the brim, for a lovely weekend away, and for the most gorgeous autumn weather… I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

♥

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iPhoneography // Thanksgiving Saturday at Davison Orchards

10 / 6 / 1210 / 7 / 12

Thanksgiving SaturdayWhen I told Gracen that we would be headed to the Okanagan for the weekend, she immediately exclaimed that she was excited and started listing off all of the things she wanted to do while there, one of which was “Old MacDonald’s Farm”.  Confused, I asked her what she meant.  Her response? “Old MacDonald’s Farm – apple treat drink!”  Such a funny little thing.  With that, I knew she actually meant Davison Orchards, home of the appleanche (a pure apple slushy drink we let her try this summer).  

So this morning, after a little sleep in for Brad and I and a  little play for Grae, Manmaw, and Poppop, my girl and I headed into Vernon for a Davison visit. The orchard was extra beautiful today… sunshiny, packed with pumpkins, and sprinkled with autumn displays. Gracen loved every minute as always, and thought the pumpkin people were especially funny.

“thankful” // first stop: animals

goat feeding

donkey love

greedy sheep // corn barn

farmer grae // climb

corn maze // pumpkin family

sunshine // hoedown

♥

Photos edited with Instagram. Find me under jkossowan.

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An Okanagan Wedding

8 / 25 / 128 / 28 / 12

Today, Gracen and I got dolled up and headed over to the beautiful Mackie House for the wedding of my good friend Karli.  The weather was the perfect blend of warm and breezy, the venue was gorgeously set overlooking the lake, the ceremony space was filled with beautiful little details, and the bride absolutely stunning.  It really couldn’t have been a better afternoon.

Knowing that she’d appreciate the time to walk around and explore before having to settle in on a seat, Grae and I arrived plenty early.  We picked a couple of aisle seats in the shade of a giant old tree, placed our belongings on them, and explored the grounds for a while.  When it was time to begin, Grae climbed up onto her seat, enjoyed some of the special snacks I’d tucked into my purse for the occasion, and quietly smiled and waved to the guests sitting around us.  Before we knew it, the bride and groom were announced husband and wife, the crowd let out a huge applause (Grae’s favourite part), and it was time to mingle on the grass.  Gracen was reunited with her good buddy Sloan, whom we haven’t seen in a while, and the two were inseparable.  They celebrated with countless hugs, kisses, and healthy dose of hand holding.  It was cuteness OVERLOAD.

Here’s our afternoon in photos… 

IMG 8898‘Found my seat.’

IMG 8905Off to explore.

IMG 8914Patiently waiting.

IMG 8922Loving the paper fans.

IMG 8928‘Mama, Grae Grae climb dis tree?’

IMG 8931Greeting the bride.

IMG 8935‘Oh Sloan, how I’ve missed  you!’

IMG 8939Kisses.

IMG 8949Pretty girls.

IMG 8945High school besties 17 years later…

♥

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Grae & Bella: Eventual Buds

7 / 28 / 127 / 31 / 12

A week ago, Gracen was enamoured with the idea of Bella (Grandma Charlotte’s dog), but whenever the dog came within a 4 foot radius, she’d shake in panic and desperately try to climb up the legs of the nearest adult in search of protection (in Grae’s defense, Bella is still just a puppy and has been easily excitable and quick to jump up until recently).  Now, just 7 days later, after many long walks and several baggies of dog treats, it’s a completely different story.  They’ve become best buds.  Grae isn’t the least bit fearful and Bella has been calm, patient, and gentle despite the lingering hugs, overzealous pats, and ongoing tail tugs. Just look at these two…

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♥

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