Remember when blogging was everyone’s way to stay in touch, keep a photo journal and chronicle the stories we lived through? That was fun. But just not reality anymore. I have become a huge fan of Chatbooks since I know that everything I post on Instagram will eventually end up in a cute little photobook and get delivered to my door, but I do miss the anchor of the Blog. So, here’s a little photo dump and some quick words about what we’ve been up to.

It’s summer. And things are busy but we’re hanging in. This year I have enlisted the help of an amazing summer nanny who comes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 am – 4 pm and I am doing my best to consolidate my work to those days (which is harder than it sounds, but I’m trying!) and then get out with the kids and have some fun on those off days. Yesterday we hauled our butts to the beach and we jumped off the dock and I sunburned my sagging bosom and it was really fun.

A few weeks back we made a family trek to Clearwater, BC, to spend some time exploring where the kids’ Nana grew up. We roasted weenies and marshmallows by the river, did belly flops in the hotel swimming pool (praise be for NOT camping), and toured around. Nice to get away for a few days.

Sister-in-law and cousin time is always sweet!

Below you will see what the Morning After a pre-teen sleep-over looks like.

The two big girls went to camp for a week in July which meant Brinley got to savour life as an only child. She didn’t mind one bit!

I was SO nervous about how Karenna would fare at camp since she’s the one who is most prone to anxiety (and, sometimes, night terrors…yes, STILL). But she LOVED it! So proud of her!

My mom came for a visit last week so she could be here to celebrate Avelyn’s 10th birthday and she said she really wanted to hike Giant’s Head mountain for the first time. So, we did it! She is amazing!

Steve and I also celebrated our 14th anniversary last week and went out for dinner and a night away, which was great. I am thankful for the amazing man he is.

Just writing all of that makes me tired. No wonder I’m so wiped!

Happy summer, all!