August has come and gone..and wait so has September. Shoot!

How terrible am I? Here I go making all these big plans to update you all every month and I miss two in a row! With no excuses either.

Summer is now officially over. I can't complain at all, we had the most wonderful September. Only in the last week has it started to look a little dreary outside. I don't mind though. I like the rain most days. The only problem is that it makes me want to sit inside with my lights glowing, with a blanket, a cup of tea, some soup cooking on the stove and a good book.

Our Summer was jam packed full of stuff. Looking back I would have to say that this has been our busiest summer yet. But it was great. August was also full of lots of fun things. Most of August was filled with slow pitch games, tennis, and spending as much time outside as possible.

The last week in July we spent a week of holidays with our friends Dave & Juliegh Clarke up in Fort St. John BC and area.

It was a fantastic trip! There is so much to see and do up there. We could have spent months. If you like the outdoors it is the place to visit. We spent a few days in Fort St. John itself as Dave's family owns a farm there. We enjoyed quading and campfires.

At the farm
Taking a break from Quading
What happens when you go Quading
Our entertainment for an afternoon:)

We then travelled farther up north to Moberly Lake/Tumbler Ridge. We did a few days of hiking and enjoyed Dave's grandparents cabin. We ended up spending our last night in Edmonton, spent the day at the mall and then came home.

Dave's Grandparents Cabin

Family Photo at Kinuseo Falls
Tumbler Ridge, Hike up to the Stone Corral

And then all of a sudden September came along and our life starts back up again! Our Snr High youth kick off up at Camp Kadesh this year was great. We had the most amazing weather, so we were able to spend most of our time on the boats in the water. A lot of the kids that come on the trip don't get the opporunity to enjoy such a beautiful place and so it is also nice to see them having such a good time. The speaking was great (I have to say that becuase it is my husband and I'm biast! haha) The music was great, our youth group put together a team of their own and did such a great job! And all around we had a wonderful time. It was a great way to kick off our youth programs.

Girls getting ready to go for a tube ride

We made Roll Kuchen for the first time at Kadesh this year

to say it was a hit would be an understatement. We had full out cheering!

The whole gang

This year we combined all of our programs on one night, so we do Jnr. High and Snr High on one night. Jnr. High starts at 6:30-8:00pm and Snr High starts at 7:30-9:30pm. It has been working out really well. We are now into the full swing of things. Once month is behind us, many more to go! Looking forward to what adventures this new year brings for us!

Just July

July was a fabulous month.

Much of it was spent travelling, some of it together, some of it not. Stephen was off in Trinidad for 10 days with Samaritan's Purse at the beginning of July. He took 3 of our own students with him along with another leader. The house stayed so clean while Stephen was gone...but he was greatly missed!

We were able to spend some time up at Jackfish Lake once Stephen came home which is always enjoyable. The first weekend we took our grade twelve graduates up for a mini camping trip. The mosquitos were horrible, but we had a great time around the campire and at the beach. We taught the kids how to do some "Tim Tam Slams"

I looked up the definition on Wiki...it is pretty great.

"The Tim Tam Slam is the practice of drinking a beverage by sucking it through a Tim Tam, an Australian chocolate-covered biscuit, with both of the ends bitten off.
Ideally, the inside of the biscuit should collapse but the outside should remain intact. Just before the biscuit falls apart, it is placed in the mouth."

Anyway....

We also went up again the weekend following to Jackfish Lake with our good friends Dave and Juliegh Clarke. We were eaten alive againby mosquitos while shooting a twilight round of golf. Unfortunately I have no pictures to document the event, but it was absolutely ridiculous. Stephen's grandparents Trevor and Norma Quinn are always very hospitable and fun to be around. I don't think we will make it to the lake again before they go back home, but I look forward to next summer already!

Our travels then took us to Kelowna! Oh what a glorious land that is! I love BC. We spent 8 wonderful days with the Reid Clan, all 6 of us this time! Maegan is back from Australia and is now living at my Mom and Dad's and so we were all able to spend time together (which is very rare these days).

The weather was hotter than hot. 40 degrees almost every day. So we spent most of our time by a lake or pool. We did some day trips to Peachland and Sicamous. Hit up a winery. Did a little shopping. A little cooking. SUCH a good holiday.

Enjoy the pictures from July!

ROCK is dead...Long Live Paper & Scissors!

I've decided to blog again.

I can't explain what changed my mind, but it was either toss the blog or start writing again.
But, due to the extremely busy schedule that I have the updates will be monthly. Hence, "monthly musings"

Every month I will try and re-cap what has happened in our lives, with pictures and stories.
Hopefully that will allow family and friends far away to keep up to date with what is happening in our oh so exciting lives :) (or the lack of excitment...whichever)

Life has been flying by ever so quickly. Summer felt like it just began and now is wasting away. Stephen and I have yet to take any holidays yet. But oh so soon! In a week we leave to visit the bountiful province of British Columbia to see my family for an entire week! We will frolic among the fruit trees, laze around on the beach and eat my Mom's amazing food.
We will also be taking another week of fun at the end of August with our good friends the Clarke's up north in Fort St. John. We will be doing some camping, hiking, quading, and many more fun outdoor activities.

So here begins our monthly musings...stay tuned.