Summer Recap 5: Festival City

Two months!

It took me two months to get this post done.

I'm not sorry though since going through these pictures again took me right back to these spectacular summer days.

The last time we went to Folk Fest, Fiona was 4 months old.

We went for one evening, Ben Harper was headlining and was incredible.

Fiona was also incredible but we felt alright ducking out a little early knowing that we'd see him again at the Gorge when he opened for Dave Matthews Band.

{Yes, Fiona attended two Ben Harper gigs and as many DMB gigs by the tender age of 5 months.}

Anyways, Ben was back at The Edmonton Folk Music Festival so it felt right to return.

On Thursday we had only a single ticket so Fiona and I made it a date.

{If you're under 12 you're free, is that amazing or what?}

Fiona requested that we please match for our concert date.

This girl loves matching so I did the best I could with the limited purple in my wardrobe.

 We were so happy to spend the weekend with these sweeties.

 They danced like no one was watching.

 They also begged for some candles.

After Fiona stared at hers for a few seconds, having just heard the "be careful" spiel, she turned to me and said "Mommy I don't think I can handle this."

I had to backtrack and edit my warnings so as to give her a little more confidence.

She could indeed handle it.

Nothing beats the view at EFMF.

I popped down on my own Friday night to take in James Vincent McMorrow.
Him and Gregory Alan Isakov were two of my favourite artists of the weekend.
I also was happy to catch a little Vance Joy, Ben Howard, Holly Williams and discover a local band called 100 Mile House.
There were, of course, many more great acts, too many to mention them all.

Saturday was a long day but the kids did well.

Cedric passed out in the backpack after a popsicle meltdown, don't ask.

We were able to break up the days with fun at the park, face painting and bouncy castles.

The kids enjoyed the music but in short installments only.

It was by far my best experience at EFMF and I hope it only gets better as the kids get older.

Next up in August was the Fringe Festival.

We didn't make it to any shows this year but spent an evening taking in street performers and a little street food.

And what would a visit to the Fringe be without a trip across the highlevel on the street car.

We met our festival partners in crime for this one.

Any type of train is always a hit with this little man.

And these three little gals giggled like teenagers the whole way.

I love Edmonton at all times of the year and am digging all the winter celebrations lately.

But, if I'm being honest, August kicks butt in the festival department.

Melissa's Road Race 2014

This has become one of my favourite traditions.

A weekend in the mountains with a little {albeit slightly painful} run, delightful right?

Yep, it doesn't get much more beautiful than this.

 Except maybe this.

We had the privilege of sharing a condo with this beautiful girl and her parents.

{Summer Recap 4 1/2: Welcome Olivia!}

 Our group was a little smaller this year.

Life events and such.

{Jenna was 2 1/2 months postpartum so definitely deserved a pass.}

 We ran into my friend Elena at the end of the race and I introduced her to my Dad.

She asked if he is the reason I run and, you know, I hadn't really thought much about it.

But of course he is.

I had immediate flashbacks in that moment to being 10 and jogging with Dad.

I hated it of course {I think that was right around the beginning of my sloth phase} and remember him being much more fit than I.

I am thankful now that he set that example for me since it obviously stuck.

I hope that each time the kids cheer us on it's sticking with them too.

 We finished off the day with a lot of relaxing, hydrating, eating and just a little booze.

{We've learned our lesson and do not overindulge after the race anymore.}

The next morning we were treated to a gang of elk just outside our Canmore condo.

{I know, I thought it was a herd too but nope, the correct term for a group of elk is a gang.  There we go learning again right?}

Then after a lazy morning with our own gang {see what I did there?} we headed out to the streets of Canmore.

 Managed to stop in one bookstore.

 Then it hit Jeff, we're not quite sure what but he was in no state to be out and about.

I'm glad we didn't push it because he was in bad shape by the time we got home.

In lieu of our little walk about town I took a bit of a scenic route home and let the family sleep while I stopped for pictures now and again.

 I just love this time of year and in the mountains it's something else.

I'm already looking forward to next year.

Summer Recap 4: Fruit Harvesting

I already blogged a bit about our garden.

In the end it was better as a fun family project than a source of food but I'll take what I can get.

And as I already said, our plum tree is shutting down and gave us no fruit this year.

We had much more success in the food gathering department as members of Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton {OFRE}.

The highlight was our visit to Horsehill Berry Farm.

They invited the members of OFRE for a glean.

The kids were really excited at first but faded pretty quickly. 

 Cedric ate even more than he picked {after dipping into all of our buckets}.

 Luckily we coordinated this outing with Diana and Carly.

The kids love them and it's basically like having three parents for two kids.

Can you say "best case scenario"?

 We came back with enough raspberries for 10 jars of jam even after snacking for a couple of days.

The other harvest we have taken advantage of is apples.

 We are addicted to Apple Butter {this recipe is to die for} and Apple Streusel Bars {made with this recipe} so I have been processing apples like a mad woman.

I was thinking that we actually went a little overboard since I have a LOT of apples on my hands still.

Then I was talking to a friend on the weekend who has apple cider on her to do list.

 So I may just have a use for the lot after all.

Summer Recap 3: Back At It

So this is what I would usually consider Fall but since summer actually goes well into September I'm counting it.

Back to school came fast and I felt unprepared to be honest.

Luckily the transition back felt really easy since we were returning to the same program on the same days and already knew the drill.

The kids love that preschool and were really happy to be back.

This year we have also decided to enrol in a second preschool program.

 I wanted to get a little more involved in the community nursery school and have the kids meet more of our neighbours.

It has hit me lately that Cedric doesn't have any of his own friends yet {though he loves Fiona's friends} and I thought this nursery school could be good for him in particular.

He chose his favourite "cycle shirt" for the first day {and every day since}.

So far so good.

They've only been for a couple weeks but have delivered only glowing reviews.

Fiona also picked her own outfit, she is the "matching" queen right now.

This little change for us pales in comparison to the one our BFF Charlie made.

We are so proud of our little kindergartener and are lucky enough to have the opportunity to pick him up once a week.

Back to school also means back to Ballet and our regular Saturday morning routine.

The walk with this beauty and a little visit to the market are some of my favourite parts of the week.

Feefs settled right into the class, especially considering a couple of her good friends joined.

The class is great as always.

And the uniform couldn't be cuter on all these little ballerinas.

I know as I reflect further back into summer I will miss those hot lazy days.

For now though, we have all welcomed a little routine back into our lives.

Summer Recap 2: Birthday Train

 The Highlevel Bridge Streetcar seems to play a recurrent part in our lives.

And why not, the kids love the ride and the adults love the nostalgic nature.

Not to mention the view.

 Well this time the ride was extra special since we were celebrating a very special person's very special birthday.

Shall I say special again?

Anyways, I'm not spilling the age beans.

 I also take no responsibility for what may have snuck into the following pictures.

Cedric so rarely looks at the camera or stops moving for half a second so I just had to include this shot, messy face and all.

 The party was a surprise and was kept one until that very night.

This is a small miracle considering the chatty natured 5 year old in the birthday girl's home.

It's also amazing that no one accidentally sent a "is the party still happening?" text since that very morning it was snowing.

Yep, you heard me.

 Going over the Highlevel is always great but this time they actually parked right in the middle of it which allowed us to take in more than usual.

I even spotted a few love locks on the bridge and got a look at the new wiring set up to light the bridge.

 We were so thrilled to be included in this intimate group of amazing people.

 And, of course, to celebrate this beautiful-throughout friend.

These days our close friends are more like family.

We really have a sense of the village-to-raise-a-child school of thought especially with this family.

Both our kids, but Cedric in particular, have a sweet love for their "Stace".

{Which just happens to be one of Ced's first words.}

As the sun went down the view became even more spectacular.

At one point the conductors turned out the lights so we could take in just how beautiful our river valley is.

This city just keeps amazing me.

Happy Birthday again Stacey!

We're so glad we could celebrate with you.

Whoa, Where Did Summer Go? Let's Recap.

I have so much to share.

I do not, however, want to photo dump you so I'm going to attempt a summer catch up in instalments.

Let's work backwards though to take advantage of the now first.

 Lake life has been so good to us as always.

We have such a beautiful little world up there.

And just when I think it can't get any nicer, some Pelicans drop by to say hello.

In reality they're probably saying goodbye but let's not go there just yet, I have to catch you up on our summer right?

Fiona is growing like crazy, more mind than body these days.

She is starting to show interest in letters and even a little math.

She sings all the time and recently started "playing" her guitar but only when Cedric is willing to accompany her on drums.

 Cedric is keeping his steady growing pace, he's never been a weed that one.

What has exploded, however, is his language.

He is communicating clearly now and has the manners of a champ.

He never forgets his "pease", "fank you", "wow-come", "sowwy" {lots of sowwys} and my favourite "scuse-ee" with a hint of an italian accent.

 We had such a great summer but {as I've said before} these chilly days of fall are my favourite.

The colours are starting to appear on the trees and the cozy sweaters are getting their workout.

 Our evening walks are just a little darker, the sun just skimming the tops of the trees.

 This summer has also seen a change in Feefs and Ced dynamic.

Sure, they fight more as Cedric is finding his confidence and standing up to his big sis.

But man do they love hard.

It is not uncommon to find them "nuggling" or playing happily together.

I know it will continue to change but I sure am enjoying this phase.

One last recent development I will leave you with is one that my feelings change on daily.

We have decided to list the cabin that we love so much.

It was a hard decision but we have our sights set on a new property.

This place would take us to the same lake as our friends who are actually more like family.

We love where we are but can see so many benefits to moving.

So we're giving it a go even though it's not the best time to buy a lake property.

We are willing to hold out for next year but are staying hopeful.

In the meantime, knowing our time there could be short, we are enjoying it that much more.