Outside My Window... It is dark.  The frogs are noisy down in the pond.  It is warm but rained a little earlier.  I was hoping for a downpour or a thunderstorm to fall asleep to.

I am thinking...that the more people tell me I can't do something, the more stubborn and determined I become!!  I also get frustrated with people who always look at the negatives and never think positively or bravely.

I am thankful for...the gorgeous weather we have been having.  The beautiful Dandelion bouquets Samuel gave me tonight - he is filled with such love :)  Happy content children who find home a comforting place to be.  

From the kitchen...Right now we have 12 or 13 caterpillars in cocoons getting ready to break free as butterflies - they are in my kitchen!!  :)  Lots of fresh fruit and frozen fruit smoothies, lots of spinach wraps filled with raw veggies, and lots of yogurt and granola - thats basically what has been eaten the most during the hot weather!!  And plenty of water has been glugged!!

I am wearing...my nightie - I'm in bed.  It is 12:30am

I am creating...endless art journaling pages.  Curriculum for a few art classes I am planning.  Posters for a few services I want to advertise locally.

I am going...downtown to my lawyers office tomorrow - and then to the bottle depot which is right opposite.  Depending on the weather, we will go to the farmers market tomorrow evening after a visit to the library to return books and a dvd.  
I am reading...a book on art journaling, and a couple of art magazines.  I am not reading any fiction at the moment.  At the weekend I am heading to Whyte Ave to buy 'Choosing Me Before We'  :)

I am hoping...M has a safe drive back from the Island and gets back Saturday or early Sunday :)

I am hearing... frogs

Around the house...I am enjoying being outside as much as possible and really making the most of the deck and porch.  Sam and Abby are also really enjoying the good weather and being out there - cycling, catching bugs, climbing, just playing about....at the weekend I am getting a new propane tank and plan to bbq again.

One of my favorite things...Dylusions sprays!!  They are AMAZINGLY FANTASTIC!!!  :)  OMG I love them soooo much!!  :)

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...the children want a Venus Fly Trap - so we are going to the garden centre to get that and a few other things.  The midway/ funfair at Leduc Rodeo, the Now radio garage sale on Saturday and maybe the THEE  family picnic!!  Hoping my friend can come and visit with her dog for a playdate with Rosie!  Back to the science centre for the Observatory and the Robots exhibit again!  I want to see the Venus in Transit movie in the star theatre too!  Oh and the girls want to go and see The Hunger Games.  And Sam is hoping for a bit of rain and for us to go back to the dogpark with welly boots so he can splash in all the big puddles again!!  Thats my plans for the next few days :)

Snapshots to share...

Last nights sunset beyond the oil refineries:

Last nights sunset with the Edmonton Skyline beyond:

Edmonton skyline at dusk:

Susannah isn't too well at the moment - she is fine for a while and then feels ver dizzy and sick.  She has been very cold for the last week too despite our lovely temperatures.  Last night she felt very ill and it was probably from being in the sun too much yesterday at her track meet - but she doesn't seem any better.  She rested this morning and felt well enough to come out with us this afternoon, but didn't feel too good by the end.  She slept in the car on the way home.  If she is no better by the weekend we will go and see the doctor next week:

I love Summer weather.  I love sandals, and painting my toe nails, and my new anklet:

We saw this house being driven up the highway on the back of a truck tonight.  Still such a funny sight to see and not one we ever see in England:

Flowers :)

Flowers outside of McDonalds tonight - when we went to pick Laurence up from work:

Sam picked me two HUGE bunches of beautiful yellow Dandelions today - he just loves them soooo much and loves to pick them for me.  he loves how sunny and yellow and cheery they are.  And I love them because he loves them:

He washed out a mug by my bed and used it as a vase for them.  He really is SUCH a sweetheart.  He also filled a vase of them and left them on the kitchen island :)  

Robots!!

Today we headed to the Telus World of Science to see the new Interactive Exhibit 'Robots'!!  It opened on Saturday.  We really enjoyed it and the children have asked to go back - so we are planning to go back this weekend so that we can also go to the Observatory and look at the sun and maybe see Venus and ask questions about its transit next week.  We bought eclipse glasses so we can watch Venus transit the sun too :)  

The robot exhibit has lots of things you can have a go on/ with - and all kinds of information on how animations are made these days - as well as lots of models from the movie!

Sam loved playing with the remote controlled robots:

Abigail was  REALLY good at working the robotic arm:

Standing up dominoes ready to knock them all down and try and get the bell to ring :)  

We spent an hour in the planetarium learning all about our solar system and the 'digital universe'.  It was really interesting and you could shout out questions.  This picture below is a visual representation of our universe looking at it from outside.  Each tiny blue dot is another galaxy!!  

This was the sign in the parking lot :)  Just soooo polite :)

Snapshots from the last few days.......

Gumballs at Marble slab yesterday:

Cute little guy at the park today:

Beautiful blossoms:

Sam enjoying our walk in the woods on Friday:

Abby balancing over water:

Sammy smelling the blossoms at the park today:

Self portrait taken with my phone lol:

Sunsetting above a pond, with the Edmonton city skyline behind it:

Sam made this out of Lego for me last week - it says Mom with a heart on top:

Bought myself some summery jewelry on Sunday including an ankle bracelet and this ring:

My typical bedtime routine.  Rosie curled up asleep, my art journal and some Facebook time:

Love this picture of Abby and Sam holding hands on the swing at the fair:

Vodka soaked Gummibears.  Make them the day before and they are really yummy as they lose the flavour of the vodka and start tasting like gummibears again:

Home :)

The weather has been so gorgeous lately - Summer is truly here and I am determined to make the most of it!!  I am enjoying the deck and porch so very much and am going to get a new tank of propane this weekend for the bbq!!  

Adding on the wrap-around deck really was well worth doing - I love it soooo much!  There is always somewhere in the sunshine to sit - or somewhere in the shade to enjoy - and somewhere sheltered to enjoy the rain on a Summer evening too :)  I can sit and watch the birds or Rosie in the pond - or the children playing or riding their bikes!  

This may or may not be my last Summer here - but either way, I will enjoy every moment and create memories to last a lifetime :)  

The apple tree is in full bloom right now:

My little chefs :)

Friday was a good day as both Susannah AND Laurence cooked at school and brought food home for us all!  Susannah made Taco salad AND chocolate chip and oatmeal squares.  

Laurence baked a blueberry pie:

All of it was VERY yummy and the perfect thing to come home to after our adventures in the wet and muddy woods on Friday :)  

Almost perfect....

Today was an almost perfect day.  For me it was a wonderful day - but my mind was also on some friends who are going through some very difficult and sad times.  They remain in my thoughts xxx

My day started off very early as Susannah had to be at the school by 9am.  She volunteered to run the concession at the plant sale all day.  I came home and cleaned the downstairs bathroom and the kitchen, got the dishwashers running and swept up, and then relaxed out on the deck for a while.  It was such a gorgeous day!  

Rosie enjoyed the fact that I was home with her and outside - and she pottered about in the woods and in the back yard, reassured that I was out on the deck.  She would head down to the pond for a swim, to cool off every now and then :)  

I sat at the patio table and did some art journaling.  It was such a wonderful place to journal:

Lunch was a spinach wrap with cream cheese and veggies:

My crow family are back again this year and happily feed from the bird table:

I picked Susannah up from the plant sale just after 3pm.  She didn't want to go home as the weather was too good, so we headed to Whyte Ave for a stroll and to look for 

an Iphone cover for her (no luck):

We went to Coney Island Candy Store to see Zoltar.  Oh boy his fortunes are always sooooo accurate - it's amazing!  he knows us so well!! This guy was standing next to Zoltar:

 We then headed to Fuss Cupcakes for a drink and a cake each:

We did a lot more walking and window shopping on Whyte and then headed to Katies Crossing for a while.  We got home just before 8pm and then I cut the grass before relaxing in the sunshine again on the deck...

And enjoying a recipe from Pinterest - vodka soaked Gummibears :)