Summer

So you are in for a treat. 3 blog posts in one night!! I guess I'm making up for a lack of posts this past month. Hard to believe I've been off from school for almost a month now and I really haven't written about anything I've done. It's been a pretty busy month, this last week wasn't as crazy and I actually had a few days I was bored but other than that I really have been keeping myself occupied. Here are some things I've done...

1) Went Camping in Spruce Woods for 5 days.

I went with my mom, dad, Steve, Olena and Austin. The 5 of us (6 with baby) slept in my parents trailer. It was a little "cozy" in there but it actually worked. I planned on setting up my tent so we'd have more sleeping room but our spot was a lot smaller than the picture showed and there was no room for it. It was Austin's first official camping trip and he was a little trooper. He slept pretty well at night and we had a great time with him each day. We went to the beach a couple times and for an evening stroll for ice cream in a town close by. Steve and Olena left a day earlier than we did so on that last evening and day we got some hiking in. My mom and dad even went with me on a 10km hike to the Spirit Sands and Devil's Punch Bowl. It was a long and hot walk but we made it.

Canada landed on our last night there

A small lake we crossed before getting to the Devil's Punchbowl. 

The Devil's Punchbowl

A view of the river nearby

The Spirit Sands

My parents after our 10km hike.

2) Painted the trim on my windows and watersealed my deck.

So the watersealing went super easy and looked fantastic.... for about a day. Then it rained! and rained! and the next morning I woke up to a splotchy and awful looking deck. I was so disapponted. I guess the water seal hadn't dried enough and where ever the rain was sitting on the deck over night it made splotchy marks. I was so frustrated and since the stuff is supposed to be clear, I figured a second coat wouldn't help any. Luckily it rained again the next day and it evened it out a bit more. I decided to sand down the worst spots and redid them (the railing mostly and the front step) but the rest will have to do and I just put the furniture back on the deck to cover it up. I'll redo it again next year and I guess it will even itself out from normal wear.

The painting went a lot better. I must admit I was a little scared to get up on the ladder to paint the second floor windows but after a while I kind of got used to it. Still not the funnest feeling though. So I decided to paint my window trim white. It was a reddish colour before and I never liked it. I know a few people have told me.. white??? That's so boring! (and I know one reader of this blog will think I'm just talking about her but you're not the olny one to say this) but I like the way it looks. I don't have a picture of the front of my house to show you yet but I'll post a before and after later for you to judge yourself :)

3) Spent time with my amazing nephew, Austin. Enough said!!!

4) Went golfing three times so far in the last 2 weeks.

I can't believe how long it's taken me to get out on a course this year but I've tried 2 new courses so far. I went to one just down my street for the first time and I loved it. Didn't do so great but it was my first time out this year. The second game was at an old favourite and then today I went with a new boy in my life and his friend. We went out to Teulon. It's an hour drive to get there but the course was really nice.

5) Other stuff here and there. Went for a few bike rides down the bike path near my home. It goes all the way to the cemetary where my cousin has his spot so it's nice to have a destination to ride to and to have a moment at his bench. Acutally went on a 24km bike ride with the new boy I spoke of earlier. We couldn't take the bike path because he was on roller blades and a small section was being redone so we took a very long detour and then when around some other areas as well. When all was said and done ended up figuring out it was about 24km long. I went to Corydon for ice cream. Tried out the frozen yogurt at Menchies for the first time. Had a bon fire at the boy's place. Been to a few movies including a drive-in at the church near my parents place and I went to see The Heat which I totally recommend. I've done a little planning here and there for school but nothing crazy. Still keeping up my garden and heading to the gym when I get the chance.

Other than that the days seem to be flying by. I know August is going to go by so much quicker. I have a 7 night camping trip planned for Rushing River. A 2 night camping trip to Grand Beach. A few events planned with family and friends and Rainbow Stage tickets for Mary Poppins are bought. The last two weeks before going back to school are going to be busy with back to school preperations and then that's it. Summer will be over. I'm going to make the most of it though and enjoy every minute.

Hope your summer is going great!

Baby Showers

So this is a week late but last week was busy with report card writing. Now that I'm finished up with that (well mostly anyways) I have some time to blog about last weekend.  Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share (I took some with Olena's camera which I will get from her later and hopefully share).

Well last Saturday I hosted a baby shower for my little nephew Austin at my house.  I invited all of Olena and my high school friends as well as my brother's friends. We ended up having 15 adults and 5 children there. The 5 kids were ALL boys under the age of 3. It was super cute seeing them interact with each other. At one point I took a picture of the 5 boys all sitting together in a semi-circle just kind of looking at eachother. I HAVE to get this picture from Olena and post it, as it was adorable.

Anyways, the party went well. We had a BBQ and cupcakes (which I unfortunately realized afterwards that I never got a picture of).  It was kind of sad just how long it had been since all of us high school friends got together at the same time. Each of us had some exciting news to share or be congratulated on since we had last seen eachother. There was one engagement, one person moving to a new place, one person got a new car, one friend has decided not to go back to work after her maternity ends, my sister-in-law had a baby and I was able to share that I finally got permanent. Definitely nice to have so much to celebrate and great to hear so many good things are happening in my friend's lives.

On Sunday my sister-in-law's mom was hosting a Meet and Greet for Austin at her place. I went with my parents to this. It was another wonderful event with great people, great food and another chance to spend some time with my perfect little nephew. Again no pictures but I'll get some to share later.

In the mean time here are a few newer pictures of Austin:

I just got a few pictures from the Meet and Greet on Sunday that I am adding to this post. Here they are:

Father and son with their matching Hurley shirts

Family Photo

Mom and Dad with Baby

My dad photobombing our picture

A lot of food

Cookies by Kelly

Cake

Fruit Carriage

Decorations in the background

Grandma and Grandpa

Introducing...

AUSTIN RYKER HOLSCHEN

May 4, 2013

7lbs 7oz

20 1/2"

I am incredibly proud to be the aunt of this beautiful baby boy.  It is such an exciting time for my family.  I am a first time aunt, my brother is a first time dad, Olena is a first time mom, my parents are first time grandparents and my Oma and Opa are first time great-grandparents. This little guy will be spoiled for sure and surrounded with a lot of love and family.  

Olena's water broke on Friday night and instead of texting me with the incredible news she texted me to say, "Did you know Steve bought a boat today?" Of course I responded with asking about the boat and we went back and forth discussing this purchase for a moment or two when she then followed this up with, "And my water broke half an hour ago."  At first I did not believe her but she wasn't joking.  (Steve put her up to mentioning the boat first, as he thought it would be funny to mess with me a little). I talked to her for a bit and couldn't believe that she was able to remain so calm.  They stayed at home and watched a movie then came to drop Buddy off at my parents house and visited for a bit before heading to the hospital at 1 (6 hours after her water broke).  I was impressed she was able to keep from heading there early (the doctor told her to try to wait at home as long as possible as she would at least be more comfortable there and nothing was going to happen for a while).  The following morning I headed to the hospital with my family and we waited with Olena's parents and brother in the atrium waiting for the good news.  We got updates, via text from Steve and he popped his head down a few times to tell us what was happening.  The baby decided to arrive at 3:49pm on Saturday.  It was absolutely priceless getting to watch my brother come down to tell us it was a boy and he and Olena were both doing well.  

Holding Austin for the first time was an amazing moment.  He is so perfect.  I think he might be the cutest baby ever (and I don't think I'm being biased).  I couldn't believe how much hair he had either. It was quite curly the first day but a little straighter after his first bath.  Austin came home at 4:00 on Sunday and is healthy and beautiful.  My brother and his wife are going to be amazing parents and both Austin and them are lucky to have each other.

Expect to see a lot of blog posts in the future starring this cute little guy.