Late, awkward and happy...

Well this is a late post... but better late than never! Colin's beautiful sister Emily got married a few weeks ago as the ashy clouds parted and a lone plane made it's way from Belgium carrying her now husband!

The reason I call this post late, awkward and happy is because well for one obviously this is a bit of a late post... being as the wedding happened quite a few weeks ago... secondly I say awkward because I'm still not always super comfortable taking photos with lots of people around... I don't know why I just feel super awkward, so that being said there aren't that many photos... thirdly I say happy because we had a wonderful time! And that's another reason there aren't too many photos is because, particularly at the stagette, I was just enjoying the moments with our family and forgot all about my camera! Which brings me to a question that I have yet to answer... how do you balance capturing moments with living moments? I want to document every little moment in Rupert and our family's lives... but I don't want to miss getting to experience the moments with them because I'm fumbling with a setting on the camera! Anyways here are some moments I managed to catch.

{beautiful bride to be}

{what's a stagette without some fruity drinks and some beautiful girls?}

{so Sex in the City... even though I've never actually watched it before :D }

{mowing down on some delicious pub food}

{sorry Steve, this is Megan's first love...}

{hottie photographer}

{creepy paraffin wax hands}

{more creepers}

{pretty toe nails of the bride}

{sisterly toes}

We celebrated Rupe's birthday with the rest of our family while we were over for Em's wedding... delicious cupcakes were purchased from a sweet little bakery called Tracey Cakes, Islanders you must go if you are ever on the mainland! Delicious!

{who has to convince their child that cupcakes are yummy? we do apparently!}

{Thomas' (the groom) mom making delicious pork tenderloin... my mouth is watering just thinking about it!}

{mmmmm.... your eyes do not deceive you... that is pork tenderloin stuffed with mozzarella, fresh thyme and dijon mustard wrapped in prosciutto!}

{beautiful sisters! french manis and starbucks... what a great way to start the day!}

{Thomas' dad helping with the day's festivities!}

{the reception dinner table... so pretty! Man we have some talented people in our family!}

{And this is why we had to come home early... ew!}

So it's a bit of a random mish mosh of photos... if you want to check out some photos of the actual day... please visit my sister in law's blog...

http://starbucksandsippycups.blogspot.com/2010/05/em-and-thomas-ceremony-and-reception.html

go there anyways... she's got a great blog and is crazy talented both in photography and writing!

Or got to their photographers blog and friend Ashley Kitchen at

http://www.snapblog.ca/

She is also crazy talented!

cont'd...

Well as I said in my previous post, our trip to my mom's was very much like a mini holiday... I even got little breaks from the precious little boy! On one such occasion I took my camera and went for a walk...

One of my favorite places in Courtenay is The Old Church Theatre. It's a beautiful old church that has been converted into a theatre that I've actually danced at when I was younger. I love the vines and I love how every season they change and transform the Church into something different. My favorite is fall, but Spring is still beautiful!

I love blossoms!!!!!!!!!

This is the train station right down the road from my mom's place, Colin and I frequented it many times when we were dating and I am so excited for Rupert to take his first train ride! He is going to be absolutely thrilled!

Rhododendron bushes down by the air park.

Boat house at the air park.

The last day of our visit was a Saturday and what does one do on a Saturday morning in Courtenay? Why go to the farmer's market of course! So with basket and bags in tow we headed out to gather some local produce and goodies!

Our delicious finds... cucumber, peppers, arugula, basil, onions, tomatoes, squash, spinach, organic spelt pasta and ground bison meat.

Very excited to create in the kitchen! What did I create you ask? Well... I made a delicious pasta dish with the spelt pasta... In olive oil I fried up tomatoes, basil and garlic with a little bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice then I poured that over the boiled spelt pasta and served it with a little bit of parmesan cheese over top! Oh my goodness it was soooo delicious! Also had an arugula salad on the side... mmmmm...

I did all the veggies up in the slow cooker and then mashed them as a base for Rupert's meals. That way I can add little bits of meat, pasta or rice to it. It actually made a lot so my freezer is stocked!

And we made Sloppy Joes with the Bison meat... just like hamburger meat only way better for you! And more flavor too :D

The Farmer's Market atmosphere.

Another one of my favorite places in Courtenay! 5th street! Filled with cute little shops and lovely people, I never visit without a stroll down 5th street.

Heading home there was a very tired little boy in the car. So serious a face!

Our drive home was beautiful. Blue sky, white billowy clouds and rich greens... love.

Sleepy boy, precious feet.

Thus ends our mini holiday to Courtenay, looking forward to many more to come!

Mini holiday...

Yikes it's been a long time since I've blogged! Well we have been super busy as of late! Busy going different places and Rupert going everywhere! Yes that's right friends the boy can walk and it is now his preferred mode of transportation. But I guess surprisingly to me I'm able to get more done in my day since he's been able to walk. He's much more content as he can get anywhere and into whatever he wants haha!

My mom had some time off recently and so Rupert and I packed up, (like we were moving in) and headed to Courtenay. I remember being excited to get out of Courtenay when I was younger but now as an adult I absolutely love it. You can walk anywhere you need to go and there is so much to do and see. Everything from the food to the art is local which I love!

First stop was the Grotto for some yummy paninis to fuel us for our many adventures!

{Rupert found a window just the right size to watch the cars go by from}

{For mom and I delicious paninis with veggies and cheese and for Rupe just cheese!}

{just watching some Thomas at Grandma's house}

{sitting in my wicker chair from when I was one}

{Going for a walk and practicing his newly acquired skill of sticking out his tongue on command! Other newly acquired skills include pointing to his hair, eyes, nose and he gives hugs and kisses on demand, haha! He knows what a cow says... and has learned a couple of signs such as please, all finished and drink. He uses the please sign quite vigorously when he wants something! Not too many words yet just momma, dadda and Amen (of all things!), and lots of different sounds! It's amazing how much they can change in a week!}

{swinging in the evening sun}

{Visiting great grandma who was thrilled to see Rupert tearing around on his own.}

{there's that tongue again}

{new Thomas shirt from Grandma with all the engines on it, the steamies and the diesels}

{Off to the beach! It's no secret, I love the beach and I'm so excited that Rupert seems to share my love!}

{Rupert loves my mom and so do I!}

{Baby foot prints!}

{Splish Splash Splosh! Thomas the train says this in one of his movies and we have started saying it too!}

{Dirty sandy feet, this may be some parents worst nightmare, but not mine, it brings me pure joy to see my baby's feet covered in sand! I hope that he likes it too... I used to love going swimming until my teeth were chattering and then laying on the beach and digging my feet into the nice warm sand... ahhh can't wait for the summer!}

That's all for now... more photos to come from our mini holiday to Courtenay. It was very relaxing and so nice to spend time with my mom and my grandma! I love our family!