THE GOODS BLOG: Erika's Precious Little Life ~ August Edition

Hiiiiiii! I'm trying really hard to get this blog written while I'm on vacation and I'm finding out that I have WAY too many photos to include... So we're gonna see how this goes. I really hope that you're all having the most wonderful summers and that you're soaking it all in! The month of July started with Canada Day and we celebrated by attending a BBQ at Mary & Jonny's house and then going to see the fireworks. It was nice to share this Canada Day with Mary because it was her first one as an official Canadian citizen! <3

We got up to some fun summer things in Edmonton and made sure to enjoy our own city. It's such a great place in the summer! We rented a hilarious surrey bike and pedaled around the river valley. And of course we visited Taste of Edmonton (twice!) because it's one of my top favourite festivals of the year! We used 96 tickets this year, which is surely a record for us.

Archie and I took off on our mini one-night vacation to Stettler, Alberta and it was super cute and a ton of fun! We went to Ford's Farmstead and stayed in the MOST adorable tiny cottage. We loved it! It was really special for Archie and I to have this time together, just the two of us. We've never done anything like that before! It was also so nice to meet up with Sarah and her kids and to spend some quality time with them too! I was hoping for goats and there were definitely goats!!! I wanted to put a goat in my bed... But that seemed frowned upon.

There were a bunch of other great friend hangouts this month too! Enobong & Ian and their kids visited from Ottawa and it was wonderful to see them and to get up to some fun activities. I especially enjoyed our double date night! <3

We also had a great double date night with our friends Crystal & Scott! (While our sons had a sleepover together.)

And finally, Laura visited from Ottawa and it was really wonderful to get to spend some time with her as well! <3

And then we left on our big summer vacation! We started in Muskoka, staying at Bayview Wildwood Resort like we did last year. It's a great place for our 18 person family because every family has enough space, there's plenty of fun stuff for the kids to do, and all of the meals are taken care of. Given all of the increasing health challenges with Tim's parents, we're all pretty certain that this will be the last time that we'll be doing something like this with them. This made the trip even more important and special. This was also the first time that all eight cousins were together and that was memorable for all of us as well!

Amelia, Chester, Archie, Laura, Penny, Evelyn, Kenzie & Madi

I was very happy that I got to meet my one and only adorable nephew Chester for the first time! He's already six months old!

We were happy to get up to our usual favourite Muskoka activities; swimming in the lake, standup paddleboarding, wakeboarding for Tim, and we even explored a small island in the middle of the lake which was a lot of fun.

We had a couple of days in Toronto as well, which was great because that meant that I got to see Colen, Sarah, and Melanie!! <3

We've taken this photo of us with the three boys every year of their lives so far! They were all born within six months of each other!

Then we carried on to our big east coast Maritime adventure - which is still currently happening!! We flew in to Saint John to start in our first province; New Brunswick!

We have a rental car to road trip around in to all of the other provinces. Our first stop was Fredericton, where we spent two nights at Carriage House Inn. We enjoyed Fredericton a lot! It's a cute city with great food and beautiful historic architecture. We had a ton of fun exploring this underrated city!

Next we drove up to the Acadian Peninsula to a town called Shippagan. We spent two nights at Cielo Glamping Maritime and it was a magical seaside dream! We were right on the beach and loved living in our Moonsnail Pearl dome so much! We dug for clams on the beach, feasted on oysters and caviar, and enjoyed the French-speaking Acadian culture.

We were also sure to visit the stunning Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy and The World's Largest Lobster! (A major goal of this vacation is to eat A LOT OF LOBSTER!!! As I write this I have already eaten SIX lobster meals!!)

After that we carried on to our second province; Prince Edward Island!

Our first stop there was Charlottetown, where we spent three nights at Floating Cottages on the Quay. It was so much fun to be staying in a floating house on the water (it was rocking all the time!). The city was super vibrant, lively, and full of interesting historic sights. We went out on a lobster fishing boat to experience hauling traps and of course we visited Anne's house.

And I dressed like her by accident?? Or maybe subconsciously on purpose???

We are having an amazing time on this vacation, everything is going according to plan, and everything is working out as we had dreamed it would! I'm so happy that we're finally here and that I'm getting to see parts of our country that I never have before. The journey is still currently happening and it's not even half over yet (which seems WILD). Another thing that I need to deal with and address when I return home is the fact that my peri-menopause really seems to be kicking things up a notch. I haven't had a period in 140 days (4.5 months). Is this just it? Am I never going to have a period again? Is this just full-on menopause?? I am noticing increased symptoms such as a lot more headaches and migraines, increased weight gain and tons of bloating, seemingly thinning hair, and a lot more brain fog and stumbling over words. I'm starting to think that some type of hormone therapy might be beneficial for me and I'm looking forward to talking to my doctor about it.

Life with Archie: Archie is very happy to be on summer vacation and is living his best life! We brought back our summertime baking project and he and I have baked some fun and tasty things together!

We've also been enjoying mom & Archie lunch dates, Archie is LOVING riding his bike all over the place, and he attended another Kids Workshop at Home Depot and built a Soccer Game.

Before we left on vacation Archie did one week of DiscoverE Mechanical Engineering Summer Camp at the U of A Faculty of Engineering. It was pretty funny to say that he was "off to university." He enjoyed this camp a lot and worked on so many neat projects! (And I appreciated a week off from having a kid around 24/7.)

Archie also turned seven and a half!

Here are some more photos of Archie having a great time on our mini Stettler vacation! He loved the goats too and had fun hanging out with Blake and Rowan.

Archie attended two birthday parties, one for his friend Remington and one for his friend Lisa. He had a blast getting to see his school friends at both!

Archie also had fun spending time with Enobong's kids, Amos and Ava. They're the A-Team! Archie and Amos are only four months apart in age.

And finally... Here are some highlights of Archie having an amazing time on our vacation! So far, this added his 55th and 56th flights!

Cottage lake time with his cousins was the absolute best. He loves all of them and was so excited about his new baby cousin!

Plus more friend time in Toronto!

New Brunswick adventures!

Prince Edward Island adventures!

Traveling with Archie has been really wonderful because I have loved watching him experience new things and places. He's a pretty seasoned and adaptable traveler, so that part is great. He is also a seven year old pain in the ass and there has been no shortage of frustrating nonsense from him. The whole thing is certainly not perfect but overall spending this incredible time together as a family is definitely worth it.

Our east coast extravaganza continues into August! We are still currently on Prince Edward Island and are spending two nights at The Inn at Bay Fortune (which is where I'm currently writing this from!). This might be the part of the trip that Tim and I are the most excited about. This property and the accompanying Fireworks Feast are owned and operated by Chef Michael Smith, whom we are big fans of. Next we're continuing to Nova Scotia and spending two nights at a Waterfront Loft in Lunenberg. This will be followed by two nights at a 115 year old home in Halifax and also one night at the very fancy Muir, Autograph Collection hotel. Finally, we'll be going to Newfoundland but to get there we'll be taking an overnight ferry that takes 16 hours! Once there, we have three nights at The Inn by Mallard Cottage in St. John's. And from there we'll fly home!

At this point I can't even wrap my head around "life back at home." But the main thing is that August is Edmonton International Fringe Festival month and you know how seriously I take that festival! It becomes my life for 10 days! Shockingly, Archie returns to school and starts grade 2 at the very end of August. Right now I'm going to focus on the amazing adventure that I'm currently living! I hope that summer has been good to you all so far!

THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!: August 3th is Zena Domanski’s 73rd birthday!

I hope that you get to celebrate your day and that you and dad go out to do something special! You're the most wonderful mom and I love you so much!! I am so grateful for the relationship that we share and all of the memories that we still continue to make! <3

August 8th is Lacey Suttie's 15th wedding anniversary!

Just a couple of children! I hope that you and Dallas have a chance to celebrate your day of romance!

August 15th is Enobong Anstey's 9th wedding anniversary!

Just a couple of children! I hope that you and Ian have a chance to celebrate your day of romance!