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

Coming to you from the hottest spring that I can remember... We've already reached 29° and the sun doesn't set until after 9pm... The windows are all open, we're wearing shorts, and eating meals outside. It's nice but I'm pretty sure that climate change is coming for us all. It seems impossible that we went snowboarding just last month. At the start of April I got to attend the EDify Best Restaurants 2023 event and it was really awesome! Many of the best restaurants in the city served me food and I loved eating all of it! I would say that this is the most important food event of the year in Edmonton.

Pixie celebrated her 2nd birthday!

And then we were off to Toronto! We got to spend a bit of time in Toronto before heading up to Muskoka and that was a lot of fun.

We had brunch and cheese adventures with the Quinns and it was a blast! I even got to continue my work on becoming BFFs with Afrim Pristine...

Then we drove up to Muskoka and spent a few nice days with the Golems. It was really great to make up for the Christmas that we missed and to spend Easter together. (We also had our own Easter at home the weekend prior.) We never expected to ever visit the cottage in Baysville ever again - I had already said my goodbyes! But it was awesome to get one last bonus round.

On our way back home we spent another night in Toronto which meant more friends! I got to have dinner with Melanie and we ended up staying in the same hotel as Sarah (with adjoining rooms, no less) who was also on her way back home!

Once back home, we celebrated Amy's birthday at her restaurant of choice which was JOEY. It was a great time! I enjoyed the food a lot!

Then Sarah came to Edmonton because Blake was scheduled for a surgery at the children's hospital here. We got to have a little bit of fun before they had to start living the hospital life. (Sarah and I are slowly and surely replacing our wardrobes with matching clothes only.)

It was a fun month that had a little bit of everything! I loved all of the quality friend time! <3

Life with Archie: Archie has become a very busy bee! He went to his first improv show this month and has gotten really into drawing. I've always encouraged him to draw pictures but now he really wants to. It's awesome. Archie LOVED when the Easter Bunny visited our house and he had a great time finding all of the treats that were left for him.

Archie also dressed up for Easter at school and brought an appropriate snack, as per usual.

Our trip to Toronto marked Archie's 41st and 42nd flights!!

Archie had a great month of seeing friends and enjoyed spending time with all of them!

Jack & Cole

Lucas

Rowan & Blake

Blake again!

But most of all, he loved getting to spend a bunch of time with his six cousins. He loves them all very much! He might be the only boy but it doesn't seem to bother him at all. He just loves being a part of the crew!

Amelia, Madi, Penny, Kenzie, Laura & Evelyn

Archie has had a lot of programs start up this month. On Mondays he does Bigger Beats Vocals at Backbeat (because he still wants to be the lead singer of a band). On Tuesdays he does Artistic Badge 1/2 at Ortona Gymnastics. On Wednesdays he's still in Beaver Scouts. And on Sundays he does Swimmer 1 Beginner at Confederation Pool. It's a lot!! However, he truly seems to enjoy all of these activities.

Kindergarten continues to be great and I can't believe that we are already nearing the end of the school year. How did that happen?! Archie's class took a field trip to Rutherford House (which is where I had my Bridal Shower!).

Archie dressed up for Pattern Day and Jersey Day at school.

And one of the most exciting things this month is that Archie's school had a two week dancED residency where each class worked on their own choreographed dance. At the end there were two big recital performances and I WAS SO EXCITED TO ATTEND THEM! Archie's class did The Lion King and I threw together a pretty acceptable costume for him, ha ha. I loved seeing the show very much and was so proud of Archie's effort. You can watch his performance here!

And finally... Archie still loves oysters and he got a brand new bike.

PHEW! I don't know why that all seemed like a lot but it did! IT'S GONNA BE MAY!

Sarah is still in Edmonton at the moment so I am continuing to hang out with her and am trying to provide her with escapes away from the hospital. We've actually been having quite a lot of fun! The Royal Bison Art & Craft Fair is this weekend and it's my favourite and I'm excited!! Mother's Day is coming up and I'm looking forward to all of the festivities! Archie's class is having a Mother's Day celebration and we are going out for Mother's Day Brunch Charcuterie at Chartier. Near the end of the month we have a fun little Victoria Day long weekend plan. We are driving to Drumheller and spending two nights there so that Archie can finally have the full dinosaur experience! From there we're driving to Waterton (which I've never been to and have always wanted to go) and staying at the Prince of Wales Hotel (fancy!) for one night. My parents are also meeting us there. Then we're driving to the Coutts/Sweetgrass Border Crossing (yes, that border crossing) because Archie needs to do an interview in order to renew his NEXUS card (this whole trip started for this reason). And then we're driving up to Calgary and spending one night there on the way back home. We're looking forward to this little Alberta adventure a lot! My parents are also going to come to stay with us in Edmonton for a few nights as well. I have always loved the month of May and this one is shaping up to be a pretty good one! THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!: May 14th is Heather Petrychyn’s 41st birthday!

Wishing you a fabulous day filled with the things that you love! I hope that your boy crew spoils you! My biggest wish for your 41st year is that WestJet is forced to pay you a bunch of money, ha ha. Being stranded in the Toronto airport was definitely made better with you by my side. Love you! <3 May 18th is Nicole Thibault’s 41st birthday!

My sweet, sweet Nicole! I can't wait to Sabor our faces off in celebration! Here are things that I want to eat: Pan Con Chorizo, Serrano Ham and Cheese Croquettes, Salt Cod Fritters, Piri Piri Dusted Fried Calamari, Signature Lobster Risotto, Bacalhau Frito, Patatas Bravas, and the Three Course Seafood Family Dinner. I can probably do it all in one sitting? You know that I love you with all of my heart. <3 May 27th is Krystie Shirlaw’s 37th birthday!

I am SO HAPPY that we've gotten to spend time with each other somewhat recently!! I hope that your birthday is a huge celebration and that Jason pulls out all of the stops! I feel like he's good for it. You're someone who is forever in my heart and I love that no matter how much time passes, we are still connected. Love you! <3 May 28th is Heather Petrychyn's 12th wedding anniversary!

Wishing you and Curtis a lovely anniversary and hopefully a date night away from the kids! May 31st is Susan Murphy's 10th wedding anniversary!

Wishing you and Matt a lovely anniversary and hopefully a date night away from the kids! (I say this full well knowing that you are getting MUCH MORE than a night away!!! Yay!!!)