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

Welcome to the fall! We are deep into the fall season here in Edmonton. The leaves are all changing colour and falling off of the trees, it's definitely cooler outside, and pumpkin spice lattes feel like the right thing to do. I don't mind it. The start of cozy season is really nice. We kicked off September by heading to Jasper for one last summertime hurrah over the Labour Day long weekend. I feel like we've spent quite a lot of time in Jasper this year and it's been very enjoyable. Jasper is really "our place" and we kinda feel like non-local locals there. We also really like to try and go camping once a year, so this was our opportunity to do that. Our favourite campground, Wabasso Campground, is pretty magical. We camped for three nights. It's also rutting season for the bull elk and we saw a bunch of unhinged male elk, which was pretty entertaining.

Then it was the first day of school! Archie was very excited to return to school and to start grade one! He's still in French Immersion and seems to be doing really well with it.

Archie's teacher's name is Mme. Amel and she has been really great so far! We totally noticed that there was an adjustment in getting used to full-day school (which Archie has never done before) but he seems a lot more settled and used to it now. As for me, I feel like this is the first time that I've had a REAL break in over six years. To quote Sarah, I am enjoying the "first day of the rest of my life." Ha ha ha! She's not wrong. I have been SO content and happy these past few weeks! I love and appreciate the time that I do have with Archie more now too.

We popped down to Calgary for one night (with Nicole!) because Tim and Nicole had tickets to go see Game Grumps Live: Tournament of Gamers (they're some YouTube guys that they like). It was fun to make a little adventure out of it and to stay in a hotel all together and stuff.

Our house improvement journey has continued this month and I think that we're getting pretty close to being finished with our house goals for the year. The two skylights that we had installed upstairs (in our roof) are now completed and they look amazing! We are so happy with them. The rest of all of the windows (and doors) are now completed as well. The entire new window that we added in the living room (which did not previously exist) is a very exciting addition. Basically, we were like "how many extra holes can we cut into our house? Let's go ahead and do that." It has felt really great to be able to work on our home, improve it, and make it even more perfect for us.

My parents came to visit for about a week and we enjoyed spending quality time with them!

Also! You may remember that near the start of the summer I got a bike! I wanted to share an updated bike photo because I have now added accessories to my bike so that it's perfect. I love it so much!

And lastly, we had the Bulls over for brunch which was a great time!

It was a great month of getting back into routines after the wildness of summer. I'm feeling really good right now and I'm looking forward to what the last bit of the year has in store. Life with Archie:

Archie loved camping. I'm really starting to see that the mountains are becoming special to him, just like they are for us. This was the first time that we did three nights with him (instead of only two) and it seemed to go well!

Archie is happy to be back at school with all of his friends and always seems to have a great day. On his first day we told him that he could pick any restaurant that he wanted for dinner and he picked Taco Delhi. He just loves a naan grilled cheese.

Of course I have been having fun with all of the back to school fashions! I'm pretty glad that my kid doesn't care what he wears and lets me style him, ha ha!

We attended Archie's favourite annual event; Open Cockpit Day at the Alberta Aviation Museum. He had the best time ever. He is waaaaayyyyyyy into airplanes.

All of Archie's fall programs have started up and his schedule is VERY full. So not only is he now in full-day school but he is also doing ukulele lessons on Mondays, gymnastics on Tuesdays, Beavers on Wednesdays, and swimming lessons on Sundays. He seems to really enjoy having a lot on the go and is really enthusiastic about all of his activities.

Archie loved getting to go for a ride in grandpa's sports car!

There was also a night when we were invited to see Archie's classroom. So that was nice. I love his school a lot!

And you know, food adventures, as per usual. The kids poutine at Chartier is Archie's favourite overall dish anywhere. He also likes sushi and recently told us that saba (mackerel) is his favourite type (which I think is pretty advanced!).

And finally, friend hangs. Archie loves his pals Rhett and Sawyer!

October is off to a nice start! It's sunny and beautiful on most days and it feels like we're experiencing a true fall. For Thanksgiving we are planning to make our usual turkey feast, a meal that I really look forward to. I really love the way that we do it, even if it's just for the three of us! Tim is about to turn 40!!! We are throwing him a birthday party at Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse (that's where he wants to go) with a bunch of friends. It's not a surprise but I hope that there are some elements that end up being surprises. We are considering possibly also spending the night in a hotel but we haven't decided yet. Tim will be spending his actual birthday at Beavers Fall Camp with Archie, ha ha. Then the following weekend Tim and I are going to go out for dinner at La Petite Iza (also chosen by Tim) so that we can celebrate his birthday just the two of us. It's his 40th... Multiple events are acceptable! And then Halloween! Archie is way into Minecraft these days and is going to go as a Creeper this year. I hope that everyone is having a great fall! THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!: October 7th is Colen Quinn's 16th wedding anniversary!

Wishing you and Jeff a lovely anniversary and hopefully a date night away from the kids! October 7th is Melanie Watson's 5th wedding anniversary!

Wishing you and Ron a lovely anniversary and hopefully a date night away from the kid! October 13th is Kristen Smith's 11th wedding anniversary!

Wishing you and Dallas a lovely anniversary and hopefully a date night away from the kids!

October 24th is Rachelle Helston’s 39th birthday!

I am wishing you the most wonderful birthday - your last year in your 30s!! I was just thinking about you today while I was driving around listening to Social Code. What a walk down memory lane! Those songs take me right back to cruising around the streets of Abbotsford with you 19 years ago. It bought a tear to my eye! Those were the best, BEST days and I am so grateful to have shared them with you. We grew together and changed each other's lives. You mean SO much to me and I love you so very much. <3