Eight

I can't believe she's eight. She's changing in every way right now. More confident, stronger, wise beyond her years. She such a quiet, kind, reflective creature. As a baby she hated to be held close. Always had to be facing out..checking out the world around her. And I see that in her still. She's so observant, inquisitive, eager to learn.

She's going into Grade 3 in a few weeks. It's going to be a big year for her. I so badly want to freeze time and keep her eight forever... but I also love watching her turn into this amazing human. I took these on Monday at our favourite secret hiding spot. I'm so lucky she picked me to be her mom.

My garden...

August always feels a bit sad to me. Summer is winding down, the nights are cooler, the shadows are longer. The flowers in my garden are starting to die off :-( it's time to start cutting it all back. I'm so not ready for fall. I dread the shorter days. I want this heat to last forever. So here is a tribute to my garden as I say so long to it for another year.

Sharpay and Ryan

Lily has been "dying" to watch the High School Musical series and I've been holding off because I'm desperately trying to keep her from turning into a tween too soon. Well we finally caved last week. I'm embarrassed to admit I am now a closet HSM fan.. is it totally inappropriate that I have a crush on Troy Bolton? seriously...he's one hot wildcat. LOL. Anyhoo.. now we have the music too and the kids have gone crazy for it. All day long it's playing. In the kitchen, in the car, and I'm secretly in love with all of it but I would never admit that to the kids. So today we hit the beach and instead of Lily and Cameron coming along, Sharpay and Ryan Evans decided to make an appearance. The shades stayed on the entire time.

Some more macro love

While we were on Galiano we discovered the Galiano Oceanfront Inn and Spa. This place was awesome! We took a walk through the grounds and stumbled on this beautiful peaceful garden. The flowers were amazing and I couldn't resist grabbing my 50mm f1.8 for this shot. If I had a proper macro lens the result would have been much closer but for now, I'll work with what I've got.

Galiano

I'm such a gulf island newbie it's ridiculous. We've lived here forever and I have never been to Galiano. Back in the winter while sitting inside on a dreary day we dreamed up the idea to camp at Montague Harbour on Galiano this August. Sounded like a great idea. When the time came last weekend we were a bit hesitant. Pit toilets, no direct access by car to the site.. hiking in camping gear for a family of four? not so much fun. But we decided to give it a try. Omg this place was incredible. it's like a secret sanctuary only the cool people know about.. and clearly that wasn't us. LOL Our site was huge and perfectly located close to the beach...the views were amazing...white sandy beaches...warm water ...stunning sunsets. We shared the beach with a huge group from Vancouver who have been going there for 6 years straight. They were hilarious.

So yet another great island treasure discovered this summer. Maybe B.C. is truly the best place on earth?.. what if gordo was right all along?...hmmm