I Heart Faces | A Touch of Sun

Miss M exploring the beach at our favorite vacation spot. This photo was entered into the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com

I am a Soccer Mom

This is what occurred to me as I was driving along yesterday.  My kid had her first soccer practice this week and I stood on the sidelines watching.  Ergo - I'm a soccer mom.  Crazy.

To my former self as a butt-kicking trial lawyer, this label somehow carried a negative connotation - much like "mom-jeans".  Yet here I am, still pretty much my usual self but a soccer-mom nonetheless.   And I did not see anything particularly "soccer-momish" about the other parents who were dutyfully watching their offspring practice their first dribbles, so all is going well for now.

Here is my big girl in her new gear






She must have seen this pose in connection with the sport because I saw it a few times



Little sister clearly will be a soccer star one day ...

In other news, the Pipsqueak and I continue to enjoy the somewhat quieter pace that comes along with the "big" girls being at school for part of the day.

A cafe visit



Explorations around the Vancouver parks






Now we're looking forward to our first weekend soccer-game.  Yup,  they practice a whole 45 minutes as a team before their first game - no doubt half of them will be meandering around the field looking for dandelions or wondering which goal they are supposed to aim for, but there is a promise of coffee (for the parents), juice, donuts and hotdogs (for their offspring) at the first game so a good experience is virtually guaranteed.

Happy Weekend!

Pipsqueak Time

Now that the big girls are spending more time in school (and I have to admit that I'm surprisingly good with that - and so are they, it seems), the Pipsqueak and I have had some quieter, more leisurely time to spend together.



She is discovering books





they're good for climbing, too ...



brushing teeth herself ...



In last week's heat (relatively speaking, for westcoast standards), we found some nice cool shade in Nitobe Botanical Garden




she especially liked the pebbled paths



We found these in our own backyard - big sisters collected them on our Australian adventure ...



All in all, the days are quieter, but surprisingly it is a welcome change from our usual cacophony of noise.   These days remind me of my first year with M, before E was born.  So calm, peaceful, and focused on discovering the world.  The fabulous difference are the early mornings and afternoons spent with two excited and energetic big sisters whom the Pipsqueak welcomes back with open arms and great enthusiasm.

In other news, look who came home from school with one less tooth ...


(thanks to Ms. B for the lovely little box)

And what did she ask for in her letter to the tooth fairy?  A necklace, you think, ... or perhaps a fairy wand or a stuffed animal?  Nope.  My sweet little girl had a very specific request:  a remote-controlled Tarantula.  Yup.  I tried to talk her into just asking for cold hard cash, thinking this would make my afternoon a lot easier, but she was adamant that the tooth fairy would know exactly how to get this thing.  Sure enough, the local Toys R Us carried the darling little (8 inch) arachnid, and our three little girls are having lots of fun with the hairy moving creature.  Pictures to come ...

Tofino - Part 2

The rest of our Tofino stay was much like the first part.  There is really nothing much to do here other than wander the beaches, watch the surfers and contemplate "life, the universe and everything else".  Apart from the beaches, there is a mini-botanical garden, one Co-op grocery store which serves many of the outlying communities that can only be reached by boat, a couple of bakeries, espresso bars and surf shops, as well as a sprinkling of touristy trinket stores that sell everything from spoonrests to dreamcatchers and new-age crystals.

Building sandcastles ...





Resting...



Contemplating the view from our room ...



Wandering the resort grounds ...



Waiting for the morning fog to clear so we could finally get into some bathing suits (these are temperate rainforest beaches, folks, we don't even dream of going into this water beyond your knees without a wetsuit)












Some tired girls after a long afternoon at the beach ...




When is dinner, mom?

I'm checking out this place while they (try to) have dinner!


An evening walk searching for sand-dollars ...





Our last day was spent going to the local farmer's market ...









and, you guessed it, spending more time exploring the beaches.








This little girl can walk quite a distance now!










I guess I don't need to explain why we like this place.  We're looking forward to coming back for a recharge next year!