Friday Night Leftovers

• While I can hardly believe that July is nearly over, part of me wants September to hurry up and get here. My boys are fighting more than they are getting along and I think part of it has to do with the lack of structure and regular activities such as school for Luca. We're trying to keep busy to keep fighting at a minimum, but I swear some mornings they come out of their rooms fists swinging.

• Last weekend we went to Banff for the day, just the 4 of us. We love that we live a short drive from such beauty and try to take advantage as often as we can.  We went on a beautiful hike at Lake Minnewanka, the boys loved throwing rocks into the water (what is it with kids and rocks?!), we had a great supper in Banff and of course, got treats from the Fudgery and Welch's candy store. On the news last night, I heard that there is now a 4 person minimum group for hiking and you must carry bear spray with you to hike Lake Minnewanka because a mother bear and her 2 cubs were spotted near the trail at the water's edge just this week. Kinda scary to think that were were there just a few days prior to those bears being spotted and we could have crossed paths. Yikes!

• I'm halfway through my summer births. I've got 4 more to go before I take a little break from mid- September to mid- October and then I have 6 more before the end of November. I'm not taking any clients in December and am hoping that this trend continues in the new year!  It is so exciting and rewarding to finally see my business picking up, but part of me is waiting for the disappointment that I experienced earlier in the year to strike again when it seemed I couldn't get clients.  I am hoping to be busy enough throughout the winter and Spring that I can take one month off next summer to enjoy with my family without listening for the phone to ring.  But for now, I'm just thankful for the business I do have and am loving each and every family that I get to know and work with!

• Remember those white rocks that have been waiting and waiting to be dug out of my new garden?  My wonderful, fantastic, gracious husband worked very hard to dig them all out last weekend and hauled them away. I'd say I helped, but that would be a bald faced lie. I actually sat in a chair with a book, a few feet away. Hee hee. Thanks, my love! But I am so thankful and am just waiting to get some soil now!  I probably won't plant much until I can put fall bulbs in, but I may look for a few small perrenials to put in right away to give it some life.

• For the most part, we have had a wonderful summer, weather wise. We haven't had the rain that has been plaguing Central Alberta and we haven't had the heat that has been scorching other areas of Canada.  On average, the temperature has been in the mid-20s and we have enjoyed many mornings in the back yard with the sprinkler under the trampoline or visits to our wonderful splash park.

• I am getting serious about losing some of this extra padding that I've been carrying around since Levi was born. I'm more conscious of my portion sizes and am seriously cutting back on junk food (if you know me, you know this is a BIG deal) and running every other evening.  I got the "couch to 5k" app for my phone and have been using that and finding it to be a really easy program to follow and feel successful at.  I'm looking forward to a change in my body and more confidence about how my clothes fit.