Norah at 3

Posted in Birthdays, Growing Up Norah, Norah by

My sweet NorNor,

Yet another year has gone by and now you are 3 years old! There are not enough words to describe how much you’ve grown in the past year.

You’re fiercely independent and yet still so loving of your family, you definitely do things on your terms. Dad and I have nicknamed you the “Honey Badger” because you do what you want! (To a certain extent, at least!) You’re tough as nails and not much slows you down. The zest you have for life is unbelievable and I can’t help but admire it!

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You still love animals immensely and want to make friends with every creature you encounter, from chipmunks to cows. Campbell is one of your best buds and you fondly refer to him as your “Horsey.”

As much as you and your sister fight and argue, your love for one another is still truly amazing. You hurt your hand not too long ago and you asked for Isla to hold your hand while I put your bandages on. For the most part, you really do get along so well and I hope you both continue to have this close bond as you grow up.

Dad is one of your favourite people and you love it when he does your bedtime stories with you. I can tell by the way he looks at you that he loves you immensely; you’re “his people”, as he so frequently states, and I don’t disagree!

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While you’re not picky at all, your favourite foods would have to be Mini Wheat cereal, yogurt, pasta, and steak. You’re slowly warming up to the idea of liking broccoli, but like your sister, you’re not crazy about bell peppers and mushrooms.

You always ask to watch the movie “Cars” but I think your favourite at the moment would have to be The Angry Birds Movie.

Norah, you put my patience to the test on a daily basis but I wouldn’t have it any other way. You are the sweetest little person and I’m so thankful to be your mom.

Happy Birthday, Norah!

Love always,

Mom

xoxo

Race Recap: 5K Foam Fest Fun Run

Posted in Race Recaps by

Oh my Mother, what a fun event this is!

A friend and I signed up for this even back in February and we’ve been looking forward to it ever since! And while she claims she’s “not a runner” I think this race got her hooked ;)

It was raining SO MUCH all week leading up to the event that I thought for sure it was going to be a miserable time, but low-and-behold, the sun came out Saturday and it was the perfect day to race! The run was being held up at Sun Peaks, so Ty met me at my place and we hopped in my rig and made our way up to the hill. We got there with plenty of time before our heat, so we wandered around the village for a bit before jumping into an earlier heat! (The perks of getting there early in the day means the lineups were shorter – definitely good to know for next time.)

The hills were INTENSE but the obstacles broke up the running perfectly. There were a few times where we had to wait to start an obstacle, which gave us time to catch our breath. My favourite obstacle? Probably the mud pit! It was fun to just get dirty and not give a crap.

Here’s some photo evidence of the fun!

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And to get an idea of the course layout and elevation:

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Whew, but I seriously did not stop smiling/laughing all day! (And a special shout-out to my FitBit Ionic for surviving the much & mud!)

After we got cleaned up and into clean clothes, we hit the beer garden for a celebratory drink and grub before heading back to town. It was the perfect way to end the day!

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I really hope to be able to go again next year! Thanks Ty for joining me – I knew you could do it!!

 

Weekend Update

Posted in Weekend Update by

We had a busy one this weekend! Here’s what we got up to:

[Friday]
I went for a quick treadmill run in the morning and Norah slept in until just after 6am, which meant I didn’t have to tend to her mid-run, so that was a huge bonus! The icing on the cake was that she woke up with a dry Pull-Up AND took herself to the bathroom right away, so she’s getting closer to being fully potty trained. Yay!

After Isla finished school we headed down to my MIL’s for an early dinner as she was watching Norah while Isla and I went to watch a dance recital. The studio she attends showcases the “big kids” during three different evening shows, while Isla’s age group performs in the afternoon. Since she’s going to be a “big kid” next dance season, I thought I’d take her to watch them perform. It was a bit of a late night, but she absolutely loved it!

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Her favourite performances that night were “Moana and allll the ballet” and her eyes really lit up when one of her teachers performed in a group ballet routine. I think watching the big kid show got her pretty excited to do her own recital on Saturday and Sunday!

[Saturday]
Norah “slept in” until just after 6, so she watched some cartoons on the iPad for a bit while I waited for the coffee to be ready and scrolled Instagram. I saw one of Joe Rogan’s posts saying that he was going to be in Vancouver in August, and out of curiously I clicked through to the ticket information. As it turns out, he’s actually going to be in Abbotsford, and there were still tickets available, so I woke Kyle up to run the idea of going by him. The show is on his regular day off, so we bought ourselves tickets! It was a total whim but we’re pumped to go see him live!

Other than that, we had a relatively quiet morning before I got Isla’s dance things together and we headed down to my mom’s as she was watching Norah while Isla had her recital. We had a quick lunch then it was time to get ready for the show!

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How can this be my baby’s fourth dance recital and she’ll soon be 6? I don’t even know …

Anyway, I got her to the theatre so she could go backstage, then I just hung around and waited for Kyle and the remainder of our family to arrive. We slowly filed into the theatre and the show got underway!

Isla’s group did awesome during their routine and they all nailed it! Isla even got to dance beside one of her best friends, so that made her super happy. It was a long exhausting day, but she made me so proud.

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Norah was proud of her ice cream cone.

[Sunday]
We had another lazy-ish morning aside from grocery shopping and the usual errands, and then it was time to get Isla ready for her 2nd recital of the weekend.

Kyle spent most of the day working on building some bases for the gazebo we bought for our deck. Technically it’s supposed to be anchored directly to the deck, but there’s no chance in hell we’re ruining the Duradek for a cheap gazebo, haha. I think the bases will work great to keep it from flying away in the wind, so we shall keep our fingers crossed!

My mom was taking Isla to the recital, so around 1pm she picked Isla up I got baking! Because Isla’s birthday falls during summer vacation time, her teacher is picked arbitrary days in June all the “off-season” kids to celebrate in their classroom. Isla’s special day is today, (Monday) so I make her ice cream cone cupcakes to share with her class. They were actually really easy to make and she loves them!

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Kyle’s aunt & uncle popped over for a quick visit in the afternoon, and then Isla got home from her recital just after 4pm. Kyle came in from his “workshop” and we got to making dinner before winding down for the night.

~

It was a pretty exhausting weekend but it was a productive one! Now it’s Monday and I’m gearing up for another busy week/weekend; I’m dropping in on a run club Wednesday night and have ball Thursday, plus a final exam on Friday. Whew!

How was your weekend??