I guess I feel less motivated to publish a new post when we just spend a lot of time at home, hiding from the rain and trying to get work done. Nevertheless, the kids are still growing and changing everyday, while Jeff and I watch with pride and awe.
Callum has been practicing his photography skills, and I LOVE this self-portrait:
He also observes the people around him doing what they do, i.e. Max playing;
And his mother working on the computer:
While I observe my boys doing funny things, like Callum hiding;
And Max repeatedly backwards-crawling his way under the couch:
Or Callum putting on my glasses and saying that he is a Doctor:
Since Jeff started his new job several weeks ago, we don't see him much, especially Max, since Jeff is so rushed in the mornings and comes home after Max is in bed - we hope that the crazy-busy schedule Jeff has been keeping might possibly slow down soon, but we're not sure when. We miss him.
Max is now sitting up, eating a lot of solid foods and has a relatively-regular sleeping schedule. It is still a tough task to get him to really laugh and he is so heavy (probably 22lbs!), but such a sweetheart. He plays with his toys happily, pretends that he can crawl, and the jolly jumper is his best friend - well, no, he so obviously adores his big brother as he grins everytime Callum looks at him.
Callum loves his Mom, his blankeys, his bike, Star Wars, Transformers, trains and cars, in that order - though when he is home, his Dad fits between his bike and Star Wars (hee). He laughs at everything, uses words like "frustrated" and says his Please+Thanks You's without being reminded (mostly). I have never, ever, felt as proud of anything/anyone in my entire life as I am of my little man Callum.
This is a happy life, this is my family.
I finally bought the cable I need to upload videos, so here is my first try to see how this works...
Jeff has a job. Yup, started working as an employee again yesterday. So, before he began the grind again, we filled the first few weeks of September with as much fun as we could.
Hmmm, what did we do... well, we hung out with Scott, Sam and Lorelei at my parents one day, so Callum played a bit with his youngest cousin.
One day, Kami's boys came to hang out with Callum, Max and I, so we met them at Queen Elizabeth Park.
Then we had a week with Jeff's parents. We only get to see them about once a year, so they met us in Kelowna. We ended up getting a sweet deal on a condo (Barona Beach Resort), and the weather certainly cooperated. We swam in the pool everyday, hiked a bit of the Kettle Valley Railway (after Callum puked his guts out on the way there), walked along the beach, visited the scenic Mission Hill winery, and relaxed.
Jeff's parents then came back with us to Vancouver for a few days. We took them to Fort Langley, where Callum and Larry (Jeff's Dad), bonded over train stuff. It was good to see them, if only for a short time. We think, though, it was long enough for Callum to get over his confusion about 'the other grandma and grandpa".
Kettle Valley Railway.
Callum's skills is the pool.
Max and Inge (Jeff's Mom) watching us in the pool from the balcony of our condo.
Mission Hill Winery.
,
Fort Langley (the blacksmith at the Fort gave Callum a forged keychain).
The miniature train inside a real train at the Fort Langley Train station.
Jeff and I passed the boys off on my sister Kami for a few days and headed to the mountains. We picked a few day hikes in the North Cascades (Washington) and I had no idea how impressive they would be - the trail book defined it accurately: panorama paralysis. I had a hard time sifting through the photos I took, but the only ones that even begin to do the scenery justice are the wide panoramas (so please click on the images to see them bigger!).
Friday was Maple Pass, a 9 mile (14.5km) loop hike:
On our drive back to camp, we saw this perfect little swimming hole for getting cleaned up (well, perfect except for the sign on the road saying that the flood gates could open anytime and wash us away to our deaths, but we ignored it!).
And our camp just outside the little town of Newhalem.
Saturday we decided to do Cascade Pass/Sahale Glacier, an 11.2 mile (just under 18km) hike that had our jaws dropping just at the trailhead. 
The day took it's toll, however. Jeff grew a terribly painful blister and I had to perform first aid on my boots when the right sole came completely unglued.
Our planned hike for Sunday, therefore, changed from climbing Sauk Mountain to doing the Factory Outlet stores in Everett! What a weekend!I can't say we didn't miss the boys, though, as we talked about them a lot and thought about them even more.
And his mother working on the computer:
While I observe my boys doing funny things, like Callum hiding;
Or Callum putting on my glasses and saying that he is a Doctor:
Since Jeff started his new job several weeks ago, we don't see him much, especially Max, since Jeff is so rushed in the mornings and comes home after Max is in bed - we hope that the crazy-busy schedule Jeff has been keeping might possibly slow down soon, but we're not sure when. We miss him.
