Family Reunions, Summer Livin and Rainy Days.

Hello darlings.  Hope everyone is having an amazing August so far!  Last weekend, Nicholas, Sophie & I headed over to the Sunshine Coast for a mini family reunion at Katherine Lake, where a few of my family members manage the campsite during tourist season.

 

 Katherine Lake in the summer.

 

Katherine Lake is one of the smaller lakes up near Pender Harbour, and a perfect fishing spot for trout.  It's also a great place for swimming and paddle boarding - however, the Sunshine Coast wasn't really sunny on the weekend, and it down poured the whole time. 

Sophie's first ferry ride! 

I also got to catch up with one of my second cousins who I haven't seen in ten years.  It was great to see her, and introduce Sophie (and Nick).  She also runs the paddle board rentals/and ice cream shop for tourists during camping season.

We also hung out at my Grandma's house quickly (before we all drove down to Pender Harbour).  Here, we discovered how much Sophie loves wind chimes.  Clearly, we need to get some for our house.

Aside from our amazing road trip for the coast, the last week has rained quite a lot (which is good for our drought) - so we stayed home eating comfort food, binge watching Netflix, and having dance parties to Otis Redding & The Righteous Brothers.  I made the most amazing Chicken Soup (avocado/green chillies/fresh corn/black beans/carrot/onions/bell peppers/tomato/lime/brown rice/cheese/chicken stock).  Almost everything was organic.  This was a winner for days.

I also made the most amazing summer salad which is great on its own, and packs great for leftovers.  (Quinoa/Mixed Greens/Fresh Basil/Red Onion/Cucumber/Tomato/Avocado/Feta/Lemon Juice/Sriracha/Black Pepper).  For both recipes, I removed the watery/seedy inside part of the tomato and didn't include it.  I also minced up all the ingredients pretty finely (even the mixed greens).

On the days that it actually was sunny, we spent it in our pool teaching Sophie baby swim lessons.

We even went shopping on Main St for some hipster baby clothes for Sophie.  While there, she was so well behaved (she's teething now so it can be a hit or miss), that we decided to quickly stop in a bar for a drink since it was so nice out (and we haven't been in a bar, since last year).  We were too scared to order any food en case she got fussy, but it definitely felt nice being able to go somewhere with Nick (and Sophie), and actually have a drink.

We've also made use of daytime park visits on those sunny days, as it's the perfect place for some shady nap times for Sophie, and Chess/Backgammon for Nicholas & I.