Autumn in the Okanagan with the Bournes

The best part of autumn for children has got to be playing in the leaves. Layla's excitement about it is contagious and she has somehow managed to get both Greg and I to join in the fun and jump off of our wobbly fence into a pile of freshly fallen leaves.

I have tried to capture some of that energy in photos. Enjoy.

♫♪ Walk Like an Evening Ship ♫♪

Thursday night was the monthly family night at Layla's school. It was a Halloween themed dance on one side of the gym with games and activities on the other side, and dinner set up in the halls. Dinner...not for us! You think you could get Layla to sit and eat when there was so much fun to be had in the gym? Not likely.

Layla is dressed as an Egyptian this year but she has a hard time saying Egyptian without focusing so when she sings it comes out "Walk like an evening ship".

The photos I took in the gym didn't really work out to well but here's a glimpse of Layla and her friends at the party.

The kindergartners performed a dance that they had practiced only 3 times but it was pretty cute anyways.

Carvin' Up a Good Time

Last week Layla's class went on a field trip to a pumpkin patch. She got to choose 2 pumpkins to take home but somehow, they never made it. Layla said they had holes in them so she didn't want them. Her teacher said she put her name on 2 of them and she definitely had them before home time. My guess? They suffered the same fate as so many sweaters this year, they were abandoned on the playground when it was time to board the bus.

Sunday morning we took the dog for a walk at the beach near Penticton. On our way home Layla was excited to point out the pumpkin patch they had gone to. We decided to stop and pick up some pumpkins. I had never been to a pumpkin patch and Greg hadn't either so we thought we would let Layla show us how it's done.

Thanksgiving weekend's record breaking cold snap was not easy on the pumpkins and many of them were rotting and in rough shape. We did manage to find a few gems and Layla pointed us in the direction of the scale and for less than a twoonie we went home with 2 beautiful pumpkins.


At home we went right to work. Layla was a big help and did a great job cleaning out the pumpkins.
Mmmmm YUMMY!

...and the final result. Cinderella and Princess Jasmine.

Tomorrow? Roasted pumpkin seeds. Can't wait!

Autumn in the Okanagan

Autumn in the Okanagan is just so beautiful I thought I'd share a few photos I have taken this week.

This I took today on my way home from work. It's called Yellow Lake. This is where we went fishing last year. I loved how the clouds moved down the mountain like a waterfall and the serenity of the lonely fisherman on the still lake. Sure my commute is long...but what scenery!

This was taken yesterday on my way home from work. It's close to White Lake and I just loved how the trees were changing color and the way they twist down the hills like a river.

This I took on Sunday on our way home from a walk at Vaseux Lake. I loved the reflection on the clouds in the lake.

Here is Layla at the Vaseux Lake look out.

FIELD TRIP!

Yesterday I was lucky enough to join Layla and her class on a field trip. We went for a walk to see the salmon who have returned to the Okanagan River to lay their eggs.

Our high that day was a frigid 11 degrees so our morning walk was very cold. It seemed like the adults were the only ones who felt it though. Kids just don't seem to feel the cold like we do. By the way, Layla is the girl in the pink jacket and blond braids on top (sometimes wearing a purple hat)

Baron was happy to join the class on their walk. He loved watching all of the children and didn't make a peep the whole 90 minutes we were out there. Very unusual for the Bearster.

Here is Mrs Millward teaching the class about the river restoration project which includes returning the river to it's natural twisty state rather than the straight channel it had been made into years ago. This gives slow moving areas and pools for the salmon to spawn without having to fight the current so hard.

I had a great time and hopefully I'll be able to join them on more of their field trips, they seem to have a tonn of them. So far this year they have gone to a farm and picked a tonn of fruits and veggies (and got to bring them home), skinned a deer, picked grapes at a vineyard and learned how to make them into juice, went to the Nk'mip golf course to run the Terry Fox run, and next week they are going to pick pumpkins from a pumpkin patch to take home. I guess full-time kindergartners have lots of time for extra activities. Lucky girl.

Baking with Grandma

For the Thanksgiving weekend we were thankful to have Grandma and Grandpa Bourne come visit. Grandma thought it would be a good idea to make her famous oreo cookies with Layla. Layla was pretty excited to bake what her Dad promised would be the best cookie she has ever tasted.

Layla got to combine all the ingredients and stir, stir, stir.

Greg was elected the official taster because, well, he had the most experience.

This one was a special cookie Layla made for Grandma with lots of extra cream cheese icing. Oh the sacrifices one makes for their grandchildren.

We all approved of the cookies and had them polished off within 48 hours. Soooo yummy.

♫♪ You say Good Bye ... I say Hello ♫♪

After the untimely demise of our pet moth, Chompers, we respectively put him to rest beneath a tree in our backyard. Layla decorated a coffin for him, dug the whole, sang him the saddest version of Happy Birthday you have ever heard and left him with a kiss and some flowers. Then she jumped on the bus and was off to school.

A few days later I spotted a big ol' green caterpillar on our driveway. I put him in Chomper's old digs and waited excitedly for Layla to get home.

When Layla arrived she immediately took him out in the backyard for a play. She named him Cactus and he now lives on our kitchen window sill. We are excited to have found a caterpillar that looks as if he may become a butterfly, rather than a moth (No disrespect intended Chompers RIP) .

Metamorphosis...by Layla

The morning of Layla's birthday she found a caterpillar on our walk. She decided that she wanted to keep him and watch him turn into a butterfly. Sure, I'm always game for bringing home live insects to feed and nurture as a beloved pet. Did I just say that? Anyways, we made him a comfortable home with twigs and a variety of leaves hoping that one of them would be the type he likes to eat. Layla named him Chomper and he sat in our window sill day after day. Layla would periodically let him out of confinement to enjoy some fresh air a playtime outside. She would put him on her slide and watch him roll down, place him on her swing and give him a little push. I thought for sure ol' Chompers would never make it to the cocoon phase.





A few weeks later we discovered Chompers was gone! All that was left was a lonely old cocoon.

The cocoon got steadily darker each day and after a few weeks I came to the realization that poor Chompers was never going to fly. I assumed he was dead but he still sat in my window sill day after day. There must have been a part of me that thought he might live, maybe, or I just never got around to getting rid of the bug carcass that sat on my kitchen window sill.

Last week we had a wind storm and Chomper's home fell into my kitchen sink. When I went to pick it up in the morning I noticed the cocoon was split open. I couldn't believe my eyes! There in my hands staring up at me was the most beautiful moth, blech, yes moth I had ever seen. I yelled for Layla to come see. I could tell she was a bit disappointed at first that it wasn't a big beautiful monarch butterfly but she quickly accepted Chompers for what he was and we hustled him outside so he could test out his new wings.

Chompers refused to leave the bottle. We had to shake him out and then he just sat in the grass. After a nudge from Layla he took off in flight. It was amazing to watch him fly for the very first time after spending nearly 2 months in our kitchen in his various stages of life. So the story ends...or does it?

Later that night, the kids were sleeping and Greg and I went downstairs to the kitchen to get a drink. I made a joke about turning on the light to find Chompers back in the kitchen. Ha ha, we chuckled and then Greg turned around and THERE HE WAS! I don't know how he got back in, and I guess I can't be 100% sure that it was even him but it's not as if we get a lot of moths in our house. So perhaps it was just a coincidence but I think it was our good friend Chompers coming to the only home he knows. I told Greg to kill him (don't judge me) but he refused and so we let him be. Welcome to the family Chompy.

The next morning we found Chompers sleeping on Layla's blinds right by her head. She was so excited she prepared some food for him and showed him her barbie house which she thought could be his home. He stayed in her room for a few more days, and she tended to him like she would a pet. Sadly Chompers life ended yesterday. I'm not sure what happened but he was found lifeless in our bathroom beside the toilet. He is gone, but will never be forgotten.

Here's to you Chompers!

Layla and Chompers (look closely..he's on her nightlight on the white shelf)

First Day of Kindergarten!!

After much anticipation, by the both of us, Layla finally got to start kindergarten today! She is attending Sen Pok Chin Elementary School on the Osoyoos Indian Band reserve. After looking into the schools in our area and meeting the teachers we decided this school would be the best fit for Layla, at least for kindergarten.

Today was a half day, followed by a bbq lunch that Baron and I also attended. It was nearly impossible to tear Layla out of there. Layla and her friend, Aianna, who she went to preschool with, caused general havoc throughout the school and on the playground. Meanwhile Aianna's mom and I dragged around our 1 year old sons, who are only days apart, and tried to keep their destruction to a minimum.

Layla loves her teachers. Despite there being 3 elementary schools in the small town of Oliver, there is a whopping 29 students in her class this year, so I guess they will need all the help they can get! Some of the students are only there for the mornings so the afternoons will be a bit quieter, I imagine.

Here are some pictures of her first day:

Layla insisted on choosing her own attire for today, and why would it be any other way? She chose to wear a dress she inherited from Charlie on last weeks trip to Edmonton.

Aianna, Larissa and Layla playing on the playground before school starts.

Baron and his friend, Chadon playing in the playground

Layla and Aianna walking hand-in-hand looking for their lockers.

Playing in the classroom before I had to leave.

Layla and Aianna in the library

She had so much fun today! What a great start to her long journey through school!

The Boy Walks

Big Baby Bear Bare is walkin, he's talkin, he's stirrin things up all over town!

At 12 months old Baron has decided to walk. He practiced and practiced and seems to really enjoy taking steps now. He can walk from one end of the room to the other but if he is in a hurry, he still boots along on all fours.

I'd like to take the credit here but Layla is the one who really pushed and motivated Baron. She was always holding his hands helping him waddle along. She would ride his ride-along toy as he held the back and tried to keep up. It was cute, and sometimes frightening, to watch but all of their efforts are now paying off as Baron happily walks around the house.