Sunday visit

What a nice ending to our weekend at home.   Great visit and play with friends.  Luk was so tired that he thanked me for putting him to bed. 

Back to school shopping

Well, no idea if/when school will start but we need to get ready just in case.  Running out of weekends to shop.  So Mom and I took the girls clothes shopping today.  I already had backpacks, lunch bags, water bottles, rain coats and shoes.  Today's mission was indoor shoes,  jeans and tops.  We had fun.  Kid's were all agreeable.  Lunch was good.  Sales were a plenty.   We managed Mom's wheel chair and a stroller for Jia.  The stroller mostly held our bags.  At the end Jia had the hang of it, she on her own found a skirt she wanted and then a headband and sunglasses to match then gave me a pouty face in her endeavor to plead for it.  I was thinking we didn't need the sunglasses.  Clearly by the photo in the car, I was wrong and she did really NEED them :)

Last night I spent two hours sorting, culling and cleaning the toy room.  It's a little more Luk friendly now.  He is managing the stairs ok.  He has to be reminded every time to go down on his tummy. 

Tonight Eric and I are grocery shopping together.  Rare.  Waiting for Luk to go to bed before we leave. 

Tomorrow we have a few families coming over for a swim, visit.

So all in all, staying home this weekend hasn't been too bad.

Orthopedic Surgeon

I got to work today and realized that Luk had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon today in Victoria.  I still use a paper calendar to keep our lives organized.   I've tried the phone apps but I still prefer writing on the squares.   Anyway, quickly called Eric and we changed our day around and zoomed to Victoria.   He saw Dr. Weatherhead, who Lili sees for scoliosis.   He was pleased with Luk's progress.  He wasn't concerned in the least.  Didn't want an mri.  Didn't measure him.  Said his movement range and muscle tone were all normal.  Certainly normal for a kid that's only been walking for four months.  Zero restrictions.  He feels it's unlikely that Luk will have future problems.  He put him on a one year call back but didn't feel he would ever need a spina bifida clinic.  He did glance at his scar briefly.  So, good news all around.

We used the rest of our bonus day in Victoria to go pet the baby goats, go to Value Village to find a replacement cord for the power cord I fried in China for our wifi router and finally to Spaghetti Factory.  A big hit for our gang. 

Dumplings

Finally tried making traditional Beijing dumplings.  Yum.  They turned out fabulously.   Took quite a while to make them.  Next time I'll commit to the project and get comfortable at the table.  Jia made her own and cooked them too.  She was eating the first one and she said it tasted like a noodle.  ;)  Now we need to try making our own noodles.  We need a trip to a Chinese market.  We made our vinegar dip with white rice vinegar and dark soy sauce but would be nice to have the right sauce.

Then for dessert strawberries and fresh picked blackberries.  Yup...it's blackberry season.  We have a bumper crop out there too!

Some pictures from yesterday's picnic.  Sad turn out but we enjoyed our visit with everyone there.  Jia was delighted to play with Emily all afternoon.

We were coming home after dinner and I asked Eric if we could surprise the kids by camping one more night at Bamberton on the way home.  Pretty funny times, Lili says this was another one of my ideas that just wasn't a great one.  Our toilet was full and getting smelly.  5 of us for three days was a bit much I guess.  We had doors and windows open and had to break down and use chemicals. Good to know that when we're all there, two nights is our max.

I was planning to take Jia for her alone with Mommy camping trip this coming weekend but couldn't find a provincial site nearby.  So it's looking like a possible weekend at home. 

Goldstream Has Got Talent

We're camping in the motorhome at Goldstream.  Eric is loving camping with no set up or tear down.  I feel the days of our travel trailer are coming to an end.  Shannon and family came today and we got to meet their new daughter Zoey.  She is so cute.  Jia and Zoey had a great time playing together.   

Tonight there was a Goldstream Has Got Talent Show.  Our Lili entered and did a Highland Sword Dance.  She found the music on YouTube and used sticks from the forest :)  She won for her category,  single over 10.  Such fun.  She is so brave.

Tomorrow is an FCC picnic.   Looking forward to taking Luk.  Hoping some of Jia's friends are there.