The Spring Explosion

The quiet exclusiveness of our little getaway was exchanged for amazing adventures with family and friends that greeted us as soon as we returned home.  The weather got nicer, too.  It was as if, with the explosion of warm weather, there was an explosion of social activity as well...


Big Brother Returned! Dan's older brother, Ryan, landed on Canadian soil after over a year of traveling the globe as a guest tattoo artist.  The days of hearing the whoosh of our e-mails launching off to Spain or Scotland, Germany or Peru, Sweden or Croatia, were over.  It was a treat to have him stay with us for a week or so as he adjusted to life back on the island. Movie nights, an afternoon of shooting, Chef Ryan's recipes from far-off lands, the search for a motorcycle for Ryan, and reunions around the barbecue at Mum and Dad Holden's made the days speed by. He's settled into a new place and job just forty minutes away now. We're so happy his new adventures are just a bit closer to us this time!

Bridesmaid dress

A Spontaneous Wedding for our friends appeared next on the scene, so there was some shopping and planning and bachelor/bachelorette party attending to do. We were in the bridal party, which was a great honour. It was a simple, quiet little affair at a quaint farm belonging to the bride's godparents. There were just thirty guests, which included the bridal party.  The rain held up the whole day, even with all the forecasts predicting showers.  They got married beneath a white tent in a blooming country garden.  It was a lovely day!  


The Birthday parties and birthdays keep coming...they seem to come in droves once the weather gets nice! I'm whipping out my old card-making skills, and quite enjoying it.

Our Guest Room...do come and visit!

Friends came to stay Mother's Day weekend.  Sarai bussed up with her daughter Alorah (our little brunette flower girl) for games, dinners, shopping for home-made shampoo and facial cleanser ingredients, and a fundraiser fashion show at church, at which I found two lovely sundresses for $5 each! I need them already.  Baby is fast becoming a built-in heater.  The lighter and airier the better!


A Mother's Day barbecue at our place topped off last weekend.  There were eleven of us altogether.  It was a shockingly warm day, so we had the windows and doors open the whole evening!  There was rosemary lemon chicken, potato salad, greek salad, angel foodcake, and a rhubarb strawberry crumble.  

Bachelor's Button blooming in our garden

It was fun being the family gathering hostess for the first time.  Everything I learned about planning and hosting is from my mother.  As I sat there, ten minutes before all would arrive, with the lists crossed off, the soft music playing, the house clean, and the kitchen organized, I thought of my beautiful mother.  She's so good at creating an atmosphere of calm and loveliness that guests can sense the moment they walk through the front door.  Thank you, Mother, for inspiring me in my newly begun days of being hostess as well as my newly begun days of being a mother... You make it all seem so worth it.


The Launch of Wedding Photography season has begun as well.  There will be six weddings Leslie and Dan will be covering this summer.  We're there again...amazing.

The Halfway Point of Pregnancy arrived!  I am so relieved.  Though still tired at the day's end, the weariness of the 1st trimester is fast fading.  Now it's just stretching pains of baby bump growing exponentially, and the tiredness towards the evening after being a nonstop baby-maker on top of full days!  Dan felt our baby kick for the first time the other night! Kicks are getting bigger as Baby hits nearly 10 inches and 12 ounces!  I woke her/him up this morning by talking (Baby can hear now!), and was answered by squirming and two solid kicks!  The interaction I can have now is thrilling!


Landscaping our Yard is our new hobby.  We're hoping to create a little oasis up on the sloping part of our yard and plant some veggies in raised beds.  It's coming along!  We had wonderful and enthusiastic help from Ryan and Adam as well.  Awesome bros. Dan's Auntie Lucielle also gave us some lovely plants from her garden for our side yard, which Leslie planted for us last week!  So thoughtful.  I have been faithfully watering, and things appear to be surviving, even in the sudden wave of heat.

Our Upper Level Patio in Progress

Peas, Carrots, and Onions planted on the LEFT; Tomatoes, Oregano,  Thyme, and Parsley on the RIGHT

Cherry Tomatoes and Purple Basil; Strawberries; Mint and Lemon Balm

Leslie gave me three simply lovely hanging baskets from the dozen or so we made together one day!

This used to be bare...only about five plants.  Now there are over a dozen or more!

So...that was our April, and our May.  It's been quite fun and quite tiring.  I am ready for just one day to fold laundry, take a walk, water the garden and take in what has happened and what's to come...