On the way to school today Joshua was playing with his umbrella and said “Mom I’ve got my gatling gun full of happiness, it’s my mission to shoot it into the sky. And rid the world of depression!!” – oh you do Joshy, you totally do! HAHA

It’s time to briefly recap Labor Day and our visit with Nathan’s parents who came out to help us settle into our new life on the Island. Nathan’s Dad drove all the way with us, we honestly couldn’t have made it across the border, and then across Idaho, Washington and the ocean on the ferry if it weren’t for him! The trip was long, Dad drove our Audi with Dylan and occasionally Nathan as his company. We had fun driving and camping in our tent trailer along the way, we even stopped in for a quick visit with Grandma Earl in Moses Lake! The kids swam in her pool and she fed us the most scrumptious lemon bars. Nathan’s Mom arrived a few days later by plane to Victoria and they both assisted us in making our house a home. Incredible efforts were made on our behalf and we are so grateful! The bonus is that we really enjoy being together and so even when we are working it feels like a gift just to be together. We’re so lucky!

On Labor Day we took a much needed break from the cardboard menagerie and everyone piled into the cars to visit Fort Rodd. We put together a beautiful picnic lunch and enjoyed the sunshine. Fort Rodd was a fun family outing, the kids were in heaven – especially when they saw the sprawling fort and the lighthouse. It was a hit!

For Mom and I the best part of our labor day was sacrificing our arms, clothing and legs in pursuit of Blackberries. They were plump and gorgeous berries, the timing was perfect! I have never harvested blackberries before and had no clue that they were so brambly and thorny – those bushes will kill you. Luckily Mom was super brave and we managed to collect enough to leave me with several beautiful jars of blackberry jam. She loves me most!

One of my favorite things about Nate’s parents being here with us was waking up each morning and walking downstairs to find Dad working at the kitchen table, overlooking the gorgeous vista of ocean and palm trees. “Another crappy day in Victoria!!” he would say each day. I loved it!

I had so many pictures from this day, Click on the individual shots for a larger image.

Oh my heavens! Wendy and Tyler of Blue Lily Photography came to Alberta before our move to The Island and we were able to snag a family photo session. I “patiently” awaited on our session for a year knowing that they would be coming to the Calgary area and we could finally meet in person and capture our family in photos.

On the day of the session it was crazy – we weren’t sure we could even make it in time driving up from Lethbridge. But made it we did, and in spite of reports of possible rain we had beautiful evening light. The only major issue were the millions of biting and nasty mosquitos threatening our very lives. I joked with Wendy that she would have to spend hours photoshopping them off of our faces.

Between the travel time, and the time of night our kids were crazy monster children ready to pounce. Lola wouldn’t stand still and was constantly escaping and running down the paths yelling “RUNNNNNNNN!!!” Noah was freaking out about ants on his shoes, and Joshy and Brigs were trying to behave but couldn’t sit still or resist trying to parent the other kids. It was a gong-show comedy playing out right in front of my photography blog icon friends! I could die! Wendy in spite of all the chaos was cool, collected and darling – all the time telling me how precious my children were and how perfectly we were dressed. I love her!

Seeing the images today brought tears to my eyes. These are the last family pics of our family in Alberta, they are treasures to me. I love and stand in awe of how Wendy was able to capture such beautiful shots of our family. We love each other and she was able to get that, despite all of the chaos. I can’t tell you how much I recommend the Blue Lily experience, they are the travelling vagabond photographers who just might be in your neck of the woods next. I have many more images I couldn’t share on here, but I love them all – the shots of my individual children are beautiful too. Come over and I’ll show you all the shots! Thank you Wendy + Tyler – we loved being “Blue Lily-fied” and can’t wait to do it again. XOXO – Daria, Nathan and family

You can catch up with the photography and travels of Wendy + Tyler (and their adorable insanely well behaved children) here>>

Our little doll enjoying the sheer splendor of Gail’s garden in Moses Lake. Gail’s yard is a dreamy place full of beauty, and seeing Lola enjoy it so much with adorable. We LOVE being with the Earls (and Lola adores being Tom’s favourite!!)

PS – I love the last shot where Lola’s little chin dimples are showing. She is so beautiful!

For the past two weeks we have basked in the love of the Muirhead Family. Firstly for our Jim and Catherine Muirhead Family Reunion in gorgeous Sandpoint Idaho, and then secondly for a family vacation to Moses Lake and Portland with Nathan’s parents in tow. There’s always something so special about the opportunity to be with family, and I was especially touched that everyone made such huge efforts to be there with their families…most of all Conor and Katie who had literally just moved across country, threw their boxes into their new home and dropped it all to come a great distance to be there. Wow!! Awesomeness!

My Mother-in-Law Catherine had spent months planning activities, costumes, bedtime stories, crafts and beyond all in a Knights and Princesses theme for the Grandchildren. What an amazing effort that was, and to see everything come together with all the parents dressed in their Courtly Finery for a day of jousting, slaying the dragon (AKA Bjorn), decorating crowns and cookies and shields and MUCH MUCH more…well it was magical. I am so grateful for the efforts made by my in-laws for all of us. They outdid themselves and the result were some amazing memories, beautiful moments in our nightly family devotionals, and delighted children who could not believe the lengths their Nana would go to to ensure they knew of their intrinsic worth.

I wish I had taken more pictures of the entire group – but thankfully I know a few of the others did. Can’t wait to see!!

Now saying all of that, I will mention that our stay at The Idaho Castle as a venue was not without bumps – FOR REAL. I would not recommend that particular venue to anyone that I truly liked or disliked. It had lots of problems, including the most treacherous beds in existence, and flaws that would make a building inspector shudder with fear. I digress, because the memory that I hold in my head now is of the smiles and laughter of all the little cousins playing together. I love seeing the cousins enjoying each other. Lola had a wonderful visit with Felix and Holly – she loved it and it was fun for her to experience hanging with toddlers her own age group, she’s about half a year younger but loved them throughly. OH and she’s head over heels in love with Greta – I couldn’t believe how much she wanted to hold, kiss her and touch her little toes.

One of the days we all went to Silverwood Amusement Park and enjoyed riding rides, frozen lemonade, and swimming in the outdoor waterpark. I went on this crazy waterslide with Nate and the kids, and the entire time Joshy laughed his head off as freezing water continuously poured onto my back, my hair and left the others mostly dry. “You should see your face!” he delightedly repeated loudly over and over as the cold water torture continued. LOL!! The kids loved the entire day, well except for maybe Seger who got bowled into by a park attendants garbage cart and wound up with several stitches. Poor little kid!! The swelling on his eye the next day was most alarming and impressive – in fact I believe Rocky himself would bow to Seger’s newfound “severely beaten” look. “Yay buddy!! we all told him, you look so cool!!”

We loved the gorgeous lake pend oreille, the milkshakes at this cool little place in Sandpoint (what was the name of it you guys??), the Seadoo that Nate rented, Kent and Liz’s awesome boat – and seeing the little ones on the waterski trainer being all confident and cute. Having the entire Earl family show up for fun in the sun,

I have much more to share in pt. 2 coming soon!! But here are a few more pics.

It’s so much fun to see Lola enjoy the summer! She was adorable the other day when I dropped her off to my Mother for playtime in the sprinkler and garden. These are the shots my Mom took of her! I’m so happy she captured Lola at play this summer. Love it!!

Last week Joshua turned 10 years old!! I’m still working on his Birthday post including pictures, so keep watching for that. In the meantime, I had to share this hilarious picture of Lola, so Overjoyed to be attending his party! Icing on the cheek and a wild woman attitude, I am so in love with my Lolabug. I’ll say it again, we should have used JOY as her middle name.

Somebody buy this boy some wheels – he’s graduated Kindergarten baby!! Our Noah was thrilled this week to graduate with his Kindergarten class and rush head first into summer holidays. Noah has come a long way this year and I’m so proud of him, he is awesome. We celebrated the event by going to his yearend BBQ, and Noah received a “Special Person” button and diploma from his teacher Mrs. M. (My Mom, Dylan, Joshua, Brigs and Lola were there too!)

I told his teacher how grateful we were to have her to teach both Brigs in a previous year and now Noah. To which she said that “Noah was My Gift this year!” Isn’t it delightful to know that there are kind and wonderful people out there that care about your kids. She made me tear up. Having great teachers is such a blessing, and Noah definitely hit the jackpot with Mrs. M!

Congratulations on your big Kindergarten milestone Noah, I’m so proud of my baby boy!! XOXO – Mom

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, I’ve forgotten to blog a few pics from my recent trip to Quilt Market in Salt Lake City. I was covering the event for my website Boutique Cafe, and interviewing oodles of fabric and pattern designers. It’s always a huge treat and honor to be able to showcase so many of the most talented people I’ve met – I love it!! Scores of new interviews are still on their way to Boutique Cafe so keep coming back to see more and also to snag some Market Swag from the designers. We all love a giveaway…right?!!

Here are just a few fun and funny moments from Market this time around:

Jessica Levitt and I show off our matchy matchy camera bags! (Thanks to Nate’s Mom for mine, I LOVE it!!)

Hamming it up with my sweet friend Anna Maria Horner, we always have so much fun together.

Best moment ever!! Making Joel Dewberry recreate the Ty Pennington pose from a famous magazine cover. You all know it!

Megan and Chelsea playing dolls!

Megan (Brassy Apple) being swarmed by her blog fans. It’s true, Megan is totally recognized everywhere she goes. Here she is pictured with @Killerella and @BustyLaRue. It’s so fun to see my friend being all famous and fabulous! I love Megan!

Want to see a bunch of giggly girls at Market, look no further. I swear when I get together with Kim and Kris from The DIYDish, we can’t help the laughter and hijinx. We laughed, I cried, good times.

Most of my coverage is on Boutique Cafe and my photos are all viewable onFlickr.