October was a busy month.  It was a month of firsts!  Elysia, Steve, and I decided to go to the pumpkin patch.  None of us had ever been, and it was a beautiful day, so away we went!

Elysia loved checking out all the pumpkins.

Peek!

Elysia and her daddy.

Elysia and I both had to wear red shirts!

I just love this pic.  It looks like heaven is shining down on my little girl.

So many pumpkins to choose from!

Wait for me, Daddy!

It's so hard to get a picture of the two of us.  Elysia just loves to be Miss Independent.

That's it, I'm outta' here.

The turkeys were bigger than Elysia.

Hmmm...that pumpkin looks good...

She just can't wait to get her driver's license.

Such fun was had at the pumpkin patch.  Can't wait to go again next year!!

We also took Elysia Trick-or-Treating for the first time.

My little Strawberry, all ready to go!

We went with our neighbours and their daughter, Leah.  They both looked so cute in their costumes.

Ummm...Mom, I can't see!!

Daddy's turn.

Our fabulous pumpkin!

Elysia LOVED trick-or-treating.

Daddy LOVED all the candy.

Halloween was so much fun!

Elysia also got to go to her very first friend's Birthday Party!

Such a great time to have a Birthday.  Beautiful fall colours, and Pumpkins to decorate!

Elysia and Steve's work of art.

The most beautifully decorated birthday gazebo.  Sophia had a great birthday, and Elysia had a fabulous time.

Yes, October was a wonderfully busy month.  Now for November...

Chef Extraordinaire!

OK, that title may be overstepping a bit, but hey...it's my blog!

When I was little, my mom worked full time and my father did most of the cooking.  His veggie choice always consisted of boiled peas (his favourite) that he would prepare and boil early in the day and the meat choice was always heavily peppered.  To this day, my brother and I hardly ever eat peas!  He did try to be creative though.  Just ask him about his 'amazing' creation of adding tuna to the meaty spaghetti sauce, or adding the cheese powder to the boiling water for our macaroni and cheese. 

Anyway, as I got older and mom retired, the chef's hat shifted from Dad's head to Moms. My study time  didn't present many opportunities to help my Mom in the kitchen, so as I grew older,  my cooking skills were rather lacking in skill and creativity.  When I lived on my own for the first time, microwave popcorn was a common dinner and my fridge contents consisted of milk and cheese.  When I lived in Asia, eating out in restaurants was so cheap that I never had food in my house. 

Now that I'm married with a daughter of my own, I find I am bored with making the same dishes night after night.  After having delicious home-made tacos at my friend's house the other night, and reading about another of my friends cooking Thai food, I got inspired!

So for the first time, I decided to make Asian Lettuce Wraps.  OK, probably not exciting to all you culinary experts out there, but for me it sounded delicious.

Once I decided on a recipe, I had to go shopping! 

I had to buy almost everything on the list!!  Those of you who know me...yes, that is an ONION in the bottom left corner.  I chopped that onion so fine, and only used half.  Baby steps.  Onions are still yucky.

There's my lettuce, all clean and shiny!  =)

Yep, the final product!  Eaten up, of course!  Pretty messy meal to eat especially when you have a one year old who insists on eating independently. 

Perhaps I'm Canada's next top chef.

Now I just need a Chef's hat.

And a new recipe.

How about a few more pictures...

OK, My Mom took these pictures a few days ago with her fancy schmanzy new camera...

Don't you think Elysia's hair looks rather auburn in these pics??

Thanks, Mom!!  The pictures turned out great!

Summer Fun at Buntzen Lake and White Rock

Elysia gets her very own water lounge chair to enjoy at Buntzen Lake.  Lucky kid!

Steve enjoyed a day off in the sun.Elysia absolutely loved the water.  She splashed away, and had a really great time.

In fact, she had so much fun she decided to crawl out into deeper waters...

No worries!  Grandma and Aunty Sara caught her before she got too far.

Time to splash!Time to visit the White Rock Boardwalk!Elysia loves hanging out with Grandma.She got to walk with Grandma on the Boardwalk.  She LOVED it.

After a busy day in White Rock, we took time to enjoy some yummy fish and chips.

I just love her 'scrunchy nose' expression.We've had a great summer so far!

Fun in the Sun

Ahhh...the hot days of Summer.  Time to bring out the hat!

Hmmm...How to beat the heat?

Water Park!!

Elysia loved the park.  She was a little unsure at first, but once she saw all the other kids playing in the cool water she just had to join in!

Aunty Sara seemed to enjoy it too. 

Thankfully there is another Water Park really close to our house.  Without A/C, our house sure gets hot!  Nice to cool off...

If we can't get to the water park, hanging out in our own backyard can be fun, too.

Time for a Change

Steve and I bought our home a little over two years ago and have really only begun to make some cosmetic changes.  We love our home, but the beige in our house had to go!  Beige walls, carpet, furniture...We needed colour.  Well, colour we got!

I wasn't too sure about this colour at first, but my hubby loved it, and I decided I'd just have to wait and see...

Work, work, work!

Today, it was finally all done.  Steve worked really hard to get all the painting done and then moved all the furniture around and hung up a few pictures.  Here is the result...

All done!  So, what do you think?

Now Steve is painting the dining room...pictures to follow!