We've been told by many, that it is the summer when Powell River truly shines - and this summer did not disappoint! Though I would say we've had a very chill summer at home, we have had some really lovely moments exploring our new town and getting used to daily life here.
Honestly, we've spent this summer renovating the house (check our Instagram for way more details). We knew we would and that is what we've done. Matt has taken any spare moment to get things done on our little old house and things are slowly coming together (though we've had some dark moments when we were pretty sure we'd bitten off more than we could chew. Nah - we still feel that way. But the chewing is becoming bearable).
After spending two months in the campground, living beside the house now, in our trailer, isn't so bad. We have full hook up and are really rather comfortable. We have a washing machine still plugged in inside the house but otherwise, we have everything we need in the trailer. The kids jump on the trampoline, we can garden and go for walks and manage little projects as they come. It could be so much worse.
The weather has been mostly on our side. I mean, the heat has been pretty rough, but it's better than constant rain, and that is what is coming for the fall, so we're happy to get done whatever we can while the sun is out.
I feel like I need to properly address the house reno and what Matt is pouring into it. Literal blood, sweat and tears - almost every day. I mean, I knew this guy was handy (one of the reasons I married him!), but he has completely out-done himself this time. He is a literal fount of knowledge in regards to all this reno stuff - and he's not a contractor. He's also not a hack, so if he isn't 100% sure, he asks a pro in the field until he gets the answer. And somehow he just knows the rest. It's mostly his dad we have to thank for that - he is the original source of his fount of knowledge. He was able to come up for a few days and install the new windows, and he'll come back soon to help with the exterior finishing. Matt can do a lot on his own, but he sure loves having help. His brother came for a weekend, and some friends who have visited have helped along the way, and also his sisters family were a huge help this last weekend, doing odd little jobs that would take us a whole weekend, but they could manage in a few hours. Wow.
I can't tell you how many times I've wished there was such thing as a fairy-god-contractor, but friends and family who help you out is pretty dang close.
When we aren't pounding nails, we've been digging holes in the yard, or filling holes - classy work like that. We've planted a garden and some apple trees (which the deer find quite delicious) and learnt a lot about how things grow in this climate (hint: amazing).
Also, we've made it out to Mowat Bay a number of times, and lots of beaches in and out of town. We've shared many a drink with friends old and new and met nearly all of our neighbours. We went for a quick sail on a friends boat, we went to Logger Sports and watched the fireworks for Blackberry Fest (from our deck!). We picked blueberries and ate them all within a few days (not much freezer space in here!).
We're really getting a feel for this town and we're loving it so far. We're not going away any time soon. Sorry Powell River folks - you're stuck with us.
Some other big milestones in our family was two babies being born, which is quite the thing to celebrate. First was my brother and his wife had their second baby (a girl!) and five days later my sister and her husband had their first (a boy!). It was a busy few weeks, but so full of good news and happy babies and mamas. It takes holding a newborn again to appreciate how quickly your kids really do grow up.
Matt and I also celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. It involved us sneaking away for some happy hour drinks and a shared dinner of ribs. After 13 years, I've gotten over gift-giving from my hubby - quality time is all I want, and if it happens to come along with good food, even better! It was nice to recalibrate and remember why we are doing all of this, why we've done all of this - we love each other and want to keep building a life together. We like leaving room for adventure but also comfort and security and any bumps along the way. Man, this isn't easy (marriage, life, reno, moving etc), but we really do feel this has been SO worth it for us. We have no regrets. We can laugh about our mistakes and misadventures and we do our best to plan what we can, but in the end, we're always on the same team with the same goal. And that is a good feeling.
