Thankful Thursday

Welcome back to Thankful Thursday, a feature started by Louise at Talk Nerdy to Me, where we look back over our week and remember our blessings.  It is so good to see all that has happened, especially if you have had a particularly tough week. Being grateful is good for the soul. Here are just a few things that I am thankful for...

1. birthday celebrations

My cutie nephew had a birthday and we got to celebrate! Yay for birthdays and for celebrations!

Our July has so many birthdays, but when  you're still a toddler, you get to have parties! :)


2. free pools!!!

After my sad post on FB about there not being a pool to buy anywhere, a friend of mine sent me a message offering me her old one! It had been in storage for a year, and may have a small tear somewhere, but if we were interested, we could have it!  We were interested! :)

Yay!  I'm so thankful for friends who offer items willingly! I'm so thankful for a way to make our summer a bit more fun! I'm mostly thankful for getting this pool just before we went into Stage Three Water Restrictions and couldn't do that anymore!

3. neighbourhood pool party

Who doesn't like a little impromptu pool party with the neighbours? 

4. Play Dates

I actually hate the term "playdate", but I am thankful for afternoons that are spent with friends!  Bryn got to go to his friend's house one day, and one day we all went to the park with another friend. Yay for summer, and sunshine, and get togethers!


 5. siblings

My brother was here for the RUSH concert, and his daughter for the One Direction concert, which meant that they got to come to our BBQ celebration!  I haven't seen my brother in a year!  I can't even recall how long it's been since the three of us siblings have been together.

I am so thankful that we got to see each other, even if it was for just a few hours. I miss us!

6.  Specialist Appointments

The Olders were seeing a Pediatrician for a few years, but every time this past year we tried to make an appointment, he  would cancel it. It was for good reasons: mostly due to being called for an emergency consult at a hospital (he worked out of SMH and BCCH along with his clinic), and once to being on a family vacation (even that I was ok with. This man works in two busy hospitals plus a clinic on the weekends and late evenings? when did he even have time for family?)  I was so pleased when he called to book a check up with us, since it had been so long! I was more pleased when it wasn't canceled!  He was an hour behind schedule, but we were patient; he's a good doctor and I know that he never rushes us through appointments.  I love doctors like that!

7.  Date Nights

Okay, so it really wasn't a "date", but Hunny and I went somewhere we don't usually go for over an hour and that was fun, so I am counting it!  We got lost walking around the Guildford Mall looking for the Apple store, despite using the interactive map! I spent a lot of my teens at that mall, but they've changed so much and added many new stores and features that it doesn't resemble my memories. It's so nice in there!

 I am so thankful that we can go out just the two of us, knowing that Abi is responsible enough to watch the kids at home for a few hours. I am so thankful that our evening, although just running around looking, was fun and that we could enjoy some time together. Our house is full and loud and snatching moments away is so good for us!

8. Soccer Camp

This past week, we were able to put Bryn back into the High Power soccer camp again, which was such a huge blessing. We weren't going to because of cost, but it worked out! He even got to go with his friend, our neighbour. And another blessing was that he even had the same team leader as last year, Sam, which is something that Bryn was hoping for. What a great week!  So many things to be thankful for!

 


9. Lightsabre Pool Noodle Duels**

Abi made some lightsabres out of pool noodles, so the Olders had some fun matches in the pool!

10.  Night Sliding

I feel conflicted on this one. I am so thankful that I got to be a part of this year's youth group trip to the Cultus Lake Waterpark, since I had gone before, but this also happened to be the one day of all summer that it rained.all.day.long!!! I was thankful for that as well, as we seriously needed this rain, but of all the days.... the good news is that there wasn't too many line ups and it wasn't busy! By 10:30pm, everyone was either in the hot tubs or they had left! My little group (which consisted of Abi, Kai and two of their friends) held out until it closed at midnight, then we made our journey back home. I dropped Abi off at her friends' house at  1am for a sleepover, and then took the boys to our house. It was a fun experience. But so cold! (I got neck and shoulder strain due to the cold!) But I am thankful that we got to go this year again, and that the kids were able to invite friends. This was Kai's first year going since he is now old enough to join the youth group!

So many things to be thankful for!  

What are you thankful for? 

***ok, so here is a question for you. How do you spell Lightsabre? I am Canadian, so I use the Queen's English, which means that it is spelled with an "RE". When Kai saw it, he got all worked up, telling me it's LightSABER! haha. I guess since it was created by George Lucas, and he's American, it is spelled with an "ER", but it feels weird!