Snow is a 4 letter word

Back to the cottage for a summer of fun with more family times

My brother Jim, his wife Melissa, and their wonderful kids, Sam and Alexis are here to spend a month of Canadian fun (escaping extreme heats in Kansas)

So much fun to have our 8 and 9 year old niece and nephew nearby to enjoy their energy and enthusiasm!

And despite cooler weather, there's always lots to do as a family

My gardens are growing!

And when the weather clears up, there's more yet to do!

Like paddleboarding

and swimming

and although I don't partake often, beaching

And heading to the Moonlight Inn for ice cream

And family fun days at Victoria Beach - where the Marchand/Ritchie team had a blast!

with running races for all ages

and sack races too!

And the slow bike race!

and the egg toss :)

and the bum balloon burst with friends and family

And then the amazing Annual Summer Winds Fest of Victoria Beach

with awesome music

and stupendous kids' activities!

Which are lots of fun for adults too!

Great junk food!

Family fun times!

Our next stage in deciding where we live!

And back to our wonderful Cranbrook home, to prep it for our next tenants -

Yes, Vic and I will be renting it out again for the next year, so we can spend our non-Mexican or Manitoban time in Calgary, closer to our girls and our grandbaby!

And this time, we've created our own little "pied a terre" or mini suite downstairs for Vic and I when we do return to Cranbrook for our maintenance/visit trips.

Thus, taking over what were formerly Kate and Daniel's basement bedrooms, we have a mini home in our home for those few weeks of the year.