This Sweet Happy Life

Celebrate

S’more Fun Kids Camping Birthday Party

My best friends daughter (aka a little girl I love like my own and my daughter’s BFF) is quite shy and reserved. This year she attended Kindergarten and definitely came out of her shell a bit as she gained new friends and experiences. She also started Sparks, which is the equivalent to Girl Scouts in Canada. The girl lights up when she talks about camping and all the activities she does at the weekly sessions. She often reminisces about times we have spent around the campfire roasting s’mores together during shared vacations. Thus, it was a no brainer what theme to do for her 6th birthday. This animal loving, outdoorsy little lady deserved a “s’more fun” camping party with her new classmates and bestie.

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Ten Year Vow Renewal On A Budget

When it was time to celebrate 10 years of marriage, I knew I wanted to mark the occasion in a special way. Like most couples, our life had changed substantially since the day we were married in the summer of 2008. We had added two wonderful humans to our family and had also experienced several other milestones, some good and some not so good. We had watched and supported our first born through a cancer diagnosis and months long treatment. We had furthered our careers and moved to homes. We had unexpectedly gotten pregnant and lost a child. But through it all, we had each other and I couldn’t have imagined anyone else I would want to walk the up and down journey with. Thus, the ten year vow renewal came to fruition and without a lot of extra cash floating around, it was put together on a tight budget.

Educate

Community Art Shop Fosters Creativity In Store and Online

We are lucky to live in a vibrant area of Vancouver, Canada. It is full of art and culture for all to enjoy. I feel so fortunate my kids are growing up in a community that recognizes the importances of the arts. My 8 year old daughter in particular, benefits from this, as I know she will grow up having a job doing something creative. She is my highly sensitive, innovative soul who loves to dance and design things. Whether it is beading, painting or journaling, she can often be found making things (when she isn’t terrorizing her older brother…I kid…sort of). When we are looking for creative inspiration or supplies, we have one neighborhood spot that we frequent. This Main Street staple is a beautiful shop called Collage Collage.

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Daisies + Ducks 2nd Farm Birthday Party

Post COVID (or whatever phase this is), I think the return to in person birthdays is one thing I am most excited about. Obviously kids parties are my jam which you may know if you have been following along for a while. When my good friend said she had booked the local farm for her daughter’s second birthday I was thrilled to assist in making it memorable. I had my own daughter’s birthday at the same farm when she was turned two (you can see it at Somebunny is Two). While we could have done a traditional farm party the birthday girl is big on feeding the ducks and thus, the theme Daisies + Ducks came to fruition.

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Supporting Local By Visiting Emma Lea Farms

One of our favorite summer traditions year after year, is visiting Emma Lea Farms to pick berries. Located about 30 minutes southeast of Vancouver, we make the trip to pick strawberries each June (this year the crop was a bit later due to inclement weather). Read on to find out why heading to Delta to visit this lovely family run farm is tops on our list.

Celebrate

Teacher Appreciation Giveaway with Local Brands & PICYourNIC

As I mentioned in my recent post 10 Unique Gifts Teachers Actually Want, teachers are one of the groups that really kept things going during the pandemic. Considered essential workers by the government, educators were online and in the classroom not only teaching, but keeping everyone safe. They enforced masking and sanitizing, while also comforting parents and students alike who were scared related to the unknown. Well, now that things are settling and returning back to “normal”, I know a lot of educating professionals are burnt out from not just the school year that passed, but all the hours spent teaching in/through a pandemic. I wanted to acknowledge some of my favorite teachers, so with a few local brands, I organized a fun night out where all they had to do was show up and be spoiled. Also so many teachers were too busy (with the end of school ironically) that I also decided a giveaway for another educator and their bestie had to happen. Read on for all the details of the night and the prize package giveaway.

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10 Unique Gifts Teachers Actually Want

As the school year comes to an end, I know many parents (let’s be honest, in most cases it is the moms) are once again trying to come up with way to recognize their child’s classroom teacher. And as a full time Kindergarten teacher that has taught over 2 years during a pandemic, I do feel spoiling the teachers, support workers and other hardworking individuals in the schools should be a priority.

Relate

How Dance At Formation Studio Saved My Life

Ever since I can remember I loved to dance. When my cousins and I were younger we would make up dance routines and put on shows for the family. And even though I was a bit of book worm in high school, one of my favorite memories were the jazz classes and performances I did with my bestie at the local Community Centre. In University, you could find me every Thursday night at the SFU pub dancing to hip hop with my friends. Dare I say I even won one of their booty shaking contests (I hope my father isn’t reading this). Needless to say, dance, music and movement have always brought me joy and has been part of many of my happiest memories. Fast forward to present day, when life has definitely changed as a raise two children in my early forties, and dance is the one constant that helps me regulate my body and release all the stressors in my life. In recent years, as I grapple with my anxiety and navigate a broken mental system in our country, I can say with all honesty that dance and its community has saved my life and I have the people at Formation Studio to thank.

Coordinate

Giveaway with Vancouver Family Photographer Sweet Dreams Photo Studio

I think many mothers would agree that 9 times out of 10 you are the one behind the cameras taking photos of your kids and / or your kids with your husband. And then the 1 or 2 times you decide to get in front of the camera, the photos you get are rushed or awkward because weird, one of your kids is probably whining about needing a snack or your husband just isn’t all that great with his iPhone and takes the worst shots (sorry Mr. Wright). Or maybe you don’t get in front of the camera because you don’t feel all that attractive since having kids and don’t want that self to be documented. So then we just stay behind the camera, ultimately missing out. Been there, done that to my friends. Well, I am encouraging you to reevaluate and at the end of the post, I am doing a giveaway so maybe we can change that.

Building Bricks | Learning with Legos | Alphabet Games | Numbers Games | Kids Activities | Kids Learning

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Building Block Bricks Letters and Numbers

As I am sure many of you can relate to, while we social distance at home, I am trying to occupy the kids with different activities. With a three and a half year age gap, it isn’t always easy to find something they both get into. So when I challenged them to create the alphabet and numbers with building bricks, I didn’t know what to expect.

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