Our First Spring in the Country

When we moved, we knew that Logan Lake was located in mountain terrain and was therefore prone to colder and longer winters, however over the past week our family has been embracing the warmer weather and the decline of the snow.

It's been borderline t-shirt weather; our (almost) three year old seems to be immune to the cold and not only thinks it t-shirt weather, as far as he's concerned shoes are optional as well.

We've built planter boxes (though its still too cold in the evenings to plant the seedlings that are scattered throughout our kitchen) built forts in the backyard, acquired a picnic table, enjoyed sunny outdoor snacktimes, spent hours at the local park and even took the kids hike for about a kilometer partway around the local lake.

And its been amazing.

I've especially loved the tranquility and the ever elusive peace that seems to settle (at least for moments) between my boys when they are adequately stimulated, entertained and full of fresh air.

So all of this begs the question, what next?

What activities can we take up as a family that will entertain all four of us and get us outside exploring the bounty of nature our new home provides?

I'm thinking geocaching, because what kid doesn't love a good treasure hunt?

Does your family geocache? 

Do you have any suggestions for a reasonably priced, kid-friendly, geocaching GPS? 

(I've been considering the Magellean Explorist GC and almost bought one last year, but couldn't justify it when we were still living in the city.)

DIY Green Wall using a Pallet and Landscape Fabric

I've always wanted a green wall in my home and now I have this gorgeous garden propped up against my west facing chimney. We followed this awesome pallet garden tutorial, and although it was a little bit time consuming, it was actually pretty easy to make.

To make our skid garden, as the hubs likes to call it, we got the best looking pallet the hubs could find and stapled like crazy to attach landscape fabric to the back and sides.  Then we laid it down and filled it with almost 5 bags of topsoil.  We packed the plants in quite tightly, about 8 plants per row.

We watered it like crazy and left the pallet flat to give the plants a chance to get established in the soil.  After about two weeks we very carefully stood the pallet up and leaned it against the wall before attaching it with a metal hinge.

After that, all that's left to do is water, water, water and let mother nature do the rest!

Isn't it lovely?

I want a house...but maybe not today

I want a house.
With a yard for the kids to play in.
With a garden for flowers, food and herbs.
With a front room for the adults.
With a rec room for the kids.
With enough space for family barbeques.
With ample storage.
With a bright and roomy kitchen.
I want a house.

But all of these things come at a cost; our current townhome is five minutes from my mother-in-law and fifteen minutes from my parents, despite living in an urban centre, we have a beautiful park literally across the road.  We are a ten minute walk from the skytrain that connects us to downtown Vancouver and we can easily walk to the mall or grocery store.  This pedestrian accessibility of our neighbourhood speaks to the concept of 'smart growth', but despite my love for the environment that's not on the list for why we stay.

One of the reasons we bought our townhouse is the yard; we have a small, private, west-facing yard and over the past few years we have really made it our own.  The hubs and my Dad built a beautiful deck made of 'plastic wood' that won't rot and will stand up to our wet west coast weather and the hubs also built me a raised flower bed for our raspberry bushes, which are nostalgic for me, and strawberry plants, yummy!  This year we are also trying an upside down tomato planter, even though we aren't really tomato fans.

The garden takes energy to maintain but also provides it; sitting in the garden is both refreshing and rejuvenating.  If and when we move, it will likely be the thing I miss most.  Although I want a house with a bigger yard and more space I'm not so sure I'd want to leave our townhouse in the middle of its most beautiful season of the year. 

How much space does your family have?  Do you wish you had more or even less?