Fall love

 One thing I love about living in Vancouver is that we get to enjoy all the seasons. There is nothing better than cool, crisp mornings followed by hot afternoons. When a pair of jeans and a light sweater is all that's required. I've been checking out all the boot trends for this fall. I'm loving the embellished shoes and all the fabulous booties! Plus, the knits are extraordinary for this season. From polka dots to Aztec prints there is seriously something for everyone. My crush on Jcrew has not dwindled and I'm still loving their tailored, preppy look. For this Mama, it suits my lifestyle!

 Our Chase started preschool. He goes Monday, Wednesday & Friday for 2 1/2 hours. He LOVES it! He's learning so much already and its only been 2 weeks. Everywhere we go he points out letters he knows or he'll let me know what sound they make.

 When he's not at preschool, he's in our backyard catching "Dean" the frog. Every afternoon he finds Dean somewhere in the garden. There is a mad dash and then I hear him hollering for me to bring something to put his frog in. Then every night after dinner he releases Dean to go see his family. :)

 Last week, my Mama and I had a lovely little date night. We got mani/pedi's at Pure Nail Bar and then headed over to Mink for some amazing treats. It was wonderful! I love spending time with her.

 Recently I got involved with an amazing group of women. They are fighting to bring an end to human trafficking locally. I read a book called Half the Sky a few months ago and it really opened my eyes to this horrific world I had no clue existed. Something rose up inside of me and I had to get involved. Lacey Forward began I will bring change and she is doing exciting things to fight the problem in our own backyard. If you'd like to know more go to their page on Facebook. Make sure you 'like' it so you can stay up to date on what's happening. My friend Steph and I hosted a bracelet making evening. These beautiful bracelets are helping us tell the story and supporting this growing cause. The bracelets cost $40. Make sure you grab yours today!

I hope you're all enjoying this wonderful weather! Have a fabulous week!
xx Trish

Cheer leaders wanted!

I grew up in Canada, where football isn't a very popular sport and cheer teams are pretty much non existent. Oh but I also grew up watching Saved by the Bell and my desire to cheer was a deep rooted flame within me. I remember my brother dating a girl that had competed in cheer competitions and I asked her on multiple occasions if she could show me her home videos of her cheer competitions. Ya, I know embarrassing right? 

As long as I'm being honest, part of the reason I wanted to be a cheer leader in high school was because of the cute uniform (its a good thing I used to work in fashion). Mostly, I just love to encourage others. I would love to get to the place in my life where everyday I'm cheering on the ones I love the most. I'm talking, waking up in the morning and looking for opportunities wherever I go to tell people "You're doing an incredible job" or "I'm so proud of you!" Don't worry you won't run into me at the grocery store with pom poms in my hand. I just know the power of our words. I know sometimes the people we care about make decisions we may not understand. How good would it be if instead of criticizing them we just stood on the sidelines cheering them all the way! Our kids need to hear that they're fearfully and wonderfully made and that we are their biggest fans. Our husbands need to know we are SO proud of them and that they're still the cutest guy in the room to us. Our parents need to know how thankful we are for all they have done for us and how wonderful its been having them cheers us on over the years.

Our teachers need to know they're doing an outstanding job and we'll unite with them to see our children excel. Our pastors and church staff need to know we pray for them and are thankful for teaching us and believing with us that God has great things in store. 

I know from my personal experience that when you are faced with tough situations its very easy to view our circumstances in a negative way. When you choose joy and find the good in others, we take our eyes off ourselves and train our minds to find the good in dire situations. Plus, who doesn't feel amazing when someone tells you what a fantastic job you've done! 

So dust off that uniform and start training cause sooner or later someone you know is going to need you to stand up and say "I am so proud of you...good job!"

Family love

Carmen VanDyck caught so many beautiful moments and we are so thankful she was able to come and take pictures of our family! These images I will hold in my heart forever. We had such a fabulous time together as a family.

This summer we...

 played at the water park

 took swimming lessons with Aly

 acted like rock stars

 laughed lots

 enjoyed fish & chips with friends

 learnt everything is possible with God

 celebrated 7 years of marriage to this amazing man

 took the ferry to GG's

 enjoyed more swimming lessons

 celebrated my birthday in Kelowna

 discovered how yummy the treats are at the PNE

 were shocked that Chase left the PNE with 4 prizes (that NEVER happens)

 took in the beauty of our city by bike.

Wakeham family vacation

I know these are all familiar faces. My MIL's side of the family usually gets together every other year for Christmas. Now with families growing and that time of year being so hectic we started a new tradition of getting together in the summer for a vacation. I love being with all of them! The cousins are all close in age and love being together. It's really special for me to watch. 

 We played with babies. Made pancakes. 

 Hung out at the lake.

 Zipped around on the rhino's.

 Celebrated Cohen's 3rd birthday!

Took the canoes out on the lake.

 We basically just did all the things families do when they're enjoying the simple cabin life. It was wonderful! I love all these cousin and I'm so thankful they have so much fun together. 

Sea World!

I am a bit of a dreamer and its such a joy when my dreams come true! Going to Sea World and watching the excitement and wonder on Chase's face was thrilling. Sea World is awesome for kids but just as fun for adults too. The animals are magnificent! 

 The boys at Shamu's tank

 Chase's 1st time on an amusement park ride!

 Feeding the seals and flamingo's