Life Lately... I'm feeling pretty lucky

Oh glorious summer! Life feels so full and ripe these days, and I just can't get enough of it.

Maybe it's because I'm pretty deprived and cooped up in the arctic most of the time, or maybe it's because summer is just so darn wonderful, but I am feeling overwhelmed with gratitude these days. What did I ever do to deserve such sweetness in my life?

We've been hanging out in parks a lot these days. Zac is at the perfect age for this. Everything is so exciting to him... the texture of the sand, the birds, the squirrels and ants, the other kids, the fountains.   It's so refreshing to re-experience the wonders of the world through the eyes of a toddler. He makes us slow waaayyyy down, to examine every crack in the sidewalk and every fallen twig, and that's not a bad thing. It's summer after all, and we've got nothing but time.

We've had a lot of "firsts" lately... first dinner outside on a restaurant terrace, first haircut, first trip to the dentist. And to my surprise, all of them went smoothly. He's become such a sweet little boy. 

Man, I adore that kid!

Our balcony garden at our Montreal apartment is growing abundantly despite our neglect, and we've been enjoying fresh herbs in our salad and fresh mint in our tea.

We spent some time at my parent's place out in the countryside. Zac went crazy for the fresh local strawberries from the farmer's market, and now has permanent strawberry juice stains on most of his t-shirts.

My adventures in bread-making have gone to a whole new level. I've been making my own pain-au-levain from a homemade starter which I feed and care for every day. I've started doing a sort of hybrid technique between this guy and this guy, and the process has been a lot of fun (and eating a lot of delicious fresh bad hasn't been a bad pass-time either!).

 And over the last few days, we've been hanging out at my in-laws place near Toronto.... Eating delicious food, relaxing by the pool, enjoying the free babysitting and jetting off into the city to see a baseball game ;)

Yup, life is pretty sweet and I am so grateful!

And as if it couldn't get any better, tomorrow the entire family will be hitting the skies on an overnight flight to the south of France for a week. I cannot wait to be by the Mediterranean sea.... the epitome of summer!

(wish us luck on the red-eye flight with a rambunctious toddler! Any tips would be greatly appreciated!)