Happy 47th Birthday, Natasha!

Dave here, with my annual birthday blog takeover! This is my annual opportunity to celebrate Natasha and wish her well, and this year is no exception (you can see past posts by clicking on the year: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013).

This time around, I'll be looking back at the past year, choosing highlights from each month that were either particularly exciting, or emphasize one of Natasha's passions.

Without further ado, let's travel all the way back to last May...

While not obviously exciting, this photo combines hanging laundry and a well-tended flower bed. I know Natasha is looking forward to warmer (and drier...) weather arriving soon!

In June, we were thrilled to be able to visit with Carla, Kurt and their kids. As you might remember, this is the family that we visited in Kenya a few years ago (one summary post is here, or you can see all the posts here).

We celebrated our tenth anniversary by taking a (kids-free!) trip to Iceland in early July. This picture combines reading, traveling to exciting places, and staying up late with a book; you may not be able to tell, but this picture was taken just before midnight!

After many moments on the highway where we passed the "Paddle the Grand" sign and said "We should do that sometime", we finally made the time to load into a canoe and make our way down the Grand River. We certainly didn't become canoeing experts, but I think everyone had a good time.

The Lumen Festival (more info here), held in late September, "showcases light-based new media and art", and included an experience where we could play specially-equipped instruments that generated artwork based on our movements. Fortunately, the artwork didn't capture how we sounded while playing the instruments... :)

Hanging out with friends? Check. Starbucks? Check. Silly hats? Check and double-check.

We had family photos taken by a family friend, and thought they turned out really well!

This is one of the few pictures of the two of us that is not an awkward selfie taken by Natasha :)

This cozy post-Christmas moment is brought to you by Harry Potter (the illustrated edition, no less), and matching moose pajamas. If you look closely, you'll see that both Rachel and her new doll are paying careful attention to the story!

No collection of highlights would be complete without a Readathon action shot! This one captures the successful completion of a 24-in-48 event in January. Not only that, but one of the books in Natasha's "completed" pile is a book about a bookshop.

We took a somewhat impromptu trip in February to visit Natasha's parents during their month-long getaway to Victoria, B.C. One of the highlights of this trip was a walk through an old-growth forest just outside the city. I may not have grown up around a tree nursery (unlike some people...), but I can confidently say that those were some huge trees!

For Sam's birthday at the end of March, we celebrated by going to one of the first Blue Jays games of the year, along with close family friends. Fortunately for all of us, it was sweater giveaway day!

It was a tough call, but in the end I chose this photo of food colouring-infused grilled cheese to wrap things up... it's tasty, colourful, and just a bit random!

And so, inspired by the hodgepodge of highlights from the past year... Natasha, I hope your next year is full of exciting adventures (including another chance to see the midnight sun!) and daily joys (reading and gardening, ballgames and cozy evenings), and plenty of family and friends to share them with.