Another month has flown by in the end-of-school-year craziness. Bronte is still growing like a little weed, actually hitting a bit above average for height in the growth charts. She's also gotten a lot more--hm, how shall I say?--independent in the past month or so. Nearly every day she decides to try doing something she knows she's not supposed to, like biting chunks of butter or cheese off the block, climbing up to the cabinet where candy is kept & eating her brother's lollipop for breakfast.
She continues to draw & paint most days, mostly on appropriate surfaces. Her taste in dolls has shifted from baby dolls to take care of to Barbie dolls to pretend with. She got attached to a couple of bedraggled knockoff Barbies at a yard sale & they "followed her home". I think we're going to have to get her something a bit better quality though, as these two literally lose heads & limbs on a regular basis.
Mini Micro Footie has gone well & I think we'll enroll her again next year. She's actually quite good at kicking the ball & passing it accurately to another person. I'm thinking of looking for some sort of dance class for her over the winter, since she's so high energy & loves to perform. If you have any suggestions of fun, affordable dance classes for four-year-olds in Vancouver, let me know!
I love me a good walking tour, but Jane's Walks are something particularly special. These walks are named in honour of the late Jane Jacobs, an American-Canadian journalist, author, & activist known for her influence on urban studies. Read more on her story here.
The topics vary in each Jane's walk, from public art to affordable housing to the Burrard Bridge redesign & many more. No matter which walk you take, you'll learn something you didn't know about Vancouver!
All are free of charge, plus you can search the listings & filter by things like dogs or bicycles allowed, family friendly, what sort of terrain you'll cover in the walk, etc.
A few years ago, I joined in on a fashion challenge called Moms 30 for 30, to try out living with a small wardrobe. The idea is to pick out 30 items of your clothing that you will wear during the 30 day challenge. Not counted in the 30 items are: "specialized" clothing like workout gear or pyjamas, outerwear, underwear, socks. I didn't count shoes or other accessories like scarves, jewellery, or belts either.
I found it easier in some ways to have fewer clothes to pick from. Accessories were more important when the basics were limited, which was fun. I sort of wanted to have a do over with my choices part way through the month though--if you want to read the full story, click here.
I swear I have NO recent indoor selfies
When I got a message in Instagram that Raj of Pink Chai Living was doing the challenge again this May, I decided to try again. I think it might be more fun to do this one in the spring, as the weather warms up--the last challenge was in November, so lots of layers & long sleeves.
I'm still mulling over what my 30 pieces will be, but I'm thinking about sticking to mainly white & black this time around. When I do decide, I'll post a shot of the entire set of clothes like I did last year.
I'll be posting daily selfies of my outfits (instead of just me in my coat, like nearly every one is for the past six months!) on Instagram, hashtagged #Moms30for30, & probably a weekly update here on the blog.
Anyone else want to play along? You don't need a blog or Instagram to do it, nor do you need to be a mom--however you want to join in is fun--but if you do post your outfits on social media, use the #Moms30for30 hashtag. I have to say, doing this challenge helped me realize which clothes I don't wear & what I like to wear better, so it has been easier to purge my closet since then. I also find I get a bit of a confidence boost from creating outfits rather than just putting on clothes.
But don't just take my word for it--head over to Raj's site, Pink Chai Living, to read her seven reasons to join the #Moms30for30 Wardrobe Challenge.
Have you seen the Junior Streetwise courses that HUB Cycling is offering this summer? The program is quite affordable--$18. Please share with anyone you know who might be interested!
Our urban riding course for juniors!
This beginner course, taught by trained instructors through HUB Cycling will introduce your rider to basic cycling skills such as steering, straight-line riding, and signalling, while covering some basic traffic safety concepts in a simulated environment free from traffic. Participants must have prior riding experience, and the ability to balance, pedal and brake prior to taking the course.
This course will take place over 3 weeks: Sunday April 30, May 7, May 14
There are two course registrations depending on the age of the child. All registrations are happening through Trout Lake Community Centre.
Have you ever been riding somewhere, along a lovely separated bike route, then gotten dumped onto a busy highway or narrow footpath? Or had a bike lane just disappear into thin air as you reach a big intersection? Unfortunately, despite the fact that over 40% of Metro Vancouver residents want to cycle more often, they don't because of gaps in cycling infrastructure like this. While the number of people cycling in Metro Vancouver has increased rapidly in recent years, the bike network remains fragmented with tons of gaps across the region preventing people from cycling more often, particularly for transportation, not just recreation.
HUB Cycling--the non profit that I work for teaching cycling education to kids & adults--is working hard to solve this problem. Their UnGapTheMap campaign is focused on identifying, prioritizing & fixing the gaps that--if solved--would increase safety, creating a more connected bike network across Metro Vancouver, getting people to places they need to go.
HUB Cycling’s local committees (click here to learn more & join yours!) have already identified over 300 gaps across Metro Vancouver which are stopping more people cycling. The gaps range from minor ‘spot improvements’, such as adding signage or bike crossings, to building new bike lanes in areas of high ridership like along Powell Street in Vancouver.
In addition to identifying the routes in need of improvement, HUB Cycling is working with municipalities, the Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure, plus TransLink to highlight the priority gaps & encourage government to implement solutions that will help more people bike, more safely.
One of the solutions that HUB Cycling is championing is cycle highways: continuous paved, lit paths, separated from pedestrians & motor vehicles, suitable for people of all ages & abilities. Cycle highways have proved extremely successful in Europe & could work well on routes such as Vancouver to Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal (getting there by bike is a ridiculously epic journey--read my posts on our Galiano bike camping trip for more on that) & HUB Cycling is asking MLAs to support the introduction of them in Metro Vancouver.
People make over 131,000 trips by bike in Metro Vancouver each day but creating safe, connected routes would help many more people to get on their bikes. Just imagine how increasing that could change our cities: less air pollution, fewer cars stuck in traffic, healthier people getting exercise every day, less vehicle noise through our neighbourhoods...
So what can you do to help ungap the map? Adopt one of HUB Cycling’s identified gaps and explain how that gap is stopping you from cycling.
