August started stormy... 

But the skies soon cleared and we spent most of the month outdoors enjoying the sunshine.

My cousin from Arizona, Shilo and her newlywed husband, Steve came for a visit so we thought it would be fun to go canoeing down the river with them - 

I love coming around the bend and seeing the Edmonton skyline!

We also checked out Heritage Days, which I haven't gone to for almost 20 years. It was pretty busy so it might be another 20 years before I venture back, but the food was delicious and the cultural shows were fun.  

Every August we head downtown to watch the Cariwest Carnival parade, drink Red Stripe and eat chicken roti, this year was no different. It's such a colourful and festive event - 

On the way home, we stopped for a cocktail with a view of "Accidental Beach" to the far left and Folk Fest on the hill - 

With the nice weather, we were off to the races, literally -  

And it wouldn't be August without a few days at the Fringe, my favourite of all the Edmonton festivals.

Judy and I squeezed in a late August bratwurst picnic in the park. Normally we go in September, but it's so fun to sneak off for a lunch in the park in the middle of the week. Have you done that? It's kind of like a mini camping escape without all the hassle of camping. 

There were many hot pepper happy hours in the yard this August too.  Chris grows his own peppers and has a bumper crop this year.  Below, the "Garden Salsa" peppers, nicknamed the Russian roulettes. You never know if the one you pick is going to be crazy hot or not. Must haves at happy hour: tissues for tears, Dorito chips to enhance the flavour and beer for the heat -

Did you get a glimpse at the eclipse? Hopefully with protective eyewear. ;) We used Chris' welding masks, which make for bad selfies -

I took this photo of the eclipse with my camera but it didn't translate at all -

We had lots of family in from out of town too. Many parties and get togethers at my Mom's - 

And lots of food! My Aunt Eileen is so clever, she cuts all the pastries into smaller portions so you can try more than one.

One night, we had a poker game and everyone dressed up in disguise so that no-one could read each other's poker faces -

It was a late one and by the end of the night, we decided our cousin-in-law, Steve looked like Julian from the Trailer Park Boys so Chris backed him up with a Bubbles impersonation. What do you think?

Here's the real deal - 

It was also our friend Leah's 40th birthday this August, celebrated at this sweet Mexican restaurant called, The Three Amigos. Chris' band, The Swill Kings played, there was a taco buffet (what?!) and a whole lot of cake!

One total bummer about this month (well there were two, but I'll tell you about the other one in my next update), was that my sweet, little Mickey suffered an ear infection for the majority of the month. Poor guy had to tolerate 2 ear drop shots a day for 3 weeks, but he was a good patient, was fed plenty of treats for his suffering and thankfully is all better now -

That was August in a nutshell. Though I wish summer wouldn't end, I am looking forward to a little more routine in September. Back to early morning walks, torching and cozy nights.