Hell's Gate

August 28, 2010

For those who may not have heard of this website, there is a site called groupon.com where you can find all sorts of great deals.  Well, James found us a great deal to go to Hell's Gate.  It's not a place we've ever thought of going before - considering it's up near Boston Bar, over two hours away, it's pretty out of the way.  But we were so glad we made the trip.  It was really cool!  The kids had a great time and we enjoyed seeing someplace new.

You have to ride an air tram across the Fraser River to get to Hell's Gate.  Obviously, Sarah didn't think much of the air tram.

There were many little squirrels there.  We only pretended to feed them.

This has to be one of my favourite pictures.  James is acting like a goof, as usual.  But I love the look on Sarah's face - the look that says, "Dad, you are so weird!"  I can just see her giving him the same look in 15 years!

Adam must have done something funny to make Sarah laugh like this!

There was also a suspension bridge over the Fraser.  This is the view of Hell's Gate from the opposite side.

Some attempts at family pictures on the suspension bridge. 

Our ticket deal not only included half price tickets but it also included a free pound of fudge!  Mmmmmm, fudge!

It was a fun adventure and we had a great day.  Well, except for the terribly long drive home, where we had to make an emergency stop at McDonald's for dinner so that we all didn't kill each other in the van.  :)  But, besides that, it was a fun family outing.

Bowen Island

August 25, 2010

It's not easy getting together with friends when you have a lot of kids.  That what we found with our friends, Mark and Michelle.  But we finally managed to meet up with them and their daughters, Talia and Maelle, at the end of August.  We decided to take the ferry at Horseshoe Bay and go over to Bowen Island for the day.  None of us had been to Bowen Island since we were children, so it was an adventure for the parents as well!

Here are the superdads with all the kids on the ferry!

Our first stop was at Killarney Lake.  We went on a little hike (as much of as hike as you can take with a 4 year old, 3 year old, 2 year old, 11 month old and 4 month old!).

Our fun at Killarney Lake was cut a little short, though, when we discovered there were leeches in the water.  We found one on Daniel's hand and decided to check the rest of the kids out.  Adam was safe because he didn't want to go in the water.  But our water baby, Sarah, ended up with a leech in a very unmentionable place!  Ewwww!  Luckily, we got rid of it and quickly left to have some lunch.

We had a nice picnic lunch by the lake and the kids had fun climbing trees and sitting by the water.

After lunch, Talia and Maelle needed to take a nap so Mark and Michelle went for a little drive around the island while we went to find some ice cream.  We found some down by the ferry dock and had fun watching all the action nearby and eating yummy ice cream (and drinking coffee, in James' case).

After a while, we met up with our friends and headed to Tunstall Beach.  The bigger kids (and dads) had a great time playing in the ocean, although Adam stayed on the beach searching for shells and rocks.  Sarah missed the whole thing because she was fast asleep.

As we were leaving, Daniel raved about what a great day we had and said we need to come back again. We'll have to make it a yearly thing with Mark and Michelle and their two cute girls!

Going to the ballfield and we're gonna get married!

August 21, 2010

Laura and Jason got married!  The day was perfect, the sun shone, and they looked so happy.  The wedding was fun and unique because they got married on a baseball diamond in Squamish.  It couldn't have been anywhere else with these two baseball fanatics.  Daniel and Adam were the most handsome ringbearers (along with Jason's little nephew, Talon) and they took their job so seriously, carrying the rings on Grampa's antique ball gloves.  Sarah looked adorable in her little dress, matching junior bridesmaid Krynn's.  Unfortunately, Sarah came down with a case of roseola that day and was all rashy and uncomfortable.  She spent most of the day napping, so few people got to appreciate her cuteness.

The reception was held beside the field and looked so far from a beer garden, you would be surprised!  Dinner was a delicious Japanese buffet complete with sushi bar.  For favours, Laura and Jason gave out personalized chopsticks.  After dinner, the dancing began, even though the party started the moment everyone arrived.  :)  The boys had a great time.  Daniel felt very grown up, getting drinks from the bar and Adam wouldn't leave the dance floor - he had to be dragged off at 10:30!

The pictures from our camera can be seen at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=199514&id=581855950&l=ec23ed7a3d .  I'll be sure to post more when the photographer's pictures are done.

Trampoline camp

August 16-20, 2010

Every morning this week, for an hour, the boys went to trampoline camp!  They had such a great time.  Adam, especially, was so excited.  He spent the entire first class clapping, jumping around, with a big smile on his face.  He's the one who loves to jump off furniture and climb all over things, so we knew he'd love trampoline.  We may have to think about signing him up for another class.  Daniel enjoyed it, too, but when I asked whether he'd like to do it again or do soccer, he immediately chose soccer.  :)  He'll be starting soccer in September.

These aren't the greatest pictures - we had to sit on the edges of the gym and zoom the camera in as far as it would go.  But you get the idea.

Adam:

Daniel:

She's ready to go!

Sarah is "this close" to walking!  She took her first consecutive steps on Adam's birthday (August 11) and now takes 2-3 steps in a row before falling down.  She's ready to go!  Sorry this isn't the greatest picture.  It's actually a really good video of her walking but I can never seem to upload pictures onto the blog, so you'll just have to use your imagination a bit!

Watch out!  Sarah's going to be chasing after her brothers in no time!

Happy Birthday Adam!

Adam is 3!  It's hard to believe that our little guy is now a big boy.  He's so funny and goofy - he's developing quite the sense of humour.  He loves to play and have a good time but he also loves his quiet time, playing with Lego or puzzles.  He's definitely a three year old, though, and can have a pretty good tantrum every now and then.  But, as long as he gets enough sleep, he's a pretty fun-loving little guy.

Adam had a pretty good run of birthday celebrations.  He had his birthday party up in Penticton.  We came home on his actual birthday (which wasn't the most fun way to spend his birthday - in the car for 7 hours!).  On Friday, we went to Gramma and Grampa's for a Mickey Mouse party.

Sarah even enjoyed a bit of chocolate cake.

Adam is starting to be quite the expert at present opening.

Everytime he opened something, Sarah climbed on top of it!

On Saturday, Adam had his party with his friends.  He had decided on a pirate party and had the best time.  The other kids weren't all that interested in pirates but our kids loved dressing up and looking for treasure.

Every year, rather than buying them a present, James and I take the kids on a special outing.  This year, we took Adam (Daniel and Sarah, too) to Science World.  There is a new exhibit all about treasure and we thought that would be perfect for Adam.  He loves anything to do with treasure (and money...and gold...).

Adam really enjoyed searching for treasure with a metal detector.

As always, Sarah the water baby had a great time playing in the water.

Daniel standing in front of a thing that shoots out air.  You put a ball into it and the air rockets it across the room.

Peek-a-boo Sarah!

The boys loved setting up pathways in this water table.  I didn't get the third boy in the picture, though.  James had just as much fun as they did!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Adam!

Fun in the Okanagan

August 6-11, 2010

For the first time, we went up to Penticton during Peach Fest.  We had so much fun!  We arrived on Friday evening and visited a bit with Grandma and Grandpa, played a bit of ping pong, before heading to bed.  In the morning, we met up with Great-Grandma and Grandpa C to watch the Peach Fest parade.  This was a parade unlike any we had ever been to and we weren't prepared!  Candy was handed out left, right and centre.  I found a little baggie in the diaper bag for the boys to put their candy in.  I later saw that other kids had groceries bags - they knew what they were doing!  Everyone had a great time.

After the parade, we headed home to get ready for Adam's birthday party!  Adam had a great time with all his relatives - both sets of great-grandparents, aunts and uncles and he met his little cousin Juliette for the first time.  A lot of fun was had playing in the backyard having sword fights with Uncle Jeff and Uncle Mike.  Lucky Adam got lots of fun gifts and had fun eating his zoo-themed cupcakes.  It was a really fun party.

The next day, the kids went with Grandma and Grandpa and Great-Grandma and Grandpa C to the Peach Fest Kids festival and had a great time on rides and seeing the sights.  Meanwhile, James and I headed down to Osoyoos for a day of wine tours.  It was a nice, relaxing day for us and we even got to stay the night - sleeping in in the morning was a real treat, although we've been trained now to wake up pretty early!  :)

The rest of the trip was spent at the beach, swimming, playing in the sand, flying kites and visiting.  It's always fun to go up to the Okanagan and, in the summer, it feels like our own personal vacation home!  Thank you for the visit and we're looking forward to seeing you all very soon.

There are too many pictures to put here on the blog but you can see them at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=581855950#!/album.php?aid=197462&id=581855950 .