Shifting Gears

Things have been a bit quiet on my blog.  I returned back to work on August 19th and have been working full time since.  It's been a busy office with training Kori and having the other secretary face her first 'school start up' on her own as well.
Nate and Chad have been doing a fabulous job taking care of Liam while I've been at work.  Nathan finished up work at MEI on the 23rd and has been enjoying his time off.  He really appreciated the fact he was able to earn some money this summer and still has the goal of using those earnings to fund a missions trip.  Whether or not that will happen in grade 10 or 11 remains to be seen.
We took the two older boys to Seattle last weekend to get their back to school shopping done.  We had a fabulous time, eating, shopping and exploring new areas of Seattle.  It's our favorite little 'get away'.  Keith's parents generously took Liam for the night and it was just a real treat to have that time away.
As we head into September we are looking at dropping a wad of cash on a few necessary house repairs.  A new roof is coming (GULP), a new front door and a new garage door too! 
Another arrival will be our Chinese student, William who returns on September 5th.
We've got full-day Kindergarten, Wee College, Grade 7, Grade 10, youth group, A.C.T. and heaven only knows what else all slated to start up really soon.
Those lazy summer days are already a distant memory and I'm mentally preparing myself for switching to crazy mode!

It Hurts

This picture was taken on our back deck a number of years ago of my friends Shawna and Craig.  We go way back....all the way to high school.  Shawna and I were good friends since grade 9.  Craig also went to MEI with us but didn't enter Shawna's life in a significant manner until grade 11.  I actually double dated along with them on their first date!  After than they were inseparable and married right out of high school.  They had three kids and moved to Alberta a few years after they were married.  Shawna and I remained in sporadic contact and we saw them from time to time as they visited family in Abbotsford.
Craig lived life BIG!  He was a hilarious jokester, boisterous and made friends with everyone he met.
It was gut-wrenching today to hear the news that he had been killed in a motorbike accident.  My heart breaks for Shawna and his children.  There are no guarantees in life....cherish the moment, the present...the here and now.  That's all we can do.
RIP Craig....see you in heaven.

Annual Pilgramage

As per usual we headed up to Oroville mid-August to spend our allotted week there.  I was somewhat organized this year and so we stopped for a picnic lunch at Bromley Rock.  I remember stopping here as a little girl for a pit stop each summer too.  Memories.

 

 

Pizza buns and monster cookies.  VERY healthy!

 

Keith must be thinking about our upcoming 19th anniversary.  I keep my own feelings hidden on the matter!

 

And throwing rocks is definitely a part of visiting Bromley Rock.

 

We also enjoyed watching large group of people floating down this lovely river with coolers in hand.

 

 
 

The walk back up to the car is a chore in the heat.

First order of business is a dip in the lake.  The warmest lake in Canada....it's true!

Spaghetti with a side of flies for supper.

This mountain to the south of us caught fire by a lightening bolt the night before we arrived and was on fire off and on for a few days.  A bit of a thrill to watch at night.

 

 

Keith and Andrew took it upon themselves to trim the north willow tree.  It takes a village to keep the property in tip-top shape.

 Our guests for four nights was the Nickel family.  They brought their boat and all sorts of equipment for lots of water sports.  They are all extremely talented in wake-boarding, wake skating, knee-boarding....you name it!

 

 Delayne looking ever so professional.

 Liam even got in on the action with  tube ride with Justin & Andrew.  He had previously only ridden on an upright tube so this was a new thing for him and he was a tad nervous.

 Isn't life grand...we are blessed beyond measure!

The boys...friends for so long!  Chad attempted knee boarding a few times but it not used to deep water starts.  He gave up rather quickly and then adamantly would not try one more thing.  It was frustrating because he loved knee boarding last year.

These two fabulous shots of Nate were taken with their 'Go-Pro' camera which was mounted on the end of the knee board.  Cool, or what?!  Nate was doing 360 degree spins after just a few runs.

Best view off the boat although after looking backwards for a few hours I was starting to feel a bit green around the gills.

And whee!  I had go on the kneeboard which was quite fun and I was proud of myself to going outside the wake.

Andrew and Justin were both naturals.

 

 

 The rest of the week I took up my position as spotter.  I don't need big thrills to have a good time!

Keith and Andrew had many attempts at wake skating and wake boarding on the boom which was easily done but couldn't quite make it up behind the boat.  No pictures, sadly.

Our ferry system.

Oh Chad....I hope you can overcome your water fears once and for all!  You look good behind that boat.

 

 Liam had Uncle Andrew wrapped around his finger and had many rides on the windsurfing board.

Andrew gave a few lessons to both Clayton and Delayne and they found it quite challenging.

 Liam played hard and napped hard every afternoon.

 Dutch blitz is an Oroville classic.

 Not at all ashamed to be a land-lover.

 Prince's donuts are simply the best although Clayton tells me that there is a bakery in Ladner that is even better.  I think I'd better conduct some comparison experiments.

 

Delayne being taken to the boat...she didn't want to get her shorts wet.  It was a very wobbly ride and I was sure she was going to fall in!

 

The gang.

 After four nights the Nickel family left and Andrew's friend Eldon came up.  As usual he generously shared his Sea-Doo with us.  We had to get in a few more tube rides.

 

 Nate attempted to knee board on the relic from the crawl space but after using the Nickel's newer model it was a poor substitute!

 

I think that we want Santa to bring us one of these for next summer.  It's a versatile machine that can tow a tube, skier, kneeboarder and is just plain fun on it's own.

 And then it was time to say good-bye for another year.  We love coming here!

 We always stop at the Osoyoos lookout on the way home to dump our garbage in the big tourist bins.  There isn't any garbage service at the Klassen resort. 

 

 Around 6 pm on the way home the boys all started to want some dinner but no one was interested in anymore junk food.  The options are very limited on Hwy 3 so we decided to check out the Booster Juice in Princeton.  We like!  Delicious, healthy smoothies that filled up the tummies until we got home.  Home sweet home and memories to keep us going all winter long.

 

Been Keeping a Secret!

This was taken back in June at MEI Middle.  See that girl on the far right?  She's our newest office staff member!

After not being co-workers for five years we are now again reunited.  We are an excellent team and look forward to proving that in the coming months and years at MEI Middle.  Going to work just got THAT much better (and I already thought it was pretty darn amazing!).

Planes Galore!

One of the items on my summer bucket list was to take the boys to the airshow.  I knew that Liam would be thrilled with all the planes and I wasn't wrong.  Sadly, Nate couldn't join us as he had to work.  That's life!

 

 We arrived to find the Canadian Army putting on a tactical demonstration.  Afterwards there was time for a photo-op.

 Liam enjoyed getting up close and personal with all the aircraft.

 I found it funny to see this man fixing the side of this plane with duct tape.  I know our army is constantly under budget cuts but really!?  Keith assured me he was just probably covering up some sensitive radar equipment.

 Red Baron Snoopy...how cool!

 I caught Liam yawning as Keith and this pilot had an extended chat about emergency ejection procedures.

 Sadly, due to US budget cuts there weren't any American jets at all.  It made the static display a lot smaller and for me...I missed seeing the pilots!  Ha ha!

 We 'splurged' on reserved seating this year and had wonderful seats with a perfect view of all the explosions, jet-car racing, parachuters etc.  It was definitely worth it.

As you can see it was very hot as it generally is on a treeless airstrip.  Liam lost his will to remain upright mid-way through the afternoon so we rigged up a little shady area for him. 

It was a great day and we enjoyed ourselves but I think it will be a few years before we go again. 

BC Day Outing

 

 

 

We like free outings and so on Monday we took advantage of the free admission to Burnaby Village.

 

 This garden beside the restored farm house was so lovely.  I wish I had such a lovely plot.

 Checking out the restored street trolley.

 And unlike two years ago, Liam was super keen to go on the carousel!

 This house sits on it's original foundation.

 The very same picture that inspired me to get my own copy!

 For the 1920's this was a fancy bathroom.

 Say what?

 Corn flakes with cream?!  Wow...that would be rich.

 Looks tricky!

 

 A piece of advice for our generation!

And a picnic lunch in the shade of the train depot.  It was a lovely day out.  If you haven't already, you should check this place out sometime!