Victoria Day Celebrations

This post is dedicated to our middle grands,

Lacey and Koen.

who had the honor of playing in the Victoria Day parade this past weekend.

It was the perfect excuse to find us sailing to the island on Sunday as well.

On a side note, it was 50 years this weekend that

the spark began between us, on a youth camping trip.

I kept thinking, 

there's no way we could have even begun to imagine

what life would look like this far down the road!

Some of the family left Saturday, some were on our sailing. 

It was Evy's first time on a ferry! 

We arrived at the Parliament Buildings just in time for our grandchildren's band performance

 in the Festival of Bands,

There was a lot of excitement in the air on this beautiful day

with photo opps etc. 

Shaun and Kristal's family, proud to cheer on Koen on his drum.

Ben and Kari's family, proud to cheer on Lacey with her trombone.

One of my highlights that afternoon was the battle of the drums concert

which included a university band from Washington, leading

what sounded like, a back and forth drum conversation between 

seven or eight bands spread out in front of the Parliament steps.

On Monday morning we joined the throngs of tens of thousands 

to watch the 123rd Victoria Day Parade.

Along with marching bands, community floats and cultural performances, 

every parade has to have their clowns and candy.

Our littles have missed out on these kinds of events the past few years,

so it was just a lot of fun to participate in some "firsts" with them. 

And finally, after about two and a half hours, 

our Screaming Eagles came along ...

I'll finish with just a glimpse of our cheering section, which was just enough to embarrass our middles, but also evoke a sideways grin as they marched along. 

It was a weekend to remember and be grateful for,

for so many reasons. 

 

Happy New Year!

On the first day of this year we packed up our snow shoes and lunch

and headed to the Sasquatch Mountain Resort, about an hour's drive from our place.

Paeton has been staying with us for part of his break, and he is a good sport to try anything new,

so the fun part was to have him come along. 

It's always delightful to see the world through new eyes ...

eyes that have not seen a lot of snow. 

I felt like I had to work hard, but 

the breathtaking beauty made the trek rewarding.

What a privilege to spend this time together!

We ate our lunch on the trail, watching the skiiers.

But what I loved most, was to see his boyish grin

as we neared the hill where  the snowboarders were coming down,

quietly announcing, "This is what I was born for!"

To see life and the world with this in mind,

I think of the opportunities I may grasp in 2023!

Sometimes they may require a leap of faith,

or a love greater than my own,

but to be what I'm called for at this exact time

is what I don't want to miss. 

 ♥♥♥

The Flower Farm

For Mother's Day this year, I received a gift to look forward to -

and three months later - here we are at Five Acres Flower Farm 

It was a perfect summer evening and ladies from all over 

came out for this workshop ...

dressed for a special occasion. 

No memo on that ... but somehow the feeling was in the air. 

The owner gave us a tour of her fields, showed us how to cut stems

and then let us go cut as many flowers as we liked.

The dahlia fields were at their prime, but there were many other 

flowers! I had forgotten the wonderful scent of sweet peas!

We were shown how to incorporate eucalyptus and scented herbs as fillers.

Really, it could not go wrong. 

We took our buckets to the tables where vases were waiting to be filled.

As the sun set, the lights shone brighter,

and I could have just gone around taking pictures.

These sweet young women and the one in Indonesia

are such a blessing to me!

To love and be loved is the greatest gift! 

 

Back to School Treats and Thoughts

In Genesis God promised that as long as the earth remains,

seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, 

summer and winter, day and night would not cease.

Despite the changes coming our way, the calendar keeps going.

September is here - 

even though we may not know exactly what it will look like.

In reality, I've been reminded that we've really never known ...

we just thought we did.

So, now we know that school has started.

Our family is still all here.

But we hold loosely to man-made plans.

Last week we had fun doing some special things with the kids.

One day I took these three, (going into Grade 9, 7 and 5) to the mall. 

We spent some time at Bath and Body Works and at Claire's.

They are such a fun age!

But I think I say that about every age.

Two days later, I picked up the three youngest girls 

(starting Kindergarten, Grade1 and Grade 3)

and the oldest beautiful one

(now settled into dorm life at Bible College) 

and we visited a local farm petting zoo, playground and corn maze.

Those littles just love their big cousin,

and I loved that she wanted to come along! 

 On Saurday Papa took the three big boys

(starting Grades 11, 7 and 5)

out for lunch and to a sports store.

When they got back they immediately started taping their new hockey sticks

 and spent some time down on the court. 

And then there's our baby, our reality check of how quickly they grow!

With him I'm never waiting for the next new thing he will do -

rather grabbing every opportunity I can to enjoy just where he's at. 

He came over while sister had her Kindergarten interview,

and we played with daddy's old toys 

and cuddled up with a pile of books. 

  My sentimental side is revealed once more -

it's what September does to me, just like January,

a blank slate, filled with hopes and dreams

amidst the changes in every child's life.

Having said that, I'm so thankful that I can put my trust  

in the One Who really knows all things -

Jesus, who loves the little children and the big ones too -

ever faithful to His promises.

The grass withers and the flower falls,

but the word of the Lord stands forever. 

Isaiah 40:8

Airshow Weekend

Where we live, we don't have much choice hearing about the Abbotsford Airshow.

It takes place every year on the second weekend of August.

 Well aware of the practice going on before the actual events ...

loud, whether we like it or not ... we may as well embrace it.

Our kids' earliest memories of it are likely about watching it from our rooftop,

or (more sadly) as Ben insists, that he had to take a nap

while the girls got to go on the roof.

 This year friends invited us, along with more friends,

to watch the opening performances from the hangar where he

parks his little plane. 

This was front row seating from the lawn beside the tarmac.

I loved the snowbird parade before they took off.

 And there they go!

 At a certain angle, they showed only white ...

with Mt. Baker in the background, they fit the name.

 Dinner was brought together potluck style ...

a picnic of farmer sausage, KFC, salads, veggies, watermelon and chips.

 Lovella treated the whole gang to Rollkuchen. 

 Richard and Dorothy are the friends who run Sweet Dreams B&B in town.

They know how to do hospitality.

If the invitation was not enough, they also handed out bags of candy for the kids.

I think some of them will remember that as a highlight in their first memories of the airshow.

 There were numerous acrobatic type performances

that no one would want to be in.

This military transport plane loomed huge on the tarmac, compared to other planes.

 It flew low and slow right side up and came down again.

With darkness came a beautiful display of hornets flying in synchronized formation.

Seeing only lights, they looked like they were one ...

forming an illusion of a spaceship.

The night ended with fireworks.

Today it's drizzling.

Haven't heard or seen much from home.

On Top of the World

I'm referring to being on top of the world because of where our weekend ended up, 

but I also want to say that driving caravan style with the family 

 is one of my favorite things. 

That alone makes me feel on top of the world, 

the whole family in my sight ...

headed in the same direction. 

We stopped off at Rainbow Park to have our packed lunches. 

The weather was on the cool side, so there was no swimming,

but some wading, skipping rocks and Frisbee time.

The next morning, after breakfast in our room, we gathered everyone and their strollers together,.

Crossing streets with three-year-olds holding hands and skipping across the street,

we followed the beautiful bike trails around Whistler for a 5 mile walk,

Sometimes Jack does not get into the cousin group photos,
but this time he surely did.

Naptime became the perfect time for pool time

and after that we headed to the Kid's Adventure Zone in the Village 

where everyone could choose one event. 

I enjoyed seeing what one thing each one chose when they would have liked to do way more.

Sunday surprised us with beautiful sunshine and a trip up the mountain that

ended up being even better than we could have imagined.

One of the highlights was the open chair lift to the very top of Whistler.

It is a breathtaking ride that slowly takes you into the stillness of mountain tops and space.  

When you approach the peak, you see the new sky bridge that just opened this summer.

The views ...

simply amazing ...

and awe inspiring.

There is something about the mountains that directs my thoughts

to the greatness of the One who created all this! 

We took the Peak 2 Peak gondola that spans the almost two mile distance between 

Whistler and Blackcomb ...

our family filling one car and enjoying the "ride."

With this another family weekend has come and gone ...

but as the days slip by we are left with so many memories to hold. 

Cherished mountain top experiences

that bind us in the ebb and flow of how we do family life.