Christmas Train

This year we decided to participate in the Christmas train. The Christmas train is actually the West Coast Express which runs from Mission to Waterfront in Vancouver. For two Saturdays in December you can take the train into Vancouver for the day for free as long as you bring one unwrapped toy per person. Plus, the added bonus was that Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus were on the train. So, the kids and I picked out four toys and on Saturday we took the train and spent the day in Vancouver. Grandma from Mission also came which was a big treat for the kids. Uncle Kyle and Brody also came and so did our good friends Mike, Jenn, Madeline and Maya. When we got there we decided to take a trip on the Seabus to the Lonsdale Quay. We walked around the Quay and then had an amazing lunch at the Cheshire Cheese Inn. We then took the Seabus back and walked around Vancouver and Pacific Centre for a bit before grabbing some Hot Chocolates and heading back to the train for our leisurely ride home. It was so much fun and it was for a good cause. It will definitely be a yearly tradition from now on....only next year we are going to take more people with us!

Our Boys

These are our boys....I don't think I need to say anything else.....except for maybe we love them!

Leaf Gathering at the Abbey

A couple weeks ago after school one day, the boys and I went leaf gathering up at the Abbey. We had fun. Here are some pictures from our excursion.

Hugs!

Showing off the bountiful supply of leaves they collected along the way.

My little Tree Huggers!

It's not a trip to the Abbey without a picture from the viewpoint overlooking the Fraser River and Hatzic.

I love this picture.

Oh, and I also love this picture.

Noah really wanted to climb this tree and have his picture taken.

We had to throw leaves at some point.

Okay, I also love this picture!

The boys under my favourite tree.....I love this tree!

That concludes our trip to the Abbey to collect leaves. We plan on heading up there again soon since most of the leaves hadn't changed yet. But, not this week since it is raining! Yuck! Oh well, maybe next week.

Whistler Weekend

So we went up to Whistler with Greg's parents this weekend and here are a few pictures from our trip. But, before we get to those pictures here is a picture of Noah's birthday cake.....a Canucks cake for a Canucks fan! It was his 5th birthday yesterday (Sunday) and we had a family Thanksgiving dinner as well as a birthday cake for the birthday boy. His party is on Friday and I will be sure to post some pictures.

A trip to Whistler isn't complete without a visit to Cows for ice cream and a ride on the cow. Of course it was FREEZING but that didn't deter the kids from the ice cream.

While we were up in Whistler it was the last weekend to ride the Peak 2 Peak Gondola which goes from Whistler to Blackcomb. We decided that since we had never done it before we would take the kids on it. It was amazing. It was cold but clear and you could see so much. Here are the boys on the Gondola up Whistler Mountain.

Here are the boys on the Peak 2 Peak Gondola waiting to go across to Blackcomb.

The boys and I on the Whistler Gondola. On the way down we were the only ones in our Gondola so we had the opportunity to do some fun pictures.

Greg had some crazy ideas......none of which we will discuss. This was the tamest of them all and it involved silly faces on the Gondola.

Here's Zay looking through the bottom of the Grey Peak 2 Peak Gondola. There are only 2 Grey Gondolas and they have glass bottoms so you can see the ground below. There was a wait for one but we decided to try it on the way back from Blackcomb to Whistler. It was pretty cool but boy are you high up!

Here are the boys at the top of Whistler playing in the snow! Brrrr!

We ate lunch in the restaurant at the top of Whistler mountain and here we found a giant Inukshuk. A tourist was kind enough to take our picture in front of it.......it only took him 4 tries to figure out how to use our camera! I think you can see the village in the background and Green Lake.

Just to the right of the Inukshuk when we exited the restaurant we saw a visitor.....a nice baby black bear. He's kind of hard to see in this picture but that's Isaiah's hat and to the left you can see the bear. Greg got some closer pictures than this but he was within about 8 feet of us. Finally an employee came out and scared him down the mountain a bit. On our Gondola ride across to Blackcomb though we saw him just a bit down the hill sitting by two work sheds. It was pretty neat.

Summer.....Part One!

So, here are just a few pictures of some of our adventures this summer. We did a ton of stuff this summer and there are too many pictures to add now (it's almost time to get Noah from school). Anyway, here are some of our summer adventures...more to follow when I get time!

While we were in Summerland one weekend we went to some amusement park in Penticton. There were quite a few fun rides. Both boys were able to go on the go-carts. Here are Isaiah and Grandpa taking a cruise around the track. Noah went with Greg.

Here are the boys resting during a gruelling game of mini-golf. It sure was hot this weekend. As ususal Isaiah is clowning around.

A trip to Summerland just isn't complete without a trip to Summerland Sweets. Noah tried "Moose Tracks" in this picture and ended up with a "Moose Track Moustache".

We also spent a fair bit of time at the lake of course. This year the lake was the warmest I have ever felt it. The boys were more into burrying themselves in the sand. Eventually they had to go in the water....to clean off.

Grandma and Grandpa also bought all the boys fishing rods this year. So, after a little 4x4'ing in the Civic we found a little lake and the kids were able to do some fishing. No fish were caught but the boys had fun anyway.

At the end of Summer, while Greg was working, I took the boys up to Summerland for one last visit before school. During that trip we hiked up Giants Head Mountain. This is the view of Okanagan Lake and Summerland from just above my parents house.

We also visited Grandma at work and the boys were able to climb up onto the dump truck sitting outside her office.....I think this may have been the hi-light of the trip.

The boys picked peaches from the orchard next door. Here is my artistic attempt of picture taking. Fun!

Noah was more into eating than picking. I think in total he ate 6 peaches before we made it back to my parents house.

The boys also got in a good jeep ride while we were there. Both of them love the jeep and so they had fun.

So, it's official, Noah is in school now. Here he is on his first day of school. He LOVES SCHOOL. He goes everyday from 8:30 until 11:00. I don't think he learns anything but has fun playing with all his friends anyway.

Here is Zay in his "New to him" Pumpkin Costume. He looks pretty scary!

In the jungle the mighty jungle the lion sleeps tonight! Noah, all tuckered out after a day of school and playing with his friends.

Okay, so these are the best goodie bag gifts ever. My kids have had so much fun with these it isn't even funny.....or is it? What a ham!

Noah had to get in on the glasses action too....only he looks like a goomba and it's obvious he can't be serious for even one moment!

So there you have it, photos from the second half of our summer.....the first half photos will be along shortly but now I must go get Noah from school.

Jump for Joy!

This is the new view from our back deck. Fun! I've been trying to convince Greg for a long time now to get the boys a trampoline. Well, on Thursday the Canadian Tire flyer came out and they had this 12 ft trampoline with a full enclosure on sale for $150 off. He couldn't say no! Well that and the kids begged him! So, on Saturday we went and got one. After 2 hours of set-up it was done. Though this isn't going to be it's permanent home, Greg is going to have to dig out some bushes in order to push it all the way back into that corner and further from the pond. The kids have been on it pretty much non-stop since Saturday. Isaiah enjoys getting on and getting off, getting on and getting off. Kind of annoying because we have to help him all the time but that's okay. Zay really enjoys jumping and isn't afraid when he gets tossed by Greg or I or the other kids. Noah is already doing flips. Yikes! All in all it was a great purchase and it will only get used more in the years to come.

Well, that is going to have to be it for back-yard play things for a while. We have officially run out of room. Apparently a veggie garden, shed, deck, pond, swingset, and trampoline can fill up your backyard. Next house.....a bigger yard!

Family Foto Shoot

A few weeks ago one of my old co-workers asked if she could take some family photos of us to add to her portfolio. I said that would be great! So we went up to the Abbey and had some pictures taken. Here are only a few of the ones she took. I'll add more later. Oh, and the new header at the top of our blog is from the same photo shoot!