ValerieDykstra.com

a wee safari adventure

One of the highlights of our visit in Arkansas was a trip to the Wilderness Safari. Here are some pictures from there. My favorite is the one with Roman covering his eyes. He wasn't comfortable with all the animals traipsing around the car so he covered his eyes. Surely if he couldn't see them, they couldn't see him!

Conversely, Avery couldn't get close enough and is standing in the window not wanting to miss a thing. Those two are like night and day.

A funny memory of the day was Roman seeing the gazelle or ibex (or whatever it was) and exclaiming, "What is that freakin' horned animal?"

 

discovery cove, orlando

 

For each of us, Discovery Cove was a highlight of our time in Florida.

Last year we started planning this trip. Initially the main purpose in going to Florida was to see my friend Debbie. We didn't know that she would be gone by the time our trip rolled around. Several times during our time in Florida I felt melancholy remembering that the whole purpose of the trip - in its initial stage - was so I could spend some time with Debbie.

I'm sure you've noticed that I don't blog quite like I use to. There are several reasons but among them is the absence of my friend and faithful reader Debbie. So many times I wrote just for her. She loved reading this blog and I loved to write stories for her. I miss her and the trip to Florida was mildly bittersweet because I was often reminded of how the trip originated.

 

 

  Our sweet Hannah developed a love for anything related to marine life several years ago. She said she wanted to be a marine biologist and we wanted to encourage this love. That is how Discovery Cove arrived as one of our destinations.

Our desire to encourage the "marine biology" thing was really enlivened when she declared that she hadn't decided which to pursue; marine biology or tatoo artistry. That's when Gordon enrolled her in the Trainer for a Day program.

She worked with dolphins, swam with and rode dolphins, fed sharks and rays and I don't know what else. It was a glorious experience for her. I'm so glad she had the opportunity.

 

 

 

 

  Deborah surprised us by falling in love with manta rays. We couldn't hardly pull her out of their pools. Every time we tried for pictures - almost every time - she was unavailable because she didn't want to leave the mantas.

 

 

 

 

I did a lot of everything, but my favorite part was being all alone with the waterfalls. For hours I had the waterfalls to myself and I loved that.

 

 

 

 

 

Years ago, I put "swim with dolphins with Hannah" on my bucket list (things to do before I die). Things got a little wonky and Hannah and I both swam with dolphins but not at the same time. But that's okay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is our Hannah, trainer for a day.

 

 

 

  

 

 

Deborah wasn't the only one who loved the rays. Hannah did too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I quite love this picture of the family. Discovery Cove was a great experience!

sea world and busch gardens

Here are some pictures from our time at Florida's Busch Gardens and Sea World. We had a good time at both. This one is called the Manta and my family is on it .

 

 

 

 

 

Nice little giraffe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This ride was freaky because at the very top, which was way way up there, the ride stopped and you dangled straight down. That's the family there dangling. (The family includes everyone but me; someone had to take the picture.)

 

 

 

 

Gordon and I went on a train ride in Busch Gardens and passed this pretty scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the Atlantis at Sea World. Hannah and Deborah are on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my favourite. Gordon, Hannah and Deborah on the Gwazi at Busch Gardens. Aren't their expressions priceless?

 

family holiday, 2011

We recently returned from a wonderful family holiday to the southern United States. We left home with three feet of snow still on the ground and that evening were driving around Orlando with all the windows open - smiling down to our livers, basking in the warmth, humidity, and scents. We were starved for warmth, sunshine and greenery. And we found it!!

That evening Hannah travelled around Orlando with her head perched in the open window occasionally enthusing, "Why doesn't the whole world live here?" I think the whole family had a touch of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) this winter. I knew I did, but it never occurred to me that the rest of the family did too. Upon seeing all the moods pick up, the crankiness and irritability subside, I realized everyone had been afflicted.

One of the cool experiences of the holiday were the rides to and from the airport in a limo. Trust me, this would never happen in our family unless it was very cost effective. And it was. It was cheaper than taxi or leaving the car at the airport because of a connection that Gordon has - a friend with a limo company. It was a great way to start a holiday, especially at 5:00 in the morning.

By that evening we were thrilled to be at our Orlando condo which was conveniently close to Sea World, Discovery Cove, Aquatica, Disney World and outlet malls. And the pool, oh the pool. How sweet is was having just come from the Great White North.

Day 1 was amazing.

 

 

for Pabob

These are the last pictures I'll share from our camping trip to Little Bow. Pabob is the fisherman in my family, so these are especially for him.

Click on the pictures to get a closer look at Deborah's face. So sweet.

1)  Deborah reeling in her first fish.

  

2)  Getting help from Uncle Tom.

3) She's not exactly comfortable touching it. {Smiles}

Camping at Little Bow

Unfortunately, this is not our way of camping.

Humble as it is, our camping looks more like this. We met our friends the Loszchuks and enjoyed another good camping trip with them.

 
Taken on my bike ride at sunset.

 

 

Jerrod and Uncle Tom took Deborah fishing with them. She caught this fish, a walleye, I think, but she didn't want to hold it for the picture.

After a little coercion, she agreed to hold up its fin. Tom cooked it in beer and it was delicious.

 

 

Deborah turned 11 while we were there.

 

Our little trek to the lake.

Deborah and me, swimming in what felt like glacier water. Fortunately by afternoon it was much warmer.

Our lake is way in the distance. See it? I loved this view.

When I first moved to the prairies, I felt exposed and vulnerable. The terrain made me feel lonely. Now I love my beautiful Alberta.
 

2010 family holidays are going to be pretty skimpy this year. Gordon and the girls will probably go camping again in August. I have a newer job and can't get any more time off. Especially since I already called in all my negotiating resources to get time off for a trip to Arkansas in September.

I have three, maybe four, more dragon boat festivals this summer. It will continue to be a good summer even though our holidays will be on the lean side.

 

stacie, hammin' it up

Life has had me by the tail ever since I got home from Arkansas and I've not captured many of my memories from the trip. I told about the photo shoot my sibs and I had with my dad. Before we had the opportunity to have a group picture made, my hammy sister Stacie captivated all the cameras. She is a ham-dinger. I wish I'd gotten a little more of that gene, but I didn't so I just get to enjoy her.
 

 

She is so funny and entertaining. I lub' 'er lots.
As you can see in these pictures, she put on a show. So unintimidated, acting like like a teenager getting her Senior pictures made. As you can also see in the pictures, we were all waiting for her to finish the production.
  
 

 

Roman, the main man

It was wonderful to see Romie Boy again. I was a little "too present" for his comfort, especially in the beginning. He liked me in small doses but would be overcome with rudeness when he got up in the morning and I was still there. He took a precious amount of time warming up to me, but he finally did. Not before I'd said, "well that little t-u-r-d," a few times though. I said this rude comment when he countered my, "Good Morning Roman" with "Umph," which I interpreted as "Get outta my house."

 
This picture was made on my first evening there. He liked the I Spy quilt I made for him and really got into the game. It kept him occupied for quite a while.

 

On my second morning there, he came into the living room where I was sitting with his quilt draped over my legs. He rushed at me, grabbed his quilt and gave me a royal "Umph."

Roman finally warmed up to me, but not until I'd invested a bit of time. He loved playing outside, going for walks, and feeding the ducks with Beppie. I eventually became a friend.

Roman loves playing in his backyard and he and his daddy do it lots. But in a pinch, when Daddy wasn't around, Beppie could fill in. (I have several pictures from this little outing. When Rachael looked at them she said, "You're so pulling a dad-moment with those black socks and white runners.") Rudies (that's Dykstra-ese for "rude ones") abound in my life. :-)

 

Roman is a loving brother to Avery. I never saw any jealousy or ill-will, just love and affection. On my first morning there, I took Avery out to the porch swing. Roman started crying "Baby, Baby". It was kind of heartbreaking that he was afraid I was taking his baby.

Once when Avery was starting to fuss in her swing, Roman ran to the swing, dug around Avery and found her pacifier. He put it in her mouth and tucked her blanket back around her. Avery stopped crying and Roman beamed. It was precious.

 

Roman loves the outdoors and loved when we did outdoorsy things. This wagon ride was a bonding moment for us.

Roman is just 2 years old. But he can spell his name and knows many letters of the alphabet by sight. I'm pretty sure there's a college scholarship in his future.

When I left him this past Sunday, this is what he was doing; lining up his little animals in a nice clean circle or straight line. Then we drove off, and he cried, "Beppie, Beppie." I cried. And I just cried again as I typed that.

Lil' Miss Avery Claire

Howdy Ya'll.

I've been gone. Did you notice? I got home Monday morning after a glorious little holiday to Arkansas -- where I met my first granddaughter Avery. Needless to say, she stole my heart with her sweetness. She kind of liked me too.

In grandmotherly fashion, I have a few pictures to share.

I'm the first to admit this little picture isn't the hottest, but it captures Avery on the rag quilt I made her. Truthfully, she didn't seem too awed by the quilt, but maybe one has to be older than 6 or 9 weeks to fully appreciate it. You reckon?

 

Avery was considerate to reserve her first smiles for Beppie. She knew I came a long way to see her and she wanted to say thank you in her own special way. Her first smile was for Beppie. I love her considerate nature. 

Stephanie and John Mark had their 4th Annual Laney Harvest Party a few weeks ago. Avery was the resident Princess, all dolled-up and adorablish.

  
As in the above smiling picture, Avery is smiling for Beppie here too. Isn't she precious?

Here is a 5 Generation picture that we made at Memaw's house. Aren't we blessed to still have a Memaw and a Mimi?

Meeting Avery was the biggest highlight of the trip, but truthfully there were numerous highlights. Stay tuned and you'll be privy to a few more.

Thursday Thirteen

1.    These are some pictures from our long bike ride last week. Didn’t we pass some lovely terrain and homes?

 

2.       The picture of the girls in the canola wasn’t taken on the ride. I try to get an annual picture of them in a local canola field.

 

3.       Hannah Bear is at camp this week. This camp is nine days, several days longer than any she’s been to before. We went to see her last night. It was such a joy seeing her smiling, enthusiastic face.

 

4. 

      Did I mention that all three of the girls have jobs? Paper routes. We think it may be too much for Deborah. (She always has someone with her.) On paper delivery days she complains quite a lot. We think it’s too much responsibility for her. She’s got a couple chances left.

 

5.       While Hannah is at camp, Gordon is kindly painting her room “Citrus Punch”. It’s a bright bright yellow. I’m redecorating and am quite excited by the progress.

 

6.       I think Hannah will love her newly decorated digs. She’s a most gracious child in this way. I can almost guarantee you she’ll look at her room and then run  to hug me in appreciation. I can barely wait for that hug. J

7. 

    On the same day Hannah gets back from camp, Deborah heads off to camp. When Deborah gets home, Rachael  heads to camp. For three weeks we’ll only have two girls in the house.

 

8.       I’m on an email list from a magazine that solicits articles from writers from all over North America. Monday there was a giant glitch in their system and everyone on the list started getting email intended for the magazine’s office. Tons of mail. It was bizarre and mildly irritating. Mildly irritating to me, really irritating for some. Imagine sitting in a business meeting and your Blackberry keeps buzzing you with new email and it’s all meant for someone else. Frustrated, you bang off an email demanding to be removed from the email list, only to realize after you hit “send” that your email is going to everyone on the list, including yourself, and not to the intended party. This happened over and over. It was a bit like email rage. Fortunately there were plenty of good-natured folks on the list. They made jokes about getting acquainted with each other. I got a huge kick out of a guy who responded to all these emails from people he doesn’t know with this email:  “This is a bit what the hey, but would you all like to come to my house on Friday for a pot-luck?” I’ll never meet this man, but I know I’d like him.

9. 

       There’s a survey circulating on Facebook about how many US states you’ve been in and how many you’ve lived in. From what people have sent me, it’s apparent that I’m well above average in the states I’ve been in and well below average in the states I’ve lived in. I’ve been in 47 states. I've only lived in Arkansas.

10.   Stephanie is just four weeks away from her due date. Lil’ Miss Avery should be arriving in early September. Of course Stephanie is hoping for something like mid-August.

11. 

  Speaking of Stephanie, yesterday I saw some pictures of a kid who was into everything in a grocery store. These pictures were titled Why I ususally grocery shop alone. It reminded me of the time Stephanie (probably 1 ½ -2 years old) pulled a glass jar of pickles from the bottom row of the pickle display pyramid. It was one of my prouder moments as a young mom. J

12.   80% of orange tabby cats are male. That’s my trivia flash of the day. I never knew…

13. I love Alberta. These pictures, I hope, give you a taste of it.

my summer holiday

This little cabin was home for the week.

We've been away on holidays. For the first time ever, we went to Family Camp with almost everyone in Gordon's extended family. Gordon and the girls had a fabulous time; definitely a highlight of the year for them. I crashed and burned and am quite embarrassed by the whole week.

I pride myself on being laid-back, easy going, well-adjusted, fun-loving, and a myriad of other positive things. :-) These characteristics cease and desist when I get around my in-laws. All my benevolence and patience and open-mindedness and well-adjustedness seizes up and dies, usually in an emotionally laden, fetal-positioned wailing-and-gnashing-of-teeth sort of way. Not a pretty picture. It's probably the single biggest flaw in my character and person-hood. I hate this about me.

Before the holiday I tried valiantly to prepare and equip myself to "be in the now". I had a plan and some ideas for how I was going to be grown-up and good. I self-imploded and never figured out how to "be in the now" in any way that was helpful. When I tried to focus and regain composure by "accepting this moment" all I could think was, but it hurts too badly. That to say, my experimentation with pop psychology was unsuccessful.

Gordon is a wonderful husband and our relationship is warm, stable and loving. These good feelings we share degenerate when we are with his family. However, only very recently did I realized that the problem is in my relationship with Gordon, not his entire family. I'm not suggesting my negative history with the family is imagined. It is not. However, it's my marriage that is the "issue", not my in-laws. Here's what I've only recently come to realize:  Mine and Gordon's relationship shifts dramatically when we're with his family. He changes, gets free-er. I change, get more up-tight. I clam up; he airs. I erect walls; he relinquishes all barriers. I tense up, ridiculously so. He becomes an open book revealing anything that comes to mind. What I realize is basically I don't like him too much when he's around his family. That's not very good, eh?

I don't really know what to tell you about our holiday. I usually show lots of pictures and tell some highlights. I don't have any to tell this year. It was all pretty traumatic. Again, my family had a GREAT time, but I couldn't even enjoy their having a good time because I was so wrapped up in my own bad experience. I reiterate that I truly hate this about myself.

Day 1 was good. Gordon and I went on a 40 kilometer (24 miles) bike ride and I enjoyed that very much. I took pictures and loved the country scenery.

Day 2 Gordon and I started going cross-eyed with miscommunication. By mid-afternoon I drove 30 minutes to the nearest city to "get away." I went to Chapters and bought a Christmas gift, visited my favorite thrift store, went out to eat, and then took in a movie (The Proposal). It would have been a lovely outing had my thoughts not been churning with negativity.

Day 3 I had to leave and come home before I completely lost my mind. I felt like an idiot for not being able to enter into the "good-time" everyone else was having, but knew I had to get out of there just to regain some emotional stability.I was smiling again before I got off the camp property. I felt hope.

It was on the drive home as I prayed and tried to figure out what had gone so sideways that I was able to articulate that this pattern in my life is a blemish on my marriage, not so much a blemish on my in-laws. That was the epiphany of the experience. Any epiphany at that point was a relief, even if it was hard realizing how it's me that's the problem (with some help from my beloved) and not someone "out there". The problem is me. I admit it.

So that was my summer vacation. The absolute worst I've ever had and hope to ever have. I'm happy for Gordon and the girls to do it every year, but I probably will only drop in a few times  instead of committing to the whole week. That seems like a fair compromise to me.

I hope you're all having a wonderful summer. I truly (aside from last week) have loved it. Only four more weeks till the kids head back to school. That kind of makes me sad as there are still so many summer things we want to squeeze in.

butts, big and small

Another Capernwray story.

One evening Gordon and I arrived at "Bistro Night" a little early. We were supposed to meet another couple, but couldn't find them. We faced different directions as we looked for them. I didn't see them where I searched.

I turned around and started looking in the direction Gordon was looking. While we stood there looking I put my hand on Gordon's butt and started muttering about what we should do next. I kept looking over the patios, but as I did, I started fiddling with Gordon's butt. Now I realize that I was aware something wasn't quite right, but at the time, I was feeling around for clues. Now I realize that his butt didn't feel right but at the time I was just feeling around trying to figure what was awry.

Before this event I don't think I could have told you that Gordon's wallet is always in his right pocket. I didn't realize that was something I knew. But this butt I had hold of had a wallet in the left pocket. Something was weird about that. Evidently I was pretty engrossed in locating this other couple, because I kept mumbling who knows what and groping this butt to figure out what wasn't quite right.

As I groped I realized another thing: this butt was flatter than it should be. Gordon has a very round butt. So help me I don't know why I didn't put all these pieces together, but I didn't. I kept mumbling and kind of squishing this butt in my hand trying to figure out why Gordon felt weird.

The man muttered a-very-in-control, "Val?"

I turned toward him and started screaming like an idiot. Then I started stamping like I was doing an Indian pow-wow (except lots faster) and shaking my hand like I was trying to get bugs off it. As far as I know, no words were coming out of my mouth, just screaming. I saw Gordon about twenty feet from me. I ran to him and buried my face in his chest. I told him what I'd done and he started laughing.

The wife of the man I'd fondled came over to me laughing. She'd seen the whole thing, as did a few others. Everyone was laughing and commenting on how red my face was.

The wife sat down beside me, still laughing. She told me a story that she said she'd told so few people because of how terribly embarrassing it had been. And truly her story made me feel better as her goof was lots worse than mine.

When she and Bill were on their honeymoon, they went to a mall. Bill wanted to look at tools, she wanted to look elsewhere. When she came back to the tool section, she found Bill squatting looking at the tools on the lowest shelf. She noticed he had a hole in the butt of his pants. She snuck up and put her index finger in it and did the gichy-gichy-goo squiggly movement.

The man jumped up screaming. It wasn't Bill. She screamed. He yelled. She screamed. She ran.

She said after what I did to Bill she felt she could tell me that story.

The next day another lady came up to me and mentioned my "eventful evening" the night before. I thought she was talking about some of the kids' antics. But then she said, "At 1:00 this morning we were laying in bed laughing thinking of the look on your face."

So that is me. I try to bring cheer wherever I go.

a sleepwalker strikes

At Capernwray we stayed in Preedy Lodge with several like-minded families and that created an amazingly high comfort level. We never locked our door when we went out or while we slept.

One night I heard Hannah get up to go to the bathroom. Since Hannah has a sleepwalking history, I tried to stay awake till she got back but failed. I drifted back into a light sleep. Soon I was awakened by talking down the hall. I was slightly disoriented but I knew I had to go out there just in case it involved Hannah.

I stepped out of our room and looked down the hall. I saw a man in his underwear. (He saw a woman in a her short gown.) I was not at 100%, still very sleepy. I tried to figure out what he was doing, and it seemed like he was doing a shooing motion. You know, "shoo, go away" movements.

It took me a second or two, but I soon realized that was exactly what he was doing. He was trying to shoo my Hannah out of his family's room.

I went quickly down the hall (in my aforementioned short gown) and stood a few feet from the man in his underwear. He was trying to say, "shoo, go to someone else's room" to Hannah. He looked as disoriented as me and didn't appear to be thinking any more clearly.

Without realizing it, I was calling Hannah's name as I walked down the hall. Because of that she came to the door and smiled gently and sweetly at me. (She always smiles gently and sweetly when she's walking in her sleep.)

The sleepy gentleman did one last shooing motion and I took Hannah's hand and led her back to our room.

crabs and tsunamis

When we arrived on the West Coast we spent our first night at a town called White Rock. We walked the beach and the long pier. Deborah and I were holding hands as we walked. She entertained and sought comfort for two fears: giant crabs and tsunamis.(Interesting how just a few years ago we didn't know anything about tsunamis.)

I assured Deborah that it was impossible for a powerful tsunami to hit White Rock because of all the surrounding islands. I told her technology would warn of something like that.

I thought I had effectively comforted her. We walked in silence for a while.

Later she broke the silence with, "Mom, way back there when you said it would be impossible for a tsunami to come while we are on the pier, were you just saying that to make me feel better or did you really mean it?"

Wasn't that an astute question for an 8 year old?

moving mountains

On our holiday we visited a major rock slide, Frank Slide. The slide happened a hundred years ago and still looks like it did back when it buried the town of Frank. Sobering but very fascinating.

I was reading some information about the slide to the kids. I read that the Natives never settled there because they referred to Turtle Mountain, the mountain that "slid", as the "mountain that moves." They called it that long before the devastating rock slide.

Hours after reading to the kids and visiting Frank Slide we were in the throes of the Rocky Mountains. Mountains rose up on both sides of us. Deborah studied the mountains as we drove. Gently she asked, "Mom did the Natives ever say 'this mountain moves' about this mountain?"

my handsome grandson

While on holidays, I had no computer access. I went through Roman-picture withdrawal. At home I can hardly pass my computer without looking at Roman's pictures. I got home last night and immediately went to get a Roman fix. I wasn't disappointed. I smiled and smiled. These are some of the latest photos from Stephanie.
Roman sleeping contentedly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aren't they lovely? Stephanie and Roman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uncle Christopher (my son) and Roman.

holiday pictures and such

Below you'll find lots of photographs from our vacation to the West Coast. Unfortunately it's in reverse order, but hopefully you'll get a feel for what our trip was like.

Once we got to Thetis Island, I pretty well didn't pick up the camera again. I'm really bummed about that because I didn't capture more of our actual stay. It was an amazing time and I've got lots of stories to tell. But these pictures will have to do for now.

We spent many hours in the car over the past two weeks. Often at red lights, Gordon would study the map. When the light turned green, I tried to keep my mouth shut. (Early in our relationship I learned that Gordon can't stand when I tell him to go when the light turns green.) However he is often disengaged at stop lights and I have to bite my tongue. So over the years I've developed a horrible twitch. When the light turns green and he's reading a map or looking the other direction, I nearly instinctively motion with my hand for him to go. Doing it this way, I feel like I'm being a good wife by keeping my mouth shut.

Today Gordon finally expressed his frustration with my hand twitch. The light turned green while Gordon was reading a map. I said nothing but my hand motioned the usual.

He looked at me and dryly said, "Would you stop acting like a neurotic imbecile."

finally, capernwray

We stayed in the red-roofed building center-left. It is called Preedy Lodge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A view from the road right after leaving the ferry. The bridges over streams added so much ambiance to the place.

 

 

I don't know this girl, but did she ever find a whoppin' big pretty starfish?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every day I walked past this garden and pretended it was mine. Growing up can be so hard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capernwray has more than a hint of English influence. The houses, cabins, and the Tudor Lodge had many flowers, covered bridges on the walkways, beautifully manicured lawns, and terrific ocean views. This house and a few others had walkways that emphasized the English feel for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this picture of Gordon on Thetis Island.

day 5

This was an exciting day, as we finally arrived at our destination, Thetis Island. In Chemainus we got on a small ferry that took us to the island we would call home for the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Thetis Island and we were at Capenwray Harbour. The red-roofed portion is Capernwray Harbour. It is beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rachael and Hannah on the small ferry to Thetis Island.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Deborah at low-tide at Qualicum Beach between Nanaimo and Chemainus. The girls spent the morning collecting sand-dollars. The van had a horrible fishy smell the rest of the trip.

vacation days 4 and 5

When we left Cranbrook we headed to the West Coast. It was a long, fun, eventful day. In Vancouver, (actually it was Langley), we caught the ferry to Vancouver Island. We spent the night in Nanaimo.

I love this picture because it captures a bit of who Hannah is. Doesn't she look contemplative? She is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Vancouver we boarded the ferry -- the girls' first ferry ride. It was a beautiful 2 hour sail to Nanaimo's Departure Bay.

 

 

 

 

In Osoyoos, (between Cranbrook and Vancouver) we stopped at the lake and ended up banana tubing. It was a hoot. The best part were the crashes. The worst part was being heaved back on by three men.

vacation days 2 and 3

Days 2 and 3 were spent in Cranbrook with our friends, the Jasters. We had a great time visiting some of our old stompin' grounds and especially enjoyed catching up with our friends. This was our first time back to Cranbrook since leaving there in 1995.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The girls and Brenden near Marysville.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Wasa Lake with our dear friends, the Jasters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Baptist. Where we were married and where Gordon pastored for 3 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first "home". Apt 409.
In the olden days, Gordon and I used to enjoy this spot along the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Along the Marysville Falls path. A short hike, but well worth the small effort.

vacation day 1

Often photographed mountain in the Crowsnest Pass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Approaching the Rockies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deborah. Frank Slide Alberta in the Crowsnest Pass.

 

Still in the Crowsnest Pass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biggest truck in the World. Sparwood, BC. Deborah, Hannah, Rachael and Gordon are hardly noticable, but they are all in this picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alberta Foothills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hammy Hannah

canoeing mishap

First off, this is not me in this picture. However, when I saw it I was instantly reminded when something similar, perhaps worse, happened to me.

We were camping in Saskatchewan. We had a lovely beach. Sunsets were idyllic, somewhere between romantic and spiritual. The setting was amazing.

Gordon rented a canoe. I anticipated our family canoe trip around the lake at sunset.

 

Finally sunset was upon us just as Gordon pulled the canoe to shore for us to board. After all the girls were clad in the life jackets, Gordon got them situated just so, making strides to distribute the weight proportionately. Problem 1: There ain't no way the weight distributes evenly in this family.

 

After the girls was seated safely, Gordon took his place. At the time I wondered why he sat before me, but now I realize it was the continuation of the aforementioned effort to distribute the weight. Reminder: There ain't no way the weight distributes evenly in this family.

 

With camera strapped around my neck -- important to capture this special event in photo -- I walked toward the place Gordon instructed me to take. The girls smiled lovingly; their moods were appropriately set for this spiritual moment of canoeing as a family on a calm lake at sunset. I lumbered awkwardly into the canoe. It rocked precariously. Gordon looked pensive, the girls were wide-eyed. When Gordon gave me the go-ahead, I sat down. That was problem 2. The canoe sank to the bottom of the lake and everyone leaped up yelling, "MOM."

I lost all presence of mind. I sat there waiting for the canoe to buoy, to rise back to the surface. Of course at this point the canoe is not just burdened with me, it is also holding a hefty amount of lake water. As the kids yelled at me, I regained presence of mind and realized the boat was not going to rise to the surface.

 

Again I lumbered awkwardly, this time out of the boat, now fully aware of what had just happened. Gordon tipped the canoe over to empty the water and then the family reloaded the canoe and went for a ride in the sunset. I took pictures from the shore.

 

(Greig Lake, Saskatchewan, 2005)

thanksgiving day

(My dad and his sidekick Tippy. I love this picture that was taken by my niece Mindi.)

 

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday. The family has outgrown my mom's living room, so she rented a small community hall for our official Thanksgiving meal. It was a glorious day. My nephew Randy and his family and my Gordon and Deborah were the only ones not there. It was awesome. There were around 50 there.

Michael and Lawana carried most of the food work, but we all pitched in. We had enough food for 100 people. Michael and Lawana excelled in the organization of the whole thing and I personally am voting for them to be in charge every time we do anything like this.

The highlight of the day for me was seeing my dad so happy. I could tell he was near giddy with excitement over having all of us together. It was a wonderful wonderful day.

back from arkansas

Rachael, Hannah, and I are home from Arkansas. We went for US Thanksgiving. There wasn't enough moola to go around for Deborah and Daddy, so Deborah offered, yes, she really volunteered, to stay behind. She was totally into the idea of having her daddy all to herself. It was pretty precious. In my ideal world, Gordon and Deborah would have been with us. But it worked out very well. They had a good time in Edmonton while the other girls and I had a good time in Arkansas.

The weather in Arkansas was thrilling and invigorating. It was around 60 degrees. My brother and I stay pretty warm. He said Mama's living room was auditioning for hell, which explained why it was so hot. I found myself a couple of times in shorts and a t-shirt, lying on Mama's front lawn, looking up at the sky enjoying the weather I grew up in.

 

(Hannah in backyard snow fort)

Meanwhile in Edmonton, my beloved husband and youngest daughter were valiantly carrying on as usual, but in unusually cold weather. Evidently the mercury dropped to its lowest in weather-recording-history for the month of November. That would be -27 with a wind chill of -33 degrees Celsius. (I think that translates around -20 Fahrenheit.) 

Imagine the shock to our systems when we arrived to Edmonton's chilly temperatures. It took my breath away. Lucky for us, a heat wave rode in last night and now it's just -17 and forecasted to keep climbing this week. I'm glad. By the end of the week, -10 will feel near balmy.

My aunt chides me when I talk weather. "There are innumerable stimulating topics to be discussed. Let's not waste our time on the weather," she'll say. So with the reminder of how boring some find weather to be, I shall shut my trap about it. But it's cold here and I wanted you folk to know it.

I love going to Arkansas. Coming home is nice too, even if my dogs' pee freezes mid-stream.