Easter!

We were lucky to have some friends from Vancouver join us for Easter.  The kids were so cute about Easter- so very excited.  Here are a couple of pictures that capture Elliott on the hunt.

Catch-up

It has taken me 6 months to learn how to download photos from my new (now old) phone!  But now I'm onto it, and wanted to share a few good months worth of phone pictures.

 Our neice, who we adore and wish she lived closer to us.

 Glen had to work New Year's Eve and Day so Elliott and I had breakfast out together in Kelowna.... we missed Papa, but it was kind of special too.

 EJ loves hockey- especially this $250 mask.

 Glen and I had a mini-break in Kelowna- this is their new outdoor skate rink.  Way to go Kelowna planners.

 Sort of fuzzy- but Elliott loves to shave with glen- he's got cream all over his hands.

 Last night we had a picnic in the park with our friends.  Elliott LOVES his friend SJ and they wrestled and played like this together for about an hour.  It is lovely to see him enjoying a friend so much (who needs a brother?).

 Spontateous park play with friends after daycare. 

Our fantastic, wonderful neighbours at Mother Goose- we spend Monday nights together at our local school singing our hearts out. 

new tree

We had out tree taken down today.  elliott loves the stump- his new tree fort.  I'm on the hunt for the perfect tree- shade, tallish, nice folliage, fast growing, and unique.  Ideas?

birthday party

wholly smokes we went to an "all out" 3rd b'day party this year. There was a craft and games (and prizes!) and home-made sliders, an amazing cake, and sandpail loot bags.  Even the bathroom was decorated!  We all had lots of fun.  Let the b'day season begin!

Baking with Nama

My mom is such a good sport.  She drove up so that she could satisfy Elliott's wish and go to gymnastics with him (he wanted to show her everything that he loves to do there).  This morning was the start of outdoor soccer, so she got to catch that too.  BUT, what she didn't know that she was in for was baking a double batch of cookies at 7:00am.  Slightly different than her normal retirement routine. 

Cupcakes!

Sometimes the mornings of getting out of the house to daycare and work go very poorly- today was such a morning.  An end of the day treat for everyone was delicious mini-cupcakes.  As you can see, they garnered much excitement.

lifejacket jumps

Two cute parts to this story...
1. Elliott has a mini-trampoline this week because he agreed to a toy trade with his friend Anderson. (He has the much coveted excavator).
2. Elliott is so pumped about the summer and can't wait to start fishing with Dad.  He is currently having a bath with his lifejacket on (definitely glen's boy).

Eat Real Food

I ordered a great poster from etsy called "Eat Real Food" for my kitchen and it came with a tatoo.  Elliott has had it on his arm for the last 2 weeks- the most amazing long lasting tatoo (must be American glue).  Here's Elliott showing it off (and being silly)- still on his arm after a long swim!

Cookie Monster

Cookie Monster is by far Elliott's favourite friend.  He comes everyone.  And since switching to the "Big Daycare" he also goes to and from on day-care days.  Most recently, he was along for our holiday to the Island, and he got lost for 48 hours!  (Thankfully he was hiding and re-joined our holiday).  So, being a good uncle, my brother is searching for Cookie's double in the States (where cookie originated, and I haven't found an identical source here yet).  Any sightings?

Bobs and Lolo

Our animal park hosted Bobs and Lolo over the weekend.  Elliott loved it, as did every other kid in Kamloops under the age of 5.  Actually I think Elliott ws more excited to be back at the park after a few months off (I've been pretending it was closed, but really, I just couldn't handle looking at buffalo in -20).  We generally will be visiting the park every other weekend now until next winter- they have an awesome train to ride around the park. 

They also got a new carosel over the winter- notice how seriously Elliott takes riding the fake horse... very similar to the pony he rode a month ago.  

Spring clean-up!

Elliott and I are excited spring is here.  We are slowly starting to uncover our yard and think about our garden plans.  This is the first year I've been able to really garden with Elliott around me (he can entertain himself enough) so things actually might take shape!

Here Elliott is talking about his prized strawberry plants- no strawberries yet. 

 

Taking after his Bumpa and becoming a "pruner."  Notice the kid's "snippers" that are too dull to cut anything, but give him a LOT of satisfaction.

I-Pad fun

Elliott loves glen's I-pad.  He has a game on there that he plays, completely independently of us.  He has fully developed the dexterity of using his fingers to navigate- jeesh.  The background music is classical- that's the best part.

Holiday at Nama Bumpa's

I just picked Elliott up in Kelowna today after he'd had 3 days there with his Grandparents- an amazing break for glen and I.  And of course he had tons of fun driving his gator, playing in the yard, and being generally spoiled.  Did I mention the great break glen and I had?

 Having fun together

Elliott can honestly drive this thing on his own.  He reverses, puts it in different gears and is quick on the gas.  Thank god it isn't at our house.

 

The guys loving their toy.

Vancouver Island in the Springtime

We had an awesome week holiday on the Coast visiting friends and family.  The highlight was having Elliott together with his friends and cousins- new adventures and lots of fun.  We sure miss everyone!

 Ella, Oliver, Caitlin, Lily, and Elliott- fast friends over a "kids-only" dinner.

 Elliott and his cousin Enid are SO CUTE together.  Here they are looking at some baby pigs.

 Elliott took his first pony ride very seriously- but he nodded in agreement in taking a second tour.

 Big cousin Cohen hamming it up at lunch.

On stroll in Victoria.  We enjoyed sunshine, cherry blossoms and the Royal Victoria Museum- but mostly the company.

Scramble Circuit

Elliott is a regular at gymnastics and is becoming a great little gymnast. He had been unwilling to try to the scramble circuit until today - and as you can see he loved it.

New Home for Hay-Ham

Big news! We've moved to Kamloops, BC. Fran and I wanted out of the 'big smoke' and into a new place to call home, raise a family, and enjoy life. I landed a great job with the City of Kamloops and Fran found an excellent job with the United Way. We purchased a heritage home in downtown Kamloops, only a stroll away from the city centre, Fran's workplace and the fantastic Riverside Park. Life is good. We miss our friends in Vancouver but look forward to many visits and meeting new people.

Yank Thanksgiving + My Friend Bob

Sitting here having a beer with my good friends in Beaver Creek. Snow is falling - my wife is asleep. I'm drinking another beer nonetheless. Taking in the evening's festivities and appreciating the friends and life we have to enjoy. Here's a great shot of Bob and Star at the Living Forest in Nanaimo, BC during the On a Roll 2006.

Alberta Road Trip

For 9 days, we were free from work and domestic duties and off on a whirlwind road trip in our new subee. We started with 3 days in Kelowna, visiting the Haywards and relaxing poolside. Then were we were off for a couple nights of camping in Lake Louise, which is an incredible place - "God's country" as a lady from California we met while hiking repeatedly said. Then it was off to the Calgary stampede. Never been to a rodeo before, but it was pretty darned exciting, even for a couple of vegetarians. Next it was off to Red Deer to visit Fran's brother and his feonce. Here we enjoyed fantastic hospitality, the opportunity to relax and kick our feet up while watching an impressive DVD collection on an impressively large flat screen TV - also, a great meal at Original Joes (photo). We began our journey home with a trip through Edmonton (picked up some fresh CDs at the huge mall: new Thom Yorke & a classic Stevie Wonder) and Jasper before spending a night in Clearwater. All said, we covered 2500kms and had some good times. More time next time...

TJ's Wedding

We had a fantastic time at Tricia and Sean's wedding in Kelowna. Tricia is Fran's best friend, and Fran was in the bridal party - pictured here with her two lovely cohorts Jaime and Jessica. The weather behaved though at times appeared ominous. The reception was a blast - it was an outdoor party at the Kelowna Land and Orchard and the food was amazing and the dancing even better. The petting zoo nearby was a great attraction for the youngsters, and there were reports that after much ingenuity and effort, some boys managed to catch a wild rabbit.

The entire day was super, and everyone was happy - including the bride and groom (photo).

Of course, Fran's participation wasn't limited to the wedding day itself, and as such I had quite of bit of time to spare. I took on the challenge of cleaning up my father-in-law's garage. Rocco is a very busy guy and is working constantly, both at his business and his garden. And he doesn't have time to fuss with his garage space, which explains how it became such an entangled mess. I love to organize, and was commissioned to take it on and had full license to make it better. It was really satisfying work. I'll post the before and after photos later - hang onto your seats!

Living Room

I just had to include this photograph. Not only is it a lovely scene, but there's so much anticipation as our good friends Marc and Deniece are only days from the birth of their first born.