The Rest of Summer 2016

It felt like after we got back from our Revelstoke trip, the rest of the summer just FLEW by. The kids went to a Science Alive camp up at SFU for a week and I had a GLORIOUSLY, relaxing week. The following week, my family was all in town for a week and a bit. We had fun hanging out, eating, going for bike rides, Science World and watching the Olympics. Before we knew it was time for everyone to go home and it was quiet again. The kids enjoyed themselves at the Annual Wesburn Family Picnic and Movie night. I always love the movie night as we all cuddle up on blankets and watch a movie in the field at our park. The best part is, the 1 minute walk to get home after the movie. Another memorable day from the summer was a day we spent at Jericho Beach with our friends Ed, Liezel, Sophia and Jenny. We started with dim sum in the morning with my family and headed over to beach where we just lazed the day away. It was soooo relaxing, nobody wanted to leave. We ate dim sum leftovers for dinner and stayed until almost sundown. After such a relaxing day, I was really looking forward to our DIDO camping trip the following weekend. I envisioned days of relaxing at the lakeside with nothing to do but hang out with friends and eat. Sadly, it was not to be. Even though we left the city in a heat wave, it rained for the days we were camping. We still had a good time, in fact such a good time that I forgot to take pictures. The camping trip pretty much marked the end of summer for us. We started school again in the last week of August and it was a smooth transition getting back into routine. We still managed to get out to some last play dates, a trip to Reifel Bird Sanctuary and Emmalea Farms, and had a nice visit with Oma, Opa, Tante Corrie and Uncle Frank.

Here are some of the the VERY random photos that I remembered to take in August.

 Family photo, and no one was photoshopped in!

 Movie night at the park.

This moment. I had to snap a pic of this moment.

Can hardly believe how grown they are. We are quite happy this September.

Revelstoke

This year we went to Revelstoke a little later than our usual end-of-school/Canada Day. The day before we left was our 10th Wedding Anniversary and since we were pretty busy with packing and getting ready to leave early the next day, Josh and I opted to not go out for a date night. We did celebrate our anniversary while we were in Santa Barbara, so it all worked out. We decided instead to just take the kids out to dinner with us. We found ourselves at Earls and had a lovely appies dinner. The kids got to try their first Shirley Temple and they loved it. As a kid, Shirley Temples were a drink that I remember only being allowed to order when it was a special occasion. It was fun to see their faces after the first sip.

The next day we left so early that the sun was just beginning to rise. The kids are always so excited to go to Revy that they insisted we leave as early as possible. I think we arrived just a little before lunch. The weather that week was not cooperating with us. I don't remember that last time it was so cold in Revelstoke during our summer trip. We did get to most of the things we had planned. The kids finally got to go the SkyTrek (It's the attraction right beside the Enchanted Forest) and they loved it. We went to see some waterfalls and beautiful viewpoint as well that day. The Revelstoke Mountain Coaster was open for the first time this summer and it was pretty fun. The line ups were very long but the experience was unique and definitely on our list to do again next year. We also went on a hike back to Eva and Jade Lake on Mt. Revelstoke. The day was long and the bugs were fierce but the kids did very well and my FitBit data was off the charts for that day! We had a couple of indoor pool days and even got to take the kids to see The Secret Life of Pets at the Revelstoke movie theatre. It was their first time ever being in there because most often the movie of the week wasn't a good fit for them. It was a fun night. We were only able to hit up Williamson Lake once but Ethan did get his fill of fishing and mini golf on that day.

We ended the week with a nice family dinner at Craft Bierhaus. They mainly have different varieties of mac and cheese on the menu. It's like it was made for me! A great way to cap off a fantastic week.

Tofino

In early July we made our way to Tofino, BC with Ed, Liezel and Sophia. We stopped on the way there at the famous Goats on the Roof Market in Coombs and it was interesting to see how much it has changed since we were there in 2008. The drive was long and luckily no one became car sick. The weather was raining on and off and the whole time I had high hopes that it would clear by the time we arrived. It was not to be. By the time we reached the campsite, it was a downpour. To make matter worse, we found that there was an oversight on our part and the sites we were given were quite a ways from each other. We were able to squeeze all 7 of us on to one site and just used the Westy to block the entire view of the 'illegal' site. Thank goodness because we didn't have too much in way of shelters apart from the Westy. The next day we headed into town and had a chance to shop at the farmer's market, explore around town and have lunch at Big Daddy's Fish Stand. Our second full day was graced with sun. Finally! We headed to the beach for the day. We hit up Incinerator Rock Beach, Long Beach and the South Beach Trail at the Kw'istis Visitor Centre. South Beach was probably my favourite beach as it was an awesome place for shelling. So many cool finds! Our last day was met with rain, again. We didn't let it stop us from heading to Ucluelet, Cathedral Grove and Parksville on the way back to the ferry in Nanaimo.

Though it rained for most of our trip, that one day of sun allowed us a chance to see how great it would be to make this trip again next year. I think we'll definitely be back. We'll hopefully be at a different campground, but we'll be back! :)

A stop for lunch and some shopping in Coombs, BC

With so much rain, we HAD to have s'mores to go with the fire every night.

Josh and Ed at the beach by our campsite.

The kids had loads of fun on the beach even in the chilly weather.

Incinerator Rock/Long Beach

The walk to South Beach had so many cool views.

 

Here are our treasures. Too bad they stunk up the car so badly that even the kids were ok with letting them go.

Cathedral Grove

These two, bonded over their love for their doggies.

A rare group shot.

Girl Guides District Camp at Camp Olave

The end of June brought us to our last Girl Guides event of the school year. Camp Olave is a camp owned by the Girl Guides near Sechelt and now that I've had the chance to go myself, I can see why Maddy loves it so much. It was really nice to see the older sections take on leadership roles and to see the strong bond between the girls in each of the units. It was a great way to end the year of Guiding.

 Our first look at the beautiful view.

 Our own Brownie campfire with s'mores at the Kwi Kwa site.

 District campfire led by the Rangers.

The ropes course was brand new this year, and it was a definite hit.

Seattle

Josh had a work trip to the Bellevue area at the end of June. Since we were already done with school for the year, we decided to tag along for fun. It was a great trip, and this time armed with our GPS, the days trips around town were a bit easier. Not problem-free, but easier. I'm still not used to all the crazy highways there.

The first day happened to be my birthday and Josh and the kids surprised me with breakfast in bed. Such a treat! The kids and I then headed to do a bit of shopping at the mall. They were very well behaved since it was my birthday. We spent that afternoon by the poolside in the hotel. The kids are old enough to play in the water without me in the pool. I had a chance to read, swim and play too. It was a great way to spend my birthday.

The next day was a trip to the Woodland Zoo. I was pretty amazed with the number of animals they had at the zoo. I didn't realize it was that big. We spent pretty much the full day there. By the time we caught up with Josh, we had already eaten dinner. We did go to eat with him and had a dessert. The kids were introduced to their first Mud Pie. It was a definite hit.

Our last day was spent at Pike Place Market for the morning before meeting up with Josh. In hindsight, PPM isn't all that fun for kids. We did find the Gum Wall and I was able to get a few new teas to try, but it was super crowded. I was so relieved when we found Josh and we left the crowded market area. We decided to go to the Fremont area because a friend told us that the Geocaching headquarters of the world was located there. The caches there did not disappoint. We found about 4 of them, all within walking distance of each other and they were really cool/different ones. If you happen to be in the area, head to the Fremont Troll and start from there.

I'm really thankful that we have the opportunity to go on these trips. It definitely helps that we can tag along and not have to pay for lodging. The kids love it and though we only get to see Josh in the evenings for dinner, the kids are always so happy to experience all the new places and stay in hotels.

Sports Day

I was really happy to hear from another mom about a Sports Day put on by a Burnaby Homeschool Co-op. It was nice for the kids to get to experience a common school activity. They had such a fun time that they were willing to skip a canoeing session with the Outdoor Adventures club in order to finish the day.

Random

Just wanted to include these memories from Spring.

 The kids were signed up for an Outdoor Adventures class near the end of May. 

They built shelters, tried archery, went canoeing and tried new games.

Ethan lost his second tooth. It was one of his center front ones. 

He had the cutest gap from that one missing tooth. I love the message to the Tooth Fairy. 

I just love this picture. We went to Reifel Bird Sanctuary for Mother's Day.

Maddy was super excited because a Red Winged Blackbird fed right from her hand.

Spring Camps with Scouts and Girl Guides

This year the Scouts All-Sections camp happened to be on the same weekend as a bridging camp we planned between the Brownies and a Guides unit from our district. Luckily they were both out in the Aldregrove/Langley area. As you can see from the pictures, the Scouts toughed it out in the rain and tents where as we had lovely cabins and a huge main lodge area. Unfortunately, it poured with rain for most of the weekend. I kept thinking of the boys and wondered how they were doing while I was cozy in my bed!

• Luckily the scouts did have lots of tents and undercover areas. One family did pack it in after one night as their tent filled with water.
• At one point Josh asked if Ethan would like to play with his friends. His reply was, "No, actually, I want to watch the cooking. I'm really interested in that." (Food is ALWAYS on his mind.)
• Since many people did not show up due to the rain, Josh said they all ate like kings because there was so much food.
• The sun came out on the last afternoon, just in time for canoeing.

• Our camp was luxurious! I surprisingly slept REALLY well on both nights, but don't tell Josh!
• As you can see, the Girl Guides campfire was not as rough, but in our defense, the camp didn't have a fire pit outside.
• Maddy really enjoyed the Utensils dinner. She lucked out. Some girls had to eat with with the most random kitchen utensils. It was a fun dinner.

San Francisco

For Spring Break Josh was going to be in San Francisco for a work conference and this year we decided to use the opportunity for the rest of us to go with him. In preparation for the trip we tried to learn as much as we could about San Francisco's history and sights.

We got the CityPass voucher for the 3 of us since it was such a good deal and had a lot of the attractions that would interest us. I also loved that it covered all the public transit fees including the cable car rides.

California Academy of Science was one of the attractions included in the CityPass. Since the museum is located in Golden Gate Park, we also tried to visit some of the other attractions in the park on the same day. We made it to Golden Gate Park early enough to enjoy free entrance into the Japanese Tea Garden, so that was our first stop. The kids really enjoyed this park as there were lots of things to take pictures of. It was also our very first  attraction, so I think that had a lot to do with it's appeal. After the Tea Garden we made our way to the Science Museum. We all LOVED this place. We spent pretty much the whole day there. There were plenty of exhibits to see. Maddy loved all the things to do with birds and Ethan was on a major mission to find the exhibit with the Glass Frog. We searched high and low for them and finally found them in the top of the rain forest exhibit. In our studies leading up to the trip we learned about the Great Earthquake/Fire in 1906 and so the exhibit they had on earthquakes was also really interesting. They had an earthquake simulator and the kids now feel like they are ready for the 'Big One'. Haha, just kidding. I had planned to possibly visit the Botanical Gardens afterwards, but we were all exhausted and it was getting late.

The next day was our boat cruise day. This was also included in the CityPass and was provided by the Blue and Gold fleet. We went on a 1hour tour of the harbour that included going around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge. The close up view of the Golden Gate Bridge was the main attraction for us because we'd spent a fair bit of time learning about the bridge. We lucked out with beautiful blue skies and the orange bridge looked every bit as gorgeous as all the books said. The pictures here are all from Ethan's camera, so the quality isn't as good, but you can tell that the kids were just 'camera happy' on this trip. After the boat trip we went to see the sea lions at Pier 39. We learned a bit about sea lions before the trip, but I think that the heat of the day, along with the smell of the sea lions turned the kids off a bit. :) We then went to the Aquarium of the Bay. The CityPass gives you option of this aquarium or entrance to Monterey Bay Aquarium. I would have loved to visit Monterey Bay, but it was just too far for me to go with the kids alone. The Aquarium of the Bay was just 'okay'. I feel like we are a bit spoiled with having the Vancouver Aquarium. One highlight that made up for it was the Giant Pacific Octopus exhibit. Maddy studied all about octopus last year and she was thrilled that the octopus here was so active. It really put on a mesmerizing show for us.

 

 

On our third day we took our first cable car ride. The kids were really excited for this because we'd learned all about how the cable cars came to be and how they worked before the trip. They loved seeing and hearing the cables running below the rails and seeing the gripman do his job. By the end of the trip, they were well accustomed to the smell of the wooden brakes rubbing on the rails as we cruised down the steep hills. We toured through the Cable Car Museum and then walked over to Chinatown. After checking out the fortune cookie factory and picking up some dim sum, we had lunch in Portsmouth Square Park. From there it was over to the Exploratorium. This museum was really hands on and tons for the kids to do. Unfortunately, I was getting SUPER tired from the day's activities. We probably skipped through more than I would have liked. In hindsight, I would have rather dedicated the time we spent at the Aquarium of the Bay to the Exploratorium instead.

Our Thursday day trip was not included in the City Pass deal. It was completely worth it though. We took the ferry over to Angel Island State Park. Our reason for going there was to visit the USIS (U.S. Immigration Station). We learned a lot about this immigration station in school leading up to the trip. (See the link to the Immigration Station for the historical details.) We were lucky enough to join a school group for a tour of the station and so the guide was spot on for reinforcing the history we learned. Aside from the immigration station, the island was just a fantastic way to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It was awesome to walk from the ferry to the station which led us halfway around the island.

Friday, I had reserved for hanging out at Fisherman's Wharf. Again in hindsight, it did not need as much time as we had. We did tour the ship at Hyde St. Pier and it was pretty cool to walk Lombard St. on the way there. It was while walking down Lombard St. that our bird fanatic Maddy noticed some parrot-like birds in the trees. We thought, 'How strange to see what we know as pets, in the wild?' We later learned all about the San Francisco Conures and the story of Mark Bittner. I think the kids remember this chance sighting more than Fisherman's Wharf! In the afternoon, Josh was done with his conference and so we took the California line cable car to see the Painted Ladies. That night we stayed out late to see the city light from the cable car.

For our last morning, we had Josh with us and it was a relief to have someone else take on the directions. We decided to head to Coit Tower to see the views. It was beautiful and a great way to spend our last day. We flew home that evening and it was just as wonderful to be home. Thanks San Francisco for a great week. What an amazing city!

Bird Nerding

Maddy's latest school interest has been all about birds. She is interested in identifying them and learning about topics such as mating habits and migration patterns. She asked Santa for a pair of binoculars and since Christmas we've gone 'birding' at Burnaby Lake and Richmond Nature House a few times. I have to say that the girl has an amazing capacity for remembering bird names. She used to have a BC Guide book of birds common in our area from the library and she's since become the happy owner of her own North American Guide book.

On one of our trips to Burnaby Lake, Maddy started talking to some men. They were fellow 'birding kindred spirits' who were there to clean out the bird boxes. They gave her a bird nest to take home for dissection. Oh, the things that crawled out of that nest!!!

For Christmas she also received a hummingbird feeder from Gong Gong and Po Po and it has been a joy to have the feeder in our backyard. We get at least 10 visits per day from the little birds and I even find myself greeting them with a 'hello' each time they come.

The kids have the use of our old point and shoot camera and they use it while we go out to look for birds. By chance Maddy happened to take a cool shot of some ducks at Burnaby Lake just as they took off. Her homeschool teacher suggested we try to submit it to CBC's Listeners Lens site to see if they would publish it. Sure enough, they did!

 Here is Maddy's claim to fame. Sure enough, our last name is spelt wrong!

This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) and we've just submitted our first day's count this afternoon. We started with the count from our living room window. There were fewer birds than usual (except for our hummingbirds) and we thought that it was due perhaps to the rain storm that occurred earlier in the morning. We decided to try another count from the park. When we got out there, we didn't find many of the usual chickadee or crows that we more often see. We did however (in an amazing stroke of good fortune) spot a bald eagle in the tree! I was skeptical at first that it was indeed a bald eagle, but with the help of Maddy's binoculars and many zoomed in photos, we were sure it was an eagle. Crazy right?!?! Well even crazier is that we also noticed 4 other birds soaring in a circular pattern in the sky. At one point they were close enough that I could see the white heads, dark body and white tail feathers. These birds circled and soared around us for a bit and went off in the distance. During this whole time though, the original eagle in the tree was still there. It must have sat there for at least 20-25 mins. I even had time to go home and get our camera. Later on the soaring group came back and as I was busy trying to identify the soaring birds, the eagle in the tree took off and joined the group. What a crazy, strange day it was for bird watching. Especially since it was the first day of the GBBC and we couldn't see many of our usual neighbouring birds.