Island Holiday

Wow, has it really been a month and a half since I last blogged? That's shameful! But, anyone with kids in school knows that the month of June is INSANE, even busier than December, sometimes, so I will use that for my excuse.

I finally uploaded a bunch of pictures to my computer, and so, with the boys playing nicely together, and apple tarts baking in the oven, (I know, it is stifling hot, so why am I running my oven? Because it's a good day to make pie!) I thought it was a good time to sit down and blog for a bit (my daughter is away with my husband right now... on the road truckin'! And, it's her birthday today... I won't get to see her today, but I have talked to her on the phone, and she is having SUCH a good time in the semi with daddy!! They will be home sometime tomorrow)

On the last day of school, June 27th, I packed the kids in the truck and we headed over to the island. We stayed there for 2 1/2 weeks. Every day was wonderful. Fresh raspberries and eggs on my parents' farm, peaceful scenery, room for the kids to roam, watergun fights, a couple awesome thunder and lightning storms, visiting friends and family and drinking tea with my mom. Lots and LOTS of tea!!!

The first full week that we were there, the boys went up to kids camp at Nanoose Bay Pentecostal Camp. They had a blast and I was so happy that they got to experience the camp that I went to as a kid and a teen, and my dad went there as a kid, too! When I went back to get them at the end of the week, all the campers sang action songs for the parents and we got a brief overview of all that they learned over the course of the week.

My crazy boys are both in blue!


While the boys were away, Elise and I got to do some fun things together. The next couple pictures are from an afternoon at Island View Beach. I LOVE the ocean...



Steve was able to join us for a few nights on the 2nd weekend in July. One night, we left the kids with my parents and went for a walk on the beach.


Here's a sign that was posted at the beach... I've never seen one like this sign before.


A friend from church in my college and career days was home from Calgary for a visit at the same time, and my friend Tricia put on a BBQ to get everyone together. It was great to see people I haven't seen in a long time... for some it has been many, many years.


On July 11th, my cousin, Maren, had her first baby. The beautiful Isla Dawn made her appearance at 10:55pm, and Scott and I went to meet her the next day. Scott LOVED her from the second he saw her (so did I, of course!) and he really could have sat there and held her all day long. He loved her feet, and her hair, and the way she moved her little arms...



The proud and happy parents!


Nature shot... there was an abundance of bald eagles close to my parents' house. My mom said she's never seen so many.


For the 2nd week that we were on the island, I was able to sign the kids up for swimming lessons. I put the 3 of them in lessons together. The pool down the road from my parents' offers private lessons for up to 3 kids. Their instructor was Dan and he did a great job with them. All 3 came away with much improved skills.



We also celebrated Elise's birthday in Victoria... the first of many celebrations for this year.



For her birthday dinner, she requested to sit between daddy and Uncle Angus!


Elise was Papa's little helper... every day she went and talked to the chickens and was rewarded with bucketfuls of eggs! She told me she had no problem sticking her hand under a chicken to get the eggs there, "Even if they peck me, it doesn't hurt!" Tough kid.


So, that's our first part of summer in a nutshell... More adventures have begun, and will continue for the next few weeks. There will be trips to the waterpark, library, movie nights, hikes, playdates, etc.

Happy Summer to all :)

Model Airshow

On Saturday, we went to the Airshow. But not the big Airshow in Abbotsford that everyone was talking about... it was the model airshow at the Michell Air strip in Central Saanich on Vancouver Island. This annual event brings in talent from as far away as California. Also, model airplane pilots from BC's interior come every year to fly their planes and take in the festivities, as well as the local talent that belong to the Island model airplane clubs. This is the 3rd or 4th time we have been... I didn't go last year, but I was there the year before :) So, I should say it's Steve and the kids' 3rd or 4th time.

The Hospital Society was there making balloon animals, swords, planes, hats, you name it! for the kids. The show is entrance by donation, and all the proceeds are split between two local charities, one being the Hospital Society.



The planes that were being flown ranged in price from $300/$400 all the way up to $10,000. Wow. Amazing that a model plane could cost as much as a small car. But they were so cool to see. This one, pictured below, did all kinds of tricks, and when it put on the smoke show, it looked like we were watching a real plane, not a model.

One plane was large enough to carry a child, and our kids thought it might be kind of cool to go for a ride... I am sure they wouldn't be thinking that once they got in the air and were taken on some loop-de-loops!

Seattle's Underground...

We spent last weekend in Seattle... what an interesting history that city has. I have been there several times, but had no idea they had such a unique story to tell about the making of the city.

To get a very different presentation of the happenings in Seattle in the late 1800s, we took part in the "Underground" tour. Here is the link.... Bill Speidel's Underground Tour.

I wanted to share a few of the photos I took on the tour, along with a brief history of the area that is called "Pioneer Square."

Pioneer Square, before the fire of 1889. The fire was started in a carpenter's shop by a young apprentice named Jon Back. He was instructed to heat some glue, which boiled over and started some wood chips on fire. The fire burned the shop, along with 32 blocks of the city.

After the "Great Seattle Fire" the town was devastated, but it was a miracle that nobody died. They ended up seeing it as a blessing because they could rebuild their city the second time, and do it right this time. The first time the city was built, there were numerous flaws in the planning.

Notice how the train tracks are buckled from the heat of the fire.

Inside the old Saloon where the tour started.

Saloon floor.


Underground...
The sidewalks in the "Underground" were at the original ground level. When the city scape changed after the fire, the shop keepers didn't want to lose business, so they rebuilt right where they stores had been. Then the city planners decided to raise the streets due to drainage issues, the stores stayed in operation with the sidewalks a level down.

For 5 years the sidewalks were all a level below the streets. The merchants didn't want to lose out on business, so ladders were placed at each street corner on all 32 blocks that were destroyed in the fire. The roads had been built up a level, so horses and traffic were up there, and if you wanted to get to the store front, you had to climb down the ladder. After 5 years, they covered over the sidewalks and basically closed the underground until the 50s when Bill Spiedel opened it as a tour, in an attempt to save the old town part of Seattle. It worked, the old architecture was saved and a great historical tour was created.

Main floor shop windows, now sitting under the Seattle's sidewalks.



Stairs that used to go from main floor to second floor, now go from underground to first floor. Crazy!!

What soon happened was that crime escalated in the Underground tunnels, and since it was around the time of the gold rush, people were being mugged and killed in the underground when they came back from prospecting, and they would be on their way to spend $ in the saloon... people would attack and rob them, and sometimes they'd end up dead. So, the Underground bank started staying open 24hours so the men could deposit their money/gold as soon as they got to town. This was the Northwest's first ATM machine :)




I'm not going to get into the story about Mr. Crapper... (there really was a man with that name associated with Seattle's toilets - I'm not being vulgar!) take the tour and you will get the full story - and more!

In the late 1800s, I would have been standing on the sidewalk here, with open sky above me... now, it is a full level underground.


When the sidewalks were made at the new ground level, they put these light grates in so the underground could still have daylight, and business could continue in the underground shops.

The new first floor level... it was so bizarre to tour underground and then walk the new sidewalks, knowing that you are actually now walking at the second floor level.

Family Times...

Earlier this week, we spent some time at Camperland by Bridal Falls, BC. Beautiful area, and great for the kids. We were there with Steve's family for some "camping." I only put that in quotations because my family stayed in a motel down the path from the campground :) Cheaters, I know, but I wasn't feeling like a slacker when we woke up on Monday morning to the sound of pounding rain. Then I was quite happy for my motel room!

Here are a few pics from our 3 nights there.



We celebrated E's birthday while we were there. This is an applesauce-in-the-coals cake, and it is truly delicious!

Scott made a new friend...

S'mores were my highlight!


Beautiful Creation...

My crazy guys! They did a little glasses switch-a-roo...

Happy for Treehouse during the pouring rain...