After doing a small Stapledorf family Christmas at the house in Steveston, the whole gang (minus Java) headed down to Panama City Beach, Florida where Den's mom and her boyfriend Gord rent a condo for the bulk of the winter. Den's sister Andrea and hubby Ky and their two kids, Zea and Loic also came down. It was a fun visit with lots of great food and drink and of course wonderful company! Dennis, Nicole, Sandy and Ruby took off for a couple of days to visit some other family while in Florida. We headed down to Englewood to see Den's Aunts (Lorraine and Louise and hubby Real) and to surprise Den's grandma, Yvette, as she had not yet met Ruby. It was a SUPER fun surprise! We also had a quick visit with Den's stepdad Bill and his wife Nicole. Our last stop on this crazy road trip was to see Nicole's Aunt Bert and Uncle Dick (Sandy's sister) who had also not met Ruby. Our timing was great as Nicole's cousin Wendy, hubby Pete and sons Adam and Kyle were also there so it was a fun reunion. Overall a very fun first Christmas for Ruby! Java was very well looked after as we had the McPotts staying at the house...we have a feeling Java was VERY spoiled...thanks again you guys!
We did some visiting with Ruby over the past few weeks. We had dinner at Megan and Brian's and dinner at Julie and Haven's brand new house! Nicole, Sandy and Ruby headed to Kelowna for a few days to hang out with the Klantzers. Fun as always! The Grinch photo was a fundraiser at the dog bakery in Kits...very funny. Everyone should try to appreciate the patience that was required to get our family photo in front of the Christmas tree. Poor Dennis had to get up about 500 times to hit the self timing button on the camera so we could manage ONE photo where everyone was looking!
A few shots of some fun stuff we've been doing in the late fall... a fun walk at the beach with friends Mike and Jane, Halloween, lunch with Megan and Ruby's first Canucks game! Ruby was a real sport at her first NHL hockey game this past week. We had fantastic seats (Thanks Shane and Tammy) and Ruby was quite awestruck by all the people, lights and activity. Ruby and Dennis had their 25 seconds of fame when they were on display on the big screen for all of GM Place to see. Ruby was wearing her "My 1st Hockey Game" t-shirt and you could hear a collective "Ahhhhh" coming from the fans...SO FUN!
We spent Thanksgiving with the Kloss-Dantzer gang in Kelowna and had lots of fun. The weather was spectacular so we spent lots of time outside and had a fantastic turkey dinner. The next week, Nicole and Ruby headed back to Ontario for a 10 day tour to introduce Ruby to lots of friends and family she hadn't had a chance to meet yet. We spent the first few days in Pickering at Andrea and Ky's. Nicole (Den's mom) drove down from Ottawa and Butch and Lynn drove up from Chicago. Friends Suzanne and Kim also made the trip over to meet Ruby. The next stop was Jarvis to visit with Brooke and Rob and their kids Jack and Brynn. McMaster buddies Andra and Jen (and her daughter Olivia) also came so it was a fun reunion. London was next to meet Grandpa Tony as well as Aunt Teresa, Uncle Brian, cousin Linda and family friend Marilyn. We stayed with high school friend Julie, had lunch with another high school friend Heidi and visited with Nicole's grade 8 teacher Mrs. Garrington and her family. Our last stop was to visit cousins Wendy and Pete and their sons Adam and Kyle just north of London (where she slept in her first dresser drawer...snug as a bug!). Ruby travelled really well and handled the constantly changing scenery like a champ. A big thank you to everyone who hosted us and took such good care of us. We had a phenomenal trip!
By now everyone knows what our summer has been all about...the arrival of the Rubinator! Along with the birth of Ruby, we've had lots of visitors - the Kelowna Gang, Mamie Nicole and Gord, cousin Rick and Lynn and family. We've done our best to be pretty active with Ruby at a young age. In addition to our daily walks into the Village, we've done a few of our favourite "Vancouver" things - walks in the Endowment Lands, hiked Buntzen Lake, walked out on the tidal flats at low tide. Sandy, Nicole, Ruby and Java went to Pender Island for a few days in August to hang with the Kelowna gang and their friends Jim and Muff at a cottage they had rented. Dennis, Nicole and Ruby also made the long trek to Fernie over the Labour Day weekend to check on the properties. Sandy, Nicole, Ruby and Java also headed out to Harrison Hot Springs for a day trip to see the amazing Sand Sculptures that are part of a massive annual international competition out at Harrison Lake. They were amazing!
A quick visit to the Kelowna gang to see Kaitlin perform in the play "The King & I" at the Kelowna Actors Studio. Other highlights included meeting Molly the new puppy and getting to see Maddison and Emma play soccer.
At this link you can find a few pictures of the house (indoor and out). Baby Stapledorf's room is even shown. The immediate area around us continues to develop (new homes springing up everywhere) and we are enjoying the views.
Sandy, Nicole and Dennis flew to Chicago for a long weekend visit with Lynn and Butch. Andrea, Ky and the kids drove in from Toronto. The weekend was great. Highlights included a Chicago bus tour for all the good sightseeing, some terrific food (deep dish pizza, etc) and a Chicago Bulls NBA game. We visited Butch's new tennis club and even had him lead us through a Cardio Tennis class. A fabulous family weekend.
We decided to do a "sun" vacation for the first time together. For all the traveling we had done, we had never gone to a tropical destination together. We split the 10 day trip into two distinct experiences. We landed in Cancun and rented a jeep. We headed South past Playa del Carmen and spent the first 3 nights at Aventura Spa Palace (one of the largest all-inclusive resorts on the Mayan Riviera). Included in the stay package were three rounds of golf at a couple of wonderful courses. We then headed further South past the ruins at Tulum. The small eco-resort we stayed at was called Suenos Tulum. It's a magical spot right on the beach. We did many day trips to various Mayan ruins, great snorkeling spots and quaint Mexican towns. We had an absolutely terrific holiday and loved the area. We hope to visit again.
