We have had a wonderful Christmas holiday this year. Sandy arrived in mid-December and is staying for a month so her and Ruby have been having a fun time getting reaquainted. Ruby didn't make strange at all with her Grandma Sandy! We had a small version of Christmas here in Steveston on December 23rd before heading to Kelowna on Christmas Eve day to spend a few days with the Klantzers. We had a fantastic time! It was so much fun watching Ruby hang out with her big cousins Kait, Madi, and Emma and Christmas morning was a complete hoot watching all the kids opening their gifts. Rob and Dana did an amazing job as usual hosting us and stuffing us full of delicious meals. Despite Ruby choosing NOT to nap, the visit was super fun and relaxing...we played cards, games and worked on a brutally difficult jigsaw puzzle. We were thrilled to have a white Christmas and Ruby seemed to really enjoy playing in the white stuff and going for rides in the wagon. For the record, Kaitlin does still live at home and was present for all Christmas events but it appears we have NO photos of her. How mysterious. Sorry Kait...we still love you :)
We had a pretty low key but fun New Years' Eve tonight. Kristina, Blaine and Taya came over for a while so Ruby and Taya were able to celebrate together!
These pics are from a variety of things over the past couple of months...Our good friend Paul stopped in for a visit while in Vancouver for work...We had a very entertaining Hallowe'en (Ruby was a chicken)...We met Santa when he arrived at the Steveston Wharf in a boat!...We had some quality park time...We visited another Santa at Lansdowne Mall for our "official" Santa pic...Sandy arrived for her month long visit...and we hosted Ruby's friends and their parents for a little pre-Christmas party.
Our friend Brooke and her 5 year old son Jack came for a visit over Thanksgiving. We had a fantastic visit and did lots of fun stuff. We went to the Aquarium, Granville Island, The Pumpkin Patch and went swimming at the Ladner Pool. We managed to borrow a bike from one of the neighbourhood kids so Jack tore it up at the local terrain park and had lots of fun biking to the village. We can't wait for them to come back for another visit and bring Rob and Brynn! Just this past weekend, Nicole and Ruby got together with her "mom" friends and they went for a big walk around Garry Point Park before having a fun play at the Steveston Park. Gone are the days of the moms sitting around sipping coffee while the wee ones sleep. Now we're running all over the place as the kids try to climb in garbage cans and eat rocks! Nicole made a gallant effort to get a good photo of the five kids together. NOT possible.
(Last Updated Oct 14, 2007)
Right as Andrea and Loic were heading home, Grandma Sandy came for a two week visit. We spent lots of quality time just hanging out but also went to the Aquarium, Fort Langley and had a fun picnic at Steveston Park. Ruby definitely remembered her Grandma Sandy because she didn't even make strange! The Grandparent caravan was just getting started because later in September Mamie came for a visit too. Since Nicole was back to work, Mamie jumped at the chance to pick up Ruby early from daycare everyday so they could go explore the neighbourhood and the village together. We all went for a swim at the Ladner pool. It was Ruby's first time in the pool in a while but she didn't miss a beat and seemed to really enjoy herself. At the tail end of Mamie's visit, we had a quick visit from Papa Butch who was in town for work. Ruby wants to say a very special thank you to Papa Butch for the great Dora tennis racquet! Daddy can't wait to get her on the court!
We had some special visitors in mid-July...Andrea and Loic! What a fun visit! We ventured out to the Vancouver Aquarium one day but spent most of our time hanging out, going for long walks to the village and watching the kids play and interact. Loic enjoyed being the big man on campus for the week and Ruby loved watching and copying him. They got along famously! The timing of their visit was perfect as they were here to help celebrate Ruby's 1st birthday. We had her party on July 22 and unfortunately Ruby was a bit under the weather so she wasn't exactly in a party mood (we found out she had a virus the next day when we went to the dr's) . She was pretty miserable actually but the party went on and she did manage to rise the occasion and do a good job of destroying the absolutely pathetic cake her mother made her (we served everyone else lovely cupcakes...they didn't have to eat the cake!).
Vancouver Aquarium
Loic in Flight
Loic Picking Flowers
Bath in the Kitchen Sink
Birthday Cake Destruction
Crazy Driver
We went on a fantastic summer adventure in early July. We packed the car FULL with all of our gear, the baby and the dog and headed for the Rockies. After a couple of nights in Nelson, we settled in Fernie for a few days. We fell in love with Fernie all over again (as we do every summer) going for hikes, cruising around town, hanging by the Elk River and exploring the Lake Country just south of Fernie. Our friends Craig and Pippa from Calgary joined us for a day and we did a fun hike up to Fairy Creek Falls and had a great dinner at our condo. Our next stop was Canmore where we stayed with some old friends of Den's from Gray Rocks, Maureen and Clark. Clark was on his own and did a great job hosting us including taking us for a wonderful hike with amazing views of Canmore and the Rockies. Next we were off to Kelowna to leave both of our kids with the Klantzers so we could head to Osoyoos for our 6th annual golf weekend with friends Shane and Tammy. On our way back through Kelowna we spent part of the day at the Kelowna dog beach (which also happens to be a nude beach, but there wasn't much skin to be seen besides Ruby in the buff) where Java dug for rocks and Molly swam the equivalent of a Great Lake. All in all a wonderful trip. Big thanks to the Klantzers for taking such great care of our kids!
Java Frolicking
June was a fun month spent mostly around the house and neighbourhood. We've had lots of water time with the baby pool in the yard and we've taken advantage of the Steveston Waterpark which finally opened a few weeks ago. We also went to a fantastic FIFA Under-20 soccer match with friends Mike and Jane.
Shortly after Andra's visit, we had Butch and Lynn and their little dog Maggie come for a visit. It was great to see them and we had a fun visit. Butch joined Ruby and Nicole in the pool for swimming lessons, we did lots of walks to the village, and we spent some time relaxing on the porch. Nicole continues to really enjoy spending time with her "mom" friends and they're starting to do more outbound trips/hikes with the nice weather.
Peek-A-Boo
Ruby & Taya
Backyard Playtime
Things have been pretty busy over the past few weeks. We've been adjusting to life without Sandy...we all miss her but Java is SERIOUSLY sad...she keeps looking for her Grandma! Our friends The Mason's made the long trek from West Van for a visit and dinner which was lots of fun. The weather has finally picked up so we've been spending lots more time hanging out outside. Easter in Kelowna was lots of fun. The weather was spectacular (even had to wear sunscreen!) so we took advantage and did a hike to Paul's Tomb. Most recently Andra, one of our good friends from Mac, came out to visit. We had a great time going for lots of walks to the village, hanging out on the deck, and went for a hike around Buntzen Lake.
It's been a pretty eventful couple of months. Dennis and Nicole both celebrated their birthdays in February (Java celebrated by licking some of the icing off of Den's cake!), Java celebrated her 8th birthday on March 19 and Ruby turned 8 months old on March 18. Then on March 21st the celebrations ended as Sandy left to move back to London! In between all of that we had a visit from friend Megan and her little ones Aidan and Jemma (and Java's boyfriend Inti), we had a going away party for mom and we had a visit from the Kelowna gang (minus Rob). There are also some photos here of Nicole's "mom" friends that she has met while on maternity leave. The five of them and their kids spend quite a bit of time together going for lots of walks and getting together at each other's houses. As the weather improves (it can't get any worse) they're hoping to get out and do some fun day trips and hikes around the Lower Mainland.
McMaster buddy Tracy, her husband Mick and their daughter Bella came for a visit late January. It was Bella and Ruby's first meeting and they became fast friends. Since they're only 3 days apart (Bella is 3 days older), it was just hilarious to watch how similar they are. We had a fantastic visit and managed to squeeze in quite a lot. We toured the city, visiting Stanley Park, Kits, and Granville Island. We went downtown to visit Dennis at work and go for lunch in Yaletown and we went snowshoeing on Seymour, one of the local ski hills. We also went for lots of long walks into Steveston Village. The weather was truly amazing with bright sunshine almost every day. The most fun was watching the babies together. Even though these guys live in Australia, we're hoping the girls can become great friends like their parents.
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