Basement update

And so another reno project begins!  One of our projects this summer was to change the basement to have more of an office/library feel.  This is where Kevin works from when he does his school work from home.  We decided to rip out the carpet, which had stains in it that we couldn't get out anyway, and also rip out part of the lino into the 'dining room'. Just a "quick little project", or so we thought!!  



Step one:  Carefully taking off the baseboards so we could put them back up again when the new floor was in.





Step two:  Rip out the carpet.



Step three:  Remove the first layer of lino

Step four:  Lay down the laminate boards.  Here is Kevin installing the final piece!

Step five:  Put the baseboards back up.

When I write it like this, it all seems so easy!!  This project, I think like any other home reno project, took longer than we planned and had a few more frustrations than we planned.  However, it is now finished and we are pleased with how it looks.  The next step is to build floor to ceiling bookshelves on the back wall but I have a feeling that is going to be next summer's project!  For now, the books will have to sit stacked up on the floor!

An all-day date

As much as I thoroughly and deeply love my children, it really is nice to get away from them for a day!!  Every year, Kevin's brother and sister-in-law and their 2 daughters offer (or agree after we ask them!) to have our kids for a sleepover and the entire following day.  So, how do we say 'no' to that!

 We began our morning with a delicious late morning breakfast from Denny's (after we had done some work on the floor downstairs but that will be another post!).   Delicious and relaxing!

 Then it was off to Vancouver.  The weather was absolutely spectacular so we just walked along English Bay and around Kits Beach.  Vancouver really is a beautiful city!

 At 3:00 we had tickets to Bard on the Beach.  We try to go to one of these plays every summer.  If you have never been to one, they are fantastic!

 This year we watched HenryVI. Times were pretty rough and dangerous at that time for anyone who was king.  The play was very well done!

 Finally it was out for a nice dinner and then back to pick up our sleeping children.  After a hot day with lots of swimming in the pool, they were tuckered right out!   Thanks John and Esther, Madison and Courtney for giving us a wonderful all-day date!

Welcome home!

This is what I was greeted with on my return home, along with 2 cute little people sitting in the window watching for my car to drive up!  It's always nice to be missed and welcomed home again! 

A Smithers hike

I've been in Smithers for the past few days for my niece, Michelle's wedding to Phill.  I came with Jocelyn (she still flies for free!) and just for the weekend.  Sid and Holly were here too and Sid suggested that if the weather cooperated, we should do a hike while we were here.  Friday morning turned out to be a beautiful day so off we went. Mom volunteered to watch the 3 kids for the day and  Jason and Andrea also joined us.The most popular hike around here is probably "the Onion" but that one probably would have taken us a little too long.  So, Sid did some research and came up with Astlais Mountain, a mountain beside the Onion and still part of the same mountain range.



Andrea, myself and Holly - looking for bears! We actually saw in insane amount of very fresh bear poop along the trail but we figured we were making enough noise with 5 of us to scare them all away!





This is where we were headed.



Sid and Holly

Me and Sid



Andrea and Jason on the summit!



A beautiful view through the trees on our way up.

A view overlooking the whole valley on our way down.

It turned out to be quite a difficult hike - pretty much just walking uphill for 2 1/2 hours to get to the top.  However, the views from the summit were incredible.  I was quite bummed that I fogot my camera.  Both of the cameras that we did take were having issues so I don't think these pictures even begin to do justice to the views.   It was a great day with great people!  I'll even do it again next year!

Summer vacation 2011 - More of Stage 3

Camping for this family usually means lots of "exploring"!  This is our way of getting the kids excited about hiking and learning more about God's wonderful and beautiful creation. 

Kevin and Jocelyn checking out the scenery at the start of the paint pot walk.

This was a walk out to the Paint Pots. I don't remember the exact science or geological information about them but their are minerals in the ground that turn everything orange and produce something called ochre.  This was and can still be used as a kind of paint.

Using the ochre to make a picture in their Explorer books.

Kendra snapping a beautiful picture!

Our next walk was out to Flow Lake where the kids had to do a scavenger hunt.  This area had gone through a forest fire a few years ago.  It was amazing how much new growth had already come back!

As part of the Ranger program, they had an afternoon of bug investigation at a local pond.  Kendra was in her element!

Our future park ranger!



One of many big horn sheep we saw right along the road.

 Our last hike was out to Dog Lake.  This was a bit of a longer one but absolutely beautiful! 

I love a good long suspension bridge!

Exploring we will go!

Stopping for lunch, although I think the mosquitoes had US for lunch!

Our crazy little girl!

Finally, a photo by Owen of the two of us.

Of course, this is only a small snapshot of our 2 week adventure.  We thank God for our family, for safety, for His Creation that we are blessed to live in and have the chance to discover and explore!

Summer vacation 2011 - Stage 3

Our 'new' tent trailor!

The main reason for our trip was to pick up our 'new' tent trailor.  We bought it from Rick and Henriette who had many good years of camping in it with their girls.  We are hoping that we are able to fill it with new adventures withour family! 

Enjoying a snack at the trailor table. 

 The kids were very excited about going camping.  Even just having breakfast (Fruit Loops of course!) was fun for them!  We had not attempted this yet as a family of 5 but all in all, it went quite well! 

Say "cheese"!

We decided to head down to Kootenay National Park, just outside of Radium Hot Springs for our first camping adventure.   We had never been there before and had heard that it was beautiful.  The National Parks always have great Ranger Programs for the kids and the campsites are very scenic and private. 

The first of many beautiful walks/hikes that we did.

Sitting with my buddy outside Sinclair Canyon.

Our little family

Owen checking out the scenery.

Marble Canyon

More camping pictures to come. 

Summer vacation 2011 - Stage 2



After almost a week in Edmonton, it was time to move on to Central Alberta.  We first made a quick 'birthday stop' in Fort Saskatchewan.  We enjoyed a piece of birthday cake to celebrate Ciara and Madison's birthdays! 

Happy birthday beautiful girls!  Wish we would have had room for the balloons!

Then it was on to a BBQ with friends in Red Deer and finally our home for the next few days, the home of Uncle Mel and Auntie Sandra, Kiera and Stacey in Lacombe.  This was our base for the weekend as we also spent time with Uncle Rick and Auntie Henriette in Ponoka.   

Kendra's newest favourite toy: Auntie Sandra's i-pad!  They loved  playing Angry Birds and setting up a zoo for Auntie Sandra.  Kendra now has a new item for her Christmas wish list - she better keep wishing!!

 Then, it was on to Drumheller for the day.  For those of you who may not know, Kendra is a little bit of a dinosaur enthusiast!  Honestly, she knows more about those creatures than I thought a 6 year old could know about anything.  For the past 2 years, once she found out about the dinosaur museum in Drumheller, she has been saving her money to go here.  Well, her day finally arrived!  We left the 2 younger kids at a friend's place in Drumheller (thanks Summer!) and had a great afternoon, watching Kendra be totally fascinated by this place.  It really was fun to watch her!

Her excitment grows as we drive into Drumheller!

She is taking after her father and loves to take pictures.  These are the badlands where the dinosaurs used to roam millions of years ago!

Me and my crazy girl!!

Getting a little of the silly excitment out of the way before the serious dinosaur learning.

These creatures truly were amazing! 

On our way from Drumheller to Airdrie, we had stop to and take a picture of one of the many canola fields that were in full bloom all over Alberta.  Beautiful!