While Michael was home, we went for walks... decorated the Christmas tree... had Peter and Nancy over for dinner along with Marianne.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Michael comes homeMichael came home late in October from Malawi and stayed with us until January, when he moved to Stouffville and started working for EI. We loved having him, knowing it was probably for the last time. It marked a passage of life for us.
Time to Catch Up!
It's been a long time since we last updated our blog -- more than a year and a half -- so here goes.
A visit to the AGO
In the fall of 2009, we made a visit to the AGO -- it has been years since we visited and the building looks quite different. We particularly enjoyed the Group of Seven collection.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Back to Vancouver
On the way back, we made a few stops at some amazing places!
Crater Lake was formed by a volcano thousands of years ago. The lake is almost 2,000 feet deep and very cold and incredibly blue.
We visited Mount St. Helens about 15 years ago and decided to visit again when we found ourselves passing very close by. We were glad we did. Usually when people show you rocks, they tell you the rocks are 300 million years old or something. This rock, though, is 3 years old, formed from lava that is still forming a dome in the volcano.
There is some fabulous art glass by Dale Chihuly at Tacoma. We just had to stop to see it again on our way through. Beautiful!
On the way back, we made a few stops at some amazing places!
Crater Lake was formed by a volcano thousands of years ago. The lake is almost 2,000 feet deep and very cold and incredibly blue.
We visited Mount St. Helens about 15 years ago and decided to visit again when we found ourselves passing very close by. We were glad we did. Usually when people show you rocks, they tell you the rocks are 300 million years old or something. This rock, though, is 3 years old, formed from lava that is still forming a dome in the volcano.
There is some fabulous art glass by Dale Chihuly at Tacoma. We just had to stop to see it again on our way through. Beautiful!
Big Tree Vacation
We rented a car and drove down the coast of Washington and Oregon to northern California.
We saw lots of rain forest with big trees.
We stopped at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park to see an alpine meadow, high on a mountain ridge. There was still snow in places at that altitude, and the very first flowers of "spring" were blooming.
These are the redwoods of northern California, the tallest trees in the world, up to 380 ft. high.
Back in Olympic National Park, this is the Hall of Mosses in the Hoh Rain Forest.
We rented a car and drove down the coast of Washington and Oregon to northern California.
We saw lots of rain forest with big trees.
We stopped at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park to see an alpine meadow, high on a mountain ridge. There was still snow in places at that altitude, and the very first flowers of "spring" were blooming.
These are the redwoods of northern California, the tallest trees in the world, up to 380 ft. high.
Back in Olympic National Park, this is the Hall of Mosses in the Hoh Rain Forest.
Visiting Our Newest Grandson
We visited our grandsons (and son and daughter in law) this summer. Jonathan, our newest grandson, was just over 8 months old and learning to crawl and teething.
Jaws!
Jonathan was teething, so he would open his mouth wide and dive for anything he thought he could bite on.
Crawling!
While we were there, Jonathan learned to crawl. Before he figured it out, he was totally frustrated because he would see something, try to get to it and end up just pushing himself backwards farther and farther away from it.
Who you looking at?
Eating was always an adventure with food ending up all around his face and on the floor. This was during a visit to Bowen Island.
Awww!
Isn't he sweet! Jonathan with his mother on one of our many walks.
We visited our grandsons (and son and daughter in law) this summer. Jonathan, our newest grandson, was just over 8 months old and learning to crawl and teething.
Jaws!
Jonathan was teething, so he would open his mouth wide and dive for anything he thought he could bite on.
Crawling!
While we were there, Jonathan learned to crawl. Before he figured it out, he was totally frustrated because he would see something, try to get to it and end up just pushing himself backwards farther and farther away from it.
Who you looking at?
Eating was always an adventure with food ending up all around his face and on the floor. This was during a visit to Bowen Island.
Awww!Isn't he sweet! Jonathan with his mother on one of our many walks.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Walking on the River Trail
I have been walking fairly often in the morning along the riverside trail. Most mornings, I see three or even four blue herons. I saw this heron right next to the trail just below the old bridge.
I love redwing blackbirds for the splash of colour on their wings.
This morning, I saw some bullfrogs looking like they were lying on the water -- I don't know how they do it!
I have been walking fairly often in the morning along the riverside trail. Most mornings, I see three or even four blue herons. I saw this heron right next to the trail just below the old bridge.
I love redwing blackbirds for the splash of colour on their wings.
This morning, I saw some bullfrogs looking like they were lying on the water -- I don't know how they do it!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Spring Has Started!
It is finally really spring! The last 2 Sundays we have gone to the Frink Centre to check out the status of wild flowers. Evita is checking out the Trout Lily, which was on the verge of blooming the second week.Not much is happening yet, but hepatica was blooming the first week and was joined by bloodroot the following week. The second week answered a question for us -- are the flowers out when it is rainy? The answer is no, they pretty well close up.
Hepatica
BloodrootSunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Visit
We visited Irene and Omie and the triplets for Easter. On Saturday we went for a walk to the conservatory at Centennial Park. One of the favourite things for the kids was to get someone to pull them on the skateboard, using an old hula hoop! Here, Elliot has gotten Irene to pull him! You can also see how tall he and Spencer have gotten (and Mya too)!
Who knew that you could manage three kids on a bike and a skateboard! They also celebrated their 15th birthday a short time ago too!
The spring flowers in the conservatory were ridiculously colourful, so colourful they almost seem fake in the pictures. They're not, though! It's not so colourful outside, although crocuses and even some daffodils and hyacinths are starting to bloom.
We saw a cardinal in a tree on our way home again.
Later in the afternoon, Evert and Sandy joined us along with Nathan, Garret and Mitchell for Easter dinner. It was a really good time!
We visited Irene and Omie and the triplets for Easter. On Saturday we went for a walk to the conservatory at Centennial Park. One of the favourite things for the kids was to get someone to pull them on the skateboard, using an old hula hoop! Here, Elliot has gotten Irene to pull him! You can also see how tall he and Spencer have gotten (and Mya too)!
Who knew that you could manage three kids on a bike and a skateboard! They also celebrated their 15th birthday a short time ago too!
The spring flowers in the conservatory were ridiculously colourful, so colourful they almost seem fake in the pictures. They're not, though! It's not so colourful outside, although crocuses and even some daffodils and hyacinths are starting to bloom.
We saw a cardinal in a tree on our way home again.
Later in the afternoon, Evert and Sandy joined us along with Nathan, Garret and Mitchell for Easter dinner. It was a really good time!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
After preaching both morning and night on Sunday, we headed out to visit my mom and dad. Mom is 8 weeks into her recovery after hip replacement surgery. She is still using a walker for their walks at the mall, but is getting around the house mostly by just having a table or counter nearby. She will be 83 on April 5th, by the way! We played skipbo and dad joined us several times -- we had a lot of fun! The weather was incredible, about 20 degrees F higher than normal. It felt almost like summer. Evita and I went for coffee to a Starbucks that is in a specialty food store in the village. They don't have tables inside, only in a fairly protected patio area. We sat out for over an hour in the sun without our coats on! Remarkable! On the way home, we stopped over with Omie. Irene and her kids were away to Evert's cottage where they were doing some winter cottaging -- they hacked a hole in the lake with an axe for cleaning water!
Last week was spring break for Evita. On Sunday, we went to Presqu'Ile with John and Ingrid to see the migrating birds. We saw lots of swans and ducks of various kinds -- buffleheads, redheads, long tails. It was a beautiful day, but cold, with ice in the water. It makes me cold to think of being a duck at this time of year!
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