I have been so excited ever since Claire & Rhys were born to take them to the aquarium. I love this place!

We had a little bit of time to sign up for an annual membership and check-out a few fish tanks that were in the main lobby area prior to visiting some friends and their daughter.

** …thanks for having us over Albertine & Ben! We were so happy to have met little Jack- she is so sweet 🙂 and it was great to see Kepman again after all these years.

The aquarium was so great and it is such a good deal to get a membership. Claire & Rhys loved the fishes so much. They were transfixed on the swimming fish that were just on the other side of the glass….Claire did get scared at one point when she tumbled a little bit into the glass and had a moment where she must have thought she was going to fall in. She quickly overcame her fear and watched the tropical fish swim by. It was great and I cannot wait to go back and spend more time there! We have turtles to visit, butterflies to see, sea otters to ‘ohh and ahh’ over….it is going to be so much fun 🙂

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I think we may have to get Jimmy a fancy SLR camera for his birthday this year. He is really talented at taking photos- in my opinion 😉

Lately, he has been taking a lot of black and white photographs which have turned out really nice with the filtered light through the curtains or early morning on the deck.

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This summer has been really awful in terms of weather.We have had Fall-like weather for the past few months: lots of rain and cloudy days.

The past week or so things have turned around and we may just get a few months of nice sunshine – Yay!

The rainy weather doesn’t stop us from getting out and about with the kids. Rather, it changes what we do with the kids….library visits, meeting up with friends, hiking in the woods, hanging out in the recreation room in our building etc.

Jimmy was out running a few errands with the kids when he was caught in a torrential downpour. Luckily there are a lot of awnings in our neighborhood so they waited it out before making their way back home….

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This video was captured during a downpour later in the evening which is why it is so grainy. Intense rain though!

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We were given two hand-me-down hiking backpacks – one from Wendy & family and the other from a family in our building.

These backpacks are great. Claire & Rhys can sit comfortably inside them and have a nice view as we hike through some beautiful areas. We recently have ventured from the trails around our home to the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve. There are great trails through this area with really pretty views. Claire & Rhys absolutely love walking so we let them free of the packs to walk the trails until they get too tired or get too naughty by running away from us 😉

The last hike we went on we packed a picnic lunch and sat in the back of the van to eat it. Claire & Rhys sat down so nicely and calmly to eat their lunch which was a real treat. We plan to do lots of hiking as a family.

 

We were asked to submit a family photo for Anna & Ben’s guest book that her sister was creating prior to the wedding. It was a good opportunity to get some family photos done. It was fun selecting outfits for the kids and trying to make them sit still for the shoot 🙂

Jimmy selected the location (nearby kids park) and performed some of his photo wizardry to capture some nice images.

Here are two of the photos he captured that day. I think they turned out great 🙂

 

 

All is good in our little world 🙂

 

Claire & Rhys 19 months old

Two weekends ago we headed up to Pemberton, BC (just North of Whistler) for one of my best friends wedding. Anna and I have been friends since we met at University in 1996 (15 years ago!). We were roommates along with our friends Faye and Tash. We had some really great times living together in a home Anna’s folks owned that we called ‘the ranch’. Some of the most memorable times of my life.

It was really special to be present at Anna and Ben’s wedding. Thanks so much for having us join you for such a special event. It really was one of the most beautiful weddings we have been to.

Pemberton is gorgeous! We drove up on Friday with Claire & Rhys and Jimmy’s sister Debbie. We haven’t left the kids with a baby-sitter before so we asked Debbie if she could join us and watch the kids the day of the wedding. She was so kind to have not hesitated in saying yes.

Some of the weekend highlights:

– a walk around Whistler village on a bright sunny day without a stroller (Claire & Rhys were great at holding our hands through the crowds)

– the rugged mountain backdrop for the entire weekend

– lounging in the pool and hot tub on a sunny morning with Debbie while Jimmy was upstairs with the kids while they napped

– A brand new skate park close by for Jimmy to skate with some buddies who drove up from Vancouver

– Swimming for the first time with Claire & Rhys – they loved it!

– a night out without kids

– having Claire & Rhys spend quality time with their Auntie Debbie 🙂

 

A walk around Whistler village before arriving in Pemberton:

Pemberton:

Anna & Ben’s wedding at the local vineyard:

My parents came into town a few days before they were to leave on an Alaskan cruise. A well-deserved vacation for my folks.

They had one afternoon free to spend with us so we made the most of it – walk, park, lots of cuddles, and a shared dinner. It is always nice to spend time with my parents 🙂