Our Incredible Trip West (a hefty post!)

Grandma O with her grandies in the photo booth

the bride and her fam!

Jordan and I ready for the wedding.. how CUTE is he!?

This blog has been a few days in the works and FINALLY  I think I have a chance of getting it posted. Since we've been back Alana has been super clingy at bedtime and I've been getting downstairs late late, but Steve is with her now so maybe I can get something up... sheesh, priorities! Kidding. There are quite a few pictures that may be all over the place - and not follow my three-pronged post: one piece will go to leg one (Vancouver), another to the second (Victoria) and the last to the third leg (Thetis).

Leg Uno: Vancouver
Before departing Steve and I decided to make the day about the journey instead of the destination, and that mentality sure did help us on our long haul out west. With two flights, a long layover in Toronto, the rigmarole to get the rental car, and the squish into a not so roomy vehicle, we were all pretty tired by the time we got to bed on Friday night. The kids were very well-behaved, thanks in part I'm sure to the smorgasbord of TV, movies and games on the plane - this also contributed to the positive journey en route to our destination. Jordan was up at 5am on Saturday, and I joined Colleen on a stair-run before a long but incredible day of visiting with friends. There were moments of madness (so many kids!) and others of nostalgia (life used to be so different), but ultimately it was so great to get together with friends that will always be friends no matter the (significant) geography between here and there. On Sunday Jordan was up early again, but he was able to get a nap in just as the others were coming to life; this meant that the post-nap timing was perfect to leave for West Van where we had a full itinerary, kicked off by an old 'hood drive-by. The house, just like many on the street, was empty. The visit didn't make me feel sad or nostalgic, and it might mean that home is no longer there (in Vancouver); home is London now, where my immediate family has filled a house with life and love and challenges and laughter and tears and all of the rest. After a swim at the pool, we thoroughly enjoyed a sushi lunch at Ichiban at 14th and Marine (according to Hendrik it wasn't five stars, it was 1000 stars) before putting in some time at the amazing John Lawson park. Tired started to catch up with the kids at this point, so we headed for home for some QT with Rod and Colleen and family. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were all balanced with busy-out-and-about and chill time at the house. We went to Science World, Granville Island (where we went on a mini-ferry boat ride and ate Lee's donuts... they are the BEST), and the Aquarium (not something we'd do again), and I caught up with friends and family. Alana loved spending time with Nyla, and as always, we had a great time with Rod and Colleen. Leg one was solid!

cousins having TONS of fun together

more dock fun

walking around thetis lake

LEG TWO: Victoria
We caught a cab to the ferry terminal in Tsawassen on Thursday morning, and the kids enjoyed some pirate packs on the boat before we were greeted by my mom and dad and their truck AND buckets of rain at Duke Point. We checked in at our Airbnb in Victoria, reclaimed our sanity (the kids fought like rabid dogs in the backseat) and got settled in before my sister and her boyfriend joined us. We did a few errands (groceries, beer) and then a quick beach trip (where the kids found sticks they wanted to bring home to London) before we met up with family and other wedding guests for dinner. Steve and I managed the kids table - we were joined by other littles for food and colouring - and somehow made it home for an on-time bedtime for once... what a miracle! It's a good thing though, because the next two days were packed. We spent Friday morning at Thetis lake where the kids played in the water for at least two hours; we lunched and walked around the lake (tired kids were baited by cookies), then booked it back to the house for showers and rehearsal-readying. The walk-through was straight forward, and the kids (cousins) were excited to see each other. Looking back, there was quite a bit of time spent (on this leg anyways) doing things that are not fun for children - restaurants, sitting around, etc., and our three were really good (except when they were in the car with each other). Dinner was at the Canoe Club and the food was incredible; it was one of the best restaurant meals of our trip (I'd give it a second place behind Ichiban). The kids had fun down at the docks and up near the resto playing pine cone games while the adults ate and drank and milled about, and we made it out of there with the crew at a decent hour (again - succccccessss). And Saturday - was a big day! I was up early to organize our stuff and hit the grocery store for bride breakfast stuff, and then made for the hotel with Sarah to get ready with the other bridesmaids. It was super fun to get some good time in with the girls on Claire's big day, and time flew by with the getting ready, the photos, and the mini-jobs. I had my fingers crossed that our room would be ready earlier than the standard 4:00 check-in (the ceremony was scheduled for 4:15), and it was! I met Steve and the kids in the lobby at 1:00 and we got set up in the room in time for Jordan to have a nap - right across the hall from Claire's room. Steve and the bigs got some pool time in before getting all dressed up for the big event, and I don't even have a family photo of this - !!! The wedding photographer got one, but I can't say when I'll get my hands on it. The ceremony was short and sweet, and everyone looked fabulous - my little sis got married! There were wedding party photos (chilly ones - it was cloudy and 12 degrees or something), followed by dinner and dancing (Alana was googly-eyed with all of the fancy dresses, especially Auntie Claire, and the two of them paired up on the dance floor quite a few times), and then more dancing dancing dancing. It was an ah-mazing event!

more thetis lake (victoria)

LOVE this photos - alana with a red rock crab (a dead one)

happy birthday me!

a birthday rowboat ride with two of my favourite people 

my dad took hendrik out for a tin boat drive - love this too!

hendrik wanted to paddle back

what a view - mini-naps before dinner 

thetis island

LEG THREE: Thetis Island
Baby J was up bright and early on Sunday morning, so the two of us roamed the empty hotel in search of coffee and company. We didn't see many people until later in the morning (we're talking 8:30-9:00), and hellos and goodbyes were said to family and friends. We got a swim in before a Father's Day brunch at Denny's (Spoons had a 25 minute wait - it looked good!), where we were paid a lovely compliment by an elderly couple who told us that watching our family was lovely for them, and "well worth the price of admission" for their meal. The kids loved their birthday pancakes (with sprinkles and whipped cream - dessert for breakfast really), and Steve and equally enjoyed our grand slams (bacon. hash browns. buttered white toast). Alana dumped a whole water bottle on herself on our way up to Chemainus (where the ferry leaves for Thetis), so she was in tears, and Jordan was fussy the whole way up - BUT... the kids didn't fight, so that was the silver lining (no longer were they sitting beside each other). We stopped for groceries and a change of clothes, and met Sarah and Gabe at the ferry terminal where the kids played in the truck-bed bed that Sarah installed for summer trips around the province. We played tag on the ferry and then we were there... beautiful Thetis! It was great to see Momsy and Dad again, and we settled in once more - to the last of our many locales. The kids got right to crab-catching and exploring the coast, and we had a great dinner celebrating Father's Day and my birthday... complete with cake! Yum. The kids walked with Sarah and Gabe after dinner and held starfish, watched a barnacle eat, and learned about crabs and which ones to pick up (rock crabs) and which ones to leave alone (kelp crabs). Monday and Tuesday were more of the same - mucho marine exploration - and really, Hendrik and Alana could have stayed down at the water the entire time. We made it to Overbury Farm Resort where we got married eight years ago (!!), and it was so nice to wander the grounds together. The kids had fun on rope swings and crab-hunting (again), so everyone was happy. We had some amazing dinners on the deck, and it was so nice to spend some time with my parents at their lovely home. I hope we can make it back every summer - it's a place we all love so much.

We float planed to YVR on Wednesday morning (the ride was incredible), and so began our journey home. It was a long one, but again, we all stayed afloat thanks to screen time, snacks, a good dinner in Toronto, and lots of patience. Everyone is happy to be home, but this trip is one that will go down in the books with a top three medal for sure... We had such a good time! Phew. Long blog - it's time for bed!

down by the water, so much fun, so beautiful!

rope swings at Overbury Farm Resort

goodbyes at the sea plane

walking with grandpa O

beach day in Victoria - with Auntie Sarah and Dad

early morning fun under the table

visiting with my cousins and their kids in vancouver - a rare occasion!

so so good to see these people (and alana found a new bestie)

quality time with Nyla

at the aquarium. i love this photo... so captures our children and their social natures.

reading in bed (and wearing Nyla's old jammies

a family pic on Granville Island (eating Lee's donuts - they are the best!)

we got a pic of the kids but not the grown ups... doh! SO good to get together with this crew

boating in the city

love these two

weekend wrap-up

Well, another solid weekend is in the books, and two more big ones are coming up; we'll spend next Saturday and Sunday in Vancouver and the following weekend in Victoria for my youngest sister's wedding... eek! We had a great time yesterday at Thames Pool, one of London's best outdoor pools (heated) that will open it's two pools (one with beach entry and one 50m with diving boards) and big water slide full time next month; for now it's only open Saturday and Sunday afternoons. All three kids were loving the water and it was way less busy than we thought it would be - fa-bu-lous! We also found the big kids some shoes for the wedding (pre-pool) and watched Trolls after a best-ever burger dinner (post-pool), and all of the littles were sleeping by 8:45. We spent Saturday out and about as well, playing baseball (Hendrik), watching baseball (all of us), and hitting up Springbank Park's new (as of last year) playground. It was sunny and warm until 5:00 last night - and then the skies opened up and it rained like nobody's business. There was a river running down the street and visibility was so low cars were pulling over until the deluge subsided and the sun came out. Today it looks like Jordan and I will run some errands - he was up at 5:30 (!!!!) this morning, and I'm taking a break here to sit down after cleaning like a crazy person for the last hour since I'm sick of our house always looks like it's been ransacked with toys and books and debris (and paper, knick-knacks, Pokemon cards, spoons, items Jordan's pulled out of the cupboard, pen lids, crayon nubs, socks, sippy cups, balls, etc.) laying about EVERYWHERE. At least a few rooms look habitable right now, but I'm not expecting that to last for long... and that's ok. Here are a few photos from the weekend... I can't believe it's JUNE!

sibs

feeding himself - a new favourite (and messy) thing to do

playing imaginary baseball + climbing fences

may may may

It's only Tuesday, but this week has already seen it's fair share of uncommon events. I got a call at 4:00 yesterday afternoon (while at the school playground) notifying us that there was an appointment open this morning at 8:00 for Jordan to get his tubes in... and I took it. We're just back from the hospital and le bubs is still asleep in his carseat, so I'm trying to scarf down some lunch and get a blog started. From beginning to end he did SO well; there was no food or drink for him this morning, but we were on the road by 7:15 and he had his soother, so all was right with the world. We arrived at the hospital in St. Thomas and the nurses checked him out and went over information before we were called (we were 2nd in line) downstairs at 10:00. Handing him over to the nurses was the hardest part for me, as was seeing him in tears after the procedure. Thankfully they didn't last long - after a bottle and some snuggles he seemed much more like his happy self.

Yesterday's notable event was my job interview - ! I applied for a casual position with the Catholic board (as a librarian), and I think it went well. I'm not sure when I'll hear a yea or nay, but my fingers are crossed (for the yea, obviously).

What else what else... Steve's been hard at work fighting a pretty terrible cold AND he's been putting in good time and energy with the solar panel installation gig. Golf is starting up and hockey is prime time so he's finding lots to do (baseball coaching too) with spare time. Hendrik still terrorizes his sister regularly (which drives me crazzzzy) but has been more attentive to Jordan lately which is nice. Instead of helping me empty the dishwasher last night he volunteered to make and feed Jordan his dinner - tres cute. I'm busy with regular house and kid stuff and put in quite a bit of time prepping for yesterday's interview. There may be another one as apparently librarians that speak french around here are hard to find, so I'll have to brush up. OH... and I've been riding my new bike and I LOVE it. There's a group of women that gets together on Sunday mornings and rides for an hour or so and we go out in the country and chat and get some exercise (much needed). There are a bunch of things that need doing around here and I need to (need to need to need to) get to bed early tonight so I have to sign off. Fingers crossed that everyone sleeps well tonight!

see a trend?

hendrik's books, organized (all him)

this morning, post-op

pre-op - super happy!

another before

and another before - babies are too cute in hospital gowns!

solar panelling (with no sun)

Birthday plus - our youngest is ONE!

on his first bday

Big news (that's not news to some) - Jordan is one! AND he took his first steps solo today! There are big things happening in the world for this guy. Steve and I went to Heeman's garden centre this afternoon and Jordan was fascinated by, well, pretty much everything; all of the plants, the people and.... the watering can tower. He was clearly so taken with it that he just walked there! I'd say it was a three step shuffle and he did it a few times - after I called Steve over to have a gawk. Apparently he repeated his new trick at home this afternoon, so the full-blown walking business isn't waiting too far in our future. We had a great birthday day last week, and Jordan enjoyed (sort of - not) an audience of Grandma and Gramps, Liz, Sandra and Bruce, and Hendrik, Alana, Steve and I while he figured out what to do with his birthday cupcake. He massaged and prodded and poked at it before he figured out that it was edible and delicious, and then he went to town. He was spoiled with gifts and showered with lots of love... 'twas a great day!

Alana has been dressing us up with Liz's costume jewellery - so fun :)

babe!

speeding through the woods

I took the kids up to Weldon Park in Arva on Sunday (Monday?) - Monday afternoon, and despite some cranky reluctance, Hendrik and Alana had SO MUCH FUN. They ran around, explored, played at the playground, and hunted for frogs with some other kids that were outfitted with a bucket and three nets. (I loved watching this part - my two approaching the other older kids (by a year or two)  and asking to borrow their stuff; and then, the interactions.... "there! come there's one over here!" etc.). Steve was a bit under the weather this weekend, but thankfully we had nothing planned for the long weekend. I went for a long bike ride (loved it!) and run on Monday, we went swimming on Sunday morning, and Saturday morning Alana and I played baseball in the backyard while Hendrik and Steve were at T-Ball (Jordan was napping). The kids were happy to be back at school today, and here I am getting a blog up, FINALLY. I know there's more to write about (like how our Vancouver trip is coming up soon) but the hockey sounds exciting and it's almost my bedtime (and I am T-I-R-E-D). Until next time!

running around in weldon park

jordan's own cat-stuffy... he loved it! and loved the card too 

alana and hendrik gave jordan bath toys for his bday - gifts that keep giving to all :)

figuring out how to cram cake in his face!

mid-may already...

Happy belated Mother's Day! I had a great day, with a perfect balance of time for me and time with the family. It started with some presents and cards from the kids, followed by an easy breakfast as I was running out the door to join some friends to run 5km in support of ovarian cancer. After lunch I spent an hour or so at the mall in search of a wedding outfit for Hendrik (found!) and then a surprise dinner made and orchestrated by the kids (with dad's assistance)... homemade pasta! I found the Silver Spoon Cookbook for Kids at the library book sale a few years ago and it's a gem. The pasta was delicious and the kids were very proud that I didn't even know what they were up to in the kitchen, and of course happy that it turned out... everyone wanted more! Alana also wrapped up a toy that she didn't want anymore (a beanie baby charm creature) and gave it to me complete with a second card - it was adorbs. Jordan gave me lots of mouthy kisses (a new skill of his) and the olders were showering me with "happy mother's day" all day (and night - when it became "happy mother's night").

This week Jordan turns ONE, and I've been thinking about Italy and Antonella and Luciano so so much as we were there when Hendrik was this age, and we have so many amazing memories of that time. We were in Canada when Alana was almost one, and we celebrated her first birthday at the cottage; when it comes to looking back I am SO thankful for this blog! It is so great to be able to see (and read about) what things were like - my memory can't recall it all the way this digital record can.  I'll do a more in-depth update later this week WITH birthday pics (cake!) - but for now I need to pound out a few more house-jobs before the babe wakes up. Hopefully everyone is enjoying spring as much as we are - it is the best!

from Hendrik :)

Alana :)

flower soup - perfection!

last week's to-school crew

post from home

Finally, a post from home! It's one week post-vacay and I'm almost adjusted to the time zone and change of pace, from relaxed and slow to up-tempo kid-crazy. The jet lag was not easy to get over, and I spent the better part of last week's nights awake, trying to convince myself I was tired and trying to not think about the fact that Jordan was sleeping peacefully all night long and I wasn't. He changed quite a bit while I was gone - he sleeps through most nights (10 hours), climbs stairs, drinks from a bottle (!!!), says "car", points at things in books, and is generally more vocal with the baby babble. The reunion with the two older kids was great; Alana came running out of the house to hug me and Hendrik hid... and then hugged me, but Jordan - he played strange! He dug his little finger-claws into Steve's shoulder and just looked at me. It didn't last too long and I wasn't offended as it meant I got to spend a bit more time with the olders before bedtime. It's all back to normal now, and like I said, I'm almost back in the swing of things... Now I need to / want to figure out what's next; work? Study? I need something for me, and I need to figure out what that something will be. For now though, we need to plan our upcoming trip to BC (next month) which I am SO excited about. We'll spend five days in Vancouver and three in Victoria and then three on Thetis Island before flying back home to catch the last week and a half of school... and then it's summer vacay! Which we also need to plan. I'll leave you with some photos - housework calls!

welcome home signs - with gold medals :)

me and the babe!

hendrik made these leafs signs while they were still in the running... love 'em

painting - abstract for alana, dragons for hendrik

alana and her friend audrey highjacked my camera = 37 pictures like these

hendrik made steve a scavenger hunt (my idea) - love what he came up with

jordan LOVES books... these two reading together 💗

NZ post #2

What an incredible trip! It's somehow come and gone already (I knew it would go quickly) and we're on our way home. The overview is this: the basketball was SUPER fun - with just eight of us we got lots of time on the floor, and because we were stronger than the competition we were able to run hard and (more or less) do what we wanted on offence and on D. Unfortunately there were only four teams in our pool and we were the one and only team registered in the premier division for our 30+ age group. This means that even though we were guaranteed a medal we feel that we earned it, winning all six of our games without much challenge. We also hit the town on multiple occasions, went shopping in various locales, and saw quite a bit of the Auckland area. I won't do the day-by-day sum-up but instead mention a few highlights:

Opening ceremonies
With a Canadian flag hanging out of the window we garnered lots of attention, and whilst stuck in traffic on our way to the ceremonies the co-pilot handed out pins - which earned us a complimentary parking spot just around the corner from the event. There was music, dancing and fireworks, and all of the athletes (I think there are 27,000+ from over 100 countries) paraded on the field on the way out at the end of the show.

Eating
We had some great meals at home (tacos, burgers, pasta, crepes, and more) and out on the town. Posonby was a favourite neighborhood that we discovered far too late in the trip, and we had a great meal at an open and happening cafe/resto. And if you know me you know I love visiting grocery stores in foreign countries - I like seeing what's on offer, even if the store itself (Pak'n'Save) isn't anything to write home about. Both out and in, the food was significantly more expensive than at home, and most of our cash definitely went to nosh.

Bridal Veil Falls and Ngarunui Beach

We made the longer than expected drive south to the beach / surf town of Raglan, and stopped at Bridal Veil Falls on our way. Getting to the falls involved a short 10 minute walk to the top, and another 20 minutes to the bottom, with a mid-falls lookout point along the way. It was nice to be in the middle of the woods, even with other people; it wasn't commercialized at all, so that was refreshing too. After a quick van-side lunch, we continued on to the massive beach at Ngarunui, just outside of Raglan. The beaches were a big highlight for most of us, many of which were massive - long and wide and never overpopulated.

Ngarunui beach

halfway point at Bridal Veil Falls

Mannequin Challenges

I need to find a few of these videos - there were three (or four?) in total I think, one of which we did at halftime of game three, with refs and the people working the table involved too. So fun!

Devonport

This lovely little town just north of Auckland was worth the stop. After lunch and a wander about the town, we drove to the top of Mount Victoria and enjoyed beautiful views of the city. We also found a bunch of little mushrooms - and played Never Have I Ever to switch and find a new mushroom; maybe the photo will explain? Super fun.

Seeing friends!

I was SO happy to be able to get together with friends that I hadn't seen for 10 years plus: Jen and Rowan and Kristin and Terry. We met Jen and Rowan in Romania where we met in the grocery store while looking for chocolate milk. We became good friends there and it was great to reminisce (mostly about life in Romania and the parties we had at their place) and catch up on the last 10 years. Hopefully we can all get back to NZ to visit them in Kati Kati, as it sounds like they have a beautiful place there. And KK! Kristin and I played basketball together at Gonzaga, and hadn't seen each other in at least 12 years. We were good friends there, and it feels like we picked up right where we left off. We also talked about our time at GU, and then caught up on life since uni as we haven't talked too much since the early 2000s, when teammates' weddings brought us all together. They're another reason we'll have to go back down under and visit!

with the one and only KK!

And did I mention the basketball? I feel like I'm hooked on the game now - I want to keep working out, play more, and make this master's tournament a regular every-four-years thing. During our last game one of the women playing for the other team came over and asked if anyone was keen to switch jerseys for the last quarter (we were winning by 30+ at this point) and so we swapped numbers and I played for the other team for the last 10 minutes. I was happy to run the whole time AND give a few teammates more of a run for their money under the hoop, and we all laughed as we jostled for rebounds and positioning down low. After that last game the green team came out with Tim Tams and we ate cookies at centre court before calling it a day. (There are lots of game shots but I don't have any yet - so you can watch me make a left-handed layup if you want...)

Lastly, it was incredible to spend time doing my own thing, and to occupy the one most essential role in my life - mine, and being me. Me first, and mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend next; often this is hard to do, but coming back home to my amazing life and the amalgamation of all roles I am lucky enough to fulfill, I feel refreshed, happy, and grateful beyond words.