A Visit to Powell River

Jonathan, Edison, and I took a little trip up to Powell River for a few days after Christmas. Jonathan's sister Sara, her husband Gord, and their three kids Tyler, Linden, and Sienna live there. We haven't seen them in a little over a year so it was a much needed visit, especially because they hadn't met Edison yet. Here's what we were up to:

Day 1 - We left in the morning to begin the 6 hour journey to Powell River. Altogether, it takes a few hours of driving and two ferries to get there. Although its long, the trip is beautiful. There is a lot of driving along the ocean and the mountains were so nice to look at as they were covered in snow. This was Edison's first trip on a ferry.  

Edison, all bundled up and ready to go!

On the ferry

First time sitting by himself at a table in the high chair

Lots of scenery to take in

I braved the freezing cold wind to take a couple pictures out on the deck

We stopped at a look-out point along the drive

 

Arriving in the town of Powell River

The day we arrived was Tyler's 10th birthday so were able to celebrate it with him that evening. It was a fun night of pizza, video games, and catching up.

Tyler, Linden, and Sienna

Party hats!

Can't go anywhere without the Jolly Jumper

Edison, getting to know his cousins. He loved watching them. 

Day 2 - Our first full day in Powell River was spent exploring around their house and neighborhood. Their house is right on the ocean. It was so nice look out the window of their living room and take in all the scenery. I spent quite a lot of time with the binoculars watching the seals and the many different types of birds that hang out on the ocean.

This is their front yard!

For Christmas this year, one of the gifts Sara and Gord bought the kids was 4 chickens! They built them a nice little home in their garage and they will start laying eggs soon. Apparently the chickens will lay enough eggs to feed their whole family! I spent some time in there petting them and feeding them out of my hand.....and now I want one.

The boys, showing us the chicken's house

Chickens!

Sienna was a little cold

Later on that day we took a walk/bike ride around the neighborhood. Jonathan even took over Tyler's bike to try to show him how to do a wheelie. We had gorgeous weather the entire time we were there, but it was also quite cold outside so we didn't spend tons of time out there.

Here is Jonathan's wheelie

Here's Jonathan doing some other trick, meanwhile I'm walking in behind yelling "you really should be wearing a helmet!" 

Later on that day we went to Desolation Sound to "desolate the clams" as Jonathan put it. Even though I wasn't interested in partaking in the clam feast, I did go along to check it all out. We had to wait for the tide to start going out, which meant we didn't have a whole lot of daylight left to uncover the little guys.

Gord doing some digging

Jonathan and Sara picking through the rocks

The scenery was awesome, too bad we were running out of light

Day 3 - The next day Jonathan and I drove in to the town of Powell River, grabbed a Starbucks and then headed to Willingdon Beach for a little walk. That night was New Years Eve and we spent it hanging out, eating, playing music and video games. Jonathan also entertained us with his "drano bombs" which make and extremely loud bang!

Willingdon Beach

Brrrr

You can look down that hole and see the sea life

Day 4 - On our last day, most of the house (not Edison however), had a good sleep-in. Jonathan and I hit the road in the afternoon and started the long trip home. We stopped to take a couple pictures along the way.

This was once the largest pulp and paper mill in the world

These WWI and WWII concrete ships are creating the largest floating breakwater in the world

Edison driving the car....or sucking on the steering wheel

This looks like snow, but its frost!

We had a really fun trip and it was nice to get out of town for a few days, see some sights, and visit with family. Thank you to Sara and her family for taking us in and showing us a good time! We look forward to coming back...in a little warmer weather.

A Look Back at 2010

2010 has been a wonderful year for Jonathan and I, full of so many exciting and unforgettable moments. I am so grateful for all of God's blessings and really look forward to what 2011 has to bring! There are so many great memories from this past year. I though I would highlight a few that are truly "once in a lifetime".

Jonathan and I bought our first house and February 1st was move-in day! We love living here and love having a place to call our own....and so does Albert.

In February Vancouver hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics. Going downtown during all the excitement was so much fun!

The biggest event of the year happened on July 17th at 10:19pm when baby Edison made his way into the world. This was obviously an experience we will never forget!

And finally, on September 4th my baby sister Sara married Ryan. It was a beautiful wedding, the weather was great and Sara looked amazing.

This was such an amazing year and I'm a little sad that its over, but I really am looking forward to 2011. Happy New Year everyone!!

All I Want For Christmas Is......Wrapping Paper!

Christmas Day in our house was a very relaxing, quiet day. The three of us have been battling a cold for the last few days and my Dad, who was supposed to come over and hang with us, is just getting over the flu! Needless to say, we decided to stay away from each other for the day (which was a bummer) and instead we will be getting together on Monday for a belated Christmas get-together.

Edison had a really bad sleep (or lack thereof) on the evening of Christmas Eve and was a very tired, sick little boy for the Big Day. He decided he wanted to wake up at 5am (which is extremely unusual for him). So I was up with him from 5-7:30 in the morning. While he jumped away in his Jolly Jumper I decided that if I was forced to be awake I might as well do something productive. Can't say as I've ever folded laundry at 6am before, but I have now.

After I got him back to sleep, I went back to bed for some much needed zzzz's. The next time he woke up, it was Jonathan's turn to entertain while I continued to sleep some more. After I got up, I went downstairs, ready to get the gift opening show on the road. Edison however, was a total grump. So back to bed he went......for 4 hours! All this to say we didn't end up opening gifts until 4:30 in the afternoon!

Jonathan and I wanted to keep things pretty small for Christmas this year. We got Edison a couple of presents and I wrapped them, not because he has any idea  whats going on but because I knew he would like the wrapping paper. His fascination with anything that crinkles combined with his new grabbing skills was bound to make for some fun times opening gifts.

Sure enough, he was much more entertained by the wrapping paper than he was with the actual gifts. He would get paper in both of his hands and flail his little arms around. He also liked to eat the paper....until it got soggy and had to be taken away.

Here we are, ready to dig into the gifts

He quickly discovered the fun that is wrapping paper

Mmmmm...yummy

Mmmmm.....also yummy

He crunched up a storm before we had to take it away due to the sogginess factor

Forced to play with the actual toy instead

Merry Christmas!

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
- Luke 2:8-14

Wordless Wednesday - Edison.....look at the camera!!

OR NOT!

To Tree or not to Tree - That is the question!

Jonathan and I have been back and forth many times in the last month on whether or not we wanted to get a Christmas tree this year. Over our seven years of marriage we have become less and less enthused about having a tree. Last year we didn't put one up at all and it was quite nice to not have to deal with the putting up and taking down of the tree. In fact, because we lived in a basement suite and were rapidly running out of storage space, we actually got rid of our artificial tree because it was taking up too much room.

But this Christmas is a little bit different. We now have a house with plenty of space for a tree. Its also the first Christmas with our little one....even though he's too little to know what's going on. So, we waffled for a while and then decided to go for it.

Jonathan is now on Christmas vacation from work, which I'm very excited about. This is the first time he has had time off since the first couple of weeks after Edison was born. So to start the holiday off we headed down to our local nursery, Trice Farms, to pick out a tree. We wanted a small tree, and we did chose the smallest one they had, but it is still a fair sized tree.

Perusing the selection

Heading home with our new tree

Swing batter batter

Obviously not a super huge tree if Jonathan can lift it one-handed

In it goes

We had an awesome time by the fire decorating it and playing with little Edison on the floor....and of course Albert had to get in on all the action.

Trying to untangle the lights

And the decorating begins

Rolling around on the floor while we decorated

Trying to sit and play with his toys all at the same time.

Checking out the pretty lights