It's a Wonderful Life....: August 2012

Fleetwood Park

Looking after the boys for the afternoon gives way to a park opportunity.
I really do love summer!

Sunday at Lake Whatcom

Our friends Terry and Lois were renting a cottage on the lake....

so a few of us acrossed the border to keep them company.

It was so relaxing....great food, six dogs, good friends with a view.

Lovely.

Okanagan Camping

We hadn't been to the Okanagan for years....it was time to make the trip.

We have such terrific memories of camping with our young family.

We had a terrific visit with Rick and Terra and their boys.
We also had dinner with dear longtime friends....such a treat!
(We were too busy chatting to take a pic - sorry Russ and Sherry!)

Our memories of Westbank go back to the years spent at Wiig's RV Park. But as time marches on, changes marches in. Below are photos of what has taken the place of our little gem of a campground.

Townhouses selling for $1.7 million. So much for staying there for 30 bucks a night!

We stayed in the Provincial Campgrounds.....beautiful but lacking electrical hook-ups. We decided that we are not un-plugged type of campers....that may not be too much of a revelation to those of you who know me well.....bah haha!

Thankful for the opportunity to spend time away enjoying God's creation....I really do LOVE living in BC.
I hope you have had a chance to do some travelling this summer...blessings my friends!

A trip to Krause Berry Farm

A beautiful day, and in need of some raspberries to freeze. So off to the farm we go...

We strolled to the petting zoo.....Cole was so excited...he touched every animal he could get his hands on! And Jay was pleased to get outta there without touching anything yucky....ha ha ha

Making memories...one moment at a time....priceless

Lindsey turns 30

Jordan planned a surprise party for his dear wife, Lindsey.

But ultimately, it was Beckham who was surprised the most....he cried for 10 minutes straight after we all yelled "surprise"....poor wee lamb!

It was at their "cross-fit" friends' house....thanks Rod and Julie!

Happy Birthday, Linds!

Straw-be-be's

Here's Scooter and Cole waiting for dinner

We are blessed to live in the Fraser Valley where berries are grown abundantly....so every year we have a strawberry feed for dinner.

Since strawberries are usually ready at the end of June, our dinner would often coordinate with the last day of school....a good reason to celebrate.

All things strawberry.....strawberry waffles with whipped cream, strawberry pancakes, strawberry shortcake, strawberries and ice cream, and more strawberries....what a wonderful way to celebrate God's delicious provision.
And the kids can't believe there good fortune....berries and ice cream for dinner!

We traipsed over to the Island and brought the berry bounty with us.....Christy added a yummy chocolate chip loaf to the feast....sooo good!

Try side-stepping normal for a Berry Dinner....it's wonderful!
Thank you Lord for our delicious berry crops!

Dear Wee Beckham

I don't think words are required.....

Yes, he does have ALOT of hair

Grammie loves you, Beckham Jordan!

Crescent Beach Day

With all of the Grands together we decided to have a beach day

click on the photo for a closer look of the four biggest playing together...a beautiful sight!

What a terrific time everyone had together!

I do LOVE my family and SO enjoy the times we can spend all together.
God is good. All the time.

July birthdays

I felt VERY blessed and celebrated this year....I am thankful for the friends and family God has put in my life.

Jim and Diane hosted a wonderful dinner party in my honor...and it was all done by a personal chef. The meal was over the top delicious. It was great for everyone, even our hosts, to simply sit and be served.

Such great friends!
We then had a family gathering with all our kids and kidlets present....such fun!

Denay's birthday is just a few days after mine, so we celebrated together.

Thanks Paul and Shawna, our gracious hosts, for a lovely afternoon feast..

Quilt

This quilt was a birthday gift handmade by my dear SIL Marilyn. She is an amazing quilter, and all of my kids and kidlets have had one given to them for their weddings and births. So FINALLY I have one of my own....yippee!!

Thanks Marilyn....you are such a blessing to me!

Beckham's Dedication Day

What a joy to share in such a special day!
We pray that God will bless and keep this wee boy....and that he will give his heart to the Lord at an early age.

And off to a pnacake lunch at Jordan and Lindsey's with family and friends.

Beckham Jordan McClelland
A true gift from God

Ken and Evie

There are some friendships that stand the test of time.....and this is one of them.

We consider it an honor to call Ken and Evie our dear friends.

This photo was taken a few weeks after Ken had a severe heart attack. We cherish our time together, and praise God that his health is improving day by day.

Beckham boy

Our dear, youngest g-boy....Beckham....what a treasure he is to me!

Trip of a Lifetime

We have been planning this trip for over a year now....and dreaming about it for even longer.

This is a big deal for us....Bob had been to London last year for the first time. and I had never been across the ocean to anywhere in Europe. So it was all new to us...and it SO exceeded our expectations...we are so thankful for the opportunity to travel and meet so many interesting people, experience different cultures, and enjoy a part of God's world that we had never seen before.

Grab a carafe of coffee and get comfortable

There are several posts as we were away for a full month and there were several components to our trip.

Cruise/Rome/Paris/London/English countryside

I hope you enjoy travelling along with us on our adventure!

This is where our adventure began....Miami, Florida. It was stormy and we thought this would be the start of a stormy cruise.....boy were we wrong!
(click on the photos to enlarge)