Summer Vacation - Harrison Lake, Kelowna, and Penticton, BC.

This year our destination was the Okanagan area of B.C. So many of our local friends don't know where this is! We just tell them it is a lot like Lake Chelan. Much bigger, though. We stayed two nights in Kelowna, two nights in Penticton, and one night in Bellingham, WA, on our way home. We could have just driven home but I wanted to extend our vacation and explore Bellingham.

We had an awful time arranging accommodation for this trip. Our original destination was Calgary but there was terrible flooding there in June. I wanted to show off my hometown to my kids but not when it is torn up and muddy. Plan B was Sandpoint, Idaho but our favourite vacation rental condo was all booked up. We were thankful to find anything at all in Kelowna/Penticton since we were making arrangements at the last minute, it is high season, and a very popular destination, for Canadians, that is. Next year, we'll plan our vacation at least two months in advance, right Sweetie??? :)

Day One. We drove north on I-5 and stopped for lunch in Lynden at the Dutch Bakery. They make an amazing raspberry pie! We also picked up some delicious fresh banana bread for snacking. We drove straight north and crossed the border into BC at Sumas/Aldergrove which had a short wait time.

Our next stop was Harrison Lake which is near Chilliwack, BC. We had hoped to soak in the hot springs but found the options for that were very limited. There is an expensive hotel where registered guests get the most authentic hot springs experience OR an indoor public pool that wasn't very appealing on a hot sunny day.

Harrison Lake

We noticed the gorgeous lake with hardly any boats on it and a place to rent jet skis. We splurged and rented one for an hour. My hubby took our oldest son out for about 30 minutes and then I took our youngest son out. I wish I had rented a wet suit! I got splashed a lot and got cold quickly. I was happy that the boys enjoyed the experience. They have gotten so much braver.

We had supper in Hope. There wasn't much hope for a good meal there. The drive from Mission to Kelowna was so boring and there were no places to stop at all!

We were pleasantly surprised to find that our hotel in Kelowna had a big waterslide.

In the morning, we all took turns on the slide but the pool water was a little too chilly for me. It was great to just relax by the pool while the boys spent a long time enjoying the waterslide. Yesterday my friend asked the boys what was their highlight of vacation and they said the waterslide at the hotel. :)

Hot tub

Our plan for Kelowna was to walk along the Myra Canyon trail. This trail has such an interesting history. The Myra Canyon was traversed by the Kettle Valley Railway which opened in 1916 and contained 18 trestles and two tunnels blasted through rock. The railway was abandoned in 1978. The right of way became popular for hiking and biking so decking and railings were eventually built for safety and later it became a provincial park. In 2003, there was a huge wildfire that destroyed 12 of the trestles. The Myra Canyon Restoration society rebuilt the trestles and the park was reopened in 2008.

This photo reminds me of model railroads.

In this next photo you can see (if you squint) another huge trestle in the distance. We didn't get that far.

We went over 7 of the 18 trestles and went through one tunnel. It was pretty hot.  If it was a cooler cloudier day, we would've walked farther. I was pleased to see many other walkers on the trail even thought it is promoted as a bike trail.

Our hotel in Penticton (50 minutes south of Kelowna) was very conveniently located next to the River Channel and one of the beaches. Penticton is located in between two lakes which both have beaches. For those of you not familiar with the area, here's a photo (not mine) of the Penticton airport.

image source

Our main activity for Penticton was floating down the river channel. It is the blue ribbon in the middle of the photo above. It is about 4 miles long. You get in with your floating device (tube/boat/etc) at the beginning and at the end of the channel there is a bus that takes you back to the start. Normally it would've been $20 for the bus ride for the 4 of us, but it was customer appreciation day and it was free! I don't have any photos of this activity since I didn't want to take my camera on the water. J and the boys were in our inflatable boat while I was on a lounger. I was wondering if it would be crowded with people but it was just fine. There is a highway that goes right next to it and some truckers honked their horns as they went by. I think they were pretty jealous of us!Pin It

Lil' Slugger

My youngest son played baseball this spring for the first time. I'm so proud of him for his dedication and perseverance. It was a tough season. His team (randomly formed) was full of first time players like him. The Red Hots only won one game. The other teams were almost all comprised of more experienced players. One team had been playing together for years! Unfortunately a few games ended because of the mercy rule - we were behind 10 runs.

I took photos of the team at all the games I attended. I enjoy having a goal while I'm watching. I created a Shutterfly team site to share the photos with the parents.

C a the first game of the season.

First time at base.

Fielding in the rain.

At the bat, on a sunny day!

C playing catcher position.

C and his teammates in the "dugout."

My hubby helped out with coaching as much as he could. He's coaching first base here but he's also joking around with C.

C running to first base.

C and his teammates improved so much over the season. C says that he might play again next year. So for now, A's sport is soccer and C's sport is baseball.Pin It

More than nine dollars worth of fun.

We've had a few very hot days, for the Pacific Northwest. We're going to get more. I bought the boys a new slip and slide for about 9 dollars.

Today, we tested it out on our sloped backyard. My husband was skeptical, worried they might slam into the fence. I wanted to see if we could make lemonade from the lemon that is our sloped area. J added a tarp at the end of the slide, as well as a big ball to protect them if they did get too close the fence. The tarp was a great idea. It helped create a water barrier and kept them from getting covered in grass clippings.

They had a blast. Who needs Great Wolf Lodge? :)

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What's Blooming in my Garden? June edition.

It is a busy and beautiful time in the garden. I have to remember to take photos fast since many flowers are only at their best for a few days.

My peonies have already bloomed. This white one is one of the last.

Here's a photo from June 10th of a pale pink peony (say that ten times fast!).

Cloudy, rainy days are good for photographing plants.

I have about17 delphinium in a border in front of our front porch. Since they don't all bloom at the same time, I don't have a good photo of all of them. Here's a few.

We've had a few days of heavy rain which knocks these delicate flowers down.

The roses are in bloom. My favourite are the purple ones.

I also have some coral coloured ones:

I bought a new rose bush on Memorial Day weekend. This bush was 7 dollars, I believe.

I'm slowly adding plants around our gazebo and landscaping as well. It needs to be prettied up a bit to really show off the gazebo.

Yes, I do have some annuals as well. These dark petunias caught my eye at the garden store.

I'm looking forward to the hollyhocks, daisies, and dahlias which are next to bloom.Pin It

Summer Activities - 2013 Edition

My friend Colette has been urging me to write this post. 

My boys finished school on Friday. I hope to keep to some regular routine this summer. In the morning, I'd like them to read for 20 minutes and do some basic chores as well. I also do the Summer Bridge books to prevent summer slide.

Back in 2011, I wrote about having 3 jars of ideas for summer. Blue is for rainy day ideas, yellow is sunny day ideas, and orange is outings.

Rainy Day activities:

• board games
• "PE class" - I'm going to get my boys to tell me what exercises they do at school for PE and we'll do them together.
• make a music video together.
• make pretzels
• make cookies/muffins
• fondue night as a family
• do chores 
• invite a friend over, however, this seems to be more fun on a sunny day.
• write a letter to a grandparent.
• drawing
• dominoes
• hotter and colder - hide something and then say whether the person is hotter or colder in finding it.
• card games

Sunny Day activities:

• slip and slide - I think we need a new one. :)
• fly kites
• lemonade stand
• badminton - we found very cheap racquets at Target in the $3 section.
• make stepping stones
• sidewalk chalk
• water gun fight
• wash the car
• red light green light
• street hockey
• blow bubbles
• play hot lava
• red rover

Outings:

• Tacoma Zoo
• splash park like Willis Tucker
• mini golf
• batting cage - there is one in Everett
• beach - so many to choose from!
• the Seattle Great Wheel
• Jetty Island
• Lynnwood Pool
• Seattle Zoo
• berry picking
• explore a new park.
• go to a high school and play soccer and/or practice baseball with a wiffle ball. We recently went to Lynnwood High school and Mountlake Terrace High school.
• Meadowdale Beach - this is a big hike.

Parks:

• Flag Park
• Brier Park
• Bothell Landing
• Everett park with merry go round near boeing
• Lynnwood Park near Meadowdale with zip line
• Edmonds City Park
• Bobcat Park
• Seward Park - south Seattle
• St. Edward state park
• Volunteer park in Seattle - has a water tower to climb
• Logan Park
• many more!

Excerpts from my 2011 list can be found here.

I read this blog post about surviving summer and found some ideas I'm going to adopt.

Here's another good blog post I just found - Frugal Summer Fun in the Northwest.

If you need more ideas, I have a Pinterest board of summer fun ideas.

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One Thousand Gifts - #317 to #325

Boy, it has been a while since I counted my gifts. Life has been busy!

317. The search for a used van is finally over! No more Saturdays spent going to see cars! We started looking in January and took some time off to deal with my health but on Saturday we finally found the right car for our family. I'd like to car pool to school in the fall and be able to give our boys' friends rides with us. Now we have the joy of car payments. :)

318. 15 years of marriage!! It doesn't seem like it was that long ago, but 15 years ago on May 16th, I married my best friend. We've since moved to a different country, he changed jobs about 6 times, we've gone through rough patches, we mourned the loss of his mother to cancer, we bought a house, we had two baby boys in the span of 24 months, we moved several times, we bought a house and now we're older, wiser and closer than ever!

319. The school year is almost over. This is a mixed blessing. I get less time to run errands alone but I'm always happy to stop driving 20 miles a day. I just hope I don't have to spend too much time shooing the boys away from the computer this summer! I'll write another blog post about ideas for summer activities.

320. I had a fantastic time at the school fundraiser last week. It is a walk-a-thon and the parents get to spray water on the kids as they go by. It was so funny to hear my son's classmates say "oh no, there's Mrs. ......." LOL!

321. A very fun birthday party for my "baby."

322. Good weather so the birthday party could be held outside.

323. A flourishing rose bush.

324. I got to hold an adorable and happy 7 month old baby yesterday. There was a cub scouts leaders' meeting and one of the leaders' wives brought their baby boy. It is great to get my baby fix once in a while!

325. Fun new garden art for my back deck.

I found this for a great price at Sorticulture - a local garden art festival.

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Super Science Birthday Party

This party was pretty over the top. I think my husband started planning it back in March! His birthday is one day before my son's so this party was also for him. :)

My youngest son turned 8. We had 7 party attendees. Almost all were friends from school and one boy is a friend from church.

We didn't do anything fancy for the invitation - I just sent an Evite. For decorations, I went to the local teachers store and I got a poster of the Periodic Table of the Elements

and a poster about the parts of a cell. I also found a bulletin board set of science items which I put around our deck railing.

My husband assumed the identity of "Professor Molecule" and he adopted a German accent. Think Dr. Doofenshmirtz from Phinneas and Ferb, if you know the show. He used tons of super hair gel to make his hair crazy.

He gave a safety talk to the kids first.

We're fortunate that my husband works at a company with a lab so he borrowed some lab coats and safety glasses. We didn't have quite enough lab coats so we used some mens white dress shirts which worked just fine. I had an off white jacket which I wore. I mainly ran around taking photo and video and doing clean up.

The kids were eager to wear the lab coats and glasses.

Here's a list of the science experiments we did. Most of the ideas came from Steve Spangler's website.

The boys did the experiments in teams of two. We were so thankful that we had good weather for the party so everything was done outside.

1. Bacteria.

We have a friend who works as a biologist so she was able to give up a whole bunch of petri dishes with AGAR for growing bacteria.

We swabbed the following places to grow bacteria:
- top of the garbage bin
- the inside of the birthday boy's mouth
- the inside door handle of the bathroom
- cloth from the kitchen sink

We started growing the bacteria several weeks before the party date. We set the petri dishes in a warm place to better grow bacteria.

2. Fire Extinguisher

Using sodium bicarbonate and vinegar to produce carbon dioxide that extinguishes a flame, first a tea light candle and then a cotton ball soaked in lighter fluid sitting on top of the inverted tea light to stay dry.

We borrowed the beakers and pipettes from the lab at my husband's workplace.

3. Make your own green slime.

Here's the recipe if you'd like to make it yourself.

Ingredients:
- 8 oz. bottle of school glue (Glue All works even better)
- Borax powder
- green food colouring

Directions:

Empty the entire bottle of glue into a mixing bowl. Fill the empty bottle with warm water and shake . Pour the glue-water mixture into the mixing bowl and use the spoon to mix well.
Add a few drops of food coloring. ****see my note after the next photo.
Measure 1/2 cup of warm water into the plastic cup and add a teaspoon of Borax powder to the water. Stir the solution – don’t worry if all of the powder dissolves.
While stirring the glue in the mixing bowl, slowly add a little of the Borax solution. Use your hands to do the serious mixing. Keep adding the Borax solution to the glue mixture (don’t stop mixing) until you get a perfect batch of slime.

Note: some kids used WAY too much food colouring so if you let the kids do this, maybe give them only a small quantity. We let them use the bottle of food colouring. Oops.

We had a break after this one for the kids to wash their hands and have snacks and drinks. I served blue and red gatorade for drinks and chips and pretzels were the snacks. The party was in the late afternoon so we didn't need to serve a lot of food.

4. Elephant toothpaste
- part 1 using 3 % peroxide - this is what you find at the drug store
- part 2 using 20% peroxide - can be purchased from a beauty supply store
- part 3 using 30 % peroxide - has to be obtained from a chemistry lab

One piece of advice for you, if you try a science experiment party, allow time to clean up your demo surface in between experiments. I'd recommend using a metal or plastic table without a tablecloth so you can quickly wipe it off between experiments.

5. Alka Seltzer Rockets

Simple ingredients: packets of alka-seltzer and film canisters. The tricky part is finding film canisters. I'm told you can get these free from Costco. We got alternative canisters from Tap Plastics and cut the hinges off.

Instructions:
Fill canister 3/4 full with water. Put half tablet (1/4 works fine) into canister and close the lid, then turn upside down on a table. Wait for about 10 seconds. They went about 10 meters in the air.  We did each kid in turn, but should have had them all follow along and do them at once. They weren't good at doing it themselves because once the alka seltzer went in they got nervous and chickened out from putting the lid on. Eventually we had to stop them and move on.

No photos of this, only video. The boys loved these!

6. Smoke Bomb Demo

The elements were potassium nitrate and powdered sugar. Stump remover contains potassium nitrate. This was done in a tin can and lit with a BBQ lighter, far, far away from the kids.

Again, no photos, only video for this one. I needed a photographer assistant!!

We had birthday cake next. We ordered the cake from Safeway. We had them keep it simple and just write Happy Birthday on the border. My husband drew with icing some beakers and an atom, in the centre of the cake.

Name blurred out for privacy! 

The birthday boy opened his presents next. As he opened them, I asked the boy who gave him the gift stand next to him so I could get a photo with him and the guest. Lots of Nerf guns and Lego.

We did one last demo which was a Diet Coke and Mentos geyser. I took video of this, but no photos.

At this point some neighbour boys came over armed with water guns and a big battle ensued.

The goodie bags I handed out contained:
- a kit to make your own fake snow (from dollar store)
- goofy glasses with mustaches (from party supply section at Target)
- a test tube filled with Nerds candy. I found the test tubes at the teacher store. 12 for 10 dollars.

- some green slime in a baggie
- the materials needed to grow your own bacteria at home (a petri dish and AGFAR).

I printed out this image

 and glued it to the front of plain white paper bags which I labelled with the guests' names.


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One Thousand Gifts - #308 to #316

308. I love this time of year in the garden. So many perennials are popping out of the ground and growing so fast! Peonies, hostas,

bleeding hearts, and dahlias!

309. So many days of driving done by dear friends (while I couldn't due to being hypothyroid). One of them apparently had a migraine the day she drove my boys but she pushed through that and did it anyway. Thank you so much!

310. We have had a string of incredibly warm sunny days. Even though I got a sunburn on my shoulders, I'm so thankful for all this sunshine.

311. We had a friend of my oldest son over for the afternoon (yesterday) and he was such a polite guest. We served him dinner and managed to dodge the multiple food allergies. He said to me "it is an honour to be here." What a blessing to me! It was also a good reminder of what we take for granted with our family not having any food allergies.

312. I'm feeling more myself and hope to drive in a few days. My brain is coming back now that I'm able to take my thyroid medication. :)

313. Many days of meals provided for our family from the body of believers.

314. Hearing two sermons by my favourite pastor while our senior pastor is away on vacation.

315. Being tired from working in the garden and not from being hypothyroid.

316. My lilac tree is blooming! Last year, I didn't have ANY blooms which was quite sad. Lilacs are my all-time favourite flower since I was a little girl.

Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow!

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Isolation Day Four (Post RAI)

It feels strange calling today an isolation day since I'm at home (I arrived at 10:30 am) but I still have to keep my distance for a while. Three feet for four days after radioactive iodine is the rule. No sharing a bathroom or bedroom.

I'm lovin' all the non low-iodine foods. I had an Egg McMuffin this morning. Don't judge! Mmmm, taste all that iodine. :)

I've got lots of work to do at home and I need to be resting, too!

My brain is slowly returning, which is a good thing. I don't know when I'll be sharp enough to drive. Hopefully by Wednesday. I have driving arranged until then.

We were blessed with a meal from someone from church tonight. I hadn't eaten with my family for several days so it was good to be back together.

I promise to post about something other than food or treatment in my next blog post. :)Pin It

Low Iodine Diet Day Ten, Isolation Day Three

I think they should hand out this shirt when you get the RAI.

I get to stop the low iodine diet today!

Breakfast: oatmeal with toppings.

Snack: zucchini bread.

Not much appetite today.

Lunch - no real lunch, just a matzo cracker and snap peas.

So, are you curious about my first post-LID meal?

I'm found a little Irish pub nearby and I picked up shepherd's pie for take out. It wasn't the world's best but it was great to not have restrictions and the soda bread that came with it was yummy.


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