Boy Scout Camp 2017

C at Camp Parsons' dock

This was C's second time at boy scout camp.  This year his troop went to Camp Parsons in Brinnon, WA, which is on the Olympic Peninsula, near the Hood Canal.

The setting of the camp is gorgeous as you can see in the photos.The camp is almost 100 years old.

Scout summer camp is typically time for earning merit badges. C earned his wood carving badge. He also went on a 5 mile hike. At this camp the scouts didn't have to cook (unlike last year's camp) as they ate in a dining hall. C said the week started out with fried chicken. C worked on skills required for advancement. He is curently at the Scout rank but will soon advance to Tenderfoot. He stayed in an adorondack (a very simple cabin) which had bunkbeds. Here's a map of the camp.

I mailed a funny letter to C but it didn't arrive until the morning that he left. Other scouts received car packages from home and one even mailed one to himself!

We were the only parents who came to the camp to pick up their son. I was able to take group photos for the troop. All the other parents either had a dad attending or their son was driven back to the meeting spot. I was surprised since the camp was so relatively close to home and in a beautiful area.

We drove over on Friday afternoon and stayed the night in Quilcene which is 15 minutes away. We picked C up on Saturday morning and then we went to Sequim which is 30 minutes away to attend the Lavender Festival.




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Lavender Festival

On Saturday morning we picked up our son from Boy Scout camp. We drove from Camp Parsons to Sequim (pronounced squim) for the annual lavender festival. There is a large street fair and farm tours.

At the street fair I had crab cakes and J had elephant ears. I bought some lavender themed fabric which I plan to use to make sachets. I have several lavender plants in my own garden.

As we walked to our car (back from the street fair) we found a little girl selling lemonade (both regular and lavender flavoured) for 50 cents in her front yard. It was delicious.

J and the boys dropped me off at Purple Haze Lavender Farm. I visited this farm back in 2007 with my friend Colette. I'm glad it is still there.

I took some photos and then cut some lavender to take home.

I had a lavender lemonade but it wasn't as tasty as the one from the little girl!

Tip: if you go to the Lavender Festival be sure to arrive really early in the morning or arrive the night before. As we drove out of Sequim (at about 2:30 pm) we saw traffic backed up for miles and miles and miles and miles along Highway 104 towards the Kingston ferry. It is a two lane highway that can't seem to handle the volume.


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Canada Day 2017

It has been many years since my husband and I have actually been in Canada on Canada Day. This year Canada celebrates its 150th birthday. Since July 1st fell on a Saturday, we decided we could spend the day in Canada. We left home on Saturday morning at about 9:30 am. Our border wait was 20 minutes.

I did some research into Lower Mainland Canada Day celebrations and I picked Richmond since it seemed to be a large one and the salmon BBQ drew me in. Richmond is also convenient to the border.

We arrived in Richmond at about 11:30 am. We parked our car at the edge of where streets were blocked off. As we walked, we found the giant Canadian flag pictured above (in front of a homeowner's garage) and this Mountie happy to pose for photos.

We caught the tail end of the parade. The little we saw was very Asian, as to be expected since Richmond has a majority of Chinese immigrants.

Next was the salmon bbq. There was a super long line.

We ate our salmon then we explored the booths and performers around Richmond.  We watched a man on a super tall unicycle juggle flames and knives. We even found a horticulture display with ribbons for extra large rhubarb grown in someone's garden.

Next we walked along the Steveston Waterfront and down to the boat docks.

We saw live crab (still wiggling) and cod being sold from the back of boats. Also, live sea urchins.

This marina is the site where in May a little girl was pulled into the water by a sea lion. We saw lots of signs telling you not to intereact with them or risk a pretty hefty fine. $100,000 I think.

My favourite part of the day was spent sitting on a bench on the boardwalk, people watching.

There was a man playing the pan pipes nearby. My hubby liked that. Me, not so much. Screamers (near the Gulf of Georgia Cannery) sells a delicious pineapple whip ice cream. We had supper on the boardwalk eating fish and chips from Pajo's. Thumbs up for their fish and chips.

We saw this huge yacht docked nearby. Here the boys are prentending it is ours.

We walked to Garry Point Park (near the mouth of the Fraser River) and found a spot for watching fireworks. C and I both put Canadian temporary tattoos on ourselves. I hate my profile so I must really love this photo (taken by C) to share it.

Here are C's hands.

It really cooled down when the sun went down and the wind picked up therefore I was freezing!

After we watched the fireworks, we made the big walk to the car and then sat in a bit of traffic getting out. J moved the car closer to us part way through the day.

Our boys were amused by the sign on the public buses which weren't in service. The sign read "Sorry, Out of Service." They thought that was quintessentially Canadian.

We got through the border fine and arrived at our hotel in Bellingham just after midnight. I couldn't figure out why the front desk clerk was smiling at me. Then I remembered that I had maple leaf temporary tattoos on both off my cheeks. He he!

On Sunday morning we attended Christ Church Bellingham (where my friend's husband is associate pastor) and returned home.


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Eight Grade Graduation

A holding his graduation certificate. 

My son is now finished with Middle School. He also leaves the only school that he has known. He attended it for eight years.

Wednesday morning was a Commissioning Breakfast where the faculty prayed over the students after we heard speeches from three alumni (who are now high school seniors) and there was a special speaker.

faculty on stage and parents laying hands on students.

The repeated advice (for high school) from the speakers to the graduates was: get involved, sign up for things, and try new things. We've been stressing that to our son so it was quite ironic. On display at the breakfast were the posters the kids created about themselves. The posters included their life verse, photos, and schoolwork they chose to show off.

Above is A's poster. His name is the heading (not shown).

I admit that I cried a little at the breakfast. I am pretty sad that his time at his school is over. His school has been a tremendous blessing in his life and in ours. I think choosing it was one of the best family decisions we have made.

Tuesday night was graduation. The students gathered for a formal group photo first. The ceremony included singing by the advanced choir, a speech from a parent, a speech from a student (selected by the faculty), award presentation of valedictorian and presidential academic acheivement awards (which my son received), and a slide show of the kids with a baby/toddler photo followed by a current photo. There was a stand up reception afterwards. On the tables were photos all the graduates.

The graduation program listed all the names with the high school they will be attending and the reference for the student's life verse. His six grade teacher (no longer at the school) came for the event. A student teacher was very popular with the boys was also there.

the student teacher is the one in shorts. :)

Here is A with a friend.

We went out for "FroYo" afterwards. (That's frozen yogurt.)

The next evening was the parent-sponsored graduation party from 4 pm to 9 pm. It was held at a farm with a large barn (very fancy inside) in Snohomish. The most popular activity for my son was the human foosball. There was also dancing, laser tag, fire pits and smores, a dunk tank, and a photo booth. My husband said the food was delicious. It was BBQ sandwiches.

My hubby chaperoned. I came just for the final event. A parent bought Chinese lanterns for all the kids and the idea was to say a prayer for your child and then light it with them and send them off into the sky.

boys with their lanterns

the barn is in the background

It was pretty beautiful seeing them all float away. We said goodbye to his friends and headed home.

A friend took a photo of us as a family at graduation but she hasn't sent it to me yet.


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Springtime in Victoria

Spring Break often means a family trip to Victoria where my parent live. We left late Thursday night to avoid a wind storm forecast for Friday afternoon. We stayed at a motel near the Tsawwassen Ferry.

First thing in the morning we caught the ferry (above is the view from the back of the ferry) and arrived in time to WATCH the storm along Dallas Road in Victoria - the best place for seeing waves. The ferries were cancelled that afternoon due to the high winds.

Here is C being buffeted by the wind.

We stayed in the beautiful hotel we stayed at last time - Oak Bay Beach hotel. This is the view from the dining room. We enjoy the outdoor pool and hot tub that are open late.

Friday night we had dinner at Swiss Chalet. Later the boys and Grandpa played crockinole. Don't know what crockinole is? Here's my explanation. My mom was sufffering with bronchitis so we didn't do many outings.  We did make sure to get some photos taken.

On Saturday afternoon, just the boys, my hubby, and I travelled to the Sooke Regional Potholes park.

The most interesting part of the park was the ruins with elaborate stone work.

At the nearby visitor centre we asked and found out that there was a lodge planned for the area. Construction started but the mortgage fell through and the resort wasn't completed. I think it is a shame that it hasn't been replaced or at least completely demolished. The graffiti isn't very appealing. There is a large fence surrounding the ruins with barbed wire at the top and many signs that say "No Trespassing." We were surprised by how many adults were inside since we only found a small hole that a child could climb through.

Here's a link to some great photos of the ruins. I found this great video (taken by a drone) which gives a fantastic view.



There is a lighthouse at the nearby Sooke Museum and Visitor Centre. It was originally located at Triangle Island which is 29 miles north of the tip of Vancouver Island.

On Sunday morning we had breakast at the Village Restaurant (in Estevan Village) which has become a tradition. We attended my parents' church and were blessed by a fantastic sermon. We caught the 1 pm ferry back to the mainland. There was a killer whale sighting during the ferry ride.

At our customary stop at Tim Horton's (in White Rock) before we cross the border, we ran into an old, old friend of mine (ha ha!) who recently moved to Vancouver - Stephen Robb. He's like a brother to me. His sister was my best friend for many years.

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Spring Blossoms

The cherry blossoms at the University of Washington campus are something that I had long wanted to take in. We hoped to go there on my birthday but that day was rainy and the blossoms weren't completely out. We found some time on Saturday April 1st.

We weren't the only ones there. That's an understatement. The place was packed! The funny thing was that the majority of the people were Indian or Asian.

With so many people there it had the atmosphere of a festival. Lots of people dressed up to take family photos. My son climbed up a tree. Later we saw a sign that said "don't climb the trees." Oops.

We found this beautiful magnolia tree at UW with HUGE blossoms -  the largest I've ever seen.

I took this photo of a tree outside the public library.

Spring is definitely here, at last.

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Spring Mantle 2017

I did a bird theme for this year's mantle. Can you tell? The only new item that I used is the poster in the middle. Everthing else I found in my stash of decor items.

Here's a close up view of the right side:

Left side:

Close up of the poster:

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