The numbers game
Today, just one of those neat coincidence things....Jade, who is 2 years 2 months and 2 days younger than Quentin, is 1 year 11 months 1 week and 1 day old. Just thought I'd let you know!
Vacation summary Part 3
There were many places along our drive that, had we not been travelling with two small people who didn't want to be in the car and so I didn't want to prolong it, I would have pulled over and taken many scenic pictures. We did have beautiful weather for all but the one night in Jasper, and that made our gorgeous countryside even prettier. Nobody could resist stopping at the world's largest truck though. One day, we'll get a picture by the world's largest tree crusher too.
We left Airdrie and made our way to Taira's home, halfway between Castlegar and Nelson. We were going to be camping, but the little time we had to spend with her (she was working during the days, after all) and the fact we'd packed and unpacked so many times already, meant that we were more inclined to sleep on her living room floor. (I hope she didn't mind too terribly much.) Being around Charley helped Quentin with his fear of dogs - which he was passing on to Jade. He's not cured, but he doesn't immediately start screaming and panicking when a dog is in sight - he just gets a little nervous instead.
We went to Castlegar the one day, and had a lovely time at a spray park. We thought we'd go there after how much the kids enjoyed the one in Kamloops. We then walked through a park with a suspension bridge. The following day Taira had the morning off and so she took us to Nelson where we played on a beach before she went to work. We then packed up and went to Osoyoos.
Unfortunately my mother had already abandoned her summer home for the winter, so we didn't get to visit with her there. Instead, we had a relaxing time at the beach for a day, did our laundry so we didn't have to do it once we arrived home, and almost felt rested before heading home. Okay, before heading to Tyler's dad's house in Cloverdale for his 50th birthday party and then we went home. And then there were the two birthday parties we went to on Sunday. And then Tyler was back at work and Quentin and Jade were back in daycare on Monday. Then I drove to Kits to pick up my purse I'd left at the second birthday party. That pretty much negated the restful feeling I'd had. Then I made jam and canned nectarines all week.
I haven't developed the pictures from the disposable camera we got at the Calgary zoo (forgot our camera in the car and had so little time there we didn't want to run back to the car). It contains pictures of the zoo and Osoyoos. You might see them someday. :)
Vacation summary Part 2
Note: This isn't actually Mt Terry Fox, but another mountain at the same rest stop. Oops. Mt Terry Fox is a little mountain off in the distance between a couple others...I do have a pic, but this is a nicer one. :)From camping in Quesnel (camping started on Tyler's birthday and we saw some amazing shooting stars from the Perseid meteor shower), we went on to Jasper National Park, stopping to view the some sights on the way. It was a lovely thunderstorm that night, after we went to bed, thankfully, but we still woke up soaked. Then we made our way to the Hirsekorn farm in Alberta (Lori's family) just south of Edmonton.
I'm not sure why I didn't take any pictures. We had a great time. Quentin went fishing at Anne and Tim's fishing hole (a mini-lake on their property they had stocked with trout) for his birthday. Both children enjoyed the trampoline at Grandma's. I enjoyed seeing everybody again. Tyler was amazed at how friendly everyone was and how they made us feel right at home. My dad came out for a couple of nights so we got to see him too. Patty, Shawn and Carmen were visiting their parents so I got to meet Patty and Carmen's daughters. Kathy and Grace were out, and Richard and his family were around...lots of family that I haven't been around in over ten years.
Then, the all-too-brief visit with my friend, Lori. It's so wonderful to have her back in my life, even if we are too far apart. We went to the Calgary Zoo for a brief run through the exhibits, then to Airdrie to visit Lori and her delightful little boy Aidan. I just can't say how much it means to me to have seen them. A giant hole in my being has been filled again...a connection to my past, somebody who knew me before I was a teenager (and in my teens, don't get me wrong). One night wasn't enough, but how many would make up for the 10+ years? Our children enjoyed playing with each other. Tyler is astounded that we each call our boys "Bug" and thinks it's something to do with Mackenzie...are there bugs there?
Vacation summary Part 1
Quentin figured out, on this first stretch of driving, that if he said he had to go poo, we'd stop. Jade decided that this trip would be a great time to potty-train so anytime Quentin said he had to, she said she had to. We didn't want to discourage her. After the third time stopping between home and Kamloops, and Quentin not pooping anytime, I clued in he just didn't want to stay in the car long, and started denying him washroom time. Smart kid though.
We took the children to the Wildlife Park. The spray park within it was a great draw for the children. Of course, so was the playground... It was a little warm that day, but not scorching hot. Quentin has a new-found love for "wolvies" after getting to feed them (food was spread out around the pen, then the wolves were released to eat after everyone got out). I included the picture of the bird because there was a question/answer session after the flying demonstration and information session. People were asking "how fast does it fly," "what does it eat," and the usual questions when people don't pay attention to what was a very thorough talk. Quentin was not going near the bird for a picture, nor seemed to be interested in anything else ten minutes after the demo ended, so I started to walk away and asked him to come. He spazzed and said he had something he wanted to tell the guy. Okay, fine. I tell him to put up his hand, because otherwise the guy was not going to realize Quentin, staring at his feet, had something to say. He gets asked what his question is. "What...what does he do?" Oh did I giggle. The look on the guy's face was priceless.
From there we headed up to Quesnel for camping, visiting April and her sons Kyle and Michael, and going to Barkerville for some good ol' gold-panning. Quentin enjoyed the experience of gold-panning for the experience itself...until other children started exclaiming how they were now rich because they had gold. *sigh*
Okay, because I know you're hoping for it...
Squirrels!
I know, I know, a post about our vacation would be nice...but that's not on my mind this moment. Squirrels are.
Some people may recall we had squirrels in our attic a couple years ago. The last week I've seen our big black squirrel going up the chimney. *sigh* Call the pest control company. AAA Wildlife, if you need a good one.
Why do I say our squirrel? Because she's always around. I'm sure she's the one that planted the nuts in my car wheels. She has no fear of humans. When you're about five feet away from her, yelling at her to get lost, she will maybe move a foot further away. She's been shredding our local papers for months. Well, we found out the reason for that today.
She had four babies in our chimney. And, to be fair, they're almost fully grown, so they haven't been an issue. We didn't know there were babies in there until the control guy started pulling out the nesting material. One black squirrel with three black babies, and one grey baby. The babies were put in a box on top of the chimney so the mommy could come and collect them and move them to a new nest somewhere else. Some of the babies moved under the roof tiles in the gutter, and the grey one stayed in the box.
The mom has had an awful time trying to pull them out and move them. They've sounded like baby birds, cats, and chickens. Odd creatures. I've felt bad for the mommy, as much as I've disliked her forever, because those kids were just not cooperating. She even had one hanging over the eaves, but there was no way it was going to help her get it off the roof, so she had to bring it back until she could find a better way to get it down.
I'm pretty sure they're all moved now. I hope they're in a safe place, not in somebody else's home. And if they are in another person's home, that they get a humane remover as well.
Note: This isn't actually Mt Terry Fox, but another mountain at the same rest stop. Oops. Mt Terry Fox is a little mountain off in the distance between a couple others...I do have a pic, but this is a nicer one. :)
