Let it snow.... Let it snow... Let it Snow.....

Like the rest of Canada, Victoria has had a real dump of snow in the last few days. Unlike the rest of Canada, no one here knows how to cope with it. We probably have a foot of snow with more expected in the next few days. Sadly, the city of Victoria's "fleet" of snow ploughs is limited to two, so not much actually gets ploughed. The roads all around victoria, owned by different municipalities, are mostly clear and reasonable to drive on, but as you get nearer to the city (especially once inside the city) the roads become worse and worse...... it's so backwards. Anyway, here are a few shots of the kidlets having fun outside and one of my favorite shots: a palm tree covered in snow.... yes.....where else in this world can you have a living emblem of a warm tropical paradise, covered in snow..... I love this island.

Doggy Love

Ginger and Logan have grown very fond of each other these last few weeks. Ginger still has fairly regular "jealous" moments, that is, if you are being affectionate with anyone else, she will attempt to worm her way in between you and the other person/dog in order to also get kisses and hugs. However, she is not aggressive or pushy, she just wants some loving as well. The two dogs really seem to be playing and walking well together. When Logan lays down, Ginger likes to be near or touching him, as you can see from the picture. And, since we have moved Ginger's kennel into the same room as Logan's, we've had much less difficulty convincing Logan that the kennel is not a bad thing. When we take them to whiffen Spit where they can be off leash and run around, they chase each other and wrestle. It's really quite cute.

A New Edition

A few weeks ago, I found a skinny dog named Logan hiding in our garage. He followed Ginger in after they had been playing in the backyard. It took me couple of hours to get close enough to read his tags, and when I contacted the owners, they denied having a dog and hung up the phone. I then called the SPCA and when I described the dog to them, they called him by name, and they picked up Logan about 3 hours later. After many phone calls, we got a call from the "pound-master" who asked if we were interested in adopting Logan. (We were told by the guy who picked him up that Logan had been caught 9 times in the last 6 months, due to his owners neglect, outside of a pub poking around the garbage looking for something to eat). We were also told that because of his size, and breed there would be little chance of him finding a home and that he would probably be put down. Anyway, long story short, we now have a very large(but small for his breed, Daryl thinks) Rottweiler who, while not terribly well-mannered but very trusting, seems to be fitting in to the family very well. Everybody loves him and Ginger seems okay with him as well except for the occasional jealous interval (just like older children when the new baby arrives). With a lot of love and lots of discipline, we think our new edition will work out just fine. By the way, compare the size of his legs with Justin's forearm.

Nothing to Do

Usually on the weekends we spend our days in the yard, but do to the weather this weekend, the two younger kids had difficulty finding things inside with which to amuse themselves. At one point, I found them in the living room with pillows strapped to their bodies running head first into each other. When asked what they were doing (other than trying to give themselves spinal chord injuries.... have I been spending too much time in the emergency room?) they told me they were having a "Sumo Championship Wrestling Match." Of course, I had to capture this on film and plan to show it at each of their wedding receptions! :)

My New Volkswagon

The above picture is my New Volkswagon Jetta!

This last picture is the Old Honda

This entry also entitled (by Miss. Shayla) "Experience with Children and Cars" .... sounds like a very expensive painting at a fancy museum, doesn't it? My old 1987 Honda had a multitude of little problems and, after being nickel and dimed to death for the last six months, I finally bit the bullet and bought myself a new vehicle. With the help and expertise of my personal mechanic Daryl, I found a 2001 Volkswagon Jetta. Yea! It's so cute! It's a diesel, and I am averaging about 840 km's per tank in the city, so I am very happy with the milage I'm getting from it. It's a 1.8L automatic. Shayla would like me to add that it has seat warmers which will be very nice on our bums when it gets colder out. Also, she wants me to add that there are little speakers on the doors just above where you open them. Also, that there are spots in the middle seat to store your candy. Gavin would like me to add that there is a pop-out coffee holder in the front. Unfortunately, I've discovered that a black interior is not so condusive to cleanliness when it involves three kids, a blonde dog and an owner that has a tendancy to spill things. Oh well, so far it's working beautifully!

Company

We recently had a visit from Daryl's dad (Tom) and step-mom (Maureen) who drove in from Kamloops. The drive takes about 3 1/2 hours but this was the busiest weekend for ferry travel so they had to wait at the terminal for 4 hours. You will see from the picture that Moe had to relieve some aggression after the long wait.

Dad's Camp-out

Daryl belongs to a group of men called the "Sooke Dads." They meet once a month to discuss "Dad and Kids" things/issues and plan an annual camping trip. Businesses in the area donate meat and supplies, and the dads get to spend the weekend (without any mothers) with their kids, instilling values and life skills (theoretically). The best part of being in the group is that Daryl knows many of the kids in town, and likewise, the other fathers know our children, so we have "eyes" all over town. Here are a few shots from the trip:

Summer Holidays!!!

Here is Ginger acting as our watch dog. Her nose didn't stop twitching the whole time we were there!

The kids "earned" ice-cream cones by running around the campground (ahhh..... peace and quiet!) On one of our trips to the "General Store," the clerk told Gavin he would give him the ice-cream that was left in the bottom of the container for only one dollar. (He didn't want to spend the time washing out the container etc.) Gavin thought he had died and gone to heaven! A boy carrying a bucket of ice-cream the size of his torso while walking down the highway generates a lot of strange looks!

With Justin's love of school, he made sure he found time to do his homework! (just kidding, Justin!) :)

On the second day there, the boys decided to spring a "red-neck" trap using two beer cans to see if they could lure any transient southerners (Tennessee or Texans) who might be lurking in the bushes.

We spent time walking a long the ocean and climbing the rocks and drift wood the tide pushed in.

This summer vacation we went back to our favorite campground 'French Beach' where we spent a week having fun and hanging out together. We went on hikes, to the park and the ocean, had water-gun fights, campfires, walked to the 'general store' a few times for ice-cream and generally took it easy and relaxed. We roasted marshmellows and made smores(I held the esteemed position of "graham-cracker-lady"). The kids also spent a lot of time riding their bikes and playing with other kids at the campground.

While there, we saw a black bear with two cubs, a cougar and an elk, as well as many little animals such as rabbits, birds, sea otters and a rat (ew). We had a great time!

The Garden

Well, with a lot of digging and grass pulling it is finally finished. You all should recall the garden enclosure that we (with the help of Daryl's parents) made last year to keep the deer out. This year, though a bit late in the season, it is all planted with vegetables. We have peas, carrots, lettuce, radishes, peppers, cuc's and even watermelon this year. Hopefully our extended growing season will enable us to enjoy the "veggies of our labour" and all will grow. Here are a few action shots.

Road Trip!

Now that Daryl has a comfy,new Harley Davidson Ultra Classic, I was able to go on the Kamloops "poker run" this year to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy. There were 850 Harley's carrying 1100 people from checkpoint to checkpoint throughout the Fraser canyon in 35 degree heat. (that's celcius for you Americans!) In our riding leathers it was incredibly hot! This year was the poker ride's 20th anniversary. This ride alone has raised over one million dollars to help those living with Muscular Dystrophy. We had a great time and put close to 1,400 km's on the bike. Here are a few pics of just a few of the Harley's, and one of Daryl and Rob (with whom we travelled.) The other picure was taken out the window of a bus that brought us to and from the banquet hall where the big party was after the poker run.

Camping popcorn incident

After our afternoon of kite flying, we decided to have a snack of popcorn. Of course, we didn't bring any popcorn that you can cook over the fire, but I did have a disposable pie plate and some tinfoil so I attempted to make my own "jiffy-pop." Unfortunately, the "lid" came off and the oil caught on fire and the whole thing collapsed into the fire pit, all the while shooting little pieces of burning popcorn at us. So, after stepping back from the pit to avoid the fiery assault, we decided to make it on the propane stove in a pot. and it tasted great! Here is a picture of myself looking quite pleased about my home-made "jiffy-pop" container, during the incident just after it caught on fire, and then at the end enjoying the popcorn that we made on the stove. Note how frizzy my hair had become during the incident. ha ha!

Back to Nature

We went camping again this weekend. We have managed to get our campsite set-up and dis-assembly down to about 35 minutes which we feel is not too long, and therefore, makes camping that much better, as we are not fighting with gear for hours on end. We gave the kids kites before we left and decided to try them out on the beach this weekend. The weather was nice and, other than the occasional kite string tangle, we all had a lot of fun! Justin's kite is the dragon. Shayla's is a spider with pincers on it's head that squeezed together every time the string length was changed. Gavin's kite was a cyclops with an eye in the middle that spun in circles when the wind hit it just right.

Camping Again

With our second trip under our belts, we are getting good use of the new trailer and plan to go again this coming weekend. We really like the campground about 20k from the house, and have been lucky enough to get the same spot both times. It was about 16C by the water last time so we spent most of the second day at the park and beach (forgot to get any pics though). I even found a great stick for the fire labelled the "Ergo-poker" and with a fire like that you need a good stick. Justin even found time to do his homework Yee-haa.

More Improvements Outdoors

As you will recall, there was a deep "cellar" attached to the back of the garage (shown in older entry) taking up a good portion of our patio. Well not anymore, we pulled it down and filled the hole. All we need is some time at home to cement it in but at least it is safe now. Karen even tried her hand at the industrial Jack Hammer and tamper.

Also, we reduced the hedge to a more manageable size which left an ugly open center. We will decide what to do with that in the fall. Our good neighbor "Bob" lent us a neat tool called the Alligator and it made very quick work of the thick branches and stalks.