Vancouver Lights

Last weekend was the last day of the Celebration of Light, so the hubby and I took a trip to Vancouver  to see it all. When doing some searching, I found this Self-guided Art Walk in Vancouver (mainly Stanley Park) and I convinced my hubby to do a bit of it together! My goal was to take pictures of each one we saw (knowing we probably wouldn't be able to walk around to all of the downtown and park art), but after the first few of me forgetting to snap a shot, I gave up on the photo idea!

Here we are by the Olympic Torch

By day and by night!

 We took a few photos to show the kiddos--things we had seen from a distance earlier in the week, or things we had encountered in books.

 E has a fascination with the Titanic and wanted to see a cruise ship up close to compare, so we needed a few photos for him!

 This above one was great too--because we saw it at night as well, and it has lights flashing. I was very impressed with the artist's thinking behind this piece.

(As a teacher, it'd be neat to see students try this on a smaller scale, and at a primary level maybe just a 2D work would be great to try)

Here are some of the totem poles by the Sea Wall.

 Siwash Rock

 There was an artist selling his photographs and cards of these rocks he had created. He was showing some people passing by how he did it~they just didn't have the talent he did!

 Me

 The hubby--although he'll probably hate me for posting a picture of him/us looking tourist-y! (I loved his hidden interest in finding the places I wanted to see!)

 Us at English Bay. We had gone out for dinner, and then realized we should probably scout out a spot as the beach was already jam packed with people! Some friends who passed by were happy we had been there and joined our SUPER-GREAT spot! Since we had some time to spare, I figured out how to use the "fireworks" setting on the camera before the fireworks started! I think the photos turned out alright. 

It was loud and beautiful!

It was Canada's night, so of course it was superb! :)

a few (more) cards. . .

Oops! I realized I already had a post started about some cards I had made, only I never posted it! So here are a few more pictures of some super simple cards I've made using scraps (see my last post about a few cards). I don't have any of these cards anymore. . .they were all sent out!

(This top one I made during GEMS once. One of my girls couldn't focus long enough to get through a whole lesson, so we started making cards together so she was being "creative" and using her hands. I figured if we were sending out encouraging cards to her friends, family and people in the church, maybe she was still learning all those important God-lessons that she might have learned through doing the full lessons.)

I love this one. . .simple, easy, but kinda cute. . .and I like the pink and green combo.

A few cards. . .

I don't claim to be a super-great card-maker or scrapbook-creator like some of the people I know and the blogs that I visit occasionally, but I enjoy doing it, whether they turn out okay or not. I was pretty proud of myself for getting my baby's scrapbook all done by the time he was 15 months. It is not nearly the size of my other kiddos, but it captures all that it needs too!

In the last little bit I have been trying to make cards out of the "scraps" I've collected. My dutch thriftiness says I can't throw out something that can be used in the future, so I figured it was about time I tried to use some scraps, to see if they were even useful! In addition to that, a friend of mine let me borrow her huge box of Stampin' Up sets, so, I figured I had to be able to create something if I compiled all the resources!

So here are a few. . .

And a few more. . .

Another thing I've been trying out is using the stamps to make"pop-ups" (or whatever the correct term for this is!) and using one of those blending brushes for watercolour pencils. I may be 10 years behind in stamping techniques, but I have had a few pockets of time before I need to head back to work, and I thought I would take advantage of it!

Summer so far. . .part 3

Our summer adventures continue. . .for those of you who care (and have been bugging me to post again!) to see how we are spending our time!
Funny how prayers are answered. . .E loved going to the Agrifair so-o-o much that he was convinced that we should go again on the last day of it. We kinda told him that it was fun to do once, and we'd go again next year. But he still spent some time pleading his case with God, telling him how much he loved God's great animals and creation. :) As a parent, I told him about how God sometimes says no to prayers and that I didn't really want to pay for a day to the same place again. (Sorry!!!) But on the last day, it turned out we got some passes (Thank you, Chief!) and we ended up going again! This time we watched some different presentations, including E's favourite--Trials Stars Bike Demos. Now he thinks he should being doing "tricks" on his bike! Great!
Here is our little guy in the stroller, all ready for another day out and about!

This time I remembered to bring my camera, but didn't really use it a bunch! Here are the kids milking a "cow."

Here are the kiddos playing on the tractors again! They loved it!

Then we had to try out the climbing wall again! Princess A wanted to give it a try this time too, and although she didn't get very high, she loved it!

E trying to go higher each time!

And here are our balloon-making friends!

After the bike show, Princess A thought she should learn to ride her bike without the training wheels. . .I think we have a ways to go!!!

Little A getting in on the action as well--helping with the training wheels!

We had a day out at Crescent Beach, too. Everyone loves looking for crabs, hermit crabs and other sea creatures on the beach as the tide goes out. This was little A's first year to explore, and he didn't hesitate to find shells, rocks, and sea creatures along with the others!

With the tide out, we could walk quite a ways out. . .too far to keep up with my little camera. We love stopping in White Rock, too, to check out the Pier (and the view of the fish, sea gulls and the jelly fish) and the white rock. It's a tradition. It's what we do.

The next day we went out to Stanley Park in Vancouver and took in all the sights at the Vancouver Aquarium. The place was packed!!! (Not so ideal for the jogging stroller we took in!) The favourite was the dolphin show, followed by the Birds of Prey show that was there for the summer. E pretty much had the one from the Greater Vancouver Zoo memorized, so it was good for him to see some new flying friends to learn about! They pretty much like it all. . .except that 4D show!!! So. . .one day the hubby and I will have to go to see more than 2 minutes of that!

Trapped! Well, exploring anyway!

The kids loved the huge aquariums and the colourful sea creatures. Little A tried to talk to them all. He wasn't so fond of the dolphins--their splashing and jumps scared him, but he loved the creatures that moved slowly!

Here we are in the "rainforest." If you put your hand out, a butterfly would land on it! We saw parrots and macaws, sloths and stingrays. It was neat for E after learning about the Rainforest in school this past year.

Here's just a few photos of some of the things we saw. . .

Being a fan of Wild Kratts, the kids loved hearing about all the conservation efforts and what they could do to help save the animals. (I have a few suggestions to offer the Aquarium to save my sanity when visiting a place like that. . .but that is another story!) We went to Stanley Park and the kids water park afterwards to collect some shells and walk a bit. And then we got stuck in Vancouver traffic. Yuck! Oh well!

Summer so far. . .part 2

Part of summer that the kiddos enjoy, too, is the Summer Reading Program at the local library. They joined up, and have attended a few of the extra shows and events that the library has hosted (Mike's Critters, the Purple Pirate, etc). One of those earlier activities was the Summer Bash, which was a little ironic because it was pouring rain and all the activities had to be adjusted and moved inside! Still lots of crafts, games and bubbles! But as always, Princess A saw face painting, and she had to have it done!

The kids also joined a Vacation Bible School this year, hosted by Gateway. It was AMAZING!! They loved it! Here they are at the final BBQ lunch. . .being quite silly!

And of course, once the sun came out, they had to start playing een harder than before. . .and this is how I found them one day! Ew!!! Mud!

Little A, sporting his chair, staying up too late.  . .

We also spent some time doing some colouring contests in the local newspaper. One of them had to do with the Abbotsford Air Show. Then E had to continue the fun making his own airport. I never claimed he was an artist--but he does have creativity. This picture was taken and then followed by the creation of the airport terminals, helicopter and rescue areas, museums, etc. And the best part of all is that Princess A's name was picked from one of those colouring contests, so we get to go to the show! Princess A was excited, but E was ecstatic! "It was what I always wanted to do!" were his words, which was very true because he had been praying that God would hand us some tickets for it on a few occasions. ;)

Then of course we went to  the Agrifair. I forgot the camera (oops!) so not too many pictures here, but they had some balloons made for them, so we took a picture when we came home.

Because I didn't take my camera, I was forced to learn to use my phone's camera and learn how to send it off to my computer (I am the worst at using a cell phone! I can barely answer the thing!) Here the rest of the family is sitting on a tractor that used to belong to my hubby's dad and grandpa, but now belongs to the Pioneer group who shows off the antique tractors and farm machinery at the fair.

The kids also had fun doing rock climbing and tumbling at Twisters,  looking at all the animals, and watching the trampoline shows, dance shows, magic show, and the presentation put on by the Greater Vancouver Zoo. Lots to do, from milking a cow to rides and learning activities!

Until the next batch of photos. . .

Summer so far. . .part 1

After being bugged to update, here is a blog entry. . .finally!

Summer just gets too busy to blog!

The start of summer. . .a little time spent at the local water park. We actually spend a lot of time walking and biking around the "lake" throughout the year, so when the water turns on, its kind of a treat. Well, that and a sunny day! We haven't had a lot of those during the first part of our summer!

And of course, there was Canada Day and the Parade! We went as a big family, although we didn't go early enough to get a front row seat this time. We'll make a note of that for next year. But that didn't stop us from getting my favourite Canada Day Parade samosas--I LOVE those things! And the kids LOVE the stuff they get, too!

Here is E and Princess A with our Aunt PJ (sorry--that was the hubby's words!) and little L!
Below is how the kiddos collected their loot! Thanks to those extra generous firefighters who made a special trip out to our kiddos and filled their hats!

Later on in the day the hubby and I took our older kiddos to the Canada Day Celebrations at the Exhibition Grounds--which was swarming! But we saw a bit of everything and got to make a few crafts, play in the sand and sing with Charlotte Diamond!

Here is Princess A getting some help to finish a "tied tutu" from The Reach's tent.

And E playing in the gigantic sand pile!

Another thing we enjoy is our hot dog dinners at Mill Lake. Easy supper and lots of fun for the kids to play (and get tired before bed!)! This time was for Princess A's birthday, I think.
Lots of fun trips to the park with our cousins, too!

As the month passed, along came the Berrybeat Festival. Princess A loves getting her face painted, and we found one booth that was doing it!!! So she got her beloved butterfly. . .in pink and purple, of course!

The final product:

I kinda forgot to take pictures as the morning went on, but here is one of them playing on the streets. They had fun at the Old Spaghetti Factory's booth, Four Cats, and the Lego one, too! And who can resist the mini-donuts, of which Oma was able to get the last ones before the machine broke! Lucky us!

More photos to upload still. . .