Carter's Field Trip to Britannia Mine

In early December Carter and I went on a field trip with his class to Britannia Mine. I came here two years ago with Callie and was lucky enough to be picked as one of the four parent volunteers for Carter's trip too. I'm quite impressed with what they've done with this historic site. BC isn't very old so we don't have a lot of interesting historic sights in comparison to places I've been in the US or eastern Canada. This mine closed in the mid 70's and sat empty for many years before being turned into a historic site and they did some major upgrades a few years ago.

We broken into groups and Carter's group was the first one to get to go on the mine train. The mine goes 1.5 km down but the mine train is at the top and goes just a short distance into the mountain. The train travels a few hundred meters and stops at a dead end where the guide shows you the various types of mining equipment including pick and shovel, various types of air tools and the first kinds of mechanized equipment. All very small scale compared to some of the equipment they show outside the mine including a mine truck and a much bigger mechanized shovel.

We finished off with a bit of gold mining. Apparently the mine seeds their mining area with about $25k of gold dust each year and gives you the opportunity to pan for gold. I'm glad they heat the water because it was only about 2 degrees and cold water would not have been fun. I've been gold panning a few times now so I knew what technique to use. I found a few flakes and then helped Carter with his. He managed to find four flakes, some pyrite and some other rare minerals. He was very excited. Gold Fever!

Christmas Tree Hunt

We had to get our tree in late November this year because I was going to Prince George for the first weekend of December. This meant heading to the Christmas Tree farm on the first day that it was open. We've been going to the Dogwood Christmas Tree Farm the past couple of years. It's quite scenic and they continually grow trees, planting new ones when old ones are cut down. This seems like the most environmentally friendly option since we don't even have to have our tree trucked in from out of town. Our favourite tree is the Noble Fir. It looks, smells and feels like a tree and the needles last a long time.

Last year we just grabbed one of the trees they have already cut down. They seem to know what they're doing and they're at the front of the lot. We still get the atmosphere of cutting our own tree without having to get on the ground. I had my shop pants and jacket on though and for some reason we decided we didn't like the trees they had cut down so after the tree guy brought out a saw for us I got in the dirt and started cutting. There wasn't a lot of room to so I was glad I wasn't wearing nice clothes. It was still pretty dry and they have lots of wood chips on the ground so it wasn't too messy. We got our tree down and got it all the way home before realizing it was crooked in about 3 directions. I think it was on a bit of a hill and seemed straighter before we cut it down. We still like it and it has since been named 'Noble' with a heavy French accent. (Noblaaay) I usually make something out of the trunk after Christmas. Perhaps a French woodworking tool of some kind.

Leaf Pictures

We almost didn't get to do leaf pictures this year. The leaves stayed on pretty late and the first batch came down after it had started raining. Usually when it starts raining in Surrey it doesn't stop until next summer but we got lucky this year. After we had cleaned up the wet leaves the rest of the leaves came down during a nice dry spell. I was able to get Carter out immediately. His technique for leaf pictures continues to improve. If it was a sport, this would be his sport.

Callie took a bit longer to get outside. The obvious trick of course is to indicate that we're taking Oliver out to play in the leaves. She moved pretty quickly when she realized she might miss throwing Oliver in the leaves. Our leaves are in the front yard so we had to have his leash on. It was great fun last year in Prince George at my parents house because their leaves are in the back yard and he could run around in them. We still got him running through the pile and a few good shots of him 'jumping' out of Callie's arms.

Pumpkin Patch

It was a very warm October day when we went to the pumpkin patch this year. We went in the second week of October which may seem early but by that time they've already removed all of the pumpkins from the vines and they are just sitting in the fields. If you wait much longer you risk wetter weather settling in which just results in a lot of mud and rotting pumpkins. I suppose the one draw back of going so early is that many of the bigger pumpkins are still available which are much more expensive and of course are the ones that Carter wants.

The selection of animals this year was pretty good though perhaps there weren't quite as many bunnies. The poor bunnies get picked up and dropped on hay bales all day so I'm thinking they may have had some of them in the back resting. They did have more pens of bigger bunnies so it's also possible that the bunnies were just earlier this year. Another drawback of global warming perhaps? :)

There were also too types of pigs again. One is the animated singing pig that Carter and Kristen are finally not scared of. The other was the baby pigs. Not many kids take the time to get in the pen with them but Callie is an exception. She spent time with every type of animal including pigs, chicks and baby goats.

Quick Trip to Whistler

At the end of September the family took a day trip to Whistler. It's about a 2 hour drive so it's right on the edge of where you'd want to go for a day trip. The weather was still quite nice and it was in between mountain bike season and ski season so we figured it wasn't going to be very busy. Whistler continues to be a world class destination with some great hotels and a lot of expensive shopping. We didn't really go with much of a plan in mind and I think our goal was more reconnaissance for future trips.

The main activity for the day was to try out local hikes. There are a few small lakes nearby and a lot of hiking trails that turn into cross country ski trails in the winter. They are fully lit and there were a few fun Inuksuk stops along the way. I think next time we go it would be good if we could go with bikes for the family. We can get more mileage in and see more sights.

Carter's 9th Birthday

For every kids birthday party we have ever had Callie and Carter have wanted to have a birthday at home. This is fun but it's not exactly the easiest thing. Easier would be to have the birthday at a location like a pool, the bowling alley or in this case Chuck E Cheese. Carter decided that this year we would be doing a Chuck E Cheese birthday party. For not a lot of money they provide pizza, tokens and drinks. Each kid got 50 tokens and Carter got a few extra for handing out to friends. He even got to go in the ticket booth where they blow air around you and you have to try to catch tickets.

Chuck E Cheese is an arcade for kids with all sorts of games including video games, Skee Ball and other midway type games. My favourite is the basket ball nets. Once you get a rhythm going you can really rack of the points. The points give you tickets that you can trade in at the end of the day for prizes. Carter had a lot of fun with his friends from school and we combined all the family tickets to get him a better prize at the end. I think he had close to 2000 tickets. (About $20 towards a prize.)

His family party was a bit more low key. There is a new outlet mall near Tsawwassen that the kids have been to several times but I hadn't been. For the most part it's just another outlet mall that you have to drive a long way to get to.  I think they are trying to feed off of the ferry traffic with the hopes that people will stop for a few hours on their way to and from the island. One of the unique things it does have is called Uncle Bucks Fish Bowl and Grill. It's a restaurant associated with a giant outdoor living store that sells everything from canoes to fishing gear. The restaurant has a great atmosphere as it is painted up to look like you are underwater. Right next door is a 12 lane bowling alley that also looks like you are under water. Carter has gone bowling for a few birthday parties now so we stopped for a few games. (With the gutter guards up of course. Carter doesn't like to get gutter balls.)

First Day of School

Callie and Carter were off to their first day of school again this September. Callie of course had to have Oliver go with her. She wanted to leave earlier than Carter and I so she stole the dog and went to school on her own. Oliver really seems to enjoy his trip to the school. He's friendly with all the kids and doesn't mind all the activity and kids running around.

Carter and I went over a bit later. I always find the first day of school a bit funny. They only go for an hour though Kerry has to spend the whole day. This means Callie, Carter and I got to do our regular trip to Ricky's for a pancake breakfast. We started this to encourage Callie to go to school in Kindergarten and have been doing it ever since.

2017 Eclipse

I knew about the eclipse quite some time ago. Long enough ago that I didn't remember that I had already booked the day off in my calendar. I wasn't sure however, whether Kerry and the kids would be interested in going. I brought it up with Kerry at the start of summer vacation, half expecting her to say no and that I was crazy. Half of that did happen. The detail that turned things in my favour was that the eclipse covered Woodburn, Oregon which has some very nice outlet malls. The perfect post eclipse destination two weeks before back to school.

My initial crazy plan was to simply drive down during the night. Kerry's friend Melissa had a better idea and convinced Kerry to try to book a hotel. It was at this point we realized what a big deal this thing was. The only hotel in the area went for $1,297. We managed to get a room two and a half hours away. This allowed us to leave the morning after our Donut Dash run at the PNE. The border was already crazy with a two hour wait. We had planned on going to an outlet mall near our hotel but the timing meant we had to stop at the one in Seattle. We managed to make it to our Hotel in Tumwater, Washington by 10:00p.

At this point I was getting pretty worried. Traffic was busy at 10:00p and we still had to make it through Portland in the morning. Our hotel was a Motel 6 with less than stelar cleanliness. We slept on our own blankets on top of the bed sheets. It just seemed safer. We all had a quick nap and were up by 2:30a and out the door by 3:15a. This seemed like the perfect time because it was two hours to get through Portland which would put us through by 5:30a or so. Traffic was noticeable but manageable.

The whole way from Surrey I was checking our Solar Eclipse app. It had a feature that allowed you to check what percentage of the eclipse you were going to see. Our goal was 100% though at this point I was still okay with even getting to 95%. Little did I know what was in store for us. My original plan was to stop at the fairgrounds in Salem, Oregon. It sounded like the parking would be easy and lot's of people however it turns out it was a ticketed event that was booked months ago. I did not inform the family that I had absolutely no destination planned.

Once we got through Portland and into Salem I updated everyone on my lack of plan and we wandered around looking for a good spot. There were people parked in farmers fields and on the side or the road which seemed like a good backup option. In the end we saw a sign to a local garden in Silverton. It also had a ticket only event but the parking lot was a field at a local elementary school near a church. For $10 we were able to park and set up a blanket in a field by a community vegetable garden. There were a few hundred people which made for a more exciting event. We felt the air get cooler around 50% and the light was noticeably dimmer around 85%. It wasn't until 99% that it got fun. We wore our safety solar glasses right up until it was 100% and we were amazed at what we saw. A black disk surrounded by a beautiful coronal halo. If you've seen anything below 100% I highly recommend you book a hotel for 2024. We only saw the full eclipse for 1:46 seconds but it was absolutely amazing. I've marked my calendar already.

Hunting for Vampires

Callie started reading the Twilight series a few months ago and is just wrapping up the final book. She's also been watching the movies after each book and is planning to watch the final one on her birthday. The books are set in a town in western Washington called Forks. Although none of the movies were filmed there she wanted to go on a trip to Forks to see all the locations that inspired the books. Kerry did this 7 years ago so she already has a well educated guide.

We left early Sunday morning and drove to the Coupeville to Port Townsend Ferry. We didn't realize until the end of our trip that the way to get here is via Whidbey Island. The reason we didn't realize is because there is a bridge to get you on the island and then the ferry on the other side. Port Townsend is a quaint little town that I think could be a destination in itself though we are usually on our way elsewhere. One of these times we'll stop for a tour.

After the ferry our first stop is Port Angeles. This  town has a place in the series as Bella makes her way there for a bit of shopping and ends up in an Italian restaurant. Kerry and Callie were very excited to see that they had mushroom ravioli on the menu. I have no recollection of why this is important but apparently it's an amazing part of the book.

We were only doing an overnighter so we drove the full 5 hours to Forks to do the tourist thing. We stopped at the Forks sign for pictures and then made our way to the town information centre. They've got two red trucks there. One is the truck as described in the book and the second is the truck they chose for the movies. Callie is sitting in front of the book truck. We didn't really figure out there was a difference until we did a bit of research afterwards.

Our next destination was an exhibit of memorabilia from the movie. I made the mistake of going in first. I was immediately ambushed by three very friendly retired people who had way more of a passion for the books then I did. (I only read one of them.) They barraged me with information about various artifacts and how they were important. Again, Kerry and Callie were very excited and Carter and I stared blankly. The one interesting bit was a life size cardboard wolf form that they used in the actual movies. Since the wolves were Computer Generated this acted as a standing for Bella to talk to.

We finished up our Forks tour with a visit to the hospital, police station, Cullen House and Swan House. All were somewhat similar to the movies though of course not the ones that were in the film. The funniest part was the poor home of the Swans. It apparently has owners that aren't too impressed with all the Twilight fans stopping by for pictures. There were barricades and private property signs everywhere.

ON our way out of forks we stopped by La Push beach which is on a native reserve. Kerry hadn't been here for her last trip because it was only a day trip so it was a new experience for her. There was a treat line sign indicating where werewolves were allowed and where vampires were allowed. The beach was quite incredible with a ton of drift wood and some great little islands just off shore. I may sound like I'm complaining about the whole trip but Western Washington is still a very scene place to visit. I do recommend it. (I suppose Vampires are a bonus?)

Summer in Oliver

Our second annual summer trip was a weekend trip to Oliver. I usually like to stay a few more days but we were sandwiched in by summer camps and some work items so we could only do a long weekend. We left right after Carter's badminton on Friday and arrived in time for dinner. Our first day was very full and started with a trip to Rattlesnake Canyon. We played mini golf and water bumper cars and Carter and Kristen went on the spinning swings. Not a ride I can handle.

After Rattlesnake Canyon we headed to Tuk-El-Nuit lake to go for a swim. The lake is a 2 minute walk from Barb and Reg's house and is perfect for summer swimming. It's spring fed and always clean and the kids had a blast. We were here at the same time as their cousins and Ryan's favourite part of the day was getting a boat ride up and down the shore from Auntie Kerry. He looked like the captain on a pirate ship and probably would have done that till dusk.

We capped the day off with a trip to Tickleberries for ice cream. The grandparents had given each kid a $5 gift card. Carter learned a hard lesson in economics when he discovered this could not purchase a toy and ice cream. It only really covered ice cream which we usually buy for him so I think he felt he got a bum deal. My favourite part was watching Ryan eat his ice-cream. The kids size cone has two giant scoops and it looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa as it melted before our eyes. He needed to be hosed down afterwards.

Our plan for the second day was to go in Corey's fishing boat but it was a bit too windy so we went to Skaha beach instead. It was very busy but the sandy beach is great. We capped the day off with a trip to Liquidity winery. I hadn't been here before but they picked an amazing location. The view of the valley was incredibly picturesque. Our last day was a shorter one as we were heading back home in the afternoon. It was rather uneventful as the smoke from the first had settled in making for a somewhat unpleasant atmosphere outdoors. It was still a great weekend.

Bike for Multiple Sclerosis

The MS Bike ride is a charity ride that I've been attending every second year. It's typically in June which conflicts with a few other events I like to do so I take turns. This year they moved the event to July in hopes of getting more participants. The event is a two day bike ride through Fraser Valley wine country and is lot's of fun. This year they added a few beer stops which were interesting as well as a place that sells mead. I've never had mead but it's effectively just fermented honey. An interesting taste. The ride was 75k on the first day and 60k on the second and the weather was great. If they keep it on this weekend I'll probably do again next year.

Summer Activities

Summer activities are becoming big business now. With both parents working they need to find ways to keep their kids busy during the summer. There are all day camps but also activities like ball hockey and badminton which Carter signed up for this year. Both were one week in the mornings. Carter wasn't too sure about either sport but I took some time to show him the basics so he'd be ready. He had great fun with ball hockey however badminton was a bit of a bust. They didn't teach a lot of badminton and it was more of a daycare atmosphere. He still had fun.

Callie signed up for an art class and for the first couple days she wasn't too excited. It was at an art studio so she was hoping to learn techniques but the first couple of days were more crafts. By day three though they started on some painting and she did a wonderful picture of a deer. Definitely her best yet. She's becoming quite the talented painter.

A Harrowing Ride Home

We had a bit of a scary experience on the way home from Prince George this year though it didn't seem too scary when it was happening. We stopped in Cache Creek for lunch and as I was sitting with Oliver outside I noticed it seemed very hot, dry and windy. At this point the only big forrest fire was in 100 Mile house and there was no state of emergency. As we drove through Ashcroft we noticed a fire in front of us though it seemed like it wasn't directly in front of us. We turned a corner however and it got very smokey and we could see fire coming up the side of the road. The car in front of us turned around and so did we.

As we turned around we came across a BC Hydro truck that was shutting down the highway. You always assume there will be some sort of authority figure stopping this sort of thing but that wasn't the case here. This fire went from 50 hectares to 4000 hectares in 5 hours. After we turned around we headed down to Ashcroft to take the 97c to Merritt. As we drove through Ashcroft we could see the fire coming down the hill and RCMP were already shutting down 97c. We just barely got through before they shut down all roads down south. We would have been trapped for a week as other first had developed north of us. This was the day they declared a state of emergency for all of BC.

Summer in PG

In early July we took our annual summer trip up to Prince George to visit my family. We typically arrive on or before Canada day but this year school went right to June 30th and we really didn't want to be travelling on Canada's 150th so we arrived on July 2nd. Our first full day included a trip to the Ancient Forrest. This is an inland temperate rain forrest which is quite rare and was only recently protected. They've done a good job with the park and the trees are quite impressive for the area.

The majority of our trip to Prince George was taken up by trips to West Lake where my Grandmother has property. The kids look forward to our time at the lake every year and this year we got the opportunity stay overnight where usually we just make day trips. (It's only 15 minutes away from my parents house.) My bother Eric recently purchased a trailer and camped it at the lake. It slept all of us comfortably and allowed us to spend more time then usually. It would have been better if the sky was clear for star watching. We did manage to get several canoe trips in including a trip past the boy scout camp to the area where the lake gets fed. We used to be able to go quite a ways up stream but now it's almost entirely blocked by trees. The lake itself is also quite a bit higher than it has been historically. I usually do some sort of project and this year I took some time to build a section of stairs down to the outhouse. Only got four stairs in but it did soften the steepest part. Will do some more next year.

The other favourite part of our vacation was multiple visits to see GG. (Great Grandma.) It's always fun listening to her stories about Prince George and there are always goodies on the table for us. We helped her start another puzzle this year which I'm sure she enjoys and hates at the same time. We got quite a bit done so hopefully the rest doesn't take her too long.

Canada's 150th Birthday

Happy Birthday Canada! Ordinarily we are in Prince George for Canada day but this year the last day of school was on June 30th and we would have had to travel on July 1st. This seemed like a bad idea for the 150th birthday so instead we stayed home. Surrey has one of the largest Canada day celebrations in Canada and it's only 10 minutes from our house in Cloverdale. It has a similar feel to the one in Prince George only much bigger. A main stage, lot's of food and people everywhere.

We don't enjoy packed crowds so we went early with an unlikely intention to go back again later for the concerts and the fireworks. Parking was pretty easy and the lines at the rides were manageable. The prices however were not. Almost six dollars for each ride. Carter thoroughly enjoyed one that whipped people around pretty good. First with a friend and then with Kerry. When Kerry was on the ride her hair was almost horizontal. We finished the day with lunch at the food trucks and as expected decided not to go back for Chilliwack and Hedley.

Conference in Seattle

In June of this year I got to go to a conference for work. The city of Bellevue Washington wasn't really my first choice but the topic was very relevant to what I do at work and it was a good opportunity to learn some topics that will be required for future projects. There were four of us going from various areas of the company so to save money we took one of our company cars and drove down together. It's only about a two hour drive and it was a good opportunity to get to know a few of my colleagues. We arrived on Sunday evening and the conference schedule started right away with a meet and greet at the bar in the lobby. I stayed for a bit but one of my colleagues and I were hungry so we went to the Cheesecake Factory. I know it's useful having the calorie count listed beside your food but quite frankly I would rather not see the calorie count listed beside a slice of cheesecake. Thankfully I was able to ignore it.

I won't bore you with the details of the conference since even Kerry doesn't know what I do. The hotel that hosted was well suited to a conference and the bulk of the space was booked for us. It's near Redmond Washington which is where Microsoft and several other Information Technology companies are based. The area felt like a university campus. Lot's of your people, pubs and restaurants. I wandered around a bit but didn't do the usual tourist stuff I typically do for a conference since we come to Seattle often. The highlight of the conference evenings was when they set up a casino. We spent the night playing poker. No money but we could change our chips in for raffle tickets. A fun week.

Callie's Dance Recital

Callie had another amazing recital this year. It was Grandma Schwab's turn to come down and watch. The theme this year was Musical Legends including Whitney Houston, Prince and Michael Jackson. This was good for Kerry because she likes music from that era however it was a bit of a disappointment for me. Besides seeing Callie, one of the best parts of these recitals is the opportunity to hear new music you don't usually hear on the radio. Every song was one I already knew though there were at least a few interesting covers of hit songs.

Callie's first two dances were to Whitney Houston songs and her first style was lyrical. I call this the running and looking dance style and it didn't disappoint. Flowing dresses, no shoes and lot's of running and looking. Callie was excellent and now that I've seen the dance I think this is one of Callie's favourite styles as well. Every once in a while I'll catch her practicing at home and the moves she's doing are definitely from this dance.

The next dance was hiphop. A very different style from lyrical with much more abrupt moves and for this dance a much bigger class. The interesting thing with this year was I think she can actually use some of the clothes from this costume rather than having the costumes end up in our dance outfit graveyard. I think we still have all of them. Hopefully one year we'll convince her to donate some. We have to buy new every year but I'm pretty sure someone collects used outfits for school recitals.

Dances three and four were Jazz followed very quickly by ballet and were Michael Jackson related. There was only a single dance in between the two which they call a 'Quick Change'. Callie and some of the others in her group that are in both dance styles have to get undressed, then dressed followed by an update to their hair all in about 3 minutes. There was an ever so slight pause before they came out for the last dance but it isn't the worst of the night and everyone was excellent. I don't even think I could change that quickly and be ready for a completely different dance. The recital was great again and Callie continues to love dancing.

Cinderella's Castle

Uncle Ronnie comes over for dinner every so often and sometimes surprises us with a gift. This spring he stopped by with Cinderella's castle. It was a 5000 piece lego set of the castle at Disneyland. The family had been admiring it for several months but it was a bit pricy to purchase for ourselves. Carter and Callie were tasked with the build and I don't think we've ever seen them work together so smoothly. There was no yelling, no hitting and no lego pieces were thrown around in the making of this castle. The book that comes with this puzzle was about a half inch thick and was broken down into some fairly clear sections with each bag nicely marked. They took turns doing each section and within two days had the entire castle completed. The back is open and you can see into each of the rooms and there are about two dozen character figures. They had a lot of fun and it now has a prominent place in our living room.