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.)