This month I have so many photos to share :) A couple videos too. Links are mixed with the text below.
We went to the Children's Festival. The weather was cold but the kids didn't mind. There was a pirate theme this year, so there were pirates running around doing battles, pirate ship slide, etc. Playground equipment, abulance to climb into and check out, face painting, and more.
Children's Festival 2011
Then there was the work BBQ - the sun managed to shine when we got there and stayed out so we were able to enjoy the outdoors. There was a playground for the kids to use, in sight of everyone so we could just sit back and watch them. Potluck lunch = wonderful. Kids loved the balls and games that people brought. Overall a big success.
Misc June photos, plus a few of the BBQ
I took the kids on a road trip. We stayed one night at Jeff's mother's place, and then we went to the Diamonds for a visit. The 3 of us all slept in the same bed - good thing Charly doesn't move around as much as he used to! The kids had lots of fun playing with the 3 Diamond kids.
At the Diamonds
Stats say that we received twice the normal amount of rain in May and just under average for June... I don't remember a day that was entirely nice. It seems like the rain just never ended. It would rain for 5 minutes and then clear up, then 10 minutes later it would cloud up again. And strong winds too! I was kept busy watching the effects of the weather - flooding in some parts of Canada, forest fires out of control in other areas.
Sarah's Walk in the Rain (photos)
Sarah Jumps in Puddle (Video)
Sarah Finds Flowers (Videos)
On Father's Day we went out to my brother's place and celebrated the day and my Dad's birthday. Kids had fun playing in the muddle puddles (from all the rain of course!) and then visiting the animals. Neither were too sure about the donley ride though :)
Father's Day (photos)
Sarah with lambs and cat (video)
Charly had an outing for playschool at the ponds. Kids had fun but it ended sooner than desired because of rain. On the last day of playschool the kids did a "finale concert" to show the parents what they've learned over the past year. I got to be a parent helper at one of the five stations that the kids rotated through. The concert went well, and Charly was sad that playschool ended.
Play School / Gymnastics
Charly's sadness was short because he then became distracted with our trip to Vernon. We drove to Revelstoke right after Charly's concert, spent the night in a glorious hotel, then finished the drive the next day. On the way we had to stop for a beaver and a moose to cross the road, and we spotted deer and mountain goats. We stopped at the Enchanted Forest for an hour, and got to the Lake just after 2pm.
This time at the Lake was much different from last year. Sarah ran to the swing right away. Charly wanted to go fishing immediately :) The kids had a grand time investigating everything. Sarah was captivated by the quail running around, and would lie down on the ground to study ants. Kids ventured into the Lake. Water was warm and its levels were very high so most of the beach was underwater. Made the sand great for digging in. We were able to sit back more and just watch, rather than having to be actively involved in entertaining the kids. As long as Sarah was in sight, all was good!
Many days/evenings the wind was strong at the Lake. With the water level being so high, the winds were not too welcome. The sandy beach is almost all underwater. The guys playded with moving sandbags around, trying to hold the water and sand back. We watched the water slowly crept up to the bunk house/shed.
Wind at the Lake 1 (video)
Wind at the Lake 2 (video)
For Canada Day I took the kids into town to Polson Park where everyone seemed to be flocking too. Played at playground for a while, listened to bagpipers, saw ducks and a swan, then went to McDonalds (espresso bar there and slides for the kids). We had fun while the guys cleared the weeds and stuff off the beach - so much was blown in that the sandy beach is now at least 2 inches higher than it was a week ago.
The next day finally the weather cooperated! Temperature got up to 28C with a faint wind - just perfect!!! Relatives came for lunch and supper; turned out to be a great day with lots of yummy food. Got a bit sunburned :) We completely enjoyed the day, especially since it was our last day there.
Sarah on Lakeshore (video)
The trip home was pretty uneventful - we just followed the long line of all the other travellers LOL!
For this video (below) you may need to turn volume up - and forgive me for lack of visual stimulation LOL! We were in line up at McDonalds drive-thru on the way home.
Sarah singing ABCs (video)
Vernon Trip (photos)
