Iona Beach March 19,2012

During spring break Darren has had to work a bunch so Sam & I have kept busy. But in between it all when Darren does come home for short periods of time we have tried to make the best of it. So on Monday Darren was coming in at lunch time. So Sam & I gathered up his bike, and Bronwynne to head out to Iona beach and meet Darren. Once we met up Sam hopped on his bike and Brownwynne was just pleased as punch to be included in the activity and see Darren I thought she was going to hop out of the window when she saw him.
We walked the jetty right out to the end, it was quite windy but refreshing. A few people were out, at one point we couldn't see a soul. I did manage to bring my camera thinking I would snap a few pictures. Well wasn't I sorry that I didn't have a variety of lenses. There were a couple of eagles and it truly was a sight to be seen.

PICTURES 

Trip to the Vancouver Aquarium March 15,2012

Sam & I were invited along with some friends to go to the aquarium. I will admit right now we had not taken Sam to the local aquarium. We have been to other but, it just didn't seem to draw our attention. So this opportunity arose and Sam & I sought it.
Our friends Shannon and her boys Jacob & Brady all headed down amongst the craziness of all the traffic headed into town,the downpour of rain and more rain and  the drive along hastings and its colourful surroundings. But, alas we arrived and headed into the aquarium. The draw for spring break was BABIES from all of the creatures. As we arrived through the doors Shannon suggested we get in line for the 4D Happy Feet Movie, glad we did it only got busier. The movie was a hoot, a small clip from the movie was shown along with wind, spritz of water, bubbles and vibrating chairs were a part of the full 4D experience. At the end of the movie we wandered through the many fish and more. We made an appearance outside to watch the dolphin show and hit the touch a feel stations . A wonderful assortment of experiences we had by all.

A FEW MORE PICTURES

Thanks Shannon, Jacob & Brady

March Madness March 12,2012

Darren & I had the honour of hosting March madness, if you have no idea what I am referring to let me enlighten you. We have many family members sharing the same birthday month. Uncle Dale, Uncle Dave, Auntie Pauline, Rachel, Grandpa & Hunni's anniversary in addition to Darren & myself.

We try to plan a dinner that was flavourful yet not taking away from enjoying our guests. We planned and made quinoa salad, broccoli salad, green salad, salmon en papillote, garlic roasted potatoes, baked yams and for desert we baked peanut butter cups in a jar  with strawberries and whipped cream. 

I assume by the empty plates that all went well. Darren & I were pleased and would make the salmon en papillote again.

We hope that everyone had a wonderful evening. 

Jill's Surprise Party March 10,2012

We had a chance to honour one our friends Jill. She is one of the first to turn 40 this year. We thought we would start the celebrating with a surprise party.
Just a little background on Jill. She is a our friend that keeps us all together. She is always communicating with each of us and manages to keep us all in the loop. She is kind, generous, always up beat and so much more. So this was our opportunity to celebrate her.
We had planned an italian themed meal as Jill enjoys chicken and pasta. Jodi let us have the party at her home. All the girls were kind enough to help put the party together. Which included a chocolate fountain, champagne flutes filled with prosecco and strawberries for a toast. Homemade deep dish lasagne,pasta, chicken parmigiana. A selection of meats, cheeses and olives. Dessert was an ice cream cake decorated with a bottle of La Scala(drink or choice when Jill was younger. LOL)

We had an enjoyable evening reminiscing and celebrating.

Hope you had a wonderful evening Jill! Happy Birthday.

Darren was also kind enough to put together a video attached below.

Greaves Family February 5,2012

I was asked to come a take some photographs for our dear friends. We had scheduled and rescheduled but , finally we had a date!
Then I began to think about it and get quite nervous. I never like letting my friends down. I appreciate when they give me the opportunity to capture their families.
So Sam & I ventured out the day before so I could familiarize myself with the park closest to them and a few other options. Sam is such a trooper, I'm sure he would think it strange if I didn't have the camera shoved in his face. He was more then willing to assist me in the quest. It was great weather a tad cool but decent light in my opinion. Here is a link to those pictures.
And the same happened for the following day. The initial part of the pictures were to capture their daughter Maya in her traditional Japanese kimono. I loved how her grandmother dressed her with such attention to detail and was overjoyed that I was their for the actual act of dressing. I still flounder around with indoor light and continue to hone skills on both accounts but this is not my strength. After we completed this half of the shoot we wandered down the street to their local park. Well what a hoot. It is a true pleasure spending time with all of them and they were game for a few things that we tried successfully and some not quite so.
I asked them just recently if it was okay to share a bit and they gave a nod of approval.

On a side note I asked Darren to throw together a little video. The entire time I was photographing them I had this darn song stuck in my head so Darren put it to good use.

ENJOY!

Thank you Greaves Family you are the best.

Making Trio Bars January 22,2011

If you have ever tried a Mrs. Mays trio bar you will appreciate this post. I was stumbling around on the internet then discovered this fantastic blog Enlightened Cooking. She had a post for homemade trio bars and more, well worth the look. So of coarse I had to try and they are fantastic. If you are local and are looking for the Lyle's Golden Syrup I found mine at Save On Foods.
So this was me putting my bars together.

On a side note she mentions using foil the second batch I did I used parchment and it turned out just fine.

Hope you try them too!

Sledding @ Mt.Seymour January 16,2012

So we did it we skipped school and went sledding for the day! We actually had to convince Sam it was okay. And it was AWESOME! We were inspired but the little bit of snow that had fallen in our neighbourhood and Darren was off so it seemed like a great fit. We packed up our warm clothes, a lunch and a sled and headed out to Mt. Seymour. They also have tubing but we decided it would be more exercise if we had to walk up the hill ourselves. The weather was perfect there was a bit of snow falling and the sky would clear up. The three of us had a blast, we even ate our lunch on the side of the hill then resumed sledding. After a few good hours we packed up and headed back to town. Sometimes it is okay to have a snow day!

Darren put together a little video of our day if you would like to check it our here is the link.

New Years December 31,2011

The Field family once again opened their doors to us to ring in the New Year. Everyone had a lovely time    both the adults and kids. Sam was up till 2:30am, that kid can party. We actually only three kids asleep by that time it was Hugo and the twins. The rest of the kids were up, AWESOME!
Of coarse that was a ton of food, nothing like making sure you start your diet on January 1st! HA! We had a chance to catch up with almost everyone, we had a couple of sickies that didn't make it. BOO. It was lovely to see everyone and continue to realize that we are truly blessed.