Split Rock

Bruce and I took the kids yesterday to Split Rock. I have memories of going when I was kid to look for snakes with Bruce. It used to be waayyyy out, but now there is lots of development around it but it is still a pretty good sized nature area. It is really pretty there.
Elyse and Paige at the rock.

The gang. Bruce was smart to bring nets, Connor and Elyse were loving catching grasshoppers. Elyse wanted me to touch them, she kept saying "come on mom, they just feel like a crayon". Where did she come from :), I do not share her love of bugs! Yet, she is still scared of alot of flying insects like bees and wasps (which have been HORRIBLE this year, I don't ever remember them being so bad!)

Connor and Elyse loved exploring and running around. The only let down was that we didn't find any snakes this time. Connor spotted one but we were too slow to grab it. I love how well the kids all get along these days, Paige and Coleman are just one of the gang. We walked around here all morning and then it was back to Uncle Bruce's for KFC and most likely the last pool party of the year.

Beautiful September

We went to a reptile show at the beginning of the month, this was for Elyse's benefit. She loves critters! She would have loved to come home with a snake or a frog or a lizard, but not until she is older and can take care of it herself! Paige looks less than impressed but Elyse was super excited to hold this big python, she would have done it herself but it weighed over 40 lbs.
Paige was a good sport and didn't mind the little snakes.

Elyse ready for pre-school. She likes it but she has told me that "they don't really LEARN anything, it is more just playing". Elyse would love it if it was a structured school setting, when they paint, she wants the teachers to show them HOW to paint certain things rather than just letting them paint what they want. She is a funny kid and she has always been so old for her age. Sometime I feel like I have a 14 year old instead of a 4 year old with all the sassy things she says!

We have had the most beautiful September, it kind of makes up for the crappy summer we had weather-wise. I love that as of yesterday - Sept. 24, the kids were still playing in the pool. We have broken a record for the warmest Sept. It was 33 degrees C when I took this picture!

It is fun that Bruce is home, we have lots of "play-dates", Bruce let the kids create all over his driveway with all his various chalk toys. The 3-D glasses for the chalk were very cool!!

Connor was lucky enough to have Darth Vader at his 4th Birthday party. It was pretty cool, even though most of the kids were terrified! Bruce is giving her some light saber pointers :)

Again, Bruce is a pretty fun uncle, he bought a HUGE inflatable pool, it was pretty fun. The kids thought that the water was too cold, they are used to the warm water that Bruce usually fills the pool with but he ran out of hot water try to fill this thing!

First Day of Preschool

Elyse's first day of Preschool. I was so proud of her, she had a great time and she loved it! My baby is getting so big!

Victoria

We have had such a busy summer. This is our last big trip of the summer. We are off to Victoria for Crystal and Colin's wedding. This is at the Calgary Airport.
It is such a nice short flight, the girls were great and we got there at 8:30am so we had the whole day. We drove into Sydney with Grandma Anita, it is a really cute little town outside Victoria.

They had a really cool aquarium there called the Shaw Discovery center, it just recently opened and they had the coolest octopus there. We got to see it eat and move around.

Then we took the girls to Beacon Hill park in Victoria. The flowers in Victoria are so beautiful! The girls loved the petting zoo here with all the baby goats to brush.

Elyse at Beacon Hill park

Elyse looking like she is in Europe rather than in front of the mall in downtown Victoria. She is getting so big and she has these really long limbs just like her mommy.

Elyse and Paige in front of the Parliament buildings.

Chris and I in front of the Parliament buildings. They are so pretty and we took a tour inside, really a beautiful building.

At Fisherman's wharf, you can buy a plate of fish for $5.00 and feed the harbour seals. They are really cute, the come and take it right out of your hand. Elyse loved it. She LOVES all animals and in planning on being a vet, well, that or a ballerina.

In front of Undersea Gardens.We went to the Bug Zoo. It was really neat. A guide tell you about all the bugs and then you can hold them if you want. I was grossed out by most of the them but Elyse wanted to hold ALL of them, even the tarantula and scorpion but you had to be 18 to those. This is some sort of beadle I think.

This lovely critter is a nice, big cockroach.

This is big for me. I held the tarantula, I really hate spiders but Elyse was being so brave I figured I could to do it. YUCK!! I still HATE spiders!

And the last one, a huge millipede. She was keen about all the bugs there and I have to say it really helped her. She used to freak-out if a bug came near her and now she had a new respect for them.

Flower girl rehearsal.

Elyse at Gyro beach. We took the girls to the beach in the morning before the wedding to let them run around. I think I could live in Victoria, the girls LOVE the beach and the ocean and it is really beautiful there. We will definitely being going back again. We all loved it!

Paige at Gyro beach

Chris and I at Willows beach.

The Wedding

The girls were so excited to be flower girls for Crystal and Colin's wedding. They did such a great job. Elyse was very diligent about dropping one flower at a time and Paige forgot to drop the flowers but walked down the aisle perfectly. I was so proud of them, they were excellent this day, so co-operative and they had a great time.
I took sooo many pictures. They girls just looked so precious in their dresses.
Elyse

PaigeThe reception was right on the water. It was a beautiful location.

Paige

Family Picture

Pictures at the government house. The grounds are amazing there and flowers are so beautiful.

My little flower girl.

Smelling the flowers.

The government house.

Colin and Crystal and the girls.

Auntie Crystal and Elyse

My girlies. Crystal bought these really cute purple flowers for their hair, they looked perfect!

The newlyweds. Crystal and Colin make such a great couple. We are so proud of them and the couple that they are. We love you guys!

The girls with Auntie Crystal at the reception. Elyse loved dancing with all Crystal's friends, they really were great at including the girls and Elyse loved to feel like one of the "big girls".

Uncle Colin, Chris and Paige

Vancouver

After Victoria, we took the ferry over to Vancouver. I loved the ferry ride, it was so beautiful and we saw two whales.

The next day, we walked through Stanley Park and found this huge tree.

This was one of the many fun sights that we saw. Was the seagull really going to eat that starfish!???! We also saw a seagull grab a crab from the water, it was really neat. On our walk, Elyse spotted a raccoon, it was really big and we saw a huge skunk wandering just off Robson street.

The star fish were this really pretty bright purple color and the girls loved all the shells.

We finally made our way to the pool at second beach. The girls loved it! It is a heated pool right next to the ocean. Chris and I still thought it was pretty chilly! Elyse loved going down the slide. She is so brave in water.

Paige has become much braver too. She loved the seal slide.

We met up with my friend Sonja that lives in Vancouver. We grew up together and have know each other for 27 years. Can I really be that old :) We had such a full day, we walked all around Stanley park, went to the beach AND the pool, walked to the ferry to take to Granville Island, walked all around Granville and then walked all the way back to our hotel on Denman and then met up with Sonja and Damon for another walk around the neighbourhood, I definitely deserved the gelato that we had that night!

This was our last day in Vancouver. The aquarium is really nice and huge. We had a great day exploring. Paige's favorite was when the dolphins "walked on their tales" and Elyse loved the butterfly exhibit. I really enjoyed the baby beluga whale, you get to see it up close. The girls were so tired this day that it was a bit of a challenge to make it through the day! We walked soooo much in Vancouver, I think we were all exhausted.

Elyse with one of the giant sea turtles at the aquarium.