Good bye, darlings!

Got to spend a couple of hours with Jutta, Vanessa and Jonah today at the Esquimalt Lagoon.

Then it was into their halloween costumes and off to a party at Jonah's tai kwon do school!

Ninja boy and cat girl!!!!

Andrew joined us so we 3 adults got to go have an adult dinner at Columbo's while the kids partied.

Finally, it was time to say good bye.....oh, dear!!! We will miss our family so much over the next few months. Thank goodness they are coming down in March to visit!!!!!

cat walking....

A visit to Sheila and Anne's, and each kid got to walk a cat.....these 2 beauties came from Thailand and are wonderful friendly cats who love to walk on their leashes.
Vanessa has Misha......

And Jonah has Ursula...................

Back to Gwen and Robin's we had a big family dinner, watched a movie and had a jammy party.

Kids loved watching all the birds at the feeders - including a greedy squirrel. Next morning it was up early, off to German school for Vanessa and off to his Oma's for Jonah. Great day with our darlings!

Cadboro playground

Right on the beach, there is a "ship" with lots of fun play areas inside and out.

Then there is the great blue whale........

And Caddy, the Cadboro Bay sea monster.......

And a fine red octopus.............!

Pool and beach

After lunch we went to the Oak Bay Rec Centre, jam packed with kids, as it was a Pro D district wide. Lots of fun!

Then off to Cadboro Bay to the beach and playground! The forecasted rain never did appear, so we enjoyed the sun and sand!

Lots of families, dogs and walkers enjoying a lovely October afternoon.

This playground has been here since my kids were little, and is just as loved now as it was then.

Birthday fun!

Can you believe it - Jonah is 6 years old!!!!? His birthday was on the 19th, and his Mom Jutta's was on the 21st! Picked up the kids in the morning at Jutta's office and then off to play for the day! This is Jonah's present - a little family of hedgehogs, about which he is enthralled.

Off we went to Beacon Hill Park - played in the playground.......

Walked around the lakes..................

Fed the ducks..............and then fed ourselves at the Beacon Drive In for lunch!

Richmond visit

Friday night, painkillers in hand, off to dinner out at Boston Pizza. Had a great time with Amanda and Amber.

So great to have so much time with the family before we leave in just 3 weeks....!

Am and proud Papa, Jason.

Saturday we stayed an extra night, and Kelly, Sean and Emma came over for a big roast chicken dinner. Fun evening.

Shannon Falls

After Brackendale, we stopped at Shannon Falls, an amazing place which is really stunning in the early spring during runoff, but is still very beautiful this time of year.

As we got closer, the views got better.....!

Close up it was wonderful, but I was not able to hike up the closest trail with my stupid back.

Awesome big tree with a dual trunk system in the park.

Brackendale...!

Had to stop and walk out my back several times, so first stop was Brackendale, a dear little town beside Squamish where up to 4,000 eagles converge in November to eat salmon.

The Squamish River is beautiful, and as it was another sunny day, it was a great place to walk around - slowly...!

This is the deck of a great restaurant perched on the edge of the river - we did see a few eagles, but it is too early for the main group, who come a month later.

We had an amazing lunch on the deck, in the sun, and then drove on to Richmond, to stay at Jason and Amber's for the night.

Goodbye Whistler

Last day in town and I put my back out - ouch! - picking up some laundry from the floor....sigh. Nevertheless, I was determined to go to the Irish Pub and hear some live music, which we did.

Enough pain killers and wine, and I can do anything....it was fun.

Miki by the giant Inuktuk.

Friday morning we headed out, getting the reverse views of fabulous mountains on the way down the Sea to Sky Highway. It was a great week of west coast mountain experience, including a wonderful 3 days with Jason to celebrate his birthday.

Lunch in Pemberton

We arranged to meet Gladys and Sandy at The Pony - a great little place! Had a nice lunch and then off in different directions to explore!

Some of the houses in the Pemberton valley are just enormous. All the front doors are built several feet off the ground - to compensate for all the snow, no doubt.










Huge lovely homes with great land around them and nicely landscaped.

A subdivision of homes much closer together - all very nice.

Pemberton mountains

Wed. Oct. 13 is memorable for all 33 miners being brought up safely in Chile...Chi...Chi...Chi...Chi...le...le...le...le!!! After we tore ourselves away from the television coverage, we drove up to Pemberton for lunch.

Gorgeous mountains and scenery on another sunny day!

Little patches of snow that never did melt, and look out - winter is not far off.

What a view from downtown Pemberton!