Anniversary Update

Now that things are little bit more settled with the kids back to school, I can finally sit down and post some of our anniversary pics. As mentioned before, this was a vacation to reconnect and do absolutely nothing; and that is exactly what we did. I can honestly say that I have never been more relaxed in my life (as I'm posting this, I have Avery and a friend of hers in this room, bugging the hell out of me to get them some craft supplies)...so much for the relaxation! We really need to do this every year! Just to get away from the daily demands and needs of the kids and work and what has to be done the next day and the next and the next.......

Our tenthouse suite, is the one pictured here #59..closest to the ocean and one of the most private as we were veered off the main boardwalk, so no-one had to walk by ours to get to another one.



To get to our tent, we started through here, and continued along the boardwalk until we arrived.




This was the inside of our tent: every view overlooked the ocean. Every night we fell asleep to the waves crashing against the rocks and every morning we awoke to extreme peacefulness.


This was our view from the balcony. We spent most of our time here, reading, sunbathing, drinking our coffee and eating our breakfast. One afternoon we ventured into Pender Harbour for lunch and tried our hand at kayaking for an hour, but other than that we stayed here. We barely got out of our robes...the most comfortable, soft robes in the whole world. You can check them out on-line at warm buddy company.




Dale surprised me one evening with a delivery of champagne, homemade truffles and chocolate covered strawberries



we also enjoyed a couples massage in this outdoor tent overlooking the ocean:


and then we had our 7 course dinner..not the typical dinner you would think of...we did alot of taste experimenting. Thankgoodness, for the 8 glasses of wine that was supplied with each course..some of them were a little hard to stomach! Needless to say, I was craving a nice big juicy steak by the time we got back to Vancouver!



Would definately highly recommend this resort to anyone looking for a special getaway, but you have to stay in the tenthouse suites...they are what makes this trip extremely romantic and special!

Pure Romance

In just 2 hours, Dale and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary. Dale is honestly one of the best husbands and fathers around. He has spent more sleepless nights with the kids from the time they were babies till now...he's definately cleaned up more puke than I have in the middle of the night! He shares all the duties around the house and in fact, probably does more cooking and cleaning than I do! Most importantly he always makes sure we are looked after and that we are happy.

I know that I have taken these and much more for granted.....so to celebrate our 10 years of marriage and to kick start the next 10 years, I searched for hours for the perfect place to go and get away for just a few days. Lo and behold I found it right here in our own little country.

In just a few days we will be heading to Rock*Water Secret Cove Resort...no kids...no TV...just the two of us in our own private tenthouse suite with no agenda and nothing to do but enjoy each other. I can't wait!!

Video of Blake's first waterski and knee board

Kimball Lake

Blake's good friend Billy came to the lake with us this year. He's never done any water sports before, but you couldn't get him off of this tube! Our good friend Lee came with us this year with a bigger and more powerful sea-doo. The kids kept him busy constantly asking for more and more tube rides. They were getting pretty cocky too, so to our pleasure, they finally got thrown off the tube. Billy went first, Blake then proceeded to bounce into Billy's seat and then right off the tube. Well, they asked for faster speed and bigger waves and they sure got them!


My favorite part: Blake tried water-skiing again this year. None of the kids wanted to try until we finally convinced (Actually Dale bribed him!) Blake to go first. After that, all the kids wanted to try. This year, he got up and out of the water on the first try and made an entire loop without falling! We were so proud of him and he was certainly proud of himself...his grin was ear to ear!






We lucked out with the weather again this year and were fortunate enough to have a beach day every single day we were there. Rylee and Avery got a "KICK" out of this extra large beach ball.



Blake was the foreman with the construction of this "Aquarium" for the minnows they caught. Complete with "algae" and fishtank toys. It kept them amused for a nice long time!



Avery decided to build a "dino park". You really can't have too many plastic toys at the beach!


The next day after water-skiing, we convinced Blake to try knee-boarding. He "reluctantly" said he'd go. I think his ego was pretty inflated after water-skiing, so he once again was the leader here. He even really showed-off when he took one hand off the rope. I'll have video to post tomorrow. He definately takes after his mom for his water sport ability!






The last day we went to "Jeanette Lake" to a friends cabin. Once again my little daredevil tried his hand at rope swinging. These kids must have done it over a dozen times.





Even Dale got in on the fun! Unfortunately we couldn't convince Avery to go...maybe next year!

Calgary Zoo

Last stop, Calgary Zoo. We were lucky to be there during the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit. As many times as we have been to the zoo, we've always just rushed to see all the animals and have never went through the Dinosaur part. This gave us perfect reason to finally see it. Blake kept asking if they were real (even though he was pushing the buttons to make them move!)



It was sooo hot that day, that I didn't feel like pulling my camera out all the time and with all the other pics I have of the zoo, I just decided to take a few pics.



And of course, the main reason for going to Calgary in the first place. Avery loved seeing the babies again.


and that adorable puppy of Tricia's....Zana


and having Grandma with all her grandchildren at one time.

Callaway Park

Next stop: Callaway park! The last time we were here, the kids were a bit too little to go on some of the bigger rides. Blake still couldn't go on the roller coaster, but he certainly enjoyed the big swings with Uncle Vern.


Avery isn't much of a thrill seeker, so she stuck to the little swings. Notice Blake in the back. Can't you tell by his face that I made him go on this ride with his sister. She wouldn't go alone and I, of course could not fit into those swings, so there was only one choice left.



Although he did thoroughly enjoy the small roller coaster and the Wave Rider with his sister. Go figure!


We finally caught up with the cousins and Blake went on the Arenaline Test Zone with Nick. I tried to convince Avery to go on with me, but no such luck.


And the most favorite ride of all: Free Fallin'. Both kids could go on this with an adult, but Avery would not go on. We were by ourselves at this point, so I asked an adult behind us if he would mind taking Blake on with his kids.
So up, up, up he went...

and Whoosh!...down he came. His smile was priceless! After we watched him, Avery then decided that she now wanted to go on it too. So back in line we went to wait and sure enough she did go on it and Loved it. I was on with her, so no pics of her to show.


To wrap up a very fun and very hot day..the infamous snow cone!