weekend at Beachwood

I spent some time camping at Beachwood this weekend with Pammer and the Unrau's. The weather was great, so we spent lots of time lounging by the pool catching some rays during the day, and enjoying the sunset and campfire at night (mmm...s'mores....). Here are a few highlights of the amazing scenery.

The colours were beautiful...we were a bit late for the sunset this night, but the remaining colours in the sky were pretty sweet

i spent a bit of time playing around with the manual mode and shutter speed on my camera...don't really know what i'm doing, but whatev's, it was fun! Here's the giant tent Pammer and i slept in...this thing is huge, you could fit 2 queen sized mattresses inside...needless to say, we had plenty 'o room for our 2 single air mattresses!

"Stars...In your multitudes...Scarce to be counted...Filling the darkness...With order and light...You are the sentinels...Silent and sure...Keeping watch in the night...Keeping watch in the night"..........sigh..."Stars" is one of my favorite songs from Les Mis....anyone else love that song?? I think of it when i see a sky like this

i love campfire! we roasted hotdogs, marshmallows and just enjoyed the flammage

Chad had fun skipping rocks at the ocean

And the sunset was outstanding!

sigh...i heart the west coast....

end of june update

Sheesh....it feels like just yesterday i wrote my last blog that was stating i couldn't believe how fast time was flying by...and here it is almost a month later! Well, it's been a busy month, but just not a lot of pictures that have been taken. A few rousing games of Settlers, the first time out to the driving range for the season, a few trips to Vancouver, getting back into the swing of things at the gym, dinners with friends etc etc....i'm ready for a vacation! (that comes in a month). And i also bought a new computer this month....today was my first time trying to figure out how to upload pictures...it was a bit of a process, but i got 'em on here!

These pictures are from today...Pammer and I spent the afternoon with the Unrau's enjoying the weather and celebrating Father's Day. We went to Campbell Valley Park, had a picnic of the KFC variety and walked some trails (and of course took some pictures!)

Allie showing off her sitting skills, with hope for a tasty snack....

And a very happy dog dancing big for some KFC!

pretty flowers in the park

Butterfly!!

i like how this flower looks like it's floating in midair...

The leaves were so green...this pictures doesn't do it justice

walking trail

delightful daisies

So there you have it....a bit of an update, a few pictures and the weekend is over and i'm need to sleep....so off to bed i go!

a Pampered weekend

Pammer and I headed over to the Island this weekend to visit my dear cousin. The purpose of our visit was two-fold; fold one being to hang out with my cousin and see my favorite little boy (of course there are pictures of him!) and fold two was so that Pam could do a Pampered Chef party for Karla and a bunch of her friends! So, Friday after work, we headed to the ferry and thanks to our trusty reservation, were the first car on and the first car off!!! Check it out...there's Mazzy, front row!!!!

We caught the 8:15pm ferry, at the end of a hot sunny day, and the sky was beautiful for the ride over. Of course, that meant i took a million pictures!!!!

(who knew the ferry terminal could look so good?!! Amazing what a sunset can do!!)

And here's my little man!!! I saw him 6 weeks ago, but he grows so fast!!!!! I didn't get to spend all that much time with him this weekend, as he went sailing with daddy (i don't think Brian wanted to be around for the girly party!!) but i still got a couple of cute pictures!

On Saturday afternoon we headed down to the ocean for a bit, to enjoy the sunshine before getting ready for the party. Here's Keeva the wonderdog, who greatly enjoyed playing in the water and getting very sandy!I don't know if someone helped this shell look like this or not, but i thought it was cool anyway

Karla and me

And a starfish!

Saturday night we had a great Pampered Chef party, ate some good food, and enjoyed some good company. We stayed up far too late but hey that's what weekends are for!!

And then on Sunday late afternoon, it was time to head back home. Again, the weather was amazing and so i took pictures until my battery died...lol

It was a great weekend! I love going to the island and seeing my cousin and her family...just wish the time didn't go by so quickly! Weekends should definitely be longer!!

May days

Seriously...where are the days going? Is May really 3/4 over already? Well at any rate, here are a few highlights from the last few weeks.
Pammer and I decided that this year we were going to expand our artistic horizons and take advantage of more of the concerts that come to the lower mainland. At Christmas we went to Holly Cole and then in January we went to Bjorn Again. And the last 2 weeks have been concert-worthy again! On May 9, Third Day came to town, with opening acts Brandon Heath and Revive. This was the first concert to grace the stage of the newly built Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Complex and we had row 7 seats!!!!! We went with Theresa and Chad and had a great time (despite the Canucks losing their game that night - Chad and I kept up to date on the score via his blackberry)
Less than a week later, Pammer and I headed into Vancouver and spent a delightful evening with BC's own Diana Krall! She was a phenomenal entertainer, quite hilarious in her story telling, and even jazzed up the Hockey Night in Canada theme song (much to my delight!!). I'm pretty sure Pam and I were the youngest in the audience, but it was a fun time none the less!!!!

(sorry i don't actually have any pictures that actually PROVE i was at these concerts...for Third Day I didn't take my camera cuz i didn't think they'd allow pictures...and surprisingly, they encouraged photography! At Diana Krall i took my camera, but photos were strictly forbidden - i saw people get in trouble...lol) And so you may be asking "what concert is next?" Well make fun all you want but Michael W Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman are touring together and are coming to Abbotsford in July....and I have ROW 5 seats!!! It's gonna be great, probably a bit cheesy, and i'm gonna love every minute of it!!! Pam and Theresa are coming too, and aren't nearly as excited as I am, but they are being good sports...lol

Anyway, those concerts were the highlights of the month so far. The long weekend just passed, and it was a mellow one by most accounts. Pammer and I hiked Teapot Hill, which indicated very strongly that I need to get back to the gym and kick it up a few notches! (and i disagree with the websites indication that this is an 'easy' hike....) At any rate, it was good to get out and enjoy the scenery, and here are a few pics from along the way and up at the top.

So there you have it....some highlights from the past few weeks....!! And a post full of links to boot!!

Bowen Island

Last weekend I went to Bowen Island with my friend Sue, who was housesitting for some friends and wanted some company! This was my first time on Bowen...i've wanted to check the island out for a long time, and lucky for me, Sue used to live on Bowen, so she was the perfect tour guide!! The weather was kinda...meh...bit of sun, bit of rain, bit of wind, etc, but that didn't stop us from getting out and touring around, doing lots of walking and also a nice amount of chillaxing and taking in the beautiful scenery!!

I cropped this pic, i won't lie...i wasn't quite that close to the seal...but he looks pretty cute, eh!

on saturday we sat down by the ocean for a long time (until the rain chased us back into the woods and back onto the hiking trail). I could watch the water forever! And there were a whole lotta sailboats that were out and about!

on sunday we hiked up to a great viewpoint and just sat and watched the scenery, the ferry, the birds...it was great!

And then it was over :( Why do weekends go so fast? Anyway, it was a great time and i hope i can go back again soon!

spring buds and one cute puppy!

Seriously...where did April go? And more importantly, will this sunshine PLEASE stay around for a while longer?? I'm loving it!!!!
Took a little walk to Mill Lake the other day, as the perty buds are still coming out on some trees and are providing a plethora of colours for my lens to enjoy! Also a big fan of the bright blue sky...provides a much better contrast for these flowers...lol!

One of my colleagues just got a new puppy. The puppy is a terrier/bichon mix and her name is Fiona (now a little sis to big terrier brother Finley). Some of us colleagues congregated on Friday night for some pizza and the chance to oooh and ahhh over the cute furry feline....seems like T. was a bit more interested in chasing bubbles than playing with the dogs....but it seems like the dogs found him interesting!!

Miss Fiona

chillaxin...puppies get tired quick

mmm....flowers.....

anyway, not a super exciting post but i figured a few pics were better than nothing!!

blue eyed beauty

Earlier this week, my mom and I took a quick 3-day trip over to the Island to visit my cousin and her family. It was great to see my cousin Karla and her husband Brian, and of course my favourite blue eyed one-year old. You've seen pictures of this adorable munchkin before but i just can't stop myself from taking pictures of him!!! Let me tell ya, this kid is full of smiles!!!!!
Here are a few pics to make your heart melt just a little!!

The weather was beautiful on Tuesday so we spent some time down by the water in Comox checking out the sailboats and taking in the scenery

We then drove up to check out Comox Lake, where Z had some fun throwing rocks

Check out those shades!! You can't see it very well, but he's got sweet Hot Wheels shades with flames on the lenses...lol!! What a stylin' kid!!

The visit was too short and before we knew it, it was time to catch the ferry again, but we had a great time hanging out!! Thanks for the visit guys!!