28.1.12

ottawanians


last week we were privileged to host my sister carlynne and her husband dan.  their arrival coincided with the biggest 2 day snowfall we have had in years.  this made for a cozy time involving lots of sitting around drinking coffee or wine.  ty had fun with both carlynne and dan.  they have been gone for a while, and he still mentions them almost every day.

the sudden change in climate fostered tobogganing opportunities and lots of playtime in the snow.


this picture is reminiscent of calvin and hobbes.

ty has an actual winter jacket, but he loves this fleece hoody and he has much more freedom of movement in it.  works just fine with fluffy dry snow.  thanks uncle vern and aunt wilma!
dan and ty composed a song in garageband while we took carlynne along as a consultant to the upholstery shop.  we made carlynne and dan huevos rancheros with avacodo and lime, and they made us a sweet indian chicken curry.  we played rummy in the evening and went for walks during the day.  i also took carlynne and dan and ty to check out the harrison hotsprings resort pools.  in what is fast becoming a theme, ty once again had a great time with his uncle and aunt, between getting spun around, playing with snow in the water and watching them burst up from the depths, he spent most of the time laughing. 
alas, with our ottawa relatives departure, our ottawa weather fled as well.  several days after they left chilliwack and area received a wonderful ice rain.  i left my shift one night to find the 4runner encased in a 1 cm thick coat of ice.  there were numerous fires and power outages, but now we have our reliable west coast winter back again.  rainy and 7 degrees for the next week.  thankfully at higher altitudes this rain is falling as snow, and the ski hills near our house are posting record snowfalls.  after a fifteen year hiatus i have decided to start skiing again, which will be the subject of my next post.  good bye carlynne and dan.  ty misses you!




2.1.12

Mom and Dad

Marc and I just came back from a great 3 days at Silverstar (more on that to come) but the previous week we welcomed my mom on boxing day.


It rained for most of the week, but the sun did come out a couple of days, albeit briefly. Here Ty is all ready for a walk in the pouring rain. A rain suit is a must have for kids in the Lower Mainland just as much as a snowsuit is for the Prairie kiddies.
We had Christmas #2 with my mom here. Ty is sure getting to enjoy opening presents! Although he was a little afraid of the VERY REAL looking chainsaw toy from Brad and Raquel. :)




My mom and I took Ty to the train at Minter Gardens to see the Christmas lights again. It was just as much fun for him the second time.

Ty basically had 3 Christmas's this year as I totally forgot to give him his stocking both on Christmas day #1 and #2. "On the third day of Christmas my daddy gave to me . . . Granny's stocking stuffed by mommy."

He looks like such a little boy in this picture!!! Where did baby Ty go???

While my mom was here Marc and I headed to Harrison Hot Springs for the night, using a gift certificate my dad had gotten us for our anniversary. We went on two very nice walks and spent a lot of time in the hot springs. Thanks mom and dad!
Ty praying for his parents to come back . . .
He actually did nothing of the sort and barely acknowledged us when we got back because he had so much fun playing with MAMA (Grandma). (Ty also calls me mama but distinguishes mama from MAMA with a deep husky voice)

On New Years Eve, Ty "helped" mommy make caramel squares for a party. If "helping" includes getting caramel sauce and flour all over my shirt, then his first baking venture was a great success!
A family walk on the trails behind our house.
I also wanted to include some pictures from late November of my dad's visit . . . Actually technically this was Ty's first Christmas here. Here he is with his gift from my dad. He loves this car garage and plays with it daily.

Here is my dad putting together the above garage. If you know my dad or myself, you know we are both not very mechanically inclined nor spatially gifted. I do think it was quite a feat of engineering that my dad managed to put together this fine piece of child machinery and wanted to capture this moment in time as it may be a long while before it happens again. ;)
Ty enjoying a festive beverage.



Ty got his hair cut by Nana in Hawaii. Here is a cute before and after shot.
Ski pictures to come!