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!
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!
in the last week before christmas, we had the privilege of hosting aaron and suliana, our friends from singapore. it was su's first time in canada, which made things more fun, but also put pressure on us as hosts to present our country well. ;-) the G clan, equipped with our beautiful surroundings, is up to the task!
aaron and su each had a lot of fun playing with ty. he loves guests, especially fun ones, and was a joy to have around.
aaron even came bearing gifts. here is ty demonstrating his new squeaky shoes. all the rage in singaporean playgrounds.
bearing in mind our responsibilities as canadian hosts, as well as our proclivity towards long baths in the great outdoors, we set out for clear creek hotsprings, north of chilliwack and east of harrison lake. along the way there were opportunities to illuminate su regarding canada's once again burgeoning resource economy. aaron, being a former tree planter and canadian hero, had many gems of wisdom to bestow. pictured above, he is almost certainly explaining how one can examine the rings on the tree to determine, not just the age of the tree, but also derive information as to which seasons in the tree's past had been particularly harsh or nourishing, thus perceiving a rough map of the recent climate of the area.
after a slightly bumpy ride, we arrived at our destination and convinced our friends, newly arrived from singapore, where it is 31 degrees and humid every single day, to strip down to their bathing suits in the canadian winter. they were easily convinced of course, the rewards of such actions being evident in the clear steaming tubs in front of them. ty had a great time marching around the rim of the tub and jumping into aaron's arms.
su had never heard of superheating in a hot tub and then cooling off in the snow, only to return to the tub and luxuriate in the prickly warmth. she saw me do it, so she had to give it a try. she convinced aaron to accompany her, rather than the other way around. kylie and i were very impressed. her first trip to canada found su lying in the snow of her own accord. that shows strength.
later, while wandering by the creek, aaron spotted a log crossing and proclaimed his intention to fulfill his canadian manly duty and cross the creek, dam the consequences.
aaron's show of patriotism ignited my own sense of duty to my country, so i joined him on the log in a show of unity against the enemies of freedom. we threw a few snowballs and took a few pictures and finally hopped back in the 4runner to return to the shores of harrison lake and on home to chilliwack. we saw a few deer on the way, as well as swans, a marmot, numerous canada geese and several squirrels. it was a great trip back, as we got to hear more about su and aaron's life in singapore, as well as su's family and her studies. we don't get to see aaron very much, and this was our first time meeting su, so we made the whole time count. our days were packed with coffee, cognac, walking and talking, but all too soon i was speeding them on the way to the airport. i trust that other canadian hosts took up their patriotic mantles and continued to show our singaporean friends a fantastic time.
happy new year everyone! 2012. wow! it feels like we are living in the future.
well, we had a chilliwack version of a white christmas this year. foggy and sunny at the same time! what a beautiful christmas eve. after a lazy day, we went for a lovely walk to the park and through the cemetary by our house. the sunlit fog was spectacular and made a great photo backdrop. after a nice walk we drove to our church for a potluck christmas dinner and a wonderful, personal candlelight service. in the evening, we continued our own christmas traditions with a tasty chocolate fondue. kylie even melted down her bernard callebaut chocolate K. what a sacrifice! it was fun to help ty unwrap his presents. this has been the first occasion that he is aware that these presents are for him. he may not understand much about christmas, but he understands a new truck! happy holidays everyone! we hope the season is treating you well. a special christmas greeting goes out to mrs. wisse. we are very sorry we couldn't come caroling this year. thank you so much for all you have done for us and for taking a special interest in our lives.
