Road Trip Aug 16

Our hosts suggested a day on Okanagan Lake, and we agreed it'd be great for such a hot day!

 We started off with wakeboarding while the water was calm. It gets pretty rough later in the day because of all the motorboat traffic!

 And because it was such a nice day we'd jump in the water when switching up who we were towing.

 What lovely water to jump into!

 Swimming lessons seem to have given some confidence to the kids!

 I took a turn wakeboarding too. Had a bad landing the second try though, and had quite the stiff neck for days after!! Shoulda remembered the "how to fall" directions in time...as they were given to me clearly. :o

 We stopped at the beach for lunch and a visit with an Aunt of mine. She seemed reluctant to be photographed, so I will omit from including her. We enjoyed catching up with her, 'cause it had been years!!

 Then some of us took turns tubing.

 And a very few of us tried cliff jumping.

 And we headed back home so R could get to work in time.

 We all sat on one side of the boat to make the wake big enough for her.

 And there she goes!

 My Auntie brought dessert which we enjoyed with her at dinner time. Yum! And the cousins bonded between bites. Asher often remarked on how noisy his younger cousins were. He surveyed us later on whether or not we found whining or crying as the most annoying.

 More cousin time...Sierra sharing some videos with her little cousins. I remember spending time with her when she was Evelyn's age. I'm feeling old now!

 And downstairs in the den is the rest of the crowd chilling after a busy day on the lake!

Road Trip Aug 15

 Some of us were not happy to be on the road again!

 But thinking about Auntie Marilyn (who had visited us in the spring and was well loved) made us cheer up. We could handle 12 hours of driving to spend some time with her and her family!

 Bye bye to the Babine Mountain range and off to see some more of BC.

 We couldn't miss the change in scenery. The Okanagan is memorable! Lots of questions to try answer once we entered here...new views for all of the kids!

We made it to our destination in due time. It was roasting there, so we were happy to be rooming in the basement! Thanks Levi and Rebecca for the use of your bedrooms!

Aug 14

 The boys had lunch with Grandma and Grandpa while Philip and I hosted a family. Well, really Grandma did the hosting because she had all the food cooked and ready whenever we needed it!

 We had a good long round of scrub.

 Young players are welcome to chew on their mitts...but when you no longer put it in your mouth you are getting to be a pro!

 Some of us were content to only watch the game.

 There were enough adults in charge to make sure that everyone moved to the right places.

And food was served to help celebrate that we would be leaving all the families in peace and quiet the next morning.  We made sure we were noisy long and late so as to be missed later. :p

 Host and hostess.

 Jennifer had a hoot! She loved spending time with Myca!

 Melanie made the most of her "girl cousin" time on our last day.

 Good friends!

 Triple trouble on the tire swing. I think that if Evelyn spent too much time with these two cousins, that they would have WAY too much fun, and I'd have WAY too much trouble to deal with!!

 We played a rousing game of kick-the-can.

 Daniel spent a long time inside on his own, making a van truck and trailer just like Uncle Glen's. Then he made sure we all got a good look at them.

 Before all the guests showed up, I popped by to say goodbye to Great-Grandma.

 Jennifer also worked on a project and wanted her picture taken.

 The youngest guest also happened to be the cutest! What a coincidence. ;)

 Teasing Derek one last time.

And visiting....after all, lots of good byes to say!

Aug 11, 12, 13

 Nathan, got spoiled by Grandpa. They did a few outings together, including one that involved a chainsaw axes and hiking.

 We enjoyed lots of visiting.

 On Saturday morning Derek took me up for one of his logging trips. It's a little side business of his, and he's got quite the system set up!

 I was pleased to help out a little. Even I know how to lug logs!

 Meanwhile Grandma was watching our youngest three, and Philip and the older three went fishing with Glen and three of his. They had a boat full, and they caught some too!

 I believe this is the first fish Melanie has ever caught. The biggest for sure!

Following the busy morning was a birthday party and another visit!

Aug 10

 A trip up the mountain was a "must do".  Today was a trip up the Microwave. A hodge-podge of vehicles took up a big crowd of us. True to tradition, we also had a breakdown on the way down, which Grandpa improvised in order to make it back to the trucks. We met some friends, who came out to join us on the trip. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful place, and we had a great time! Once again, not all the pics are in order, because I am stealing some from my Mom.