Victoria

We spent last weekend in Victoria.  The vibe was nothing but positive as we set off for the drive to the ocean.  A thumbs up from Nathan.

We left on Thursday evening.  Lucas and Nathan loved the idea of going on a ferry ride.  We had some time before we had to board, so we stopped at the terminal for ice cream. 

Their excitement was apparent as we drove on to the ferry in Tsawwassen.  Jaco had some business there on Friday, so that day I toured the city with Lucas and Nathan.  After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we set off in search of Miniature World.  The perfect place, I thought, to bring two small boys who love train sets.  There was so much to see, and it was clear that a lot of time and effort has been put into each of these displays.

Love the window washers on the inside of the glass!

We picked up lunch at this fish 'n chips place called Red Fish, Blue Fish.  It was so delicious, I still think about the yummy halibut I had for lunch.  If ever you are in Victoria, you must try it!

Lucas and Nathan get along so well, (sure they have their spats time to time...) but, really their bond makes me stop and just gaze with wonder.  To be this blessed... I just had no idea it could be this amazing to have two little boys so full of love for each other.

As we were eating our lunch, Lucas pointed out a boat full of people waiting to go on their whale watching tour.

On Saturday we had the whole day to spend together, all four of us.  We visited the petting zoo at Beacon Hill Park in the morning.  Nathan just adored these baby goats.  He kept chasing them saying, "baa....by!"...  "baa....by!" 

We really enjoyed the petting zoo, it was a big highlight. 

Here is Lucas in front of "the bear" at our hotel, the Royal Scot.  It was a nice clean hotel with a pool that we were able to enjoy on the Friday night. 

Overall we enjoyed some great quality family time together in Victoria, such a beautiful city.

Bridal Falls continued

As promised, here are some more pics from our trek up to see the Bridal Falls on Sunday afternoon.  The boys had never seen the falls before, so it was exciting for them, and also for us to see their faces and watch them enjoy spending time outdoors.  The trail going up consists of a series of little wooden bridges winding over the creekbed.   Nathan was quite nervous about sitting on Dad's shoulders at first, but quickly figured out that he had the best seat in the house.

Once we made it to the top, the boys were amazed at just how much water there was coming down.
The lighting made it really tricky to take nicely exposed photos.  I either had to expose for the brightness of the waterfall, or the darkness where we were standing below.  I attempted to get a good balance between the two.  I shot all photos with my Nikon D80 and Tamron 28-75mm lens.

The boys played around a bit, throwing stones in the creek and climbing on these huge tree stumps.

Love spending time together.  I feel so blessed.

We took a different trail back to the parking lot.  The boys thought these stairs were pretty cool.

Holding daddy's hand, I have to remind myself to treasure these moments, they won't last forever.

Bridal Falls

Yesterday afternoon we hiked up to see Bridal Falls.  It was a great
way to cool off, since the entire trail is in shaded trees.  When we
were finished the hike, we had a snack and some drinks by the van. 
Here's a pic of Nathan relaxing on the curb, drinking his juice box. 
More pics to come later.

Wonder.

"People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering." - St. Augustine

Living in the moment.

 A quote by Anna Quindlen.

"...but the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while
doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly
clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There
is one picture of the three on them sitting in the grass on a quilt in
the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4, and 1. And I
wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how
they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I
had not been in a hurry to get on to the next things: dinner, bath,
book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the
getting it done a little less."

Pikeminnow Fishing Derby

A bit overcast, but otherwise a perfect Saturday to go fishing.  Jaco and Lucas recently entered the Greg Clark Memorial Family Fishing Derby at Cultus Lake.  It made me happy to see Luke enjoying some one on one time with his Dad.
Nathan and I met the boys a little later in the day to hop in the boat and enjoy a ride around the lake.
Although neither of them caught any fish, Lucas proudly caught "a seaweed". We met friends of ours, Richard and his son Tyrel on the  lake.
My honey.  What a handsome feller. :)

A series of events.

WOW, what a weekend.  Devoured by mosquitoes and melted in the heat at at wedding shoot on Saturday, had very little sleep due to a thunderstorm last night, sick kiddies today, (Nathan's fever is 101, I'm debating taking him in) and the black squirrel is back again, trying to break in via the air conditioner.  Fun, let me tell you. :)   The photos from the wedding on Saturday will take about a week to post, I am so excited about these, I can't wait to show you.  For today, I'll leave you with some pics of Lucas beating Jaco at Candyland.

Wade, Melissa and baby Khol

When Melissa called me up to schedule a photo session for her family, I was so excited.  The last time I saw baby Khol was when I took these pictures of him in January.  I like to think that Khol and I have a special bond.  Which kind of resonates its' self with me making high pitched noises and jumping up and down like a complete baboon.  (No really, it's quite a sight).  He responds by fluttering his unbelievably long eyelashes and staring at me.  Like I'm a complete baboon.  Just email me Melissa, and I'll send you the link to the slideshow to see the rest of the pics.

Banana Nut Muffins

I thought I already had the perfect banana muffin recipe in my collection.  Until I tried this recipe from Simply Recipes.  This variation, using coffee and walnuts and old fashioned style mixing is flawless.  Whipping up a batch takes no time at all.  And there was just the right amount of batter to make 12 muffins.  Not 8 muffins, not even 13.  But a perfect dozen.  I'm in love!  I'm not sure why mine are so light in colour, versus the ones on their website, but nonetheless, they were scrumptious!  In other news, today is Canada's 142nd Birthday.  Happy Canada Day!