Rainy Day in Nanaimo...

First and most important, tomorrow, June 26th is Josh & Kathy's (Gus' parents!!) 3rd anniversary!! Oh my, we can't believe they have been married for 3 years already!!

It was an amazing beach wedding, followed by an outdoor party at Kathy's mom & dad's acreage. It was, in a word, a perfect day!!

We love you guys and wish you a very, very HAPPY 3rd ANNIVERARY!!!

  Yup, they are pretty darn cute!!

 

 

The other day we were parked and came back to find a rather "large truck club" had parked on either side of us. Some people think Euri is big but I think this picture confirms that he is NOT!! I have to wonder if these monster trucks ever leave the pavement and I also wonder how much they cost to fill up!! Our van, at the last fill up here in Nanaimo cost us $96!!

 

Wow...we are pretty puny!!

 

 

It has, seemingly, rained off and on for the last few days here and while we appreciate the "green-ness" that is the West Coast of Canada, a bit of sun would be nice, especially since it is now past the longest day of the year and 4 days into our official summer!! Oh well, we went out for our walk anyway and rain it did....melt we did not!! 

 

...our tans are fading.

 

 

Hope you all have a great week and we will talk to you soon!!

 

Cheers friends!!

  

...and just a Sunday

Nothing going on today. Doug and I chilled out and did some chores around our place. What did you all think of the "Add-A-Room"? We hope it works out okay. Time will tell.

Here is one little picture of one adorable little boy.....

Gus sitting in the Duke Point Ferry terminal awaiting the boat

back to White Rock...how is it that they seem to know what to do??

 

 

Hope everyone has a great week.

 

Cheers friends!!

Just a Saturday...

Not much new here. We took my mom up to Coombs. That makes two trips in one week!! She hasn't been up there for a long time so we enjoyed the walkabout!!

 Of course his name is Garfield!!!

 There are quite a few little shops up in Coombs. The typical collector and antique ones.

So much stuff!! But we did think that these beer pulls were pretty cool!!

 Tons of old carpentry tools and instruction books...

 Lots of garden shops and nice areas to walk around in... 

 

Once back at the house, we decided it was time to try to set up our "Add-A-Room" that we bought to replace our awning. As with any new tent-type of thing, there are lots of instructions and the only way to do it is to follow every step, carefully!!

 Okay, this looks like there is a l-o-n-g way to go!!

 A toast to the new tent...

 Sue comes by for a little visit with Doug....

 Hopefully, it will give us lots of extra room!

 Colour is a bit clashing with the van, don't you think??

Doug likes it!!

 

It does not seal tight against the van and it's not supposed to. We think it will work out just fine as it gives us lots of extra room and when we want to go somewhere, our gear can go in the tent and you zip up both ends and everything can stay inside until we get back!! We'll see. Jury is still a bit out there.... 

 

Hope you all had a great Saturday.

 

Cheers friends!!

Another Birthday!

Well, we have another birthday.....and it's mine! (ha ha ha)

A big thank-you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! It's so nice to know you are all out there!! We had a great day. It started out with Doug asking me what I wanted for my birthday breakfast. I told him the regular, oatmeal. He was aghast!! Not oatmeal on your birthday!! He then left and came back a little while later with fresh cinnamon buns from Cobbs Bakery. Such a great treat!! He takes good care of me - no wonder I love him so much!!

A big shout out to our friends, Paula and Jerry in Nova Scotia. They made a birthday sign for me!! So nice of them - thanks guys!!

Next, it was a great pub lunch at the Fox & Hounds (www.foxandhoundsnanaimo.com)
My Mom, Nadyne and my sister, Sue came as well. We had a great time. Check out their website and if you are in Nanaimo come on by and try the Baked Seafood Pie-amazing!!

 It's a super cute little old house - nice phone booth out front!!

 Here's our party corner!

 

 

 

Nice, new island type of cider - yummmm!!

  

My Mom makes Heavenly Pie for everyone's birthday. It is a super special pie made with two layers of meringue instead of cake and then layered with whipped cream
with crushed peanut brittle. And for gluten allergy people - it's gluten free!!
Super top secret recipe and ONLY Mom has it!! We love it!!!

 

 

Well, that was a GREAT birthday and I so appreciate everyone's good wishes!! Loved, loved, loved talking to my kids and all our family. But, my special thanks go to Doug, who always takes good care of me!!

 

Cheers!!

Hangin' out and a birthday

First, a VERY Happy Birthday to Rick Beatty!!!!

 

Rick is our daughter-in-law, Kathy's, dad. Not only is he our "in-law" but he and Mel (Kathy's mom) have also become our friends. We are so lucky to have them in our lives. We could not have imagined such wonderful people to welcome our son, Josh, into their family and us as well!! (Plus, they really enjoy a good tequila shot with us!!)

 

Also, a little known fact is that Rick and I were born one day apart in the same hospital in North Vancouver! That means that his Mom and my Mom were in the hospital together and that hospital wasn't very big so they must have seen each other. Who could imagine that 50 years later we would be related??!! We were destined to be family right from the start!!!

 

 

So Rick - here's to you on your special day!!!

 

**************************************************************************

Yesterday, we went down to one of the local parks to see our niece, Lacey, put her "milk carton" boat in the annual boat race. The great program, Claytree Society, that she is involved in, has all the clients doing fun and amazing things throughout the week. This year, her boat was in the second place grouping! We were pretty happy for her! 

Lots of participants and people out watching the race!!

Uncle Doug shows off Lacey's 2nd place boat

(along with the other 2nd placers too!)

 Lunch break time with our very own milk carton boat engineer!!

 

 

After that stop over, we headed up to Courtenay (about 1 hour north of Nanaimo) to pick up an Igloo car cooler. It is one of those 12V things that plugs in (like my crock pot!). It will just be nice to have the extra room for cooling drinks since our little fridge in Euri isn't too big. Don't worry, I won't show you pictures of the pop cooling.....but I will show you this cool little cloud on the horizon on our way back! All the road signs said to watch for elk for some 24 kms.....but they lied - no elk to be seen, just this cool cloud!! 

 

 

 Nope...no elk on the road!!

 

 

Anyway - that's it for now!! Thanks for coming by. I know, life is not so exciting when we aren't travelling far, but we hope you keep on checking with us!! No, we never got that Tofino trip in due to Doug's procedure, but we will get there and elsewhere, promise!!

 

Cheers!!

Happy Monday, which was yesterday!

We have been doing lots of talking these past few weeks about how to do our travel time come this winter. Should we take Euri back down the Baja and go over on the ferry again? Should we take off for the Yucatan? Should we go further down the west coast? No easy answers. The other questions we have been asking is...."How about if we fly to Ecuador and just stay there for the whole winter time!!" We have been reading lot about Ecuador lately. It sounds really interesting and, like Mexico, sounds very economical. We get a publication called International Living.  It is really a good magazine and it also comes on line. There is lots about European living as well for those that are interested in that aspect. They also have loads of tips about investments, moving to foreign countries, etc. You can find them at www.InternationalLiving.com. We will keep you all posted on what our findings and plans are....of course!!!

Meanwhile, we had a wonderful weekend with Gus and his parents (...Kathy & Josh!!). We stayed pretty close to home, only venturing out to Coombs on Father's Day as Doug was supposed to keep a low profile after his heart procedure last week. Of course, we did what we were told and spent the time enjoying our family!!

 

 

Chillin' out time!!

 

 

 

 

 

I really like the downtown core of Nanaimo. It is just like a cute, little small town. We headed out to the Modern Café for lunch and then it was off to the Duke Point ferry for the kids.

 

 

  May as well start him off early with the foot shots!!

 

 

That was it for us. Sorry for the late post! Hope everyone has a great week and we will catch up with you!!

 

Cheers!!

Happy Father's Day!

I imagine that by the time you all read this, Father's Day will be done. I consider myself extremely fortunate. I had an amazing father, Leslie P. Tamas. He taught us strength, integrity and much love. I miss him everyday, still. I had a wonderful father-in-law, Arnold C. Beglaw. A spirited, fun-loving man, miss him too, always. I have been doubly blessed to have my Doug. Father to my two wonderful children and the BEST Dad a girl could hope to have. I can't thank him enough for a lifetime of love. Now to watch my son, Josh, being an amazing father to our little Gus. I just don't think it can get any better.

My humblest thanks to all these important men in my life. I love you all...

Josh, Gus and Doug 

 Grandpa Doug and Gus

 Josh and Gus - Happy first Father's Day!!

(Photo credit to my lovely daughter-in-law, Kathy!!!)

 

 

We had a great day. Lazed around this morning and had a breakfast of pancakes and eggs. Then we headed up to Coombs. It is a neat shopping area about 30 minutes north of Nanaimo. If any of you has travelled through this area, this market is commonly know as "Goats on the Roof". Here's why...

 

 See Mr. Goat...on the roof? 

 Gotta love who ever had this bright idea!!

 

 

Anyway, it is a neat place to shop. Lots of artsy, craftsy things in quite a few shops and neat to walk around. Check it out...

 

 Strange, random marble carvings.... 

 Wildlife.....

 I know, just weird signs.....

 Probably all came from Mexico!!!

 There is something for everyone here....

 A tired little shopper....

(...oh, and Gus is tired too!!)

 Hanging out in the marketplace restaurant...

 I love my mommy...

 Okay, okay, so I am a push-over for a puppet, especially a Haida G'waii octopus....

 ...and Gus loved it too. He positively belly laughed at it!!

 Back at home, it was time for a nap on Grandpa & Grandma's cushy bed...

Father's Day party people: Lacey, Doug, Kathy, Josh & Susann 

 Lacey and her 2nd cousin, Gus...

 They had lots of fun together!!

Playtime.....

 

 

So, that was our day. Super fun. Tomorrow we are heading downtown for breakfast at one of the local diners. Looking forward to that!! 

 

Once again, just to thank everyone for the great notes and emails wishing Doug a speedy recovery. So nice to know everyone cares. We love our family and friends!! He is feeling pretty darn great. We will assume that it is a one-shot fix and we won't need to see the inside of those hospitals again. The staff were great but we hope we don't see them again!!

 

Cheers friends and Happy Father's Day!!