Introducing......

.....a new little brother for Gus!!!!!!!

Just another one of the reasons that we had decided to stay put this winter and we think it is a pretty great reason!!

Jasper Zane Beglaw, 7lbs-11oz, made his arrival on Tuesday, Feb 17th at 3:13 pm. Mommy and Jasper are doing great . Daddy and Gus are thrilled!!

We will just let the next few pictures tell the story. More pictures in the upcoming weeks!!

Hey, is THAT little guy my brother?

Good thing I brought a gift for him!! 

There is something you cannot describe,

seeing your son with his sons....

Priceless.

 

A first kiss from big brother Gus.

Just like I said to Gus a few years ago. It's still relevant...

...I have loved you for a thousand years,
I'll love you for a thousand more...

 

Welcome to the world our little Jasper-We Love you!!

 

Peace....

 

I know I used this recently but I think this sums things up quite nicely:

 

Thought for the Day: "How do you spell love" asked Piglet. "You don't spell it, you feel it" said Pooh.

Mainland Time

We have spent this past week helping out at Josh, Kathy & Gus' house. They were redoing some countertops in their kitchen and needed some help. I helped very little with that but Gus and I had fun while the rest were busy!!

Monday: I had a great time at one of the local parks and recreation programs that Gus goes to. Take a look.....

Arts & crafts time......

Sometimes there just aren't enough sparkles in the bowl.

Block building time.....

Just how is it that Grandma wears these things anyway??

Yup, that's about right!!

 

A special storybook from special people in Nova Scotia....

 

Tuesday: While Josh & Doug got started on the countertop job, Gus & I headed off to Great Grandma Nadyne's in North Vancouver for a visit.

  

Showing Grandma Great how to really rock the house!!

 

First half of the kitchen is done!! Good job men!!

 

Wednesday/Thursday: The challenges of installing new laminate over existing laminate are many. Lots of hours were put into making the transition.....  

 

Is he stuck??

 

Thank goodness extra hired help has arrived!!!

Hold it....I see the problem Grandpa!!

 

Thank goodness for break time!!!

 

....and it's looking pretty damn good!! Now, just installing those last

doors and tile the backsplash!! Hey Josh, where are you?

(PS - Thanks to Mary for gently pointing out the "issue" with the taps!! All fixed!!)

Just "who" said again that you couldn't laminate

over an existing laminate countertop?? Great job!!

 

Time to go!!!!

 

Friday: So, with that job done, we were back on the ferry to Nanaimo for a short spell. See you all soon!! 

 

Thanks for checking in with us, even though we aren't travelling afar. We appreciate everyone taking the time for us!!

 

Peace....

 

Thought for the Day: Good people bring out the good in people...

Phoenix AZ to Vcr BC

Well, a little late is better than not at all, right?

We had a great time in Phoenix. The weather "could have" been a bit better but the time spent with Don & Di was so much fun. Even a little rain couldn't dampen our spirits.

Our flights down and back were on Allegiant and they were a good airline. Courteous, informative and organized. We would definitely fly with them again.

Interesting loading the old fashioned way in

both Phoenix and Bellingham.

Bye Phoenix!!

Coming in over the San Juan Islands, Washington.

Hello Bellingham and near home again!! 

 

So, we had a great time in Phoenix. We just wished we could have not had the 2 days of rain!! Still, a great time!!

 

Peace....

 

Thought for the Day: You don't HAVE to do this. You GET to do this.

Phoenix AZ (Day 10)

Day 9 - Let me recap our Day 9.....it rained. A lot. All day in fact!! True enough, it was warmer than at home but did I mention that it rained?? Phoenix and surrounding area doesn't do rain very well either. It is built on a clay base so the rain just accumulates and takes a little while to dissipate.

 

Our donkey mascot wasn't very happy!!!!

 

We managed to busy ourselves (unfortunately) at a mall. Didn't do too much damage but time at the mall wasn't what we thought we would be doing!! However, we seem to while away the time quite easily and visiting amongst ourselves isn't too hard.

Day 10 - today, was just spent here. Finishing up laundry, cleaning the little house up a bit. It rained again, but not quite as bad as yesterday.

Day 11 - Tomorrow is travel day. Our Allegiant flight leaves here at 3:20 pm and arrives in Bellingham at about 5:40 pm (with time change).

Sorry but I have nothing else for you! Not really the way we wanted our holiday to end, but we have had a great and relaxing time. Saw lots of things and enjoyed good food, wine and mostly good company!!

Peace....

Thought for the Day: People may hear your words but they feel your attitude.

Phoenix AZ (Day 8)

We decided that it was "now or never" day to head into downtown Phoenix to catch some of the Super Bowl hype. Funny, because none of us in this group are really NFL fans but it was still fun to see what was going on.

First, it started with a 45 minute car ride into the Valley Metro Rail stop. We started right at the far east end of the rail system. For $4 each you can get an all day pass. From where we got on, it was a 45 minute rail ride into downtown Phoenix. Oh, and no charge for parking in the Valley Metro parking lot in Mesa. Pretty good deal.

Arriving in downtown Phoenix....

 

 

 

Always some map reading to be done.....

 

 

 

 

VIP cars, I guess?

 

 

 

 

 

Who could imagine.....an outdoor skating rink in Phoenix!!

All sorts of fans!!

 

Heading down Party Blvd!!

Lots of extra advertising.....

We ended the day as we began it....on Valley Metro Rail.

 

It was a good experience to walk around. Everyone was very friendly. There was about a 10 square block area where you went through a security checkpoint. They checked your bags and then you were in and free to walk around. You could also have a beer or other alcoholic drink and walk around with it....imagine!!

 

So a quick stop at In and Out Burger and we are home for the night. It, unfortunately, started raining when we just getting ready to leave downtown and it's raining still. Plus, it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow.......uh huh.

 

Thanks for driving Don!!

 

Peace....

 

Thought for the Day: Always be yourself. Unless you can be a pirate - then always be a pirate......Capt. Jack Sparrow.

Phoenix AZ (Day 7)

.....Yes, you are right, there was no Day 6 as we just hung around the house, went for a walk and relaxed in the sun. I know, nice huh?!

We are finding that, as a group, we aren't the highest motivated bunch to get out of the house bright and early. For us, that means about 11 am (if we are lucky!!). Of course, the fact that we don't go to bed until about 1:00 to 1:30 am doesn't help either!! But then, what are holidays for, right?

Today, we first headed out to an old gold mining town called Goldfield. It is a recreation of a ghost/mining town, located at the base of the Superstition Mountains. Super nice little spot and refreshingly enough, no charge to wander around.

"Situated atop a small hill between the Superstition Mountains and the Goldfield Mountains, the settlement of Goldfield got its start in 1892 when very rich, high grade gold ore was found in the area. A town soon sprang up and on October 7, 1893 it received its first official post office. But like other gold camps, Goldfield’s bustling days were quickly dashed when the vein of gold ore started to play out and the grade of the ore dropped even more. Just five years after it began, the town found itself quickly dying. The miners moved on, the post office was discontinued on

November 2, 1898, and Goldfield became a ghost town." 

Welcome to Goldfield......

 

 The Superstition Mountain Range

 

 

 Nicely recreated building all over the "town site"

Diana, Doug, Nancy & Don

 

 

Nice that it was mid-week and there weren't too many people here yet.

 

 

 

Wandering around, you can find something to interest everyone. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry Diana, guess the guy forgot the "Occupied" sign!!

 

 

Again, the neat thing was that there is no charge to come in and wander around. There are a few "attractions" about. You can ride the train for 20 minutes or so for $8 each. It has a colourful engineer that regales you with stories of the town. There is a small zip line for $10 each. There are quite a good number of the typical little shops, a few eateries, etc. Since we, once again, packed our own lunch, we just used one of the many picnic tables that are around and enjoyed lunch in the sun. All in all it's a good drive out here and we all give it a thumbs up.

 

After this it was off to Tortilla Flats. Another interesting area about 20 minutes away. It is a great twisty road with some amazing scenery. Check it out:

 

Beautiful Canyon Lake

"Canyon Lake is one of four reservoirs that were formed by the damming of

the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. The lake was formed by the

Mormon Flat Dam, which was completed in 1925 after two years of construction."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some really cool rock formations out here....

 

 

 

 

 

All in all it was a really fun day. Thanks, again, to Don for doing all the driving. When we rented the car, it went in Don's name for insurance and was going to cost quite a bit extra to add Doug.

 

that's it for us. Not sure what tomorrow will bring but I am sure it will be an enjoyable one with our travelling buddies!!

 

Peace....

 

Thought for the Day: Great things never came from comfort zones...