Fish Hatchery

After a week of rain and a week of working Geoff had Saturday afternoon off... and he(as always) picks something to do outdoors usually. Geoff loves fly fishing and knew that the salmon were beginning to spawn so we decided to drive up Chilliwack Lake Road to check out the fish hatchery. We were not disappointed at all! The rivers and streams were full of fish and lots of activity! We enjoyed lunch, a hike and time away from home enjoying the great outdoors.

Salmon Jumping

Watching from above... can you see the top pool is stuffed full of fish?

Enjoying the outdoors!

The best place is on daddy's shoulders.

Camron got brave and crossed the creek by tree, bit stinky after some of the fish have already died.

Growing into a beautiful girl!

Excited to be outside.

family shot

Holding/helping Abigail walk.

All tuckered out. Driving home!

Diaper Bag

Old diaper bag....

After a busy summer and enjoying the spoils of it we are now cooped up inside most days from the rain. Although it hasn't completely stopped our weekly walks and bike rides still. We can "tough" out the rain on some days. Anyways, it has been quite a few months since I sat behind the sewing machine and finally after much contemplation I got a much needed diaper bag made. Four years ago I sewed a diaper bag out of a mens t-shirt and a womans jean skirt that I picked up from BFM. It was neat to re-use something used to something new! But after four years it needed to be replaced... so viola! I got it done in 2 days :)

New diaper bag!

Whistler!

About a month ago Geoff and I went away for a 2 night get-a-way in Whistler. It was such a nice break away from the busy household and especially since I wasn't feeling well and couldn't voice it yet. I enjoyed a quiet nap and a full nights rest... what can I say but BLISS!
Geoff has this really bad bug called 'antsy vacationer'. He's a very typical Vanlaar and has a hard time sitting around while away on holidays. He lugged me up Whistler mountain and pushed me down biking trails. It was an enjoyable time don't get me wrong but the constant annoying fact of wanting to throw up everywhere wasn't fun. Our hotel turned out to be more of a bed and breakfast which was totally fine. But I'd say it was more of a bed than a breakfast. Maybe some of you out there are porridge eaters but I certainly am not and that's all they served. It was really dissappointing so I bought a loaf of bread the next day and had that with sugar.... now we know for next time!
While we were on the peak to peak gondola we talked to some people from Louisiana and she was commenting that they love to come here to Canada once a year. She said the air feels so healthy and the food does too. I had to really think about it because this is so normal to us. We are truly blessed to live in such a beautiful part of God's creation. It was a wonderful getaway and who better to share it with than my  best friend :)

Exploring around Alta Lake and Lost Lake.

We did about 25km of biking!

We met up with a friend of ours- Greg Welfing for the evening, the boys being boys!

After a delicious dinner at the Mongolian grill we walked around the village.

Brandywine Falls. I think this is my favorite waterfall, other than the height we view it from.

We did this bike trail and after an hour into it we still weren't at the suspension bridge like the map said... and I felt very watched so we turned around and went back... maybe we'll have another chance to tackle it another time.

On the peak to peak gondola... wow does it ever go high up.

Nervously sitting next to the window, took some courage to do this.

Black Tusk

"I'm on top of the world!"

Viewing Whistler Village. We stayed near the lake behind my back.

Geoff was dreaming of fly fishing here.

And baby makes 4!

Much, much to our surprise we are expecting baby #4 D.V due at the end of March. I am slowly starting to feel better after having awful morning sickness for the last few months. I ended up taking medication only finding it got worse so I suffered through it and now a week away from my 2nd trimester I'm feeling good, just really tired. I had an ultrasound to figure out my dates... again a surprise baby! Camron is really hoping he'll get a baby brother.

Summer Holidays

My grandma turned 88 this year and it was a big celebration and (if I counted everyone right) there were 67 people that came, 22 that couldn't make it. What a huge turn out! We all camped on my Uncle Martin and Aunt Jenny's yard and enjoyed the views and visiting all around. Unfortuantely thinking back to our trip all I can remember is being quite sick. I suffered a major headcold and was ready to be home but all in all it was a wonderful trip. Here's a few snapshots.

A big dinner and dessert with everyone!

Sherry

Kaitlyn and Abigail

Alivin and Tristan

Wally Vangroothest

Bethany and Brooklyn

Tianna and Camron

This was the beautiful view from where we parked the motorhome!

The creek in the backyard that we tubed down. What a hoot!!

Truck parking lot.

Kyla on her birthday.

Cooling off in the creek.

Smithers BC

My Grandma VanderDeen was celebrating another year so we all decided it was a good time to get together with everyone and visit her. We had a good time full of lots of new adventures. Enjoy some snapshots!

Unloading and getting ready to go.

Stopping for lunch at the cabin. I never got a shot of it which is too bad. We were eaten almost alive here by mosquitos they were so awful.

If I counted right there were 17 quads... can't remember how many people came along though :P.

Almost at the top of Dome Mountain!

At the peak of Dome Mountain, in the distance we could see Babine Lake but this picture doesn't do justice to the views!

Daniel and Kyla making it to the top. Look at the beautiful views we had.

We camped quietly away from the big group to make napping easier for our girls and for in the evening. It was nice to be away quietly but we missed out in a lot of the action too. The tenters all stayed near us. We had a beautiful view of Mt. Hudson and the creek below.

Enjoying lots of outdoor activities... dirtbiking, quading, volleyball and tubing.

Alivia found trouble several times in the motorhome... we always had to keep an eye on her!