Time in Kelowna

I can not believe that it has been a month since my last post? Where does time go? You would think that with all this time that I have on my hands, the days would drag. But I have found more than enough to keep me busy and am not looking forward to moving into a house and having to keep it up ;) I will look forward to moving into a house and having room to live on rainy days :)

I am going to back peddle to the last post of pictures and update you as much as I can:

So we did end up going to the suspensions bridges.  The buildings themselves are very fancy, as you can see by the picture of the bathroom.  The bridges themselves and the walkway were quite disapointing as the carpentry was very careless and sloppy. (Trust me, when you are with a perfectionist carpenter all the time, you start to notice these things too!)

A cool little cave that you could have lunch in if you pleased 

a sundial- unfortunately it was cloudy so I couldn't show the girls how it worked

the view from the top 

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There were several platforms between the bridges.  This was one that had nice table and chairs where you could also have lunch

we found out that Sadie is afraid of heights :)

This is the cable that runs along the top of each bridge

I would want to get married again (to JOhn of course) just so I could get married here..with a view like this wouldn't you??!!

So all in all, it was cool to go here.  But definitely not worth the price to recommend it to anyone.  Maybe if the weather wouldve been nicer, we would have enjoyed it more? I don't know, but it will be awhile before we go back, if ever.

Mckennas birthday fun

The weekend before Mckenna's birthday, she was so excited to have her favorite cousin and best friend, Dana and family come spend a few nights with us.  As crowded as it was to have 9 of us sleeping in the trailer, it was a blast!  All the kids had endless fun, and the adults did too, with a few different wine tastings, and a visit to the hunting store in town ;)

They spoiled her rotten with a "spa" kit and....

birthday party icecream!!

Must be related.  :) 

Then comes birthday morning.  This picture was taken within 5 minutes of both of them being out of bed.  For some reason, Mckenna was super excited about this birthday.  And she had every reason to..

From walkie-talkies to.... 

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a long dress ( by the way Aunty Melinda, Mckenna loved your long jean skirt and was asking for one for her birthday) 

and the glitter tattoo kit that she has been eyeing up at Walmart, but it was SOOOO expensive, too expensive to spend her own money on :)

And to top it off, we surprised her with an hour lesson on a horse.  THis girl LOVES horses and everytime we drive by a ranch, or riding centre, she ooohs and awwws over the horses.  So this is how we let her know about this lesson.  

She was all done opening presents when we told her that we had one more surprise but that we couldn't show her.  She looks a little puzzled.  So then I go ahead and tell her that I made a few phone calls and that I was able to arrange an hour lesson on a horse for her.  She started out by giggling, which soon turned to tears of joy and she hopped up to give us both a hug, while tears start pooling in our eyes, as we didn't expect this kind of reaction :)  

So I took her to Bridalwood Riding Centre.  It was FABULOUS! The lady let Mckenna do mostly everything right from the start.  She hooked the lead, and led her to the brushing station. 

These horses are let out in the wild for the winter, so this one had quite a few burs in it's mane.  

their special step for little ones to use for mounting

and she's on...

and away!

LOVE...LOVE...LOVE this picture

Once we get settled down, I think I will print it large and frame it for her room

That's the story of her 10th birthday!

A typical day in Kelowna

                          We are being major bums, living the lifestyle here.
                                              I am thoroughly enjoying it.
                                                           
                       Like R.E.A.L.L.Y appreciating not having to clean a large house, having the hubby home every night, no big commitments, and yet still enjoying visits with new friends and some family members. And on top of that, spending so much quality time with the girls.

       Here is how a typical day goes:
7:00- John and I wake up and sometimes get out of bed
7:30- we are both out of bed drinking our first cup of coffee, eggs might be frying or oatmeal a cookin' for                breakfast
8:00-8:15- girls usually haul themselves out of bed
8:30- John leaves for work
9:15- girls are dressed, eaten breakfast and head out for a quick bike ride or play at the playground
9:30-9:45- school starts.  They usually do Bible and 1 other subject before going for another break
12:00-lunch.  We are usually done school by then (we are only focusing on Bible, LA and science right now.
1:00-5:00- we do whatever our heart desires: biking to see the turtles, get the newspaper, rainbow loom, scrapbook, ride the skelter, watch a movie, read a book, go to town, play some tennis, throw the ball for Sadie, etc.
5:30 is dinner
After that we once again get to do whatever we want.

This park is a gated park, about 10 minutes out of Kelowna, very quiet, very secure, and filled with old(er) people.  The girls have alot of freedom here. They are well like and well known by many people here, as they are the only kids here right now!  One of the security guys has made friends with Mckenna and gifted her (him and a lady from the office) with a gift card to Claire's for her bday!  They also got to ride the skelter for free for an hour too!
They are doing that right now, and their time is almost up.  They are both hot and sweaty and I told them that they could swim for a bit before supper, and so I gotta run and get their stuff ready.  I will post some pics next time I have time ;)

So far... in Kelowna

So we have settled into our home on wheels.  When people ask us where we live, I tell them that we are house-less, but we definitely aren't homeless.  For those that have never experienced having their husbands away for weeks at a time, having to go to church without them...appreciate having your hubby home.  I do!! It's SO awesome to look forward to having him walk through the door.. EVERY DAY! We sure have treasured this last week, that's for sure.  The first weekend we were here, our plan was to find Kelowna Suspension Bridges and see if we were brave enough to try them. Check them out for yourselves here: http://kelownamountain.com/kmc-content/tourism.  John had heard that we could go in for free, since they weren't open officially yet. But, they stopped us, so we will have to return another time.  Here is a pic that I got:

Hopefully I will have better pictures for you when we do end up going!

On the way home, we stopped at a winery and were privileged to taste some fine wine (pure apple juice for the girls).

I really don't blame the girls when you ask them where they live and they really don't know what to tell you ;) "Well, we lived most of our life in Chilliwack, a little in Quesnel, and hardly anytime in Dawson Creek, and now we are in Kelowna." They really are good sports for putting up with our adventures!

(p.s. they really don't say that, I was just trying to put a caption to this picture)

Ready to drink the whole glass! 

I sure love the people I am with♥ 

The cool lights that were in the winery 

Where the good stuff is made 

Mr. Handsome himself, posing in front of the door that took you in 

Queen of this world! 

Or is she? 

Wine storage

The next day, was just as sunny, so we went for a hike.  We chose Knox Mountain as a recommendation from a local.  It was quite a steep hike to the first lookout, and later in the day, so it was a short, but butt kicking workout for the girls. (That might or might not include me!) Not surprisingly, Kenna could have run up the whole thing and still run down again :)

Lunch before we headed up.  

Enjoying the shade 

Our view... Okanogan  Lake.. Sorry for the pitiful picture quality.. They were taken with my iphone.

See the steam boat?

The floating bridge that you must cross to get into Kelowna from the south 

Enjoying the view 

This is hard to see, but the jet boat went right through a flock of ducks.   

It's us again! I think we have take more selfies in the last month, than we have in the last 10 years! 

Next time I post, it will be just a general post, of where we are privileged to live for the next 2 months, and some things that the girls have been doing also.  Enjoy your spring! We are, although it is wet today.

Our plans

So most of you know that we are leaving Dawson Creek.  Some of you may not know the details.  So, here goes:


John has not been happy at Calfrac for some time.  He has wanted to run heavy equipment for a while, but has found no one who would be willing to train him.  He learned about IHE, which is a school for training heavy equipment operators in Winfield, just north of Kelowna. 


It was about February when he started really looking into.  And when I was in Alberta in March, he became serious about and started to get all his ducks in a row.  He phoned the school for a start date and was told either April 7, or June 2.  Up here, you have something called break-up, wher the trucks aren't allowed on the back roads, as it's too wet.  THis is when the snow is melting and making a mess.  As much as I couldn't take in the fact that April 7 was less than 3 weeks away, I knew it was better than doing the course in the summer. 

Now came the question of wether we should pack up the whole house, take it with us, leave it in storage, etc. 


In the end, it all fell into place.  JOhn bought a new camping trailer that was big enough for us to live in and stay partially sane. 


John is going to work tomorrow, heading out to camp.  He wasn't able to give 2 weeks notice, so they are wanting him to stay until the 4th.  He wants to try be home on the 2nd.  So that leaves me 10 days to pack up the house by myself.  We will leave sometime on Saturday the 5th to get there on time. 


I will not be using my cell phone, but John has a good plan on his. So if you want to get a hold of us, there's still the good ole Facebook, or if you want/need John's number, make sure you ask me for it.


We will be gone for 2 months for sure.. We aren't sure where we will go after that, it depends on where he will get hired.

Alberta trip part 2

This is Andrew.  This was on a morning before school. And he had a rooster tail. So Mckenna hauled him by his hand to the bathroom where she wet his hair and used HER hairbrush to fix it for him.  THey are only 9 days apart

Ever heard of the game Loopin' Louie? Its a very easy game, good for young and old alike. 

Sunday afternoon cake, decorated by Mckenna 

I have a picture with Grandpa and Mckenna, sleeping together, also on a Sunday afternoon.  THis is my newest nephew Carson.  Only 2 1/2 months old 

Emmy's funny hairdo 

Gramma opening her birthday present.  We made a block puzzle using her favorite nature pictures.  

Aunty Theola hugs :)

These are my twin neice and nephew.  Sofia is the social smiling one where Sam is the serious shy one.  But he was the easiest to get a good picture of, since Sofia just wouldn't take her fingers out of her mouth! 

Good ole Jake had to stick his head into the picture.. but we still got a good one

We stayed for 15 days, and came back on March 19th.  Stay tuned to hear of our adventures of the next few months :)