Family vacation on Skaha Lake

End of July and we're off to Okanagan Falls.  We have rented a house on Skaha Lake for a week.  Time for the family to be together and the cousins to play together.

Our first dinner on the deck...

View of the lake from the deck...

Lovely grassy area by the lake...the water is shallow and so warm.  Perfect for the kids.

Landon popping out of Granddads hammock.  Perfect hiding spot.

Nothing like a cool pop on a hot day!  Harper getting messy!

Landon is becoming quite the photographer with Granddad supervising...

Sangria on the deck before dinner...

And so ends another perfect day at the lake!

My heart is so full...

Today I received a photo of the child that I have sponsored in Jinja, Uganda.  Look at that smile!  It breaks my heart...

This is Sam Nyende.  This is his story...

                                                    

A friend of mine, Barb Giraud, had a dream.  The dream has become a reality.  Barb and her friend Edwin (from Uganda) have headed a project and with the help of many people have built The Home of Angels.  A home for needy children that no longer have family to look after them.  What an accomplishment!  They now have room for 30 more children however cannot move them in to the home until they have sponsors.  Having a sponsor provides the necessary funds for these children to go to school and also helps to provide food.  $40 per month is all it takes.  I would spend that much on a dinner out.  Every penny goes to the child.  No admin fees!   It's not much but it is a commitment.  

Interested....

Contact Barb at jaajabarbshomeofangels@gmail.com.  It will change your life and that of the child you are helping.  It's changed mine!

Check out the blog at jaajabarbshomeofangels.blogspot.ca for the story of how this Home of Angels came to be a reality.

Landon turns four!!

Feels like yesterday that Landon was born and now he's four.  Birthday party to celebrate was held on Sunday.

Lots of goodies...

Greeting the guests...

Rockin' it out...

Brother Harper check in' out some birthday shades..

GG has got her hands full with Drew and Harper..

Birthday cupcakes courtesy of Grandma...Landon's favorite color..green!

Who me?

Cousin Jamie enjoying a little solitary play time..

We've got them contained...everything's under control!

Picnic at the Stewart Farmhouse

This evening the whole family met at the Stewart Farmhouse on Crescent Road in South Surrey.  This farmhouse is located at Elgin Park and is a great space to let the kids run free and take time to just relax together and have a picnic.   Susan did a great job in organizing the get together.

There was a good group of us!

"The Boys" enjoying a good laugh...

Jamie, Harper and Landon...quick...take the picture and they're off again!

A game of Bocce....the grass is a little dry...made for a very quick surface..

Mmmmm....good watermelon!

Harper's gone AWOL...quick Landon...get your brother...

And then it's time to pack up and head home..Landon is bringing Meeka...c'mon little doggie!

Swimming lessons...

Landon is turning four very soon.  He is learning how to swim at Sunnyside Park pool.  This is the same pool that both my sons learned how to swim in.  That was approximately 30 years ago.  It's come full circle!

Mom looking on....Learning to blow bubbles.....it's all about getting the face in the water...

Considering the task at hand...

And success!  Down he goes...face in the water!  Yeah!!!

Girls weekend....

Friday morning and I head over to Kathy's in Deep Cove and from there we will go to Horseshoe Bay to catch the ferry to Nanaimo.  It's a nice day and we look forward to getting together with Marg who will come up island from Victoria and Jan, who's house we will be staying at in Qualicum Beach.  

The ferry takes just over 1.5 hours and then it's an hour's drive to Qualicum Beach.  We stop and pick up several bottles of wine and then arrive about 5 pm.  Such a nice piece of property.  So peaceful.

This is what's referred to as the "martini garden".  We're bending the rules however and indulging in vodka tonics!  Ahhhh....so refreshing.

The garden is doing so well.  Beautiful sweet peas and lots of vegetables.  The high fence is to keep the deer from helping themselves.

One of Jan's cats snoozing in the garden.

Me, Kathy, Jan and Marg.

Back in the house we get ready to go to a play in town.  What a wonderful, relaxing weekend with great friends!  We promise ourselves to do it more often.

Last day in Berlin then home!

Today we have a free day to explore.  The weather is getting really warm as a heat wave seems to be hitting most of this area.  High of 36 today!  Yikes!

We visit the Synagogue in Berlin.  This Synagogue is currently completing a museum within it.  There was lots of information but much more is in the making.

Berlin has several canals and a river around it.

Inside the church...beautiful.

Stopped for lunch on the way back from the Synagogue.

Another dinner of bratwurst...I think I've eaten my fill of sausage for a while....

In the evening we took a 3 hr. cruise down the canal and river surrounding Berlin.  Gave us a different perspective on the city...was a relaxing way to spend a very warm evening.

Some of our group from the tour accompanied us on the cruise...front is Debbie and Marty from Nebraska and Monica and Collin from Niagra Falłs.  Great folks!

We went under several bridges while on the cruise and you can see how close we really were....no standing room!!!

Sunset over Berlin as our cruise comes to an end.

Marlene and I went back to visit one more museum....the museum of terror located on the site of the old headquarters of the SS (secret police).

We're so fortunate Hitler didn't win the war....our world would look totally different if he had succeeded and it's a lesson to us all how this can NEVER happen again!

An outdoor restaurant on the canal that was close to our hotel.

Cold white wine and hot soft pretzel for a snack...mmmmm!

Finished off the day with a dip in the hotel pool and relaxing on the chaise lounge....ahhhh...totally spoiled....how can I go back to budget travelling now?

Room service at 5:30 a.m. As we had to leave early for our flight.  Very nice send off....good bye Berlin...hello Vancouver...we're off!