Introducing Madelyn

She's Here!! Grand-daughter #4 arrived this morning just after 6:00 AM. She weighed in just over 8 lbs and 20 1/2 inches long. Her name is Madelyn Soleil . Mommy and Daddy and baby are all doing great and big sister Hailey is excited! Big sister Jayda is not sure what to think of it all but she is interested. Grammy and Papa are proud to have another little girl to love and spoil.

Our Girls

I will end off my postings today with some pictures of the girls again. Playing with playdough is always a hit, and Jayda is getting into it along with Hailey. It Hailey is doing it then she wants to as well.

Same with painting!!!!

Norah is enjoying her independance, sitting all by herself and playing with toys. She looks pretty pleased with herself, and of course we were happy to take pictures.

The trip home

After the meeting ended with lunch on Sunday, we packed up the car and started home. We decided to take the Canadian route home instead of going through the states. The weather on Sunday was cloudy and rainyand we spent the night in Salmon Arm. The next morning we continued our drive through the mountains and the weather was good,although we encountered some fog in places and the scenery was amazing. We even saw some wildlife. The signs were true this time, no false advertising. We were excited to see 3 of these bighorn sheep on the road and I tried to get out the camera for pictures but was a bit slow. Luckily there was not much traffic just then so we turned around and went back, and they were still there , trudging along the side of the road. One of them had turned back already but we did get pictures of these two.

Farther along the road we came upon these three, just relaxing beside the road and they looked on in curiosity as we stopped and snapped some pictures.

I love the mountains and the awesomeness that they inspire. They are so HUGE and we feel so insignificant anongside. The towering snow covered peaks never cease to amaze me and make my thought turn to God, the creator of all this.

A small camera lens does not do justice to the vastness and greatness of what we saw . I really enjoyed the drive through the mountains, and through Banff National Park. We spent the next night in Swift Current and then made it home the next day , late in the afternoon.

Cedar Springs, Sumas WA

After spending a couple of days in N. Vancouver, the weather turned cloudy and so we headed on again. We crossed the border and headed to Bellingham, WA. We spent a couple of days there relaxing, shopping, though with the poor dollar, it was mostly window shopping we indulged in. We did find a great park and spent a good part of one morning walking the trails there. It was cooler and cloudy but great for walking. The second morning we were there, the rain had arrived and so we got our umbrellas out of the car and walked anyway, but our time to relax was over and we had to move on. Time to go into the business part of the trip.

Our MDS meeting was held at Cedar Springs Christian Retreat Centre in Sumas, WA. It was a gorgeous setting with acres of landscaped gardens and ponds and trails . This is the main chalet where we had the meetings and meals as well as where our rooms were.

The view from the dining room was of this pond, and it felt very peaceful and restful to see the swans gracefully swimming around there. The weather turned rainy and so that was a good thing, or we would have wanted to spend all our time outside enjoying the gardens and hiking the trails up Haystack Mountain.

We did get a bit of a break on Saturday noon to go out and stretch our legs and see some of the grounds close up and most of us took advantage of the opportunity to take a walk.

One of the trails went over a number of old railway trestles and it was a beautiful walk, with the leaves fallen and the forest close on both sides, and the creek running alongside. It was a good time of connecting with other people and renewing aquaintences and making new ones as well as getting some of the business of MDS done. The retreat ended on Sunday morning with a time of worship and sharing and praying for each other. It is great how we are all family in Him and have the privilege of sharing each others joys and burdens by praying for one another. We enjoyed the folks we met and hope we can continue the friendships that started there among the business of MDS.

Grouse Mountain and Stanley Park

After we left Lynn Canyon and had found a hotel for the night, we continued on with out sight-seeing. It was a beautiful warm day and so we made our way to Grouse Mountain. We decided to take the ariel tram up to the top and enjoyed the view of the land as we rode up.

By the time we got to the top, lunch was in order and so we ordered some food and went out on the deck to enjoy the sun and warmth and the view as we ate. It was well worth the trip. Afterwards we wandered around and spent some time watching the grizzly bears in captivity there. I would not want to meet such large creatures out in the wild somewhere but it was neat to see them. It was a lazy, relaxing afternoon that we spent up on the mountain and quite enjoyable.

After coming down off the mountain, we made contact with our nephew and his wife who live in the area, and they met us at Pizza Hut and we visited over supper. The next evening they invited us over to their place for supper and the evening and again we were treated to a great meal and a good time of visiting. Thanks guys!

We also spent a good part of another day at Stanley Park. The fall colors were beautiful and the day was nice and warm and so we walked and enjoyed. We also took in the Vancouver Aquarium in the morning. We were really impressed with the weather BC had to offer. We were told that it rained a lot there.

A view in Stanley Park as we walked along one of the river trails.

BC continued

Forgot to mention on our drive to Chilliwack we came to Bridal Falls. Vicki had told us that they were pretty neat and so we decided to check it out. We needed another break to stretch our legs and the day was so inviting with the sunshine and warm temperatures. The sign said closed but we could still walk up the path and joined others who wanted to see the falls. On our walk, we found HUGE leaves lying on the ground. I have never seen such large leaves and so we had to take a picture. I didn't think I would be able to dry this one and get it home in one piece, so a picture was the answer. Anyone know just what kind of tree grows leaves this big?.

The walk was a challenge, steep and damp but worth it when we got to see the view of the falls. It is always neat to walk through the shady trails, among the large trees and just marvel at what God has created, and wonder why we choose to live on the prairies :)

From Chilliwack we headed on to Abbotsford and North Vancouver. One of our stops in N. Van was Lynn Canyon. We had heard it was beautiful and after having been there we can agree. It was a sunny, calm morning, cool but great for some hiking. We spent some time enjoying walking in the forest, and enjoying the sights of the canyon and the river along the way.

We also enjoyed the crossover on the suspension bridge there. After we left there, we did some sightseeing and found another riverside park to walk in , enjoying the weather and the scenery there, before going out to hint for a hotel and some lunch.

Trip to BC

Back in October , Kerry and I were scheduled to attend an MDS Region V board meeting in Sumas, WA and so we decided to go early and do some visiting and sightseeing along the way. Harvest was done and a lot of the land work was complete as well and so we felt we could get away. Our first stop was Calgary where we stopped to visit my sister and family and enjoyed catching up with them, not to mention the delicious supper she served us. The next morning we hit the road again, destination Kelowna and friends there. We really enjoyed the drive out through the mountains, through Sicamous and the Okanagan Valley. Kerry always enjoys seening the farmland. The top picture is taken of the Lake at Revelstoke. It was a gorgeous fall day and we had driven a while so we decided to stop and take a walk. We really enjoyed the lovely scenery and fall colors we found there that afternoon.

AS we continued on our journey in the afternoon , we came upon this fruit and vegetable stand and it looked so inviting we stopped by. We checked out the produce and walked around a while and found out that the couple who owned this stand came from Manitoba originally. Maybe even from our community, or perhaps relatives?! It was another pleasant interlude in our drive.

We got to Kelowna and spent the evening and night with some friends who we had met on MDS last winter and started a friendship. It was great to re-connect with them and deepen the friendship and it looks like we will be working together again this winter. They fed us a delicious supper, we visited and then we slept in their comfortable guest room and then went out for breakfast the next morning. Later that day, they took us up to the trestles for a walk. Many of these trestles had been burned in the forest fires that went through here a couple of years ago but by now they were mostly rebuilt and it is a popular walking or cycling area. It was a cool cloudy day so we didn't walk far but it was enjoyable anyway. We left them mid-afternoon and went and met up with one of Kerry's cousins that used to live in Rosenort, but had moved to Kelowna. We hadn't seen him in years but that didn't stop us from having a good time with him, visiting and catching up, going out for supper , spending the night and some sight-seeing the next morning before moving on again.

After we left Kelowna, we headed out to Chilliwack and had some time to relax and see some sights on our own. We took a drive on Sunday morning and from the top of a 'hill'?? we saw this view and marvelled at the beauty of it and the difference from what we get here on the prairies. That afternoon we went to visit daughter-in-law Vicki's parents. We had a good visit with them and a nice long walk along the Vedder River, before enjoying another delicious supper and more visiting before moving on again. Thanks to all of you friends and relatives for the great visits and meals. It was great!