Capilano Suspension Bridge

Today was school spirit day.

It was also a half day for school and I had a homework assignment (and a vision!) so we decided to venture to Cap Suspension Bridge. We invited Nate and Griff since they were also off school that day.

As usual, I had to take pictures of the totems in the entry way. So beautiful.

 And we stopped to read the history of the Indigenous people who lived in this area. I've blogged about this before, but it's very interesting. When you're here for the bridges, make sure you take some time to learn the area's history too.

 Then we also took pictures by the RCMP bear.

And then it was off for the cliff walk!

 Unfortunately, we were in the midst of the silver wave. Apparently after school goes back in session all the retired folk travel. So this place was almost as packed as I've ever seen it.

 Probably not the best day to try and do a photo shoot.

 Still we managed. There were some British grannies who got a laugh out of this scene. Proceeded to chase Liz around like they were wolves until we lost them near the suspension bridge. It was hilarious (and LOUD!)

Can you spot the wolf sneaking up on the huntsman and Red?

 Not posing, just posing.

 Elisabeth does the scavenger hunt every single time.

 Also a tradition at the bridge. What kind of bird am I?

 They've done some work here to the bridges. This in particular was quite gorgeous. I want one for my backyard.

After the flood

My poor mum had a lot of bad luck with water and her house this summer. First she had a water main burst. That meant that the driveway we'd just had tarmac'd this spring had to be dug up and a new water main put in (thankful for my amazing brother in law who arranged the repairs he couldn't handle himself and the long hours he put in working on that mess. It all happened when we were camping and the stress of that and being gone AGAIN when the compound needed us was kinda intense. I don't know what we'd do without Cody).

Then mum's plumbing in her bathroom went resulting in a TON of flood damage to the main bathroom, master bedroom and ensuite, the hallway and the basement. Cody saved the day again, ripping out the old plumbing, the damaged flooring and drywall too. Katherine and Jade worked on the floor in the entryway and then Andrew, David and I worked on the sub floor in the master bedroom. The subfloor had been so damaged it just got tossed.

Poor mum. What a lot of upheaval, and stress for her.

We're still working on the repairs but hopefully this place will look good eventually.

When your baby brother is moving...

When your baby brother is moving, and your sister in law is 11 months pregnant (no lie!), who do you call to help you get ready to move?

 Well, in our family it's me. So Elisabeth and I said good bye to the boys (and the teenage boys who were both a little afraid to be left alone with Andrew HAH!) and made our way to the Sunshine Coast.

 It's kind of a thing to take pictures of your boarding passes. I blame the awesome names they give each sailing.

Nothing like dinner on the ferry. I had been sick for about three weeks at this point, and by now I couldn't digest food. It was brutal. Stress. I was living off tea and had just started being able to add watery oatmeal to my diet. Add that to the fact that I'd just worked two weeks straight and I was coming to a weekend at my brother's (which is fun, but we were also hoping to work hard!) and I was a little nervous about this trip.

Still, I'm always ready to mug for the camera when the opportunity arises.

 David drove us past their new home.

 Meanwhile, Andrew sent me this picture. I was missing the last outdoor movie of the year. Looks like a lot of people missed it! They got good seats!

 Ruben and I woke up early the next morning. He was raring for story time!

Look at that little face!

Dave and Alexis have the most impressive library for their children. I took pictures of some of my favorites because they're just so beautiful. Wouldn't this book make a great poster series for in a classroom?

I looked on Amazon, you can actually buy these as posters. Do you think they could be art in a grown up's room and not just a child's? Maybe my office...

 Anyhoo, we read books, we coloured, we even did a little packing.

 We played with Pingu.

And we took many selfies. Also snapchat selfies. So many that Ruben created special voices for some of the filters (facial hair = deep manly voices).

And we soaked up every moment we could in the yard around this house. I'm going to miss this place.

While David and Alexis did chores and packed boxes, I played with their kids. On this rainy day, we went to the library. WHAT A VIEW THIS LIBRARY HAS!

Meanwhile, Andrew and David were at the Cruise In in Aldergrove.

 I wasn't so sorry to miss that this year. Anyway, back in the library the two bookworms were busy reading.

 For someone who hadn't even had her first day of kindergarten yet, Ada is already an excellent reader...

 Ruben was less interested in reading, and more interested in running around. But he did sit down occasionally.

Not a big fan of sisterly kisses at the mo' though!

Watching videos of Speed Racer. 

 And then live action speed racer.

I love their hair. 

 Then, on my last morning, we went for breakfast at this amazing cafe. Again, not eating yet, although I was feeling much better (the Sunshine Coast is an amazingly soothing place to go. I find it very peaceful here).

And they had lovely sunflowers growing in the parking lot.

 What I thought was one last picture of the house.

 And one last picture of the window seat.

 And one last picture of the fireplace.

 (And one last picture of Ruben helping me clean).

And one last fire.

 One last trip out to play in the driveway and cul de sac.

 There were a lot of one lasts for me. I was really sad.

 Then it really was time for Elisabeth's last lunch with Ruben in the yellow house.

 And our last time playing in the cul de sac.

 And one last hug with my brother (he really loves my hugs).

 And just like that...

 ...we were done.