UK Photos

Hi everybody! I had a great time visiting everyone in the UK and seeing all the sights. Here are some of our favourite photos...but I'm sure we'll try to add some more shortly. ( If you find the photos too small you can click on them and they should get bigger. We are having a problem loading on larger photos lately. Sorry.)

Here I am playing in the park at Cambridge (where Mom and Dad want me to go to University!)


Just smelling the flowers...mmmmm!


Some of the nice sights in Cambridge.


Having a laugh with Mom and Oma.


London bridge is falling down...now which bridge was that supposed to be?


Of all the places to change a bum!


Me and my Great Grandma!


Some of the historical sights (also one of Mark's favourite photos).


Visiting the city of York.


Having an ice cream with Mom (but not really sharing).


Auntie Jessica and Uncle Andre just after they got married.


The lovely ladies at the wedding.


Hey baby, want a lift?


Auntie Jessica, Mom and Kian at Auntie Jessica's house.


What's this thing?


...And can I use it to knock down these rocks?


A moment of quiet reflection (alright it might have lasted a second) in yet another church.


Mommy and Kian at the pub.



Two handsome men!


Oma, Opa, Kian and Daddy at Auntie Jessica's wedding.

Greetings from the UK!

We are having a wonderful time on our first real big family vacation! Kian was great on the flight into London and slept most of the time on my lap against the window. The flight was packed solid. The first couple of days we took it easy and tried to get over jet lag. Unfortunately Kian picked up something on the flight and by Tuesday night was violently ill. By Friday Renee had it, Saturday (the day of the wedding and the whole reason for the trip to Wales)I had it, followed by Jordan, Mark, Kirstin and Darcy,that we know of. I'm sure it is still making its way around and hopefully Jess and Andre aren't spending their honeymoon sick on a boat somewhere in Turkey!

The wedding, at least the part I was there for, was very nice and well planned. I made it through the ceremony and signing before I had to leave. Apparently the dinner and rest of the evening were very nice, but I really wouldn't know first hand.

Kian, Mark and I left Cardiff on the 15th to head north towards Liverpool where we were to drop off Renee and Darcy who were on their way to Ireland. We saw some really nice small towns that we would love to visit again. We made the choice to stay on some working farms in the countryside that also provided B&B. They were really nice and a welcome change from the chaos of some of the cities we were in. I can't say that we have ever been more lost in our lives than we have been in the last two weeks that we have been driving in the UK! I think we are also a bit dizzy from all the roundabouts!

So far our trip has taken us from London to Windsor Castle, Bath, Cardiff, Brecon Beacons, Chester, Liverpool, Carlisle, Ayr, Prestwick, Troon, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Hexham, York, Cambridge and back to London. We are still here for a few more days so I'm sure that we are going to see a few more places, but most likely just for the day. I will post TONS of photos once we are home. I have already taken about 1200! I think we are going to have to upgrade the computer before I upload them!

Hope you are all doing well!

Saanich Fair

Last weekend was the Saanich Fair. Kian loved it! There were all kinds of animals, horses shows, tractors, rides (although he isn't tall enough for those yet), a petting zoo, BALLOONS, pirate school, in other words, a real country fair. We went early so that we could avoid the rush of people in the afternoon. Maybe a bit too early since the coffee wasn't ready yet when we got there!

Next stop is England, Wales and Scotland. Kian's first big trip!

Balloons at the fair. We let this one go....


Not far from the truth, my little piggy!


Petting the pigs, actually sticking my figures up their noses....


The donkey on the sweater was more interesting than the real thing.


On the tractor with dad.

My First Birthday and Grandma's Visit!

Kian and Grandma downtown


It's hard to believe that a year has gone by already. I think I blinked and missed it. It has been a really big year for us adding to it the move across the country. Kian is now one and moving on his own steam. He is walking and very independent. He loves going for walks and to the parks. He loves animals, although he doesn't really know how to pet them yet. He has some words now and understands the signs that we have been doing with him. His favourite words seem to be "hot dog" and "eow" (that would be "meow" I think!) at the moment. Maybe because he eats hot dogs and sausages frequently, actually he eats veggie dogs. He is about 29 inches tall and 21.5 lbs., for those who ask me all the time.

My birthday party cake!


CAKE!


On his birthday Auntie Renee and Uncle Darcy came over for dinner. Of course there was cake and Kian managed to get more of it on Uncle Darcy than he got into his mouth. He had fun though and that's the important part. And, Uncle Darcy is still his hero. We did have a bigger birthday party for him on the Saturday following his birthday. Considering we don't really know anyone yet we still had about twenty people at our place for lunch. Kian had a good time although he was wondering why everyone was singing to him. He got lots of clothes and great toys.

Opening presents


Presents at my party


Look what I got!


Grandma came to visit us in Victoria for Kian's birthday. He had a great time with her playing and reading books. We went to the petting zoo, swimming, Butchard Gardens and for lots of walks around the city and the golf course across the street. Grandma got to see our quirky house and see what we do everyday and Kian got to bond with her. It was a short visit but nice to see family.

Here ducky ducky!


Goats!


Petting zoo with Grandma


Reading with mom and Grandma

Mommy's birthday

This August long weekend we decided to go with Auntie Renee and Uncle Darcy camping in Washington state. Actually, we decided to shopping in Washington state and go camping so that we could afford to go shopping and bring more stuff back with us. Kian had never been camping and we didn't know how he would do but he loved it and we all had a good time. Seattle is beautiful and has a fantastic market downtown that we spent a few hours in. We could have spent a few days there considering we didn't even make a dent in it! Of course, we took Kian to the toy store and Uncle Darcy and daddy had more fun playing with the toys and the flying monkeys than he did!

The camp ground was really nice and quiet, well, at least it was in the evenings. The mornings brought the fog horns from all the ferries going through the straights. It didn't bother us, but I know that Auntie Renee isn't a morning person.... We were able to see a whale off the shore and for all the clam-ers there were tons in the water.

Kian loves to hang out with his aunt an uncle. In fact, Uncle Darcy is his new hero because he let him drive the truck while we were waiting for all the ferries. Now he thinks he can drive the car as soon as we get outside!

In the tent


Didn't make it....


First camping trip with mommy, daddy, auntie Renee and my hero, uncle Darcy!


In Pike Place Market

Opa's Visit

Opa had an unexpected visit to Victoria on his way back from China. We had a great time going for walks and showing him what little we know of our new home. Hopefully he had fun as well. Kian enjoyed playing with Opa and didn't even play strange when he saw Opa off the plane.

Thimble raspberries


Walk with Opa


GIANT SLUG!!!!!! Can't wait for the wet season. I think I might move back to Ontario for the winter!


Opa at Swan Lake


Merlin Falcon at Swan Lake


Opa going whale watching


Floating houses


Float plane


Rumples


Female orca


Bob the seal


Dinner at Barb's


Having a nap


Going for a walk


Deer on the path