Vegas Birthday Wish

Mount Frosty 2009




Rachel Hike Sept 2006, Blake Hike Sept 2009


Rachel Peak Sept 2006 Blake Peak Sept 2009
Right side Black top Grey Shorts Orange Shirt next to post left




So on Thursday we leave for our Birthday Vegas trip!!! There are 4 couples going Gilbert & I , Jesse & Vanessa, Margaret and Ed and my high school buddy Trevor & Peggy. We are spending the weekend celebrating the number 40, Trev, Margaret and I are all either 40, or going to be 40. Jesse and Vanessa are the babies of this trip!!! The kids are staying with our very good friends the Nickerson's. Rachel is in for a very exciting week, on Tuesday she is going with the high school to the Me to We conference where she will hear the Dali Lama Speak. What an experience I am so jealous but very excited for her!!! Then on Wednesday she and Frankie are going to there first solo rock concert. Jason Marz!!! Gilbert is there driver so he will wait for them to be done. Blake is busy getting hockey under way. He just finished hiking Mt. Frosty which means both my kids have officially hiked the most amazing mountain top to bottom.

Almost Over

Wow, where has summer gone. I have been a very bad blogger these past few months. I am a face book fan and don't thing to much about my blog as most people are on face book. Our summer was busy and fabulous all at the same time. We once again did swimming this year, and Blake even joined, he missed a couple days as he was picked up to play a little 3 on 3 hockey in Chilliwack till the end of June. Swimming went very well this year with both kids taking off time. Rachel was just shy of qualifying in her 100 fly but made it on a relay. So between swimming we headed south for a week of R & R. We went to Seal Rock Cove Oregon and stayed in a nice RV Park . It was fabulous, we went to the dunes and Blake and Gilbert went ocean fishing and we all went whale watching. In August we went to Calgary for Gilbert's moms 75th Birthday. On our way home we stopped just outside of Revelstoke and did skytrek adventures, it is zip lines and obstacles above the ground in the trees. Blake and Gilbert completed the whole course Rachel and I completed the green part. We haven't done much camping since, with the fire ban in place it is not as much fun. Rachel is also working part time at a small Japanese restaurant so that does cut into our weekends a little bit. I am back to work on Monday, and Gilbert is off work till the middle of October as he just had his other hand operated on for Carpal Tunnel. We are off to Las Vegas on Oct 1st for my 40th Birthday. We are going with our very good friends Vanessa and Jesse and Ed and Margaret. An added bonus is that Trevor and Peggy Herd are meeting us there, their dates are slightly different than ours but we will spend a great afternoon with them!!! Blake has spent the last week trying out for Rep hockey in Chilliwack with his best friend Dyllan, first round of cuts were tonight, Blake has been cut for Rep A1 but Dyllan still is holding his own. Blake will continue tryouts next week to see if he makes A2.

Summer Swim Meets

Well it is that time of year again!!! Swimming and Swim Meets, we did our first meet of the season today. We only did Sunday in Mission today as the kids were tied up yesterday with soccer commitments. Both Rachel and Blake raced well today, with Rachel getting 5th, 8th, 8th and 6th and then a 4th in the relay. Blake swam 8th, 9th, 12th and 2nd in his relay. Our swim meet has now been moved to June 13-14 so we will be in Agassiz for that whole weekend. After that it is pretty steady till Provincials in Abbotsford on Aug 18th. Rachel has 2 weeks of school left 3 days of exams and then she is on summer vacation, Blake goes till the end of June and I work till July 3rd this year. Next weekend is Grad weekend in both Hope and Agassiz. Agassiz grad is Friday night and I am going with some of the staff from work. I am very excited because these are the kids that were in Grade 11 the year I started so I have developed some great relationships with them. Rachel is going to grad in Hope on the Saturday to watch some of her soccer team mates graduate. Gilbert is back at work and driving school bus just about as much. One of our bus drivers has gone on stress leave so Gilbert has been doing the Hope to Boston Bar run daily all this week and next. Then there are the extra field trips. 3 on 3 hockey should be wrapping fairly soon so that will be one less trip to Chilliwack. In August Blake is trying out for Rep hockey in Chilliwack with one of his buddies. So our summer is looking pretty jammed pack we have a trip to Calgary planned the second week in August and of course we hope to get some more camping in even if it is just up the road to Emory Creek or even Boston Bar.

Happy Mothers Day to Everyone!

Wow so it has been a while since I posted we have been super busy. Gilbert had his hand surgery so he has been home for a couple weeks. Blake ended up playing 3 0n 3 after all so he and Gilbert are heading back and forth to Chilliwack once a week. Rachel was on the senior girls soccer team and they had a weekend tournament in Merritt on April 24-25. I was a driver and chaperon, Rachel had many fans at her games. Mom and Dad came over, my Uncle Allen and Auntie Vera and my cousins boys Court and Hayden. Plus Gilbert and Blake on there way back from Penticton. The girls won all their games on the Friday and then one on Saturday morning. A couple of or players ended up her and we played with a short bench. The girls made it to the final game against Osoyoos and played hard it came down to a shoot out and our girls did their best. They got second. Rachel was chosen as Most Sportsmanlike Player. We have had a busy start to May, we spent this weekend camping and doing my bedding plants. We are off to Stemwinder next weekend for our annual trip with Mom and Dad. Here is hoping it is hot. This weekend was a good start to the camping season we went locally to Emory Creek and again had a blast.

Vegas Spring Break

The photos from Spring Break!! We had a blast and are very excited to be going back in

October for my Birthday. This time it will be grown ups only. We had amazing weather and saw a great show in the Luxor. We also saw Ty Pennington for Extreme Makeover home Edition it was so sweet.

Las Vegas Tomorrow

So tomorrow March 16, we leave for Sin City. I can hardly wait, it snow,rained and hailed today. If that does not say get out of town I don't know what does. We leave at 5:00 am tomorrow morning. Yesterday Blake went paint balling yesterday with his buddies they had a hoot. After they were done they came back for hot dogs and doughnuts. Blake is not a cake fan so it has been doughnuts for a few years. Gilbert had to work afternoons so he took in the paintball and I stayed home and waited for the party goers to come back. Today was pretty laid back Blake has a chest cold so he is on inhalers for the next few weeks. So I will keep everyone posted from Vegas I will be thinking of you all as we bask in the sunshine.

Hockey, Skiing, Rush and Vegas

So this past weekend we went to Kamloops for Blake's final hockey tournament of the season. We had a great time and the boys finished in 7th. Blake won the 2 games he played. Yesterday he went skiing with his school to Manning Park. Gilbert went along as a chaparone and they had a lot of fun. Fresh snow and all. We are winding hockey down and gearing up for Blake's birthday and our much needed vacation in Las Vegas. We depart in 13 days!!!! Blake is going paint balling for his birthday so that should be fun. While we were in Kamloops Rachel went to Kelowna to Rush the Youth Conference with her youth group. She had an amazing time and was very tired when she arrived home on Sunday afternoon. Probably more tired than us.