Our Holiday in Pictures (Part 3)

I'm realizing now that we took a lot of pictures on our holiday! That just means I can do more pictures and fewer words! If you haven't seen the first two sets of pictures, click here for Part 1; click here for Part 2.

The first set of pictures are from our day trip to Carp Lake for fishing, swimming & just hanging out. We arrived just in time for lunch so quickly roasted some hot dogs for lunch. After lunch, we launched the boat into the water and Ernie & Jeremy took Daniel, Becca & Kathleen out for a ride & a little fishing. After a couple of hours, they returned with one small fish that Kathleen caught. Although our kids didn't catch anything, they were excited just to be on the boat!

Ernie let Daniel & Becca take turns steering the boat.

They couldn't stop talking about it after!

Jeremy taking time out for a little fly fishing

Daniel ready to explore the lake

Mid-week we adjusted our plans. Jeremy & I had wanted to head further north to visit Jeremy's brother, sister-in-law & four girls but scheduling just didn't work out. So instead, we all (my sister & family, parents & us) headed south to Barkerville. If you have never been to Barkerville, I highly recommend going. Click here for Barkerville's website.

There were a number of these little guys eating popcorn that people had dropped on the ground

Taking a break from all the walking
(Dad, Ernie, Paul, Douglas & Daniel)

All the employees are dressed up in period clothing

One of the pictures Jeremy took at Barkerville

This church is the only building I remembered from the last time I visited Barkerville - many years ago

At the end of our day at Barkerville, we all said our sad good-byes. Poor Becca cried for at least an hour after we left. Over the almost 2 weeks that Daniel & Becca had been in Mackenzie, Becca really bonded with Kathleen. They were almost inseperable. But the time had come - Karen, Ernie & kids still had to drive 4hrs back home that night with terrible weather looming on the horizon. We had about a 2-3hr drive ahead of us as we headed south to Williams Lake for the night. Mom & Dad have long-time friends there so we usually stay the night as we pass through. We were fortunate enough to hit the bad weather on the way down too - thunder, lightening and heavy rain. At one point, Jeremy pulled over because he couldn't see the lines on the highway! After a bit, we continued on, driving slowly. Mom & I were doing whatever we could to keep the kids calm (and try to keep Becca from starting to cry for Kathleen again). We sang church songs, played games, told stories, anything!

The next morning, we loaded up the van and continued on our way home, this time with more favorable weather. On our way, we stopped for lunch at Horsting's Farm Market. If you're passing through Cache Creek, and the farm market is open, it is definately worth stopping for.

A picture of the Horsting's apple orchards
We used the distance for Daniel to expel his energy!

Jeremy - taken by Becca

And that is the end of our holiday! We are thankful for a safe trip and all the fun we had. 'Till next time...!

6 Random Things About Me - Meme

I have been tagged by Susan of Penless Writer to do the "6 Random Things About Me" meme. I thought I'd give it a shot!

Here are the rules of the game: 1) Link to the person who 'tagged' you; 2) Post the rules on your blog; 3) List 6 random facts about yourself; 4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post; 5) Let each person know they have been tagged by commenting on their blog; 6) Let the tagger know the entry is posted on your blog.

I know I've done a couple like this before, so hopefully I won't repeat myself!

1. When I was growing up (and even sometimes now), you could often find me wearing pants and sweatshirts in the middle of summer. We have a few family pictures to prove it!
2. I don't like the smell of hay (or any smells to do with farms or animals really); actually it almost makes my stomach sick - don't know why?!
3. I was very shy growing up
4. I (along with my sister) would run around with 5" high heels on when I was younger
5. I have had glasses since I was in grade 3
6. I love the smell of clothes & bedding after its dried on the clothes line

Well, it seems that most of my random things are from when I was younger! Now you know a little more about me!

I'm not going to tag anyone specifically, but if you do this meme, leave a comment on my blog to let me know - I like learning new things about other people. And check out Susan's 6 Random Things here!

Our Holiday in Pictures (Part 2)

Because we had so many pictures from our holidays I am posting them in two different posts.

If you haven't seen the first set, click here first. Okay, now that you've seen those ones, here are the next set of pictures.

The first set of pictures are from our adventure up Morfee Mountain. When I say that we went up the mountain, I don't mean that we drove for a bit in the trees on a highway, I mean that we turned off the road, stopped and loaded up the truck. We had 11 of us in the truck - Ernie, my Mom & Dad and myself in the cab of the truck, and Jeremy, Daniel, Rebecca, my sister, Karen, and my nephew & neice (Paul, Douglas & Kathleen) in the box of the truck.

After loading up the truck, we drove for about one hour on gravel roads. Now when I say gravel roads, I don't mean nice wide, seal-coated gravel roads. No, I mean gravel roads where you wonder how if we were to meet a vehicle coming in the opposite direction, how would we get passed each other? I mean gravel roads where there are deep (I mean deep) crevices, potholes, bumps, dips all over the road. I mean gravel roads where if you aren't in a 4x4 vehicle, you are going to bottom out! At one point, there had obviously been a bit of a slide or something because part of the road had been washed away down the steep embankment, but thankfully had bright orange ribbon wrapped around little stakes in the road around the missing roadway. Oh, and did I mention that all the while we are traveling UP?! The road was quite steep.

One thing I was thankful for was for all the trees lining the side of the road where there was a sheer dropoff - at least I couldn't see how far down we would fall if we hit a bump wrong ! My hands are starting to sweat just thinking about this adventure.

I have to say that my brother-in-law, Ernie, did a wonderful job navigating his truck up what I would call treacherous roads (he would just chuckle and say, "This is nothing!"). At one point, we pulled off the road, about half way up the mountain, where there is a little cabin and an outhouse. I wasn't sure if Ernie had pity on me or if he wanted to show us this "pitstop" - either way I was happy for solid ground! Here are some pictures from that pitstop.

Some white rock that was all over the groundJeremy, Douglas & Daniel resting at the cabin

If I remember correctly, those patches of snow is where we headed next - way up there!

Our second pit stop. We got out to play in the snow! Here it was early August and there was still snow on the mountains!

On our way to play in the snow

After our fun in the snow, we hopped back in the truck, went higher again to the towers. I don't remember what the towers are for (phone, cable, cell phones...???). Maybe my sister will leave a comment & let us all know!

The towers - our 3rd pitstop

While here, the old golf clubs came out. Time to hit a few balls & rocks off the side of the mountain!

Where we played in the snow
Can you see the "road" leading up the mountain?
That was our final destination!

We finally reached our destination - the top of Morfee Mountain! We built a small fire, roasted some hot dogs & marshmallows and enjoyed the view.

I don't really want to share it, but in order for you to understand how BIG of a deal this was for me, I need to tell you. I was nervous all the way up the mountain. My brain kept telling my emotions "Ernie knows what he's doing", but my emotions had a hard time listening. My thoughts kept going over and over all the "what if" scenarios. I was praying, I was screaming inside, I was breathing to try to calm myself. All this for over an hour. We would get out to stretch and enjoy the view at each pit stop, but I could never fully enjoy myself because I knew that at some point I would have to climb back into the truck and keep going. I don't remember ever being that scared for that length of time before.

At one point - trying to talk so as to keep from freaking out - I mentioned to my mom sitting beside me that this was worse than going on the "Jurassic Park" ride at at Universal Studios. Jeremy & I went there in 2005; when you are on that ride, by the time you realize you are going DOWN, you're already finished! The scary part is over before you know it! This drive up the mountain was like the Jurassic Park ride, only much longer!

By the time we reached our final stop at the top of the mountain, I couldn't hold back the tears. All the stress over the past couple hours, all the time spent trying to relax & control my emotions - it was too much. Jeremy came over to me and just held me, letting me get all the stress out. The tears kind of surprised me. I am often strong in stressful situations. But this time proved to be too much, I guess. But now, I can say that I have been to the top of Morfee Mountain! I can say that I survived and that God protected us. And I'm sure at some point in the future, I'll be able to look back on this time and smile - maybe even laugh at my silliness! So Karen, don't feel bad about making me go up there. I'm sure it was good for me to be streched in this way! And, I am very thankful that my kids LOVED every moment of the trip.

Becca & Auntie Karen

Roasting hot dogs on top of Morfee Mountain
(Me, Becca, & Daniel)

Jeremy built this guy on top of Morfee Mountain!
My sister told me later that someone else took a picture of this guy & entered it in a photo contest in Mackenzie! He's now "famous"!

Jeremy & I

Weigh In Monday

Well, as I mentioned last week, Jeremy is working on his weight loss again. He has calculated that there are only 11 weeks until our anniversary so he's using that as his goal.

Last week he was 242lbs (technically he only started on Wednesday).

This morning he was 240lbs. So he's lost 2lbs in about 5 days.

Jeremy is excited about being able to buy a new suit for our anniversary get-away. I'm excited too! Apparently, when Jeremy & I met 13 yrs ago, he was about 234lbs. So when he starts getting lower than that, it will be the first time I've ever seen him that slim! Kind of exciting!

Thankful Thursday

I haven't participated in Thankful Thursday over the past few weeks. When I visited Mel's World this morning, she had her very first Thankful Thursday post. After reading her post, I decided it was time to focus on the things in my life that I have to be thankful for.

To be honest, today is "one of those days" - between the four children in my house today, there has been almost constant crying; I'm tired even though I had a little nap at nap time; it's been raining lots here since the weekend making it difficult for the kids to expel their energy outside...!

You get the picture. So, today of all days, I need to focus on what I have to be thankful for. Today I am thankful for:

• The opportunity to take care of other people's children and my new home business so I can stay at home with my children to soothe their hurts, praise their coloring masterpieces and scratch their backs among other things
• My children LOVING the "Little House on the Prairie" books that we've started reading
• God using sermons to help Jeremy & I to work through some tension in our marriage
• My amazing husband who knows how to speak my love language
• My health
• God's Word.

To join in on Thankful Thursday, visit Iris at Sting my Heart.

Weight Loss Update

While we were on holidays, Jeremy managed to only gain a few pounds.

Jeremy & I were discussing his weight loss the other day. He is goal driven. If he has a goal to work towards then he has great will power. If he doesn't have a goal to motivate him then his drive goes flat.

Last November when he started his weight loss journey he had a goal of losing weight for a class reunion in July. But when the reunion was cancelled he lost his motivation. It's taken him several months to find something else to be motivated about, but now his goal is our anniversary in November.

He is planning a weekend away for just the two of us. All I know is that "these dates" in November I am not available for doing any Epicure parties, that we are going to the Island and that the kids are going staying with my parents. Jeremy wanted the whole thing to be a surprise but knew that he had to tell me so I wouldn't book any parties! Anyway, this is now his motivation.

Yesterday we were talking and both of us thought the same thing at the same time! We both agreed that if Jeremy reaches his ideal weight before our anniversary, we are going to buy him a suit. Right now he only has dress pants (now a couple sizes too big) and various dress shirts. The last suit jacket he owned was when we were dating. It's time to update the style and get him all "snazzied" up! We're both quite excited about this new goal!

Check back on Monday for the next weight loss update!

Our Holiday in Pictures (Part 1)

My brother-in-law, Ernie, took us on a tour of the mill that he's worked at for the past 20 years. Since the spring - and probably for the next few months - the mill has been shut down. The town of Mackenzie (where my sister & brother-in-law live) currently has about a 98% unemployment rate! Ernie is one of the very few who still has a job. His job right now is very boring - he arrives, has a couple cups of coffee, drives around to check the perimeters of the mill property (make sure everything is secure & not vandelized), then had back to the office to find something else to do when there's NOTHING to do. But, as my sister says, at least he still has a job which means they still have an income & he doesn't have to work elsewhere and be gone for 2 weeks at a time like many other families in town.

The following pictures are of our tour of the mill. I was very thankful that the mill wasn't operating because it was quiet and, most importantly, it didn't smell! Because this is a pulp mill, it has that disgusting sulpher/rotten egg smell! Yuck! Anyway, everything was fine so I was able to enjoy myself.

Some of my descriptions for the pictures might not be all that accurate. Hopefully the information I give you isn't too inaccurate!

View from the 5th (?) floor of the mill

Where the wood chips are sifted

At one point in our tour, we were on that top landing looking out!

View from one of the roofs

The red trees are dead pine trees from the pine beetle.

Later in the week, we all went to the top of Morfee Mountain (the middle peak).

That's a whole different set of pictures & stories!

Here we are on one of the lower roofs.

I thought this picture put the size of the mill in perspective!

These 5 "barrels" are used for processing the pulp

Each "barrel" is another stage of processing

Ernie showing us the results of the processing

Another stage of processing

Again - this picture shows how huge the equipment is

This picture shows the dryers for the pulp

There is an upper & lower lever

Each door (taller than us) is another drying compartment

Ernie told us about how a guy (in a different mill) was inside fixing one of the dryers and the door closed on him.

Because the machinery is SO loud, no one heard him yelling and he died from the extreme heat. Scary!

When the mill is up & running, this warehouse is full.

These bundles of pulp are the final product from the mill.

This is where the train comes in and gets loaded

That's it for the tour of the mill. The rest are just a few of the pictures from our time at my sister's. I will do another picture post from the rest of our week up in Mackenzie.

Daniel playing hockey with his cousins!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of my sister's flowers!

My Dad relaxing in the rocking chair

We took some family picutres in front of Karen & Ernie's home. Every time we get together we say we have to take pictures, but we never manage to accomplish it. This time we really did it!

My family! Back row, l-r: Ernie, Dad, Mom, Paul (nephew), Douglas (nephew), Steve (brother), Angela (Steve's girlfriend)
Front row, l-r: Becca, Kathleen (neice), Daniel, Karen (sister), me, Jeremy

Touching Base

It's been a week since I last posted. And before that, it had been...who knows how long?!

Life has been busy here. I've shared about some of it (going to the Island for my Grandma's funeral).

But mostly I have found myself busy with my new business venture in Epicure. I am loving it! I have not been nervous yet when giving my short presentation (which is highly surprising to me. Remember, I'm the one who is shy - at least I used to be; it seems there are a few of my personality traits that are changing - for the better I think!).

I have been on a steep learning curve with this venture, but have only felt overwhelmed once. Epicure is such an amazing company to work for, with incredible support. I've experienced huge success and not-so-huge successes at the Tasting Parties I've done so far. But all of it is giving me more experience.

In all of this, my biggest struggle has been to keep consistent with my devotional life - to not put God on the back burner. I haven't been all too successful with keeping God priority over my business, but these past couple weeks, I have been making more of an effort. This past year I have gained such a closeness with God that I don't want to give that up. Nothing is worth that.

In trying to keep my priorities straight, I haven't been blogging as much to allow for more God, family & business time. I am still babysitting full time too, so that also keeps me busy!

I hope to post some pictures from our holidays early next week. In the meantime, I'm happy to share that WE HAVE NEW TENANTS for September 1st!

Our wonderful girls (tenants) told us the end of July that they would be moving the end of August, just 10 months after they moved in. We are sad, but excited for them as they are both off to a discipleship school. After showing our basement suite several times and only getting a few applications, we phoned one of the families tonight and they happily accepted!

A couple weeks ago, Jeremy prayed and asked that God would use our basement suite to bless the new renters. This family that is moving in told Jeremy that they feel so blessed to be moving in. They are Christians and are friends with a family from the church we've been attending this summer. Our new renters are a young couple with an almost 2 year old boy, so that will be different for us - having to share the yard. I've had time to get used to the idea so I'm okay with it now.

Thank you, God, for providing for our needs and blessing us with what we expect will be a good relationship with this young family.

Family Time

Last weekend the kids & I were on the Island for my grandma's funeral. My sister came down from up north with my niece and my brother flew in from Alberta. It was the first time us three siblings had been together in four years and it had been about five years since the three of us have been together at our parents' house. My dad was sure happy to have all three of their children home at the same time!

Here are some pictures from that weekend!

Waiting for the ferry to take us to Vancouver Island

Becca, Kathleen (my niece), Daniel & Aiden (my youngest nephew)

My brother Steve with his son, Aiden We had fun going through photos from Grandma's
My sister Karen & I when we were younger

After Grandma's funeral service, we took some family pictures.
These are all of the first cousins that were at the funeral. Some of them we hadn't seen for almost 20 years!

Grandma's four remaining boys (from her 1st marriage)

A little fun between Uncle Rick & Mom!

All the siblings (minus one uncle who couldn't make it)

The siblings & their spouses

As I mentioned in the last post, it's a very interesting story of how my Grandpa and my Grandma met and combined their families. I'll try to tell it as simply and quickly as I can. I'll use their first names in order to keep everyone straight.

Many years ago (not sure of the actual years), Roy and Victoria (Tori) met and started dating when Tori was only 14 years old. They dated for seven years and married when Tori was 21. During their dating years, Tori became friends with Kathleen. Tori introduced Kathleen to Roy's best friend, Douglas. Douglas was the best man at Roy & Tori's wedding.

A few years later, Douglas & Kathleen married. Douglas & Kathleen had three children: Brian, Don & Robyn. During that time, Roy & Tori had five boys: Ron (who passed away a few years ago), Rick, Randy, Russ & Roy. When Roy (Jr.) was one or two years old, Roy (Sr.) passed away. A few years later (I think), when my Mom was four years old, Kathleen passed away.

Fast forward many years. My mom is now married and my sister is one year old. Douglas and Tori get married, combining the two families! I now have two uncles and five step-uncles. When I was growing up, the "step-family" thing was never made an issue to my siblings & I. My Grandma (Tori) is the only grandma I knew on my Mom's side.

Although my family hasn't stayed very connected with all the relatives, it was fun coming together and seeing uncles, aunts & cousins again. It had been years since we had seen some of them!