Tuesday-Bright Angel Park

       

I was so happy to see teeter totters at the park in the Bright Angel Park.  I loved them as a kid and wanted Bos to have a chance to try one out.

                                        

Good thing we had Grandpa along because none of us had the right weight ratio to ride the teeter totter with Boston.

We crossed a suspension bridge which Bos loved.  I was holding on to the sides especially at the middle but Bos ran back and forth quite a few times.

We took a short walk.  (great action shot-Thanks Dad!-looks so natural)

And enjoyed the old growth forest.  The trees are so amazing.  Our "big" trees would be a toothpick next to one of these.

Hang in there -only 3 more Canada posts.

Tuesday-Bowling

The Approach

The Granny

The Release

The Celebration

This is a version of bowling that you can find in Canada.  It is called five pin bowling.  The rules and scoring are different.  The balls are smaller and have no holes.  The pins are on cords so when they reset they are pulled up and look like marionettes.  It is funny.  Also there are only 5 pins - hence the name.   Boston's rolls where so slow that he would often have 2 balls on the alley at one time.  Towards the end he would roll one and go get another and roll it right through everyone else's turn.

Monday Evening

If you are sick of seeing Canada posts you should probably skip the next 15 posts.  We had a great time and took a lot of photos.

Practicing rowing the boat.

Living the life! Beautiful view, comfy chair, cold Capri Sun. 

What could be better?

Barbecue dinner at the house with Art and Barbara.

Monday Beach

This is Cole Bay.  We had a great time exploring the tide pools, eating a picnic and relaxing.  Boston loved playing in the sand.  We were so excited to show him the tide pools and he could not have cared less.  The area was more than beautiful.  

Monday-Butterfly Garden

Boston was the first to get a butterfly to land on him ...

 ... it did not last long.

looking hard and deep for butterflies

a "cat tail tree"

Wow!

This crazy bird liked to peck at your shoe and shoelaces.

Which is Boston's favorite kind of butterfly?

  A chocolate one

Day #1 Beacon Hill Park and China Town

"Look at that chicken's funny hair."

Once the birds saw that Boston was feeding them they all came running over.  Two turkeys came up and we asked him if he knew what they were. "The mom and dad." he said.

At the petting zoo Boston was not too sure about brushing the goats.   I guess he's a little too used to our cat that scratches you when you get too close.  You can see that he is ready to bolt.  It was so funny because he would use the brush to lightly tap a goat and then move on to the next.  If he walked near a goat that got up or  that tried to walk up to him he would move away and say "Oh sorry goat. sorry."

Finally he got the hang of it and managed to brush the goats.

Spencer the goat whisperer

Boston never did get the hang of feeding the birds.  He never could gently toss the peanuts.  It was more like he pelted them. 

We ended the evening with shopping and dinner in China Town.

Day #1 Fisherman's Wharf

Our first full day in Canada Art, Barbara and their son showed some of the sites in Victoria.

I'm King of the Rock

Catch me!

There is a resident seal that people bring or buy fish to feed by hand.  Art is showing Bos how to do it but he kept just tossing it in.

 There were so many other people around that Boston had to keep waiting and waiting for his turn.  Finally Grandpa was able to do it.

I think that Boston will work (part time hopefully) as a street performer when he grows up.  He always wants to stop and watch them.  He taps his toe and often dances along.  People were walking past and smiling because it is so funny to watch.  When the guitarist finished one of his folk ballads Boston pointed enthusiastically at him and said, "You ROCK!"  Luckily we got that moment on video because it was so funny.

Boston tried to get us to go and dance with him and finally convinced Art to join him.

Enjoying the view.

The People Behind It All

The reason we went to Vancouver Island was to visit with some of the greatest people in the world.  Boston, Art and Barbara had an immediate connection.  Some might say they knew each other in another life.  Moments after meeting he was willing to hold their hands and go where they led him without any concern where the rest of us might have been.

                                              

When we were deciding what Boston's name should be there was no hesitation or doubt that his middle name would be Arthur.  Spencer met and baptized Art (Arthur) and Barbara on his mission in Prince George BC.  They have been amazing examples of faith, friendship, love and of course have great senses of humor to us since that time.

                                  

We had a great time visiting them and having Boston get to know his namesakes (we thought about using Barbara as a middle name but settled on Arthur). Boston could not have better people to always be a part of him.  

Our House

We definitely think that renting a vacation home is the way to go.  When we walked in the house all we could say is Wow!  over and over again.  The home was beautiful inside and out.  There were 4 bedrooms, a master suite with a adjoining bathroom, one bedroom with a twin, another with two twins and finally one with a twin.  2 bathrooms not including the master.  There was a gourmet kitchen, spacious living room with beautiful views, comfortable family room, a formal dining area, two dining areas outside, a hot tub, a row boat, a large grassy area ... and the list goes on.

                                           

We had a stretch of private beach were you could find cool rocks and shells.  There was also a nearby dock.

We never wanted to leave.  We were able to make breakfast every morning which we often ate on the porch.  We often came home a little early so that we had time to relax and enjoy the house.  

On Our Way

After finding out that our flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems at 6:00 am (about 2 hours before our flight).  We scrambled to find a new flight at a similar time, we found one a half an hour earlier which meant we had to leave immediately.  Finally on the plane we were able to relax once on the airplane.

Next was the long drive from Seattle to the ferry.  Then we drove on to the ferry and enjoyed the ride from the mainland to Vancouver Island.

Boston really enjoyed his ice cream while sitting on Justin's shoulder's.  Although I think Justin had to wash his hair really well that night.

The scenery was amazing.  My dad kept trying to decide which secluded house he wanted to live at. Each seemed more magnificent than the last.

My Birthday

Boston has decided along with blowing out the candles and opening the presents it is his job to put the candles on the birthday cake.

His spacing is a little off but it's the thought that counts.

I made and Almond Joy cake.  (I insisted that Spencer take Boston and give me some peace and quiet in the kitchen.)  It was delicious! Here is the link: http://www.ehow.com/how_4725525_almond-joy-cake.html  I did make a few changes; I made the coconut mixture in a large pot (it was a good thing because it almost boiled over in it.)  I did not add sliced almonds to the frosting, I chopped up some whole almonds, toasted them and sprinkled them on top.  I waited until it was cooled and then they didn't stick. I either needed to add them immediately but the frosting cools quickly or add them to the frosting.  You should try this cake if you like Almond Joys.  The only thing it was missing was some Almond Joy ice cream from Leatherby's.