I'm Back! (think creepy, sing-song voice...)

You probably didn't even really notice that I was gone.... well, maybe you did, since I did manage to post one set of pictures mid-way through my awesome month long tour de BC (also known as "I wish my freakin' relatives lived closer together so I didn't have to drive so GD far," but that is sort of long and sounds rather whiney and obnoxious, so I'll just call it the "tour" for short).

Now that I'm back, I am hoping to pick up the blogging again with some kind of regularity, but I'm not making any promises. In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few more pictures of our month long trip... which included my 20+1 HS reunion. If I wasn't so tired and lazy, I might dig out my old photos and scanner and scan some high school photos for reference, but since I'm feeling pretty good about my aging process so far..... I won't.... I don't need to see how much I've actually changed, thank-you-very-much..... The reunion was the last day of the "tour", but since I'm talking about it... I'll show the pictures first.....

Just the grads... there are three attendees missing from this picture. One left too early, one hadn't arrived and one was at the beach purely by accident (I left a message, but he didn't get it). Our class was small, only 50+ grads. I wish more had been able to attend.... maybe next time?

The Families...

And....reverse,,,to the Island. After catching her shark, Chey was determined to go "real" fishing and my Dad was a good sport and took us out one morning so she could try her luck. I think this was a good decision because she has decided that she really likes fishing and Opa is ALWAYS looking for fishing partners..... she's also not squeamish, which is helpful in harvesting the bounty of the ocean.

A beautiful, misty morning	One of Chey's favourite things about fishing... constant snacks!
Her first "real" fish. A Pink Salmon	Helping Opa fish for rock fish.... they even caught a rock.... A bucket of Bounty!
the classic "Prawn" pose

Prawning around....

Note: Pink Salmon taste like feet.... they are gross.... just sayin'

We also visited Fort Rodd Hill park, The Butchart Gardens and the Butterfly Gardens... with a couple of stops to wander around Victoria.

That's a big... uh, gun?

See people... Dale really does exist.... I have not buried him in the back yard... yet....

Looked like "Diagon Alley" from a distance

Adorable OVERLOAD

mmmmmm.... broccoli 

After our trip to the island, we moved on to Kelowna and Salmon Arm, but I ran out of oomph in the photo department, so the pics are few (Thank Goodness, you say!)

Swimming at Bear Creek Provincial Park

Taking a ride on Grandpa Syd's tram

a lot of totem pole pictures were taken on this trip...

sanctioned graffiti in NanEB's studio.... can you guess which who's is who's??

All in all, it was a fabulous trip, but I'm incredibly happy to be home......

Kismet

Chey is an unusual little girl. She has always preferred the blood thirsty and dangerous over the soft and cuddly. Her first favourite creature was a shark and when asked why she would respond, with all the intensity that a three year old can muster, "because they can kill you!"

I was thinking about this, when, on her very first fishing trip, she caught a shark......

We couldn't get a picture of her holding it, because the Spiny Dog Shark has poisoned spines along it's dorsal fins, but she was pretty happy with her catch.... I was happy to let it go.

Our trip has been fabulous so far. We spent a couple of nights at my sister's house in Grand Forks: riding her horses, feeding her chickens and taking a lovely float down the Kettle River.

Our Hillbilly Horseback ride.... 

We stopped in Vancouver to visit my other sister. We walked on the boardwalk and made a trip to the Vancouver Aquarium with my nephew.

this dolphin was actually interacting with the stuffy... it was awesome!

This picture was taken only a few days before this beluga died of advanced age

We are currently on Vancouver Island enjoying my Dad and Caren's hospitality, particularly the hospitality of my Dad's boat, Seawind V, where we spent four nights. The pictures are too numerous to share them all, but here are a few.

Dale carefully paddled within 3 meters (9ft) of this baby seal, who slept through it all

and we've only started.........