Dolphin Girl 2!

Check out what we did yesterday! A behind-the-scenes tour with the dolphin trainer! We handled gooey fish, weighed out a meal-portion, learned all about Pacific Northwest dolphins and then went on the dock to rub two different dolphins, ask a million questions all about dolphins, throw rings for the dolphins to bring back, feed herring and squid to the dolphins and pose for photos with the dolphins up on the dock - pretty amazing! The dolphins feel like wet rubber, very soft and smooth, and you can definitely tell that they are gentle souls when you look into their eyes. I'm not sure if this was more for Kea or for me, it was definitely a special moment for both of us!

So, we had our first of two free sales yesterday. Our original plan was to have it in our front yard, overflowing into the street and using the time to both visit with our neighbours and get rid of so. much. clutter. But the weather gods were not kind to us, and it POURED with rain all day long. So we set everything up inside, and invited the few hardcore friends who braved the elements to come by inside. And you know, it was perfect - they spent a bit of time setting aside piles of favourite things, and then stayed for an hour or so for tea and socializing while the kids all played upstairs!

When we did our first pass-through of the house, we set everything up to give away in two rooms, took one look and we both said, "TOO LITTLE STUFF!" and so then we did a second, more thorough, pass through. Yes, things are beautiful. But they also collect dust and stress me out by overpowering my space. Yes, I'd love to read those books, but they've been sitting on my shelf for 10 years now and I haven't found the time to read them yet. Yes, I'd love to craft with those items, but the fact that they sit there and don't get done makes me feel bad about how little time I have to do them. So, by the end not only was it easy to get rid of it all, it felt GREAT - freeing and lighter and inspired to get rid of more!!!!

AND we were able to raise $60 for the downtown eastside woman's shelter - yay!

SPCA camp

Kea went to a week-long summer camp at the local SPCA - her friend Ollie had gone the year before and loved it, so she thought she would give it a try this year. She loved playing with all the different animals, and came home either begging for a one-eyed rabbit or a dog (her favourite was a beagle), which Jamie thinks is the true reason they hold the camp!!!!!!!!! She learned about how to care for different animals, played lots of games, made bird feeders and grass heads, hamster runs and animal puppets. However, this was her first glimpse into what school could be like, and there were some interesting insights.....
First of all, none of us could believe just how EXHAUSTED she was after a long day from 9:30-3:30. She's not used to dealing with peers for that long, nor running games and one activity after another for so many hours in a row. She learned pretty quickly that everyone else has MUCH better food to eat, and gorged on rice crispy squares, fruit rollups, cookies and cakes and brought home mushy sandwhiches and veggie slices every day! She complained that there were too many rules, that the other kids didn't listen to the leaders, she had a hard time with the idea that there were teams competing for points and although she could do everything right, if the others in her group didn't do it she would lose points, and in the end her team didn't win a prize and she didn't understand why they would set it up like that. Some people are really happy at the end, but some people are left feeling disappointed.
She was claiming very strongly today that she never wants to go to school, and we were asking her why. She felt it was too long each day and she wouldn't get as much time to hang out with her parents. She didn't like how busy it was all the time, there were too many rules that didn't make sense, it was too competitive and made people feel bad and they told you what you had to study even if you weren't interested in it at all. She told us that it would be silly if she was really interested in dolphins and wanted to learn as much as she could about them, and the teacher decided that actually now she had to learn about snakes because they thought that was a better thing to learn about. It was interesting to hear her points, most of which I have to say I agree with!!!!!

Cooling off
Originally uploaded by the five mckays

We're back from Princeton, where we had a great visit with Grandma and Grandad despite the sweltering heat (it got up to 40 degrees, ugh!) We spent a lot of time swimming in cool waters, playing crib, eating fresh fruits from Keremeos and checking out the traditional music concerts downtown. Lots of photos on Flickr!

Now, to finish that load of laundry and pack a lunch for Kea as tomorrow she's off to a week-long day camp at the local SPCA......

dolphin girl

dolphin girl
Originally uploaded by the five mckays

So, I've uploaded a few photos from Kea's dolphin themed birthday party. Her only negative comment was that we had said she was still 7 when we paid as it was a couple of days before her actual birthday, so she couldn't do anything on her own. She felt there were FAR too many rules at the pool, and she was disappointed to not be able to go down the slide by herself, go on the rope, jump off the diving board, etc. So her one request on her actual birthday was to return to this pool, where she spent a couple of hours doing everything possible all by herself and feeling very excited to finally be eight!!!!!!!!!!

On Tue. we all spent the day at the waterslides, discovering that we're all speed junkies! Even Ryland was getting quite confident going down some of the smaller slides by himself!!!! Kea and Jamie braved the Valley of Fear, which is INSANE and although Kea came out of it exclaiming how awesome it was and that she wanted to do it again, I'm pretty sure she passed out at first! Her head flicked back and stayed there, her eyes rolled back a little and she stated that it was a bit too much for her so she tuned it out and could hardly hear her dad screaming!!!!! Crazy girl!

Yesterday we took a paddlewheeler tour of the Fraser River, spending lunch in Steveston touring an old fish-canning museum and eating fresh fish&chips. I found it neat to see all of the industry along the river, and hear tidbits of history, but the kids were bored and I could have done with a lot more dialogue than there was.

Today we're off to Princeton for a few days to visit my grandparents - lots of swimming in the lake, stops at fresh fruit stands, visiting with family and of course, hours of crib games! We always really look forward to our trips into the interior, and it's predicted to be hot hot hot!

Have a great weekend everyone!

family shot (look at how young we all look!!!!!)
Originally uploaded by the five mckays

I've uploaded a few more photos of our trip to Ontario.....we had a great time there, visiting with everyone, playing boardgames, eating great food, enjoying the sunshine and exploring the areas around Ottawa. We came home feeling very relaxed, and excited to be moving out there soon.

For the second year in a row Kea wanted to have her birthday party at Maplegrove Pool, a favourite summer outdoor pool here in Vancouver. Last year the City of Vancouver was on strike so we moved to a park, and this year it decided to rain. So this morning I had to make a bunch of phone calls informing everyone that 'this pod of dolphins had found a more sheltered cove to frolic in the waves in' and we ended up meeting in Burnaby at the Eileen Daily Pool. Kea had a blast nonetheless, riding the huge slide, jumping off the rope and swimming down the rapids. The kids ate fish crackers, dove for rings, we had a blue cake with a playmobile dolphin on top and the kids went home with dive toys and dolphin squirters. The only thing about moving the party indoors is the photos never turn out as well, but I'll be sure to take some photos of our big 8-year-old on Mon!!!!

Our friend Steph gave Kea her very first game boy - it's their old ones, and they came with a bunch of games. Somehow I feel better about hand-me-down systems like this, and so far I'm totally fine with the girls having them as Steph could not find the chargers and so after an hour of funny facial expressions and spastic body moves, the games were done! Now I'm just crossing my fingers that the chargers stay lost until we're ready to hit the road!!!!!! Kea also received a new CD for her birthday, from her 'bff' Lucy, and ever since we got home we've been bopping around to Hannah Montana. Ahhhhhhhh yes......I thought I had a few years until the teen years hit?!!!!!!!

Cam in the shallows

Cam in the shallows
Originally uploaded by pettipasnolan

Okay, so these are two photos that Ian took during our visit to Uncle Don and Aunt Betty's summer cottage at Eagle Lake. And I love them, as they pretty much sum up both of these boys' reactions to the very same spot, at the same time of the day. What drastically different personalities!
Cameron takes his time, thoroughly checking it all out, observing absolutely everything, contemplating the textures, the ripples and of course, the cousins - and as always, charming us all with his beautiful smiles!!!!!!!!
Ryland, on the other hand, runs in to the water full force without bothering to check if anyone is coming in after him, not caring that it's getting deeper and deeper until inevitably he's face-first under the water. He squeals and screams in delight, jumps, splashes and charms us all with pure exhileration!!!!!!!!!
I'm so curious to see how these boys will grow and develop side by side - I'm sure the almost 5 months difference in age will seem less and less important as they get older!

Woooooooo!!!

Woooooooo!!!
Originally uploaded by pettipasnolan

After a full day, and a very full week, we have arrived home once again. Today we flew home via Winnipeg, which actually was not as bad as I was anticipating. It broke up our trip a little, allowed the kids to run around for 40 minutes and burn off some steam, and we found a Tim Hortons and an arcade that took quarters instead of the usual loonie/toonie - what a novelty that was! Tiegan and Ryland were glued to the driving games, I was completely addicted to Pac Man, Kea discovered pin ball and Jamie crashed a few atv's. Lots of fun!

The outside of our house is half painted, and hardly looking like our house anymore. Beige is not our first choice, but it looks cleaned up, and I think it makes it easier for us to leave it!!!! And then when we can move to the Ottawa valley and build our bright pink house:-) Te he, I can say this because I know Jamie doesn't ever get around to reading this blog!!!!!!

Okay, off to bed, we're exhausted but just wanted to let people know we arrived home safe and sound - we'll post photos soon!

Tiegan's fish!

Tiegan's first fish!
Originally uploaded by the five mckays

We're in Ottawa this week, enjoying a visit with family and friends. Jamie and Ian decided to load up the boat one morning and go fishing. Tiegan got it in her head that she'd like to join them, despite how much Jamie was trying to convince her that 5 was too early in the morning for her to get up, it would be boring and cold and ultimately she would not enjoy it. Tiegan finally stated, "Dad, *I* know what's going to make me happy, you can't tell me what I like or don't like." And with that, it was decided to let her make the decision.

And you know, in the end it was probably a good thing, as neither of the guys caught a single fish and Tiegan caught THREE!!!!! A little reminiscent of fishing in the Turks and Caicos.......Tiegan's turning out to be a natural at fishing!!!!!!

I've filled up my memory card with photos from our week here, so will be uploading more on our return, but in the meantime I've uploaded a few on our flickr account if you want to check them out!