West Coast Migration - 2016 recap

My sister in law (& Facebook memories) reminded me that my last blog post was a full year ago.  To everything there is a season.  Sometimes that season of life requires a pulling back, a retreat, and some shallow breathing and perseverance rather than a courageous, full and hardy, exuberant and colourful blog post every week. 

I think perhaps its time to begin breathing deeply again.  Time to reflect on the year that's passed as  the temporary and the transitions slow down and we can once again settle down our spirits, growing roots and deepening connections.  Five weeks ago we moved to Langley BC with our family as newly commissioned and ordained pastors for The Willows Community Church of The Salvation Army. 

First we traveled from Winnipeg to Newfoundland for Canada Day (& a host of special activities!), enjoyed some holidays with family in Niagara and then journeyed through the Crow's Nest pass to BC.  This is our West Coast Migration.  It is everything our hearts have been longing for - crazy, supernatural, "mountains & oceans" BC and a equally beautiful community of people to love.  If I was really clever, I would have all of our new photos ready to go, but I feel compelled somehow to finish what I started and review the last year in brief, to glean the treasures, before moving on.  

Last year we were in St. Catharines to celebrate my Father's birthday - this year the card is in the mail!  :-)

 Last year we headed back to the College for Officer Training in Winnipeg (CFOT) to begin our second year of training and enjoyed ice cream sundaes after the AMAZING (non) RACE around Winnipeg.

 We survived the dab.  Come-on that must have been coast to coast!!

 We read a lot.  A LOT!  All of us.  Generally, peace reigned in the mornings.

 Hallowe'en, ninja turtles & Harry Potter

 Grand Beach Day in early November - YES these photos are in order, strangely enough! 

 Did I mention that we read A LOT?

 Rock climbing birthday party was an excellent choice to counteract all of that intellectual stimulation with some physical fitness ...

 Our dramatic flair came out during a STAR SEARCH Christmas play at Southlands Community Church.

 It was about this time that the snow arrived.   It's true, after the plows left, the kids raced outside to climb on the hills.  I know, it's dangerous .... yes, they were careful ... yes, we monitored them ... remember that Winnipeg is quite flat.  This level of elevation is really quite exciting. 

 Then we wanted to really test out our 5 in 1 winter parkas at the most eastern point in St. John's NFLD just before Christmas. They worked well enough, which was good news. 

 "Home" for Christmas with the most adorable little girls on the planet, who have some spectacular parents too. Home with family, home church crowd. Great memories!

New year, new blog post.  We'll catch up eventually.   

Welcome to Abbotsford - A City in the Country

We arrived in the early evening to this city in the country.  This is Mount Baker - visible from many places in Abbotsford on the other side of the valley (in Washington state).  It is certainly one of the defining features of the area. 

 Our first day we spent with the boys and realized the hydrangeas and other flowers were in their prime.  The boys wanted to mini-golf immediately at Castle Fun Park - a place we would return again and again.  :-) 

We explored a few trails around near our accommodations and headed up the long driveway and settled in.

 We could scarcely believe the wild blackberry bushes along the trails. 

 This bald eagle was another great surprise. 

 BBQ & plenty of space to roam!  Best surprise of all - the friendly neighbourhood deer in our driveway.  We watched this little one grow quickly over the summer. 

A "Happy Canada Day!" Community Carnival Celebration was enjoyed by all.

 We also enjoyed a great day at White Rock, walking the beach and the boardwalk, watching the crab fishermen, examining jellyfish, climbing the actual giant "white rock" and sampling gelato.  A day at the beach is not complete with the compulsory fish & chips for dinner. 

We were off to a great start on our summer assignment! 

How we have fun in Winnipeg (spring edition!)

 We had all of the regular end-of-school trips in May & June, including choir concerts.  The boys wrapped up a great year at Linden Christian School and were quite excited when they had the last week off because we flew to Ontario for Commissioning on the 23rd of June.  But before we left we managed to squeeze in a few more adventures in Winnipeg. 

First up was the Narcisse Snake Dens!  An easy walking trail through sparse forest and grassland with 4 active snake dens to peer into and enjoy.  This is the largest and most accessible grouping of snakes in the country.  The snakes come out from their winter shelters and begin to leave the dens in May.  They will roam up to 25 kilometers over the summer and return to the snake dens in the fall.  We'll heading a little further away, but maybe we'll return here too! 

 The snake dens were busy and HOT walking that day.  The next week we ventured indoors on a much cooler day to the Manitoba Museum.  Some great exhibits to explore this day, but super crowded because there was free admission for the holiday.

More free fun was had when we realized that there was a caterpillar infestation happening in Winnipeg.  These little creatures were EVERYWHERE.  The city began spraying to control the problem that happens once every 7-10 years.

We checked out the old gate at Fort Garry.

 CFOT kidettes go the ballgame!  Great night of family fun with friends. 

We had a bunch of farewells to make before we headed out for our summer appointment and the wonderful officers at Weston, Lt. Keesom and Tina Phanthomaath were one of the hardest - they are off to a new appointment in Toronto.  We have enjoyed their ministry this year at Weston immensely.

Father's Day Bean-Boozeled.  Both delicious and disgusting at the same time.   Spin a colour and then try to eat one that is either a good flavor or an icky flavor that looks identical.  FYI Have a spit bowl and water nearby to drink.

 No matter what we are doing, we have the most fun in Winnipeg with good friends!