Category — Family

Not a lot of words in this post just some photos of our Family! Enjoy!

A real quick post to remind everyone to check out Jeff & Lindsay’s Web Page. The link is over on the right hand side titled “Uncle & Aunty Sills”, or just click this link www.thesills.net . Their 3 weeks of work/vacation have flown by and they only have a couple days left on their trip to Japan. So the last couple days should be packed with exciting adventures.

Well the renovation is about 85% complete. What I mean by that is all the fixtures have been installed and tested and all that is left is the finishing work which Kevin is doing. Now, as anyone who has done home remodeling knows this is the part that always seems to take the longest. It’s the painting completion, painting touch-up, base boards, mouldings, silicone, etc. etc. that just seems to go on for ever.
No visit to Princeton would be complete without a couple of grandkid pictures……. and here they are.

Renovations are continuing and we got a lot done earlier this week. The good news is that the bathtub we installed last week did not leak around any of the fittings when we water and pressure tested them, so that’s great. The ugly part this week was the drywall/gyproc mudding and pasting. Of all the stuff I have done with home renovations that is the one thing I hate the most. As amateurs we apply way too much mud and then sand like crazy, create a lot of dust and a real mess, then fill some more, sand some more, etc. etc. …….. and the finished job just never looks like the professionals.

Overall we (Kevin and I) have learned a lot about bathroom renovations and are more comfortable in tackling some pretty interesting projects after this one.

Home renovations are continuing at Kevin and Tamara’s. It all started a while back when they had issues with their enusite and the wall caving in, moisture behind the shower tile, etc. etc…. you get the picture.

So they decided it was time to do a complete renovation; with a little help from Dad and Mom. So the room was stripped right to the wall studs. New underlay has been put down, a vent fan installed, a new space heater, the insulation and vapor barrier were upgraded and a few sheets of gyroc were installed. Then we had a week off while I golfed and Kevin came down with a nasty cold/flu. Last week we got more gyproc up, the plumbing upgraded, Kevin assembled the new bathroom vanity and the new tub was installed complete with mortar underneath for support. We accomplished a lot this week as Brenda came along and helped look after the grandkids and cook the dinners which allowed us and Tamara to get a lot done. Starting this Monday we will finish the tub area, complete the gyproc and hopefully get it to the painting stage. After that it’s flooring, bathroom vanity and mirror install and re-plumb in the toilet.

No post about Kevin and Tamara would be complete without a picture of Sage and Conrad. Go ahead…. tell us those are the cutest two grandchildren you have ever seen!!!!!

Last weekend we drove to Cranbrook for a family picnic/visit and rememberance for Brenda’s Aunt Donna. Aunty Donna was a great lady, a great cook and someone who always had time for family and friends. Although she passed away earlier this year her family thought it would be better to have a gathering in the summer out at Moyie Lake where they spent many fun hours at the family cabin. So about two dozen family and friends gathered at Greenbay on the east end of Moyie Lake to reminisce and remember her. It was a great day, the weather cooperated and the picture below is of the Mason Clan in attendance.

After this we drove to Fernie to have dinner with our nephew Blake and his girlfriend Trisha. They live in Fernie and Blake works in Sparwood at the Coal Mine. All in all it was a great weekend.

Last weekend Brenda and I headed down to Princeton to spend it with Sage and Conrad. Mom and Dad headed off to Vernon to have some together time, go disc golfing at Fallow Ridge and to meet up with their friends Dave and Deb. Our weekend was busy with activities and projects to keep a 2 1/2 year old busy, there were no major emotional meltdowns (by kids or granparents) and what happens when Namma and Grampa are there stays there! The pictures pretty well sum up an exciting time………. Enjoy them.

Ready for Bedtime

Sage with a Fun Science Project

Today is my 55th Birthday! Yahoo, I am a Senior….. well at the golf course. The day started off with a relaxing coffee with Brenda and she spoiled me with some really neat presents; A Fishing Rod (plus line and a lure), ProV-1 Golf Balls and some golf tees. Actually we had Great Gramma and Grampa for dinner last night with our niece Sabrina and her friend; I got a coffee grinder and a couple pounds of coffee that I can’t wait to try out. Anyway, in celebration of my birthday I decided to post a blog of the things that are important to me and that’s Family! So, thanks to Kevin and Tamara and Jeff and Lindsay for the pictures we have a “Grand” Post! So, in no order of importance here are the Grand Kids, Grand Cats, Grand Dog, Grand Rabbit, Grand Guinea Pig, Grand Bird and Grand Fish(es)!

Well, we just got back from a trip to Princeton to see Kevin, Tamara, Sage & Conrad. Boy, was it ever a busy few days. Kevin and I completed fencing the majority of their property. It included cementing in all the posts and then stringing out and attaching the Deer/Rabbit Wire Fencing. Thank goodness Kevin had pre-dug most of the holes and we only had three left to dig on the first day. I believe in total it was 46 fence posts and 300 ft. of fencing, so a lot of work. The 30 deg. temperatures made it seem a lot hotter.

While I was helping Kevin, Brenda was busy helping out with Sage and Conrad so Tamara could get a few minutes to herself. Brenda always has a project or activity for Sage, she is 2 1/2 years old and it keeps us young trying to keep up to her. Conrad just loves to be held, watch T.V., eat food and sleep; although he does fight taking a nap somtimes.

We had some great dinners on their deck. The view is spectacular, you get to look out over both valleys and it is positioned so that it cools off real nice in the evening. On the last nights dinner Sage managed to eat almost an entire container of whipped cream for desert; with some help from Grandpa.

I have attached a few pictures of the cutest little grandchildren in the world. Oh! Ya, there are a couple picutres of Mom & Dad also.

Conrad in his Tigger Jumper 

 Sage and Namma – Sage waking up after a nap, there’s nothing like Namma’s knee to sit on. 

After we left Vancouver Island we headed to Vancouver for a couple days with Dean & Judy. On Monday morning Dean & Judy headed to Burnaby to look for new furniture for their house. They are just finishing up a home renovation that started back in June. Brenda and I headed of to walk the Seawall around Stanley Park.

Here are a couple pictures of us at Siwash Rock, in the first you can see the tide was out and it was great opportunity to get down near the rock.

This above picture looking back towards English Bay and False Creek, at this point you are about 7km around the Seawall, as you can see the day was spectacular. If you have never done the Seawall Walk you really need to the next time you are in Vancouver. Of course Stanley Park is named after Lord Stanley who was Govenor General of Canada and who donated the Stanley Cup Trophy that NHL teams compete for each season. Tuesday we went off to play 18 holes of golf at the Stanley Park Pitch and Putt. A short par 3 course that is perfect for a couple hours of golf, laughs and fun. Then off to Granville Island for the afternoon for lunch and to sea the sites. That evening we took in the Musical “Monty Python’s Spamalot”. It was everything you would expect from a Monty Python (Eric Idle) Production, you had to really be paying attention or you miss some of the humour. 

Wednesday we headed home to Kamloops and Dean and Judy stayed in Vancouver for a business conference. More adventures and blogging later.