Category — Family

On Tuesday afternoon we headed out to GGMa’s and GGPa’s to see our 1 month old grand-niece; Amelia McPherson.

Dean (Brenda’s brother) drove down on Sunday from Prince George with Sabrina and baby Amelia who was born on February 10, 2012. Mike (Sabrina’s fiance) arrived by Bus midnight on Monday; so it was good to see them all.

Amelia is adorable and gorgeous and a perfect little baby girl. Grampa Mason (Dean) is obviously enthralled to be a grand-parent.

Brenda was able to hold Amelia for quite a while until she got hungry and Sabrina had to go feed her. I did not hold her or get to close to anyone as I am still getting over this nasty cold. In fact GGPa also had a very bad cold so he kept his distance as well; but GGMa was more than happy to take his turn holding baby Amelia.

Sabrina and Mike are definitely proud but somewhat tired parents.

Sunday was very special day; it was Conrad’s 4th Birthday.

The condo was decorated in balloons and streamers and Conrad was very excited and surprised by the decorations.

Lots of presents were opened, there was a game of “pin the tail on the donkey” and then we all sang Happy Birthday as the birthday cake with 4 candles was brought out. Namma did a great job with the cake and the party.

One of the very special presents Conrad received was a hand made quilt from his Namma. It was a train theme and she did an amazing job on it; he was very excited about this present.

Unfortunately I was very sick and didn’t even get out of bed till early afternoon just before we took the annual Family Photo and right after that Kevin, Tamara, Sage and  Conrad headed for home.

Saturday was skiing day for Kevin and Jeff. Plus it was Sage’s first time to take a ski lesson.

After Kevin and Jeff headed off Brenda and I and Tamara, Sage and Conrad took the car down to the village so we could get Sage set up for her private ski lesson.

Sage’s instructor was a young Aussie girl and the two of them really connected and within 1 hour she had Sage skiing down the hill by herself full of confidence. Sage did awesome.

We all returned to the Condo for lunch and made plans to meet Kevin around 3:00 p.m. so he and Sage could ski down a couple runs together. Sage did outstanding and was so excited to be able to head home to tell all her friends about her skiing adventure.

It was great afternoon out for everyone and we all enjoyed our time on the hill and in the village.

Later that afternoon I was starting to feel like I was getting a cold and right after dinner I headed to bed and left the grownups to decorate the Condo for Conrad’s birthday on Sunday.

Friday afternoon we headed up to Sun Peaks for a Family Winter Vacation. We all arrived around 4:00 p.m. and Kevin, Tamara,Sage and Conrad arrived a little later around 5:30 p.m.

We had a great dinner and a chance for everyone to reconnect since it’s been a while since we have all been together.

After dinner it was time for a family get together tradition which is a treasure hunt for the grand-kids. In the past we have had just one treasure hunt for all the grand-kids, however this year we did three separate treasure hunts.

Zachary’s required him (with Sage and Conrad’s help) to follow a long piece of yarn that lead to his surprise.

Conrad got picture clues that were scattered around the Condo and at each location was a piece of a puzzle; once he got all four pieces he assembled the puzzle which showed a picture of the location of his hidden surprise.

Sage’s clues were all printed and ones that she had to read to lead her to the next location. The final clue told her where her surprise was hidden.

After all this excitement it was off to bed for Zachary and off to the Hot Tub for the older kids. A great end to day #1.

Jeff, Lindsay and Zachary arrived on Wednesday afternoon just before our Sun Peaks family vacation.

Poor little Zachary was not feeling well and in fact had been sick for almost 2 weeks. So, although he goes to daycare while Jeff and Lindsay work in Kelowna, he had been too sick to go there so they decided to come early and Brenda and I would look after him while they got work done. You can see from his expression he looks pretty punky.

Having Jeff, Lindsay and Zachary come early also worked well because GGPa and GGMa came over for GGMa’s 84th birthday celebration and it is always nice when they get a chance to see one of their great -grandchildren.

For Christmas Tamara received a Blog from Jeff; it is listed on our sidebar “Blogroll”.

So keep an eye on the adventures of “The  Silly Farm” at  or as the subtitle says “The World in a Princeton Minute”.

On Friday Brenda and I drove down to Princeton to spend Christmas with Kevin,Tamara, Sage and Conrad. We are so lucky to be able to spend Christmas with some of our family and especially with our grandchildren.

The kids have been keeping us busy playing and entertaining them and Kevin and Tamara have been keeping us very well fed.

Saturday morning we worked on a gingerbread project. Sage’s was a Santa Sleigh and Reindeer and Conrad’s was a Train and Caboose.

After dinner and just before bedtime Sage and Conrad were allowed to open a present. They both received very fuzzy, cozy and warm housecoats.

Then they put out a plate of cookies and some milk for Santa and carrots and water for the reindeer. Then it was off to bed!

In the morning they started with opening their stockings and then moved on to a tree full of presents.

Christmas dinner was celebrated with Kevin and Tamara’s good friend Tim.

Tamara did a great job cooking a wonderful turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

Like most family gatherings at Christmas we all ate too much and it was delicious.

Dessert was specially decorated cupcakes and a bowl of sherbert for those who had room.

On Saturday Sage, Conrad, Tamara and Kevin arrived to celebrate Sage’s 6th Birthday. Tamara and Kevin had a friends birthday party in Princeton for Sage last weekend; this birthday party was for us and GGPa and GGMa to celebrate with Sage.

They arrived about 1:oo p.m. and shortly after Auntie Donna stopped by for a quick visit, it was good to see her. After that we all headed off to “Ruckers” for the kids to play all sorts of video and amusement games. What a hoot and boy did they have fun. Unfortunately, as we were getting ready to leave Conrad became quite pale and it was pretty obvious he was not feeling well.

However, once we got home we decided it was time to open some birthday presents and he seemed to perk up for a while. Sage received a beautiful purple dress and a Justin Bieber doll. Of course Conrad got a small present also.

The birthday cake was a Rocker Guitar that Brenda and I designed and decorated and we know Sage really liked it.

Unfortunately Conrad became quite sick and because we were all concerned about passing it on to others Kevin ended up calling GGPa and GGMa to cancel their visit.

The next morning Conrad was feeling better,  but by now Sage wasn’t feeling well. In the end they headed home early on Sunday. It will certainly be a birthday that we will not forget for a while.

This past weekend was Zachary’s 1st Birthday Party. His actual birth date is November 10th; which is the same date as my Mother’s birth date, she passed away in 1972 – “The Circle of Life”.

Saturday morning we picked up GGPa and GGMa and headed to Kelowna. Even though it was very windy it was a nice drive down, however there was snow on the hillsides all around.

All Zach’s grandparents and family were there, so along with local friends of Jeff and Lindsay it was a very busy house. We think the total was around 25 people. Little Zachary looked a little overwhelmed at times, but as always he was a trooper and hung in as long as he could before needing a nap.

Jeff and Lindsay organized a buffet lunch for all the guests. Afterwards, presents were opened; with help from Sage and Conrad.

Happy Birthday was sung and then Cake was served. Zachary loved the cake and kept shoveling it in his mouth.

The formal birthday party wrapped up around 4 p.m. and then it was just family around; some stayed for dinner and others headed off to their hotel rooms for the night.

Early in the evening after a family dinner we headed off to our hotel with GGPa and GGMa. We wanted to be rested up for a busy morning of visiting before heading home on Sunday afternoon.

Family that was there included Bob & Susan (Lindsay Dad & Step-Mom), Jackie and Doug (Lindsay’s Mom and Step-Dad), Rhianna and Ava (Lindsay’s Sister and Niece), Kevin, Tamara, Sage and Conrad, GGPa and GGMa and of course Brenda and I.

The attached pictures are a random assortment of family and general photos taken before, during and after the party.

Sage and Conrad (and their parents) arrived on Saturday morning for Thanksgiving. It was so good to see them……….. they are growing so fast and change every-time we see them.

After lunch the girls headed to Aberdeen Mall and to Claire’s for some accessories shopping and then off to Value Village for Halloween Costumes. Meanwhile the boys were off to Walmart and Costco to pick up goodies for the Princeton Exhibition Association Halloween Party and then off to KMS Tools to stock up on tools.

Before Thanksgiving dinner Kevin and Conrad assembled a bit of the HO Scale Train stuff Kevin found on Kijiji. I picked it up earlier in the week and they got a pretty good selection of train supplies for $40. While they worked on this downstairs project Sage did her most favorite thing, which is watching television.

Sunday morning was time for Sage to get snugly in our bed while Conrad had a bit of breakfast……….. he is such a skinny little guy that his tummy gets pretty hungry after a good nights sleep.

Also on Sunday GGPa and GGMa came over for breakfast. They really enjoy seeing their grandchildren and great grandchildren. The grandchildren look pretty happy to see them as well..

After breakfast GGPa and GGMa headed home and we went for a walk over to Lloyd George School so they could wear off some energy on the school ground equipment.

All this exercise makes you hungry and here is Sage recharging her batteries with a bowl of Sherbert.

Before they headed home Princeton they all went swimming up at the Canada Games Pool. What a great way to spend Thanksgiving.