Monday, June 4, 2012

Chilliwack School Garden Program

Chilliwack has a really cool garden program that has been offered for a long, long time.  The idea is to get school aged children interested in gardening.  There is a $2.00 entrance fee and then you are supplied with all the information you need to start your garden.  They also provide you will all the seeds you will need.  What a great way to see how the things we buy can also be grown at home.  First Abby helped Trevor move compost soil over to the garden.  It's a messy job digging out the compost, but it's great for giving your garden a head start!
 Abby preparing the soil for planting.  This is hard work but makes it much easier to plant later.

 The garden program specifies the size of the garden, and where to plant each variety.  They have judges come and look at your garden at least two times during the months of June and July.  They check to make sure all the varieties are represented, that you are keeping away pests, hiling/thinning your plants as needed.

 After planting all the seeds you need to give them a good watering to start them growing.  Abby's garden will have Pole Beans, Beets, Carrots and Zinnias.  In the middle of August you can take your harvest to the Chilliwack Exhibition and try to win some prizes.  Last year Abby won $5.00 and a bunch of ribbons for her entries.  Hopefully she can enter a few items again this coming year.
 Kendra isn't able to participate until next year.  She enjoys watching Abby do all the work though!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Tulip Festival and Whidby Island

For Trevor's Birthday we decided to have a small family getaway.  The weather turned out to be very nice and sunny, but was still quite cool.  If you dressed for the weather though it was very nice.  I even got a bit of a tan after spending two days in the outdoors!  

 These are the tulips outside the entrance to one of the gardens.  They had a stake with the name of each variety which was a lot of fun for Abby to identify the tulips by their names.  She was extra excited when we found a tulip called Abby!
 Tulips are associated with Holland, and this trip definately reminds us of our trips there.  Windmills and all!
 Kendra posing for the camera.



 Abby brought her little camera along too...turned out to be a lot of fun for her taking different pictures and angles with her camera!
                                                                             Cute!
 Some art we found in LaConner.  Made for great climbing!  You wouldn't know there was a great big playground about 50 ft away with a lot more fun stuff to play on...
 In Oak Harbour looking for shells, crabs, bugs, worms at the ocean.  Abby thought this was REALLY cool.  Kendra, not so much!


 Time for a picnic at Deception Pass.  It was quite chilly sitting here in the wind, but the lunch was very yummy, so no one minded too much!  After this we went on a very nice circle tour walk of the area.  They have signs posted everywhere and in that one walk we passed through a lot of different ecosystems.  Beach, Grass Lands, RainForest, Swamp.  It reminds us of how magnificent God's creation is!
A very nice teenage boy offered to take a family picture next to this very old tree.  It's the oldest tree in the park and they had posted signs asking for people to treat the tree with care.  After our walk we headed to the beach once more and walked along the shore.
As we headed back home we stopped and walked over the Deception Pass bridge and watched the water rush below.  You can see the beach on the left side of the photo.  Beautiful place to visit and I hope we will go back again sometime to explore Whidbey Island a bit more!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Trip to Fort Langley

I know, I know it's been WAY too long since I posted anything on here.  In my defense this was supposed to be a joint project and so far Trevor hasn't held up his end of the bargain!
Here is a daytrip we made back in January.
In January we had two students visit us from Japan.  When asked what they would like to see during their short stay in Canada they said that they would like to see something historical.  What better place to go to than Fort Langley.  We had a bit of a rush since we only have from 11 - 3 to be away from home, but we managed with a quick bite to eat on our way home, and a bunch of snacks to tie us over until then.
 The ever happy Kendra!  I must say I am really enjoying having a four year old in the house!  Always something new to explore and a new expression to learn!
 Abby trying her hand at building a house!  The wood slats fit into the grooved wood posts.  Seems that it would be pretty chilly in the winter.
 This was one of the interpretive staff.  He was of native heritage and some of his ancestors worked in the fort a long time ago.  He was so neat to listen to, and really tried to make an effort to speak so the Japanese students could understand him.
 Trying to carry the heavy packs...
 This lady was explaining how the Spanish lived in the fort.  She wanted Abby and Kendra to guess which bed was for the parents, and which was for the children...
 A view of the fort from the top of the walls that surround it.
 An example of the animal pelts that the Natives would have used in trading.
Abby and Kendra trying their hand at playing checkers!

Friday, July 1, 2011

A walk down memory lane!

Babies, babies, everywhere!  In the past year we have had SO many exciting baby announcements and arrivals that were totally unexpected that I thought I should do a little walk down memory lane!
 This is a picture of Abby in her first week of life!  I can remember clearly how much hair she had, and how hard it was to keep it clean.  Clean?  Yes, everyone who met her wanted to touch that head of hair and before you knew it, it was so greasy I needed to rewash it.  I started to become a bit more creative by putting a hat on here whenever possible.  Abby was born in Februrary and I also recall the weather that spring was very nice and warm.  We sat outside on the deck a lot and went for long walks to try sooth her to sleep.  She was not a very content baby until about 6 months old when she found her thumb and could sooth herself.  Trevor and I were amazed at this precious gift from God and the joy she brought to our home.  After nine years of marriage we were blessed with a daughter to raise!

 This is a baby picture of Kendra, also at a week or so old.  You can see a big difference in size compared to Abby.  Kendra started out a bit heavier in weight and loved to eat, so she gained a lot of weight in the first two months.  I believe she was about 17lbs at 8 weeks old.  She also came into the world with only a little bit of hair.  She never grew any significant amounts of hair until after her first birthday.  Since she was born in November I also kept her head covered with a hat, but more for cold than worry over greasy hair!  Kendra was a pretty content baby from the start and started with a soother around 4 months old.  When she turned 2 years old I took them away on her birthday and told her she was too old for them now.  That night at bedtime there was no fussing or crying, she just went straight to sleep!  That was easy! 

Here is a picture of Abby and Kendra taken this May, in their matching Sunday dresses.  You can see that they have grown a lot since then.  Abby started Kindergarten this year, which she loved.  She has learned quite a bit about reading, and has now started creating her own stories!  So much fun to look at and try to decipher the words!  Kendra is hoping to start preschool this fall.  She is very excited about that as she will be going to the same place Abby did and already knows the teachers!   Both girls have a strong love of dogs.  I wonder why?  They play with stuffed dogs on a daily basis and often pretend to be dogs during their play.  We are thankful to God that He has given us two beautiful children to raise and care for!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Lunch for Two!

Since this blog is supposed to also contain some things about food I figured I would post this picutre.  The other day Abby and Kendra asked me to make them a snack lunch.  What is a snack lunch I wondered?  Abby's explanation was "I want to have lunch like the snacks Dad and you have sometimes at night".  Seeing as we don't do this type of evening snack very often she must have woken up on one of those evenings and remembered it!  This is the snack lunch I came up with.   Add  a drinking box and a picnic on the trampoline the girls were all set!  Do you make snack lunches for your kids?

Friday, April 22, 2011

Personality Profiles - Fieldmarshall or Executive

I have always thought the concept of personality tests an interesting one.  My sister in law posted her results a while back and I thought it would be interesting to see what I could come up with.  The very first time I did one of these type of tests for an employer they discovered that I should have the bosses job.  Hmmmm...I don't think the boss liked THAT too much!  I've done the colour test before and I think I was a Gold if I remember correctly.  The one I did this time I just found online.  I had to answer yes or no to a whole bunch of questions that are sometimes so similar you would think you answered them once already!
My results: ENTJ personality.  The Fieldmarshall.  On one website I looked at it said that just over 2% of the population has this personality.  Here are what the letters mean and my percentage of them were: Extraverted 1%, Intuative 12%, Thinking 75%, Judging 44%.  I'm going to post the write up for this personality for those of you who are interested.  The wierdest thing is this fits me to a tee!  How do they do that?  What do you think?  Does this appear to be a good analysis of my character?

Portrait of an ENTJ - Extraverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging
(Extraverted Thinking with Introverted Intuition)


The Executive


As an ENTJ, your primary mode of living is focused externally, where you deal with things rationally and logically. Your secondary mode is internal, where you take things in primarily via your intuition.
ENTJs are natural born leaders. They live in a world of possibilities where they see all sorts challenges to be surmounted, and they want to be the ones responsible for surmounting them. They have a drive for leadership, which is well-served by their quickness to grasp complexities, their ability to absorb a large amount of impersonal information, and their quick and decisive judgments. They are "take charge" people.
ENTJs are very career-focused, and fit into the corporate world quite naturally. They are constantly scanning their environment for potential problems which they can turn into solutions. They generally see things from a long-range perspective, and are usually successful at identifying plans to turn problems around - especially problems of a corporate nature. ENTJs are usually successful in the business world, because they are so driven to leadership. They're tireless in their efforts on the job, and driven to visualize where an organization is headed. For these reasons, they are natural corporate leaders.
There is not much room for error in the world of the ENTJ. They dislike to see mistakes repeated, and have no patience with inefficiency. They may become quite harsh when their patience is tried in these respects, because they are not naturally tuned in to people's feelings, and more than likely don't believe that they should tailor their judgments in consideration for people's feelings. ENTJs, like many types, have difficulty seeing things from outside their own perspective. Unlike other types, ENTJs naturally have little patience with people who do not see things the same way as the ENTJ. The ENTJ needs to consciously work on recognizing the value of other people's opinions, as well as the value of being sensitive towards people's feelings. In the absence of this awareness, the ENTJ will be a forceful, intimidating and overbearing individual. This may be a real problem for the ENTJ, who may be deprived of important information and collaboration from others. In their personal world, it can make some ENTJs overbearing as spouses or parents.
The ENTJ has a tremendous amount of personal power and presence which will work for them as a force towards achieving their goals. However, this personal power is also an agent of alienation and self-aggrandizement, which the ENTJ would do well to avoid.
ENTJs are very forceful, decisive individuals. They make decisions quickly, and are quick to verbalize their opinions and decisions to the rest of the world. The ENTJ who has not developed their Intuition will make decisions too hastily, without understanding all of the issues and possible solutions. On the other hand, an ENTJ who has not developed their Thinking side will have difficulty applying logic to their insights, and will often make poor decisions. In that case, they may have brilliant ideas and insight into situations, but they may have little skill at determining how to act upon their understanding, or their actions may be inconsistent. An ENTJ who has developed in a generally less than ideal way may become dictatorial and abrasive - intrusively giving orders and direction without a sound reason for doing so, and without consideration for the people involved.
Although ENTJs are not naturally tuned into other people's feelings, these individuals frequently have very strong sentimental streaks. Often these sentiments are very powerful to the ENTJ, although they will likely hide it from general knowledge, believing the feelings to be a weakness. Because the world of feelings and values is not where the ENTJ naturally functions, they may sometimes make value judgments and hold onto submerged emotions which are ill-founded and inappropriate, and will cause them problems - sometimes rather serious problems.
ENTJs love to interact with people. As Extroverts, they're energized and stimulated primarily externally. There's nothing more enjoyable and satisfying to the ENTJ than having a lively, challenging conversation. They especially respect people who are able to stand up to the ENTJ, and argue persuasively for their point of view. There aren't too many people who will do so, however, because the ENTJ is a very forceful and dynamic presence who has a tremendous amount of self-confidence and excellent verbal communication skills. Even the most confident individuals may experience moments of self-doubt when debating a point with an ENTJ.
ENTJs want their home to be beautiful, well-furnished, and efficiently run. They're likely to place much emphasis on their children being well-educated and structured, to desire a congenial and devoted relationship with their spouse. At home, the ENTJ needs to be in charge as much as he or she does in their career. The ENTJ is likely best paired with someone who has a strong self-image, who is also a Thinking type. Because the ENTJ is primarily focused on their careers, some ENTJs have a problem with being constantly absent from home, physically or mentally.
The ENTJ has many gifts which make it possible for them to have a great deal of personal power, if they don't forget to remain balanced in their lives. The are assertive, innovative, long-range thinkers with an excellent ability to translate theories and possibilities into solid plans of action. They are usually tremendously forceful personalities, and have the tools to accomplish whatever goals they set out for.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Learning to skate!

A few weeks back Abby had an iceskating field trip at the Prospera Centre.  The last time we had been skating was back when Abby was about 1 year old!  Since she had a few skating trips coming up we decided to check out Craigslist and see if we could find any skates.   We did find a very nice almost new pair that fit Kendra, but since we hadn't had an success for Abby we began to look in second hand stores.  Eventually we did find a pair of skates for Abby that would do the trick!  So, now both of our girls have skates to wear!  At first both of them were quite wobbly.  Trevor wasn't so sure himself, and since they have adult sized bars one of Abby's friends nicely brought one over for him to use!  Not sure why he wasn't willing to use them though!  After about a half hour, Abby decided she wanted to try without the bars.  It's amazing to see how quickly they catch on!


Kendra giving Trevor an excuse to use the bars!



Abby and her friend from school.

Abby skating ALL BY HERSELF!


Saturday, March 26, 2011

Day 2 - Sciene World, Space Needle in the Daytime and Swimming!

 The next morning we grabbed the shuttle bus and headed out to the Science Centre.  On the walk over Trevor took this picture of the girls under the Space Needle.  Lots of people were doing the same thing in this spot, so everyone has the same picture I think!  The science centre was the only place where a 3 year old would have to pay admission.  This is why they only sell the CityPass to kids over 4, since it wouldn't be worth your $$$ since they get in free everywhere excpet here.  When we went to get our tickets the lady told us that Kendra definately looked two years old and let her in for free.  That was VERY nice of her...especially since Kendra is bigger than a lot of four year olds! 







Our first stop was at the IMAX film they were showing or we wouldn't have been able to watch the one we wanted.  It was a movie about a giant wave and the surfers who try to ride it.  From what the movie said that anyone who tries to surf this wave had better be very good since the coral reef below is close to the surface so if you fall you will not only be seriously hurt but could be killed.  The girls like the 3-D aspect especially when the wave starts splashing right at you.  Made me think how much fun it would be to take them to a 4-D movie where they would actually get wet! 

Next stop was the Dino world.  I didn't realize quite how much Abby knew about dinosaurs, remembering their names and if they are meat or plant eaters.  She was quite facinated with this display since they had many moving lifesize dino's to check out!


 Kendra trying out the flight simulator.  There was a constant line up for this activity!  We also tried out camaflouge which is one of the things I really enjoyed about this place...how they mix education with fun and the kids don't even realize that they are learning anything!
 

Abby tried her had at making a giant puzzle of this ant.  They had other puzzles too as you can see behind her in this picutre.  She quite enjoyed figuring these out!
 They had a staff member allowing the kids to hold a cockroach.  Both Abby and Kendra enjoyed this experience and I'm amazed that Kendra didn't freak out.  You can see that the staff member wasn't too sure about letting Kendra do this all by herself and kept a very close eye on her.  I'm sure they don't want a kid to accidentally squish it, or shake the animal off if they get scared.  Quite a neat experience!

 They had this really neat globe hanging in one of the galleries.  I thought it would be fun to see if it would work to take a picture where I look like I'm holding up the world.  (Figuratively of course!)  This globe is actually a big white ball, and they project the images onto it from projection machines.  It would change to show different feature like weather, global warming etc.
 In this gallary they also had a whole section of fun mirrors.  Here is a shot of Abby and her distorted face.  Lots of fun and giggles here.  I have many more pictures, but of course most of them are NOT very flattering!
 This gallary had all kinds of hands on exhibits where you can test your physical abilities.  It was quite fun to test your flexibility, vision, dexterity, memory etc. 
 The Science Centre also had a beautiful butterfly atrum, where you could walk with butterflies all around you!  It was so nice and warm in that area and peaceful to watch the fluttering of butterflies all around you!
 
In there attempt to make it educational they have these laminated sheets that described many of the butterflies they have there.  It showed what they looked like with their wings open or closed since sometimes the colours are only on the inside of their wings.  Abby and Kendra had a lot of fun trying to determine which butterfly they were looking at according to the guide. 
 As we were about to leave the museum we found this display.  Abby just HAD to have her picture taken here...can you see why?
More on day 2 to come!