Family Vacation

My Favourite Mountain of all time, I don't know how many pictures I have exactly like this from over the years.

Adriana loving the fact she can eat an entire peach to herself

Rest break on the way to Overlander Falls

Overlander Fall with Gramma

It is very rare to get a picture of the top of Mount Robson

Maligne Canyon Hike

Steepest part of the canyon

Medicine Lake

The Jasper Bear

Derek.....there is a huge Elk behind you!

The RCMP Moose was a bit scary for Adriana

The Bow Valley Summit and Peyto Lake

Moraine Lake

Hoodoos Hile in Banff with the Banff Hot Spring Hotel in the far distance

Lake Minnewanka hike

Me and Zielke

Lake Minnewanks

Lunch stop at 3 Valley Lakes

Adriana and Oma

Adriana with her second cousins Jaclyn and Sydney

Adriana is big enough to sit in the stool chair (I sat in this when I was little)

Adriana and Grandpa

Adriana and Shayla cuddling

Don't forget Ailish

Getting ready to go in the water

The girls used the air mattress as a trampoline

We had a great 2 week holiday.  We started off at the North Thompson Provincial Campground for 1 night then we headed to Mount Robson for 1 night where we met my parents.  From there we headed to Jasper for 3 nights.  Derek and I were lucky enough to go rafting the first day there while my parents looked after Adriana.  I had never been rafting before and I am had a blast.  We also hiked the Maligne canyon and visited Maligne Lake while we were in Jasper.

My parents headed home and we made our way south to Banff.  When we arrived we discovered there was a drinking ban in the park for the long weekend.  We were very annoyed and were scared when we saw the ranger taking all of our neighbours beer out of their fridge.  But we decided to sneak it anyway and not once did a ranger come by.  We also met up with Zielke while we were in Banff.  We did a hike at Lake Minnewanka and went out for dinner.  It was great to see Laura and wish we lived closer to one another so we could camp more often.

Then we were off to the Okanagan, our first stop was Armstrong to have a visit with my Grandparents. Then we met Brian and Amanda in Osoyoos.  Osoyoos was much more enjoyable this time round, the weather was hot and there were only wind storms at night (rather than all day long).  Adriana was very happy to see some familiar faces and be able to play with people her age.

Our tent trailer worked out very well, could not have imagined doing 2 weeks in a tent (which was our original plan).  Our truck pulled it very well, not even any problems on hills!  Next year we plan on doing a 2 week camping trip again, but maybe only in 2-3 locations.  It felt like we were always packing and driving.

The Year of Cotton

Adriana happy after her morning caffeine

On the Aqua Bus

Looking at the Ducks on Granville Island

A bit unsure of this weird feeling on her feet

Derek and I celebrated our 2nd Wedding Anniversary on July 19th. This year we decided to celebrate as a family rather than just the two of us. On Sunday we headed to Yale Town via the Canada Line, this was the first time I had traveled on it and the first sky train ride for Adriana. I must say it is a wonderful addition to transit in the GVRD. We walked along the Sea Wall from Yale Town to Science world where we hopped on the Aqua Bus to Granville Island. I really miss being on a boat so it was nice to finally be on the water. Adriana was getting a bit impatient with having to sit still as the ride was over 20 minutes long. Once on Granville Island we explored the Children’s Market and had a wonderful Mexican lunch at the Market. From there we walked on the Sea Wall to Kits Beach where the Vancouver Open Beach Volleyball Tournament was taking place. We watched a Semi-Final match that went to 3 sets and was a very close match (oh how I miss Volleyball). After the game we played on the Beach, this was Adriana’s first time on a beach in her bathing suit. At first she was unsure of the damp sand on her feet and would not walk into the water but as time progressed she felt more at ease and would explore closer to the water on her own terms. After we were tired out from the beach we strolled along the Sea Wall all the way back to Cambie Street and caught the Canada line back to Richmond. It was such a wonderful day and Adriana was very well behaved considering she was lacking a nap. I highly recommend this day excursion to anyone, it was so much fun and great exercise as well

Sootherless Toddler

Adriana has used a soother since she was a few weeks old. I was skeptical to give one to her in the first place but my mother insisted she needed it or else she would be using me to sooth herself. All in all I am happy with the decision that I made to allow her to use a soother. Derek and I used the soother as sparingly as possible and had soother time limited to nap time and bed time only. Now that I am on summer break I decided it would be a good time to break the soother habit. I started by cutting the tip of the soother off, the first couple of nights this technique didn’t seem to faze her, then she realized what we had done. We would give her her soother when going to bed and she would yell NOOOOOOO and throw it out of her crib. It was really quite funny to observe. I decided to just simply remove the soothers from the house and she would go to sleep without one. We had 3 night of 1 hour crying before falling asleep, but the soother weaning is officially over!

We now have a slightly new bedtime routine. Instead of popping in the soother and laying her down in her crib after reading we now have cuddle time. After we finish reading I will say cuddle time and Adriana will rest her head on my chest and wrap her arms around me and I will rock and sing to her. She is asleep in seconds. I very much enjoy this time with her.

I did keep her favourite soother. It is hidden in her jewlery box;)

Backyard Fun

Our newly furnished backyard

Adriana enjoying her first Fruit Smoothie

Sitting on her new Picnic Table from Gramma and Grampa

Testing out the the activity centre

Noah Vann Prak

Dave, Jolene and Ella are the proud new Parents (Sister) of Noah Vann Prak. 

Noah was born Friday, July 2, 2010 (just missed his due date by a day).

Congrats guys he is very handsome!

July Long Weekend

Adriana discovered my head lamp and loved to wear it around camp

Playing at the picnic table

We had many bike rides this weekend

Adriana exploring

Brayden trying to get the pebbles off his head

Shayla being brave

Finally got to meet the new BF, Brayden called him Mike once and then made up for it by coming up with the name Dusty!

Adriana having trouble deciding which bottle to go for (take the Corona).

We spent the July long weekend at Cultas Lake, although it felt more like May long weekend.  We had a lot of fun with a lot of people.  Thanks to everyone who made it out.  Too bad we weren't camping this coming weekend, looks to be a bit more like summer.

****Please note the camera was only brought out for the short time the sun was actually shinning****