Apple for Mom

 My birthday was very quiet this year. We had Opa, Oma, Grandma, Auntie Darlene, Joop and Grace come for dinner, which was really nice. Caleb, Luke and Elise did their best to spoil me with care. Dad gave me an Ipencil- very cool. I also got new water glasses to match the set Nathan gave me last year, and small glass storage bowls. Grandma gave me flowers, Darlene provided a Winners gift card, Grace found a floral bag with my name on it, and Oma gave me two long necklaces. The rest of the kids (and all my brothers) all remembered to call me over a few days. Lots of love! 

Our Sunday in Kelowna was pretty special. We attended the URC, where we met the pastor who organizes the Summit conferences in Alberta, Elise made friends with John and Candace’s daughter, and we were served a potluck lunch between services,  After church, we went to the local stream to look for salmon, but we were a bit too late for the big run. It was a beautiful park to visit anyhow.  My thoughtful Stacy had birthday presents for me- ❤️ a picnic table cloth and some blackberry cooler plus a handmade card. Definitely appreciated!  From there we had to head home again so the kids could be in bed on time for school the next day. Hopefully we can visit Stacy and Braedan again soon!   

We were able to take a quick trip to Kelowna in September while our barns were empty. This was our first chance to use our new fifth wheel trailer. We were very happy with it!  Stacy and Braedan suggested we go visit the Kangaroo Farm. What an amazing place! The animals roam freely around the visitors and are completely comfortable with that. We could pet capybaras, maras, goats, rabbits, wallabies, kangaroos, a peacock, a porcupine, tortoises, and more. Parrots sat on our heads, lizards and rodents climbed on us- incredible! Elise got stung by a black wasp and was wanting to leave. Thankfully staff brought her an ice pack and a strip bandage to wrap it on with. And thankfully we had Stacy, who can always fix Elise’s woes.  An albino joey, and a mama kangaroo with joey legs sticking out of her pouch also helped exchange tears for smiles.   

This year, Luke moved into the B Division in the CCJHL. He is on the Knights team- the team we’ve sponsored for 15+ years, and that all the older boys also played on. He nearly got traded off, but Dad pulled rank and saved the day. 😊 Luke has his classmate Nolan on the team and is coached by Mr. Raap and Mr. Devries. He is really loving it this year. And he wears- #13, just as Micah always did. 

 Elise moved to Luke’s old room and Luke moved into Micah’s old room. These are both the middle bedrooms. Elise now has laminate flooring, so she needed a rug. This one from Winners made her very happy! 

 We had such beautiful weather for the Agassiz Fair. It was a great afternoon with animals, music, and rides. Caleb managed to get ride wristbands from Timothy and Keegan, so he and Luke enjoyed themselves on the rides. Elise and I also rode the swings.