Apple for Mom

We camped with Opa and Oma, Luke and Elise, for 8 days. It’s a beautiful park! Lots of lanes and paths for biking, including a perimeter trail. Elise learned to bike really well, even standing up over speed bumps and using only one hand. Luke biked all day long with anyone who would go along or even alone. He loved using Dad’s new bike, too. Opa used my bike every day and wished he and Oma had theirs.  There were 9 young URC and other church families camping for four days, so Elise got to play with Brooklyn and Abi a lot!  We had rain and cool temperatures the first few days, then it was quite hot- so much so that one night Dad and the kids went for a swim at 10:20 pm to cool down! Crazy! But it was fun…   

We knew we would miss out on the Chilliwack show because we were going camping in Shuswap Lake Provincial Park the day after school was out. However- we left on time to catch the show in Kamloops! It was hot with no shelter, but still beautiful to see. Elise got to meet Constable Andrew and his horse Impressive, plus pet many horses and collect rider cards in the stable afterwards.   

We attended the Grade 8 Graduation because of Makenzie and Susanna. It was a big event! Great slideshow of the kids growing up. The Bijkerks invited us for a small “after party” at their home. Auntie Di’s family came too- so it was another fun, late night.   

Valerie came for a quick weekend to attend her class’s 10 Year Grad Reunion. She had a great time! We planned a party for Dad on the Sunday she was here so she could catch up with a lot of family and friends.  We attended Yarrow church in the morning to witness the installation of Rev. Jeremy Segstro. We were so early! Valerie and Elise did a parking lot meander to kill time.   

We scrubbed and scrubbed, soaked and scrubbed some more to clean all the wine bottles and remove their labels so we could refill them with Micah’s wedding wine. We even borrowed 38 bottles from Melissa Bredenhof to make it work.   

 Dad is VERY happy with his birthday/Father’s Day present. It’s almost like he chose it himself! 😊. He’s also quite happy with the free bike helmet and kickstand that came as bonuses. 

Luke made a very handsome sheep in the Grade 7 play. He and the other barnyard animals were friends of Charlotte the spider and helped save Wilbur the pig from becoming bacon. Luke talked, sang, and danced his way to fame in a role much bigger than I had realized. I was proud of him!   

Back to back celebrations at school meant we did many trips to school in the last two weeks. The Celebration of Learning was a school wide evening open house. Elise did a project on New Brunswick. Luke made a camouflage moth and set up labs. We did a scavenger hunt in each classroom. Super well done!  Grade 2 did a Canada Day celebration the next day. I came and led a drawing class on Native American and agile art. Also fun!   

The weather was amazing, and even though Dad had a Council meeting in the evening, we still had a fun time after school in the pool, a game night dinner and some great presents. Elise gave him the thickest bathrobe I’ve ever felt- great for hot tub nights. Luke gave him an Imago Dei ARPA hat, Caleb gave him a new water bottle, and I told him to go order himself a new bike from Pedal Sport. In the evening, Luke and I crashed the meeting at church, made the men sing for Dad and gave them cake- two types to choose from.