Vacation Part 3 - Seattle

We arrived at Mom and Dad Israelson's house Sunday evening and headed straight to the Woodland Park Zoo the following day. Little Tucan Sam and his friend, above. Not so little lioness. We all took turns pushing and chasing these two around for over four hours! The penguins were pretty cool:) Atalie's first ride on a Merry-Go-Round. Atalie poses with Nana infront of her favorite animal. Who doesn't love otters? The kids squealed with delight as they raced to and from each side, trying to keep up with the otters. That evening Atalie helped Papa pick blackberries. I think Atalie picked a few and ate a few more;) Tuesday was a full day as we hit the Aquarium, Science Centre, Animalopolis Imax and finally the Space Needle. Above, Atalie touches the starfish in the child-friendly tank:) Nemo had his very own tank. More starfish:) The Salmon Ladder. They hatch salmon here year-round. This tank was in the shape of a dome so you could look around about 360 degrees and above as well. There were huge fish, star fish, small octopus and a couple sharks. I'd feel pretty small too;) Watching the sea otters play. The Science Centre was a hit, mainly b/c of all the toys... nothing was really learned I suspect. The Animalopolis Imax was fun though and the kids had a lot of good laughs during it:) This thing above is a big submarine with a slide coming out of it. They didn't want to leave! More toys... at least they're interactive toys;) )Perhaps the only lesson learned here was, "for every action there is a reaction". ? Space Needle... obviously. The highlight of our day. Sitting down for a coffee! ...I am slowly going crazy... one two three four five size - switch! Finding seashells by the seashore. Forget the seashells. Play in the seashore! The beach is always a good time:) Okay this one is good. We celebrated Aiden's 2nd Birthday while in Seattle so Mom put two fireworks in his cake (ran out of candles - who wouldn't think to use fireworks instead???). He couldn't take his eyes off the cake until the fireworks were lit. Then he was off! Kevin had to chase after him and bring him back so we could finish singing Happy Birthday to him and take a few pictures. Poor guy ~ hahaha... we couldn't help but laugh of course... and poor Nana and Papa ~ the only other birthday they've been to of the kids' was Atalie's 2nd Birthday and she cried when we lit the sparkler. We had to stop singing and convince her of her safety. Oh my children. The after-results of using fireworks on a birthday cake. Just don't. Trust us. It seems like a good idea at the time (and Nana's reputation really has gone up in the adventure category!) but every bite you take afterwards will taste like the smell of Yellowstone National Park. Haven't been there? Well, then imagine your last trip to the hotsprings, multiplied by a hundred. Haha!!!! We scraped the top off the kids' cake so they wouldn't cringe... we, on the other hand, insisted on eating around the sulfuric flakes but couldn't seem to get every last molicule... it was bittersweet! But mostly bitter... with a lot of laughter!! Aiden and Atalie CAN sit still for a picture!?!? Unpresidented!!! :) Kevin and Mom light the rest of the fireworks we didn't eat. Aiden opens his gift! A Little People car/garage. Aiden LOVES cars and trucks! He is a boy thru and thru. How we feel after a week of vacation. Ok, not really;) Self portrait of our growing little family:)

Vacation Part 2 - Wedding

We arrived in Kelowna in time to have dinner with both our and Jana's family on Friday. The Eidse's have a beautiful home on a vineyard, close to Summerhill Winery (who they supply with grapes) on the South bank of Kelowna. The wedding, reception and evening concert took place in their yard outside. It was a lot of fun and a georgous day! Overlooking Okanagan Lake. We all arrived to be accessorized in mustaches. Sounds like a Tyler/Jana idea;) Way too funny:) ...I AM wearing a top, just to be clear!! ;) Setting up for the wedding. Tyler and Jana each spent time with their own friends and family Saturday morning on the wedding. It was great to hang out with my little brother beforehand on his "big day" to have some breaky, converstion, fun and prayer. Water seems to be a good thing to migrate towards.. especially in the hot and sunny Okanagan!! Greg, Kevin, Tyler and Trevor, having a bit of fun... Good times!! Atalie is a pro at entertaining herself... she's playing with rocks, oh so innocently:) Aiden has always been good at entertaining himself as well... in a much less orderly fashion;) Mom and Dad catching up with Jan and his girlfriend. A great start to the day! Atalie looks less than impressed about this photo but it's only due to the fact that she hasn't had much sleep in the past 24 hours. She was actually in great spirits and looked cuter than ever, of course;) My family on my Mom's side, minus a few cousins. Tyler, looking especially suave;) walks up with Mom and Dad to meet Jana. Jana, beautiful as she could be, with her parents. The lei's she's wearing were brought with (and made by) her sister from Hawaii... Jana gave the dark green one to Tyler as they joined up front. Jana's family. She's the second to be married in her family, with 4 other sisters and 1 brother. Waiting for the ultra organized, uber speedy photographer to take our photos. Really, you had to snap to it or you'd get into trouble! This guys rules!!!! He's on his own now;) Sharing their vows which they each wrote. A little smooch to seal the deal =) And a (very cute) curtsy, of course! WOOHOO!! Married alas:) Congrats Tyler and Jana!! We couldn't be happier for you! Reception included a VERY yummy BBQ!! These chairs were cleared for the evening concert, the musicians of whom were friends of Tyler and Jana. It was a beautiful evening being able to sit under the stars in the warm Okanagan air... a georgous lake view behind you, live music infront and friends & family all around:) So much fun! There was even a little dancin' at this mennonite wedding;) hahahaaa! Perfect details lit up the night:)

Vacation Part 1 - Trip to Kelowna

**Little Note: Apparently the background I chose makes all my pictures look washed out... that sucks. Well, you get the point I suppose. Still bugs me! lol** Kelowna is about a 5.5 hour drive from Canal Flats so we stopped half way at the Enchanted Forest, which is just West of Revestoke, BC. (like you don't already know if you've ever driven Hwy #1 through the mountains!). Kev and I hadn't been there in about 7 or 8 years, on our way to visit his parents before we were even engaged. It was really fun to see all the familiar old things and check out what was all new - most of it seems to be new!! It's pretty neat actually. Riding the horse... while gazing up at the sky... good thing it's made of wood! ;) I couldn't resist. Checking out one of MANY miniature houses... I can't keep track of them all! Am I the Old Lady who lived in a shoe? Well either way I couldn't resist the slide when I saw it.. as unflattering of a photo as it is - haha:) This tree/horse has been here since they very first opened up I think... or perhaps it's been replaced a few times by now. Hard to believe it could be the same one - how many 200 lb'ers must bounce on this thing every day? Kevin and the kids easily added up to 240. Wouldn't it rot and snap after awhile?? Hmmm... a mystery. BC's tallest treehouse. Inside the treehouse there's a few tables, bunk beds, lookout windows... all miniature of course. Following the Yellow Brick Road... Visiting the Three Bears. The Skytrek Adventure Park looks super fun (BUT another $35 for adults or $15 for kids over 5yrs)!! The one thing I'll never forget is the smell of the cedar forest **sigh**. Aaaahhhhhh... so refreshing! When you smell something that good you can't help but wonder how amazing the world must have smelled when it was first created! Delicious:)

Faith

I had a hard time picking a new template for the blog... I decided to find a background appropriate for the season of our lives. So I chose something clean and new, staying away from the usual dark, rich colours like brown and red. Reason being, we've been sensing some changes (some known and mentioned in this post, some known but not yet mentioned, others still unkown) in our lives and have made some minor/major adjustments accordingly. What began this change? Well, I've been feeling in my heart that God is bringing about a new time. Little confirmations here and there seem to affirm this fact but He is only ever so slowly revealing what they are. Kevin and I both felt it important to prioritize a few things in our lives and organize our time somewhat, especially now that summer galivanting is over;) One of the things (least imporantly) is to exercise together regularily, every evening. The second and most important is to allow the Lord to speak into our lives. Thus, we've agreed to get up a half hour earlier in the mornings for devotions and to pray together (6:30 comes much too quickly!). The third thing is to get our finances in order. This one's alot bigger than you'll know (unless you know us well *wink wink*). Our financial struggles have been ongoing really.. nothing too earth shattering and quite similar to alot of others' situations I'm sure. However, I can draw a parallel between this issue and our spiritual lives. I think it's all very much related. SO. We have decided to expect and thank God, in advance, for big things. I know God wants to help us up so I choose to accept his help and take the steps to freedom. Freedom in whatever form he brings! I expect Him to provide for all of our needs without having to go into debt anymore. I hope for a future which is overflowing with blessing (not just financially) and yet I will be satisfied with any amount He chooses to bless us with! This actually leads me to the fourth thing which I (speaking for myself, though I'm sure Kevin would agree) am changing: the way I pray. Too much disapointment has lead to faithless, mundane prayers. I'm tired of speaking hopeless words. I'll admit it ten times over: it's hard to be hopeful when you're living the opposite life you want (meaning, struggling and striving intead of thriving), the opposite life God speaks of in the Bible, the opposite of which He has promised! I don't expect my life to ever be easy - infact I expect that the difficult times we've seen will only get more difficult (a hard one to swallow but something that the Bible speaks very clearly of). For that reason, I feel it very important to begin this change for my children. They need to learn how to pray in times which will be far different than anything I've seen or experienced. I want them to live with faith that doesn't sway or compromise. I want faith that CAN move mountains; faith that brings friends to life in Christ b/c they've seen His love in our lives and want nothing less for themselves; faith that heals the dying; faith that brings food to the table when there isn't money to buy any, or faith that brings an increase in wages so we don't have to look to overdraft to buy some! I guess you could call it dependancy (on God). What do we choose to depend on in our lives, big and small, that we normally don't think twice about? NIV: (Mark 23 - 24) "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. The Message: (Mark 22-25) Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, 'Go jump in the lake'—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it's as good as done. That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it's not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins." Maybe it's time to take this verse literally.