A new year

Ooh look! A blog to update. In my quest to post something at least annually, I've left it till two weeks before the deadline.

Well, it's a new year. Or rather, was a new year. And there's still stuff from the old year to report. Let's see... oh yeah, Carrie turned 40 last year! We had a combined party for her and a friend who turned the unenviable age of 30 around the same time. It was a wonderful time, if a little cold. That was the day some tornadoes hit the area, so the power was out for the much of the day. It made prepping a little nerve-racking, but power was restored in time for everything to come together.

Fancy soirée

For the occasion, I slapped together a farm table to hold up snacks. It still stands to this day, which says something for my carpentry skills. Not sure what, but it must say something.

We didn't do many family outings, but the occasional walk in the woods was welcome, as was Christmas tree fetching in December. One of my four favourite sisters came to visit with her family for Christmas, and we had a great time together.

Tree hunting

Face-stuffing season

Early in the new year, and again in April, we headed down their way to Niagara, since the girls needed their grandparent time.

When winter hit, we didn't use the Corolla much, letting it rot for several months. One day I decided to dig it out of the snow pile... and move it down the driveway. Of course it started up right away. The thing that never dies.

I went snowboarding once, with a group of guys whose average age was well over 40. No bones were broken, and it only took several weeks to get over the resulting aches.

Nora's birthday in March was a momentous event. Or at least I assume so, as I have little recollection of it. We did take the obligatory messy cake photo.

Noise makers for our noise maker

We've been doing a bunch of projects around the house. I expanded the drip irrigation and threw down a pile of black mulch. Magical stuff, that; it makes the beds look sharp even if they're not! Probably should have done that years ago.

Beds are presentable; now the lawn needs serious work.

The gardeners.

Carrie acquired more furniture and is in the processing of reupholstering some tiny 100-year-old French-style chairs & sofa. She also has some dining room chairs on the go. We redid an old dresser we've had for a while. It currently holds up the TV, although it's a little tall for that purpose.

Original

Gutted

This thing needed a lot of TLC.

Turned out nicely though.

We had scads of paint samples on the wall for weeks, before Carrie finally decided on a colour and painted the main floor walls. I put some recessed lights in the family room and Carrie lime washed the fireplace brick facade.

Indecision. What's wrong with white again? Oh right, there are 100 different whites.

Prepping with our big helper.

The entrance gets some colour.

Before.

After. The dated brass look still needs to be dealt with.

I spent some time ripping the garage apart. I'd insulated the ceiling a couple years ago, so now it was time for the walls. Ripped the drywall down, did some wiring, threw up fat plywood, and slapped on some primer. There's more to do, but that was a good start.

The jail window could use replacing.

Yay, no mudding!

We bought Lily a bike at a garage sale in the spring, but it's kind of big and she can't seem to stop the thing. So during an unexpected August garage sale spree, we bought another one that hopefully she'll fit better. Now she has three bikes lying around the house, and even so she prefers rollerblading. (Good thing I kept mine from the 90s; we're gonna have a blast blading together!)

Too big mountain bike.

Sweet city cruiser, like her mom's.

What could go wrong?

Lily also enjoys skating, so Carrie will take her regularly to the rink when she can. We just signed her up for gymnastic classes, so that will occupy her Saturdays for a while. And she has also started piano lessons, which of course means we need a piano. We have a digital one (still in the box) but it's going back to the store since we just found a decent upright that we should be receiving this weekend.

Oh, and Lily took swimming lessons this summer. Three times, same course. Failed every time, but she enjoys it (and is improving)! The first day she blubbered every time water got near her eyes. Day 2 she decided she didn't want to be the worst in the class so she picked another scared kid to do better than. After that it was smooth sailing. Except, like her dad, she has legs that would rather sink than sail. She passes every part of the course except the bit about swimming any kind of distance. We're okay with that though; at least she likes water now!

She's as fun as ever. She can spend her time setting up fun corners...

teaching her stuffies...

raving about Chinese buffets...

planning super awesome sleepovers (I like the "practis coligerfy" line)...

or just being her fun little self.

Of course, now that she's a sister, her duties have expanded to feeding Nora...

 going to the park...

chilling in the hammock...

playing with her in her clubhouse...

forgetting to keep her off the stairs...

dressing her up...

playing on the trampoline...

and wearing matching school uniforms for fun!

Nora turned 1.5 yesterday! She likes a good book...

a good twirl...

and a good glare from her water table.

She can show her sweet side, if a little sparingly.

My girls...

At least two are happy

Carrie's grandfather in BC wasn't doing well, so she took Nora and spent some time there at the end of June. Lily and I took the opportunity to visit friends in Kingston. Aside from the mandatory visit to the local play place, she made new friends and did some unexpected bird feeding at a local park. Operative phrase here being "unexpected bird".

Uh, what kind of chickadee is this now?

After that, we headed back home, loaded up the car, and headed out for long weekend camping. This had been planned long ago, and unfortunately Carrie had to miss it. We were well taken care of by friends, plus had no baby to cramp our style (just a dog), so it was the most relaxing camping I've done in a long time.

A few weeks later, with Carrie and Nora back home, we jumped right back on the plane for BC again. Carrie had mentioned that Nora was a terribly flyer. I didn't doubt it for a minute, and this time I got to enjoy the brunt of it. Not fun; she better improve fast or we'll be sending her on ahead in future years.

A rare relaxing moment

Once in the Okanagan, we headed for the boonies for a week of camping. Lily got in some fishing with Grandpa and lots of beach time.

Nora didn't need the beach. She played with dirt wherever she could.

After camping, the Driegen clan came out to spend the weekend in Vernon. Grandpa's new boat got a lot of love. The kids couldn't get enough tubing.

Lily enjoyed her cousins immensely, as always. And the annual tea party with Grandma was of course a big success.

After the weekend, Carrie and I left Nora behind and took Lily to the Fraser Valley for just a day, to see Lily's great-grandpa one last time. He just passed away early this month, so it was great to be able to spend quality time with him yet.

After a few more days in Vernon, it was time to head home. The trip back to Ontario was no better than on the way out. Nora simply sucks at travelling. And Carrie had a traumatizing time trying to change Nora in the slightly undersized airplane bathroom, getting thoroughly peed on by an angry child. I don't fit in those tiny bathrooms by myself, never mind trying to change a kid, so I'm exempt from such memorable experiences.

Lily rarely gets to be home on her birthday, usually spending it in BC. This year it worked out though, so she got to have her friends over for the occasion. I think it's the first time we've ever decorated the house for a birthday. We may just do it again.

Pin the kiss on the frog.

Years ago I'd promised Lily a tree house, so when my parents came over in August I took the opportunity to put Dad to work. It's not actually hanging off a tree, but I expect to be forgiven. Now that it's started, pressure's on to finish it before the girls grow up.

That's the update. Stay tuned for more annual photo dumps. Maybe. Our extended families use Whatsapp group chats to stay connected, so there's even less incentive to use the blog :(.

The summer

Fall is well into gear, and snow is just around the corner, so I feel the pressure to blog about our summer. We spent some weeks in BC, even venturing up to Smithers for the first time in forever.

We found a lovely house-sitter/dogsitter so we didn't have to worry about a thing back home. Off we flew, with two kids for the first time. Nora did okay; it helped that when she started her loud squawking on the plane, some other kid was louder and more obnoxious and got everyone's attention.

In Vernon we rented a car. Getting rides with others may be a thing of the past with our huuuge family, and besides, we had a fair bit of driving to do. The rental was the single largest expense of the trip, and including gas accounted for close to half of our trip cost.

We got to relax in Vernon for all of 12 hours after landing in Kelowna, and then we headed to Smithers for the wedding of my eldest niece. Nieces/nephews getting married already... another milestone for me! (Her too, I suppose.)

My sisters Karin and Martine took good care of us. And not just us, as almost the whole Vanderveen clan was in town. We enjoyed much leisure time, good eats and some nice hikes. Lily had a wonderful time connecting with her cousin Lauren. I had a lousy time being forced to get firewood from the bush with an old friend. Kidding, it was fun... especially when he felled a tree and pancaked his nice toolbox!

One day a few of us decided to find the shoe house, a favourite memory from our distant past. We weren't disappointed... it's still standing after many years.

Lauren and Lily really hit it off.

Hiking. At least no more carrying Lily on my back. Nora's only half the weight.

The shoe house on Kitseguecla Road.

Oh deer.

The girls enjoying noodles. I think Lauren gets that look from her mom.

Good ol' Bulkley Valley.

A week in the north, and it was time to head to Vernon again. Another 12 hours in the car. Gas prices were very stable, in the $1.40s. At least the gutless 4-banger rental wasn't too hard on fuel.

From Vernon, we left to go camping at Mabel Lake. This was our second annual time doing that with Carrie's parents... perhaps it will (has?) become a tradition. The weather was hot and dry, as expected. The first part of our vacation was unmarred by forest fire haziness, fortunately. Hot on the beach, cool in the shade, no bugs. Would more could one ask for?

Camping in style. We now require an overflow tent.

Our little artist.

Chillin'.

Not much at this remote campground, but there is ice cream.

This kid and her mermaid imagination...

Chillin'... with Grandma this time.

Since her dad won't teach her to fish, Grandpa has the pleasure.

Hung out in Vernon some more. My father-in-law has been terrorized by marmots on his property for some time, and they're too smart for trap cages. I half-jokingly suggested snaring them, and things took off. A day later, we bagged our first marmot! (I'll spare you the photo... a tough decision.) All I need now is to transfer those skills to my squirrel-ridden backyard.

Nora getting a bath.

5.5 years ago, Lily getting the same bath.

August long weekend brought the Driegen clan to Vernon, where we enjoying a raucous weekend of beaches and yelling and crying. Typical young family stuff.

Hey Lily, who needs Hawaii when you have Kal Lake?

Fun with floaties.

A bunch of us went to a local O'Keefe Ranch. It was fun for the kids to explore life in the olden days and pet some animals. Lily also got stung twice by a wasp; she didn't find that very amusing.

Cowgirl Lily. Does this post have enough Lily pictures yet? Yikes! No? Okay then.

Then it was off to the Fraser Valley for a week. This was where my holiday ended. Carrie's dad and I helped at her brother's house, which was in the process of awaiting a new kitchen and flooring (and a whole lot more.) It was exhausting work in hot weather in a hot house... but a rewarding undertaking nonetheless. The girls did whatever they did, including beach stuff (which I happily avoided).

It was Lily's sixth birthday while we were in Surrey, so a party was held in her honour. She was in her glory, surrounded by a mountain of well-considered presents, which we somehow managed to haul back home in the end.

Tickled pink.

Very proud of her new watch.

Proudly displaying a new outfit for her cousins.

We also had the pleasure of attending Carrie's grandfather's 96th birthday. That annual tradition has always been a treat for us, even if it's probably getting to be an ordeal for him at this point.

Just a small part of the family tree was present.

After the week was up, we headed back to Vernon for a few days to recover. By this time the smog from forest fires was pretty bad everywhere, so it was a good time to vacate the province.