Moving Mark & Hanging Out

So Mark moved back to Edmonton this weekend! It was good timing because of the massive floods in Calgary.

He just finished his teaching contract on Friday and was moving his stuff up on Saturday. He has a house he is renting with two other guys. He is excited to be back home, and we are happy he is back!

 

 

A cute shot of the dogs that are now a permanant fixture at our house, they are so cute togther. Taya has been so good for Rachel.

 

 

I love it when Lindsay wants us to babysit Taya for the day. Rachel becomes a puppy again when she plays and wrestles around with Taya!

 

 

Rachel is still the one that the kids love to play and cuddle with. She is so gentle with the grand kids!

Well, it was a fun time at my book club this week. We read 'Chocolate Wars' for our book for the month and did we have fun talking about and enjoying chocolate. It is a very good book, I really enjoyed it, particularly the generosity of the early Quaker Chocolate factory owners and their generosity to their workers. Things have changed in our day. I love my book club members, Debbie Steed, Wendy Gibb, Edythe Hudson, and Janice Champion. Those who had left early or couldn't come...Barb Payne, Janet Harding, Eileen Hallett, Marilyn Gilson and Jodi Jones. We have been together now for 6 years!

Today I had my Primary class over for a waffle and ice cream party. After church. We have had a service project going on for six weeks and today was the culmination of it. We enjoyed our waffles and then as a service project for their families they made 'Chutes and Ladders' games to take home. They loved it! They are so darling. Amelia Bench, Isreal Beezoyan, and Reese Walters. It was a great weekend...just hanging out!

 

 

 

 

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Some Father's Day Fun

 

Well, Father's Day weekend was approaching and Tiff called and said she wanted to come with the kids for an overnight visit...we were thrilled! We always love to have our family come anytime and stay over.

 

She came with Ava and Josh, and Cam and Di had just gotten back to Edmonton from Phoenix a few days before, so it was so fun to have all the kids together again!

Some backyard swinging on the hammock provided a lot of excitement and laughter! Somehow grandpa's pushes were a little more crazy!

 

 

 

They kids loved playing together and enjoying just getting to know each other a little better. They are getting older now, so they can really start to develop friendships. McKinley, Ava, Brooklyn and Brynnlee, they are so beautiful!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, grandpa did have to do a little work on his favorite weekend, but Joshie was right in there helping him, pointing out Rachel's little messes!

 

Grandpa didnt mind sharing his time with the girls with Joshie, they both loved all the attention!!

Even the dogs are girls... The little pup in Doug's lap is Linds and James new dog, Taya. Rachel and her have become real good buddies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandma Stringham even got in on the fun when Doug started to play with his Father's day toy...a remote control helicopter with an attached video camera...so cool!

 

It was a great weekend, we even had fun sharing the day and a dinner with the missionaries!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lake Powell Adventures

The day after Cam's graduation and after a bit more packing and cleaning, we hooked up the boat, packed up our camping gear and off we went down to Lake Powell for a few days of adventure!

 

Di had arranged a babysitter for the two younger girls, so it was just Brookie with her parents...and two sets of grandparents. It doesn't get better than that!!

Doug loves being in a boat, any boat! He had such a good time keeping us on course and showing us safely around Lake Powell. He was a super captain...and Brookie was a great 1st mate!!

 

We explored many canyons, and found a few that we could swim further into. It was so relaxing to be in the water on such a hot day, even though the water was still very cool in May.

We have always loved Lake Powell, and when our kids were growing up we took several trips down there. That's mainly where our kids learned to wakeboard and waterski in the warm waters of Lake Powell. It didn't take Cam long to get out on the water.

 

And then he had Brookie out there on the tube. It was fun watching them splash around on the tube with the beautiful red rocks and mountains behind them.

 

 

We set up camp on the shore in the evenings and we had great food and fun. We would explore the area around camp on little mini hikes and swims.

 

 

 

We were looking for the perfect spot to cliff jump and the second day we finally found a great spot! Brookie loves to cliff jump ...surprisingly, she is so brave for being so small.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We boated over to the Rainbow Arch and it was about a mile hike because the water is lower than usual, but it is still the highlight of a trip to Lake Powell!!

 

 

The most fascinating thing about Lake Powell is it's vast amount of water! You can travel for hours and still not cover the entire lake. We were on the lake for three days and only made it half way down. There is so much to stop and see and enjoy!

I think this is truely one of our favorite places to visit, and I know that now we have a place in Phoenix with a boat...we will be down here a lot more often! I hope we can come with family and friends...it makes it so much more fun!

When we returned to Phoenix, it was time to pack everything up and start back home to Canada!

Lake Powell was a wonderful last memory for us with Cam and Di in Arizona! Wow...four years went by so quick!

 

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A Happy Graduation Day

Well, Cam finally finished school. We are so excited for him!

We went down to Phoenix for his graduation as did D's parents, Garth and Debbie Hatch. We enjoyed the long awaited day very much!

It was fun to share the day with his teachers, especially these two who were such great mentors to him...Dr. Gibbons, and Dr Reynolds. As well as his dad-who has mentored him all along and was privileged to wear the robes of a fellow dentist and robe Cameron as a dentist. A really neat thing!

 

Cam looked sharp in his dental robes...and Doug looked pretty good as well!

 

As did some of his fellow students!

A day to be proud of!!

 

And his sweet litttle girls... Brooklyn, Mckinley and Brynnlee were so happy for him.

 

But I think the person most excited was his wife, Deana... who truly deserves that degree as well!

 

 

The grandpa's were loving these moments with their little grand daughters. It was a wonderful day!! Congratulations Cam and Deana!!

 

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