July 2011

Take Advantage of the Long Weekend

Sunday Afternoon at the Williams

We really did want to go over earlier, but the combination of us being sick, the Williams being sick, a trip to Hong Kong, moving and the them coming out and visiting us, it has been a long while since we went to White Rock for a visit. We finally got a chance to remedy the situation.

Having a back yard of your own can be pretty fantastic. In a public park you need to be aware of the people around you - is your daughter going to run in front of a bike or push over a smaller child. In your own backyard (or a borrowed family back yard) you have fewer of these concerns. Of course playing with someone elses toys is great too!

It's been quite a while since we have visited James. He has grown up a lot since I last saw him!

(Great)Grandparents Visit

Visiting people and staying overnight is quite a big ask - with a child, we have quite a bit of stuff (we are getting better) and we need to follow a schedual or the kid misses naps and everybody pays for it. My grandparents are getting on in years (roughly 90) so we were a bit worried about staying over.

Collection Of Watering Cans In Front Of Garden

Short answer - we shouldn't have been so worried. People adapt to having kids around and the joy of seeing a great grand child smooths over the minor inconviences.

My aunt Jenny was kind enough to organize a picnic so all of the family came to use for a visit. Nara did well with so many "kind of new" people.

Of course it's good to see everyone else as well. Seeing your extended family once a year at Christmas gets a little sad so it's worth the effort to get out.

There is lots to do in the Courtenay/Comox area. We decided to go for a walk on the breakwater because I remember a near by playground (Marina Park) was quite good. The boardwalk was good for a run around.

We also visited Kai Beach. We live fairly close to kits beach but we don't go very often. Kai beach was a little cool (we have had a cool summer) but still lots of fun to walk around a dig up shells.

For younger children, having a set of keys will often attract their attention and help make a good photo. Nara now seems mostly past that. The new trick is the "I'm going to get you!" game. A parent can do that off camera and Nara will focus on the parent and what is going on around her. It worked out well.