We have been in BC for more than a month as a family. We have 10 more days left. Even though it's stunning here and the people are so very kind, we are starting to wind down and be ready for home and routine again. I am starting to really miss my people in GR and our church family. There truly is no place like home, even if the ocean and mountains are not there. (:
Grace has been asking when we are going home to our 'orange house'. She says that her train set is better than the dog (Buddy) that we are babysitting! She makes me smile!
Josh has been seriously blessed to work full time here with the ability to take days off if we want to go somewhere as a family.
My mom flew out to spend a week with us last week. When we are in St Thomas, my parents are still living their lives. In Grand Rapids when my mom comes, we still have to fulfill our responsibilities. Here neither of us have responsibilities. It was a great time. (:
With the exception of one, Ken has taken Mondays off. It's important for Ken to have a day of rest away from his work. It's so fun to drive away as a family. We have 2 Monday left. We plan to go downtown Vancouver to Stanley Park today. We went there with my mom and loved it. I love big cities. but putting a big city on water is even better. Our last Monday, we are hoping to go to Whistler. That should be beautiful to see! (:
There is a little town called Lynden, Washington. The border is only 10 minutes from us and it's the smallest border we have ever seen. Lynden is super cute and very dutch. A mile over the border there is a fabulous creamery with amazing cheap icecream. We have gone 4 times. It's fun to walk down the main street and look at the little shops. We have had to go in twice at the border.. When we went the first time, we had to go in because we recently got our passports renewed and we needed new stamps put in our passports that reflect our student status.
We are used to a crazy strict and formal border in Port Huron. They take your keys when you park and don't let you take a thing in. They are rather intimidating. When we parked at the Washington border, I expected an agent to come out to the van. There was no one, so the kids and I went in. When we got in there was no one at the desk. We were just waiting. The kids and I raised our eyebrows at each other. When the guy came, he casually asked us what we needed. The whole thing kind of felt like Mayberry. He was the one who suggested we stop at the dairy for icecream! We smiled the whole time. At that point, we decided that if we ever want to commit a crime that involves borders, this is the one I would choose! (:
This past week, when we were taking my mom to Lynden, the guy at the booth didn't ask any questions and just sent us in. I have no idea what made him do it. I don't think we look very suspicious. As we sat there waiting, we noticed that one in three cars were being sent in. The guy at the counter was rude and aggressive and I had a hard time not reacting badly to him. He took 20 minutes before he went out to inspect our vehicle. When he came in he lectured me on how unwise it is to borrow a vehicle. This guy from the Langely church could be a criminal. Right - O. He said he wouldn't even borrow a car from his own mom. That's weird. It wasn't fun. On the way back, the kind lady on the Canadian side said something about a fine that the Americans can give. I told her that the Americans were rather grumpy today. She smiled smuggly and said that they had an 'incident' that morning and the Canadian border people were involved. So I guess we picked the wrong day to be a Canadian going into the States. I am almost scared to go back across. We have crossed the border at least 25 times in the last 3 years. So that would be 50 times through a booth and I don't think I have ever had such a frustrating experience. But the icecream and dutch cheese were still marvelous! (:
We find ourselves going to the same places over and over. Our favorite places are White Rock and Deep Cove which are both Vancouver way. When the tide is out they look for shells and star fish. When the tide is in, they swim and jump. They are two of the most beautiful places I have ever been. There are great views of the mountains and we are on the ocean. Nothing can beat the salt in the air! (:
We have noticed that the culture is very different here as compared to Grand Rapids:
The multi-cultural flavor here is very different here than in GR. In our neighborhood we have Hispanic people and African Americans. Here there are many Indo-Canadians and Asian people. When we were in Vancouver on one of our trips, I think we were the minority. For awhile in one place we were the only people speaking English. It's very neat to experience a different flavor. (:
I noticed right away that the majority of people are thin or if they are not thin, they are still fit. That includes the older generation. It's great! In MI, a huge percentage of the population is very heavy. There are so many beautiful opportunities to be healthy here. Hiking in the mountains or kayaking in the ocean is very appealing. Being active is what we should all do, but it seems to be part of what you do here.
In Vancouver, everyone has a backpack and a refillable water bottle. The kids wear hats and water shoes and you can smell sun screen at the park.
Most people pack a lunch. It's something we always do because it's healthier and smarter money wise with 7 people. But here it seems like the norm to see Tupperware being taken out! (:
There are cool vehicles here. In White Rock there are crazy expensive vehicles - Nuts! I love the Westphalia VW vans They are awesome and kind of hippy-ish. I think there are more hippy-like people here than I have ever seen. They look like they are having fun! (:
There are tons of backpackers and hitch hikers. Although there are signs that say there are no pedestrians allowed on the highway, they are still there. One time we saw hitch hikers up in the mountains. When we were driving home, they were 2 hours further. I am getting so used to seeing them that last week on the way to Chilliwack, I almost picked one up. I was on my own and he was a young guy with a skateboard helmet, a long board and backpack. How dangerous could he have been? I squashed my urge and didn't do it! (:
I have tons of pictures to post, but Ken's drop box is full on his computer and I don't know how else to download them. So they will have to wait until next time! (:
Grace has been asking when we are going home to our 'orange house'. She says that her train set is better than the dog (Buddy) that we are babysitting! She makes me smile!
Josh has been seriously blessed to work full time here with the ability to take days off if we want to go somewhere as a family.
My mom flew out to spend a week with us last week. When we are in St Thomas, my parents are still living their lives. In Grand Rapids when my mom comes, we still have to fulfill our responsibilities. Here neither of us have responsibilities. It was a great time. (:
With the exception of one, Ken has taken Mondays off. It's important for Ken to have a day of rest away from his work. It's so fun to drive away as a family. We have 2 Monday left. We plan to go downtown Vancouver to Stanley Park today. We went there with my mom and loved it. I love big cities. but putting a big city on water is even better. Our last Monday, we are hoping to go to Whistler. That should be beautiful to see! (:
There is a little town called Lynden, Washington. The border is only 10 minutes from us and it's the smallest border we have ever seen. Lynden is super cute and very dutch. A mile over the border there is a fabulous creamery with amazing cheap icecream. We have gone 4 times. It's fun to walk down the main street and look at the little shops. We have had to go in twice at the border.. When we went the first time, we had to go in because we recently got our passports renewed and we needed new stamps put in our passports that reflect our student status.
We are used to a crazy strict and formal border in Port Huron. They take your keys when you park and don't let you take a thing in. They are rather intimidating. When we parked at the Washington border, I expected an agent to come out to the van. There was no one, so the kids and I went in. When we got in there was no one at the desk. We were just waiting. The kids and I raised our eyebrows at each other. When the guy came, he casually asked us what we needed. The whole thing kind of felt like Mayberry. He was the one who suggested we stop at the dairy for icecream! We smiled the whole time. At that point, we decided that if we ever want to commit a crime that involves borders, this is the one I would choose! (:
This past week, when we were taking my mom to Lynden, the guy at the booth didn't ask any questions and just sent us in. I have no idea what made him do it. I don't think we look very suspicious. As we sat there waiting, we noticed that one in three cars were being sent in. The guy at the counter was rude and aggressive and I had a hard time not reacting badly to him. He took 20 minutes before he went out to inspect our vehicle. When he came in he lectured me on how unwise it is to borrow a vehicle. This guy from the Langely church could be a criminal. Right - O. He said he wouldn't even borrow a car from his own mom. That's weird. It wasn't fun. On the way back, the kind lady on the Canadian side said something about a fine that the Americans can give. I told her that the Americans were rather grumpy today. She smiled smuggly and said that they had an 'incident' that morning and the Canadian border people were involved. So I guess we picked the wrong day to be a Canadian going into the States. I am almost scared to go back across. We have crossed the border at least 25 times in the last 3 years. So that would be 50 times through a booth and I don't think I have ever had such a frustrating experience. But the icecream and dutch cheese were still marvelous! (:
We find ourselves going to the same places over and over. Our favorite places are White Rock and Deep Cove which are both Vancouver way. When the tide is out they look for shells and star fish. When the tide is in, they swim and jump. They are two of the most beautiful places I have ever been. There are great views of the mountains and we are on the ocean. Nothing can beat the salt in the air! (:
My mom watching the kids look for their treasures.
Natalie and her star fish.
Micah and his jelly fish. This jelly was in the rocks without water. We picked it up and put it back in the water and it swam away. So neat!
We have noticed that the culture is very different here as compared to Grand Rapids:
The multi-cultural flavor here is very different here than in GR. In our neighborhood we have Hispanic people and African Americans. Here there are many Indo-Canadians and Asian people. When we were in Vancouver on one of our trips, I think we were the minority. For awhile in one place we were the only people speaking English. It's very neat to experience a different flavor. (:
In Vancouver, everyone has a backpack and a refillable water bottle. The kids wear hats and water shoes and you can smell sun screen at the park.
Most people pack a lunch. It's something we always do because it's healthier and smarter money wise with 7 people. But here it seems like the norm to see Tupperware being taken out! (:
There are cool vehicles here. In White Rock there are crazy expensive vehicles - Nuts! I love the Westphalia VW vans They are awesome and kind of hippy-ish. I think there are more hippy-like people here than I have ever seen. They look like they are having fun! (:
There are tons of backpackers and hitch hikers. Although there are signs that say there are no pedestrians allowed on the highway, they are still there. One time we saw hitch hikers up in the mountains. When we were driving home, they were 2 hours further. I am getting so used to seeing them that last week on the way to Chilliwack, I almost picked one up. I was on my own and he was a young guy with a skateboard helmet, a long board and backpack. How dangerous could he have been? I squashed my urge and didn't do it! (:
I have tons of pictures to post, but Ken's drop box is full on his computer and I don't know how else to download them. So they will have to wait until next time! (:
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