Rian & Elia's Reminisces

2008-07-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

Rian!

My Dad came down for a visit in April for Rian's 3rd birthday!

Rian, my Mom ("Nanna") and I also went on an overnight trip to Harrison Hot Springs where we discover Rian LOVES swimming!

2008-07-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

More Xmas pictures!

[Formatting the blog isn't going well but will try to figure it out!]

2008-07-25T15:34:00.000-07:00

Xmas Party with the Sams, Jonah and Euan!

Dr. Sam!

Three pregnant women and one post-pregnant woman!

Amazing, we all look so happy!

2008-07-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

Christmas 2007! [Bear with me - having trouble formatting the pictures and text]

Decorating the tree requires concentration!

2008-07-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2007

Halloween was especially fun this year - Rian was 2.5 years old and was great at making the jack o' lantern!

Rian dressed as King

Arthur

and his mate Sam went as a "sam-wich"!

Trick or Treating was a huge hit!

This year our

house was on the parade route of the loc

al "Parade of the Lost Souls", a Commercial Drive festival hosted by Public Dreams

We bought a fog

machine, Pete borrowed a proxima from work to show scary movies on our front curtains and we decorated the front yard!

We were a huge hit and even made the local TV news!

2008-07-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

Rian and Elia! Brother and Sister!

2008-07-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

Seaview Lodge!

Our soon-to-be completed 16-month project has been building a wee little cabin in Sandy Hook, Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast!

When its finished, it'll have 5 bedrooms upstairs and a 1-bed apartment in the lower level, enough for a lot of visitors!

Trying to offset our super-sized carbon footprint, we've used a lot of green building materials including bamboo floors, non-VOC paints, 30% recycled fiber-cement siding, a metal roof, low-E windows, recycled kitchen and bathroom cabinets, dual flush toilets, etc.

Its been a long hard (and expensive) slog but its looking amazing!

With both sides of the family coming soon in August, it'll mark the start of a dream where Rian and Elia can grow up with a fun getaway home to have family and friends stay!

2008-07-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo! Welcome Back!

It's been a long time since I've posted - almost exactly 9 months! In that time, guess what we've been doing???

Hint:

Our beautiful daughter, Elia Makena Roberts was born June 26th at 8:14 pm!

Check out all that hair! I kinda thought she might be blond but just the opposite!

So far she's an awesome sleeper!

Do keep checking this blog regularly!

We've now got two wonderful children to showcase!

2007-11-07T11:59:00.000-08:00

The rest of the Thanksgiving pictures!

Mom hosted the big meal with us, lil' brother Kyle, Mike, our colleague Roy, his partner Alan and Carmen, who just started at the BC Centre for Disease Control as well.

Roy gave us a rendition of the Village People's YMCA!

Alan, Mom/Nanna and Mike!

And while Rian didn't eat much, he helped with the clean up!

2007-11-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

Finally, new pictures! Finally, the pictures of Grandpa Bonny's visit over a month ago!

Here are the three Bonny men!

And again!

Rian really loved seeing his Grandpa - and I think Grandpa loved seeing him too!

Do they look related?! It was a truly wonderful trip and so nice that Rian can know his family, even if they live so far away!

2007-10-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm sure in every culture there is a holiday that is solely implemented by eating food! Lots and lots of food!

For North Americans, Thanksgiving is all about feasting so we had a Sunday brunch with the Sams, Jonah and 7-month old Euan!

I love toddler parties - kinda hard to take oneself too seriously! AnneMarie and Dan - and yep, that's Jonah with a bucket on his head!

Rian looks good in orange!

Euan tried to pretend he didn't really know the other four...

Rian likes his mates!

Tammy!
Libby and Dan (with Jonah's lil' bro in there some- where!)

Eat well all!

2007-10-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Bonny's visit!

Pete's dad was visiting for latter-half of Sept! He had a great visit, going to ScienceWorld, Bard on the Beach, Kiri Te Kanawa concert, Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, not to mention the beaches, playgrounds, Little Nest cafe, etc!

Rian also likes our new light....

2007-10-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

Cabin Update! Pete went up to Sandyhook, Sechelt Inlet a few weeks ago and took this picture of our soon-to-be-cabin!

Its been a slow summer while we've waited for permits and a development variance for our entry steps but finally some action!

Our septic is in and our lil' cabin marked out in orange!

The foundation should be poured by now so we are hoping that by mid-Oct, the pre-fab house can be set up - not a moment too soon for my Mom who has been graciously storing all of my craigslist bargains, like cabinets, sinks, dishes, a bathtub, showerstall, dressers, etc.

We're already taking bookings of friends and family! We may not be in by Xmas (unless we want to rough it and freeze) but definitely next spring!

2007-09-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

More Mayne Island pictures!

Nanna and Rian in the Japanese Garden!

We saw little frogs hanging out in the little trees!

Nova is a beach dog! Anyone who knows Nova might not recognize her from this picture - she is sitting patiently! But after 3 years, we have finally trained her to sit for 20 seconds and wait for the stick to be thrown! Yea!

And Rian is a beach boy! This pic goes out to my lil' sister Kelty... she likes his Rian-the-lion look!

Beautiful Mayne Island!

2007-09-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

Labour Day weekend on Mayne Island!

We borrowed our friend's cabin on now our favourite BC Gulf Island!

We helped a neighbour collect seaweed for her compost pile!

Rian is a natural talent at golf! The first step is to set up the shot!

Then whack the heck out of it!

If there is every a Father-Son golf league, we might have some contenders!

Action shot!!

2007-09-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

White Rock! Canadians are so literal... there really is a big rock painted white in White Rock BC!

2007-09-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

The August 2007 pictures! Not sure what happened to Aug but it appears I was too busy to blog!

Rian is now 2 years and 4 months old! He can get himself up on the car at the playground!

The PNE Fair is pretty famous in Vancouver so we braved the crowds! Rian got to ride a tractor with Uncle Mike!

But I think Rian got a little scared of the llamas...

In no time though, he was feeling better and won at the swimming duckie game!

Nanna and Rian!

We had a lovely dinner with Alan, the partner of one of my colleagues! Pete also spent a Daddy Day with Rian at the beach!

Our cutie!

2007-08-06T22:28:00.000-07:00

Making Pizza! I read in one of my Toddler parenting books that I should involve Rian in cooking! Anyone who knows my parenting philosophy (or lack thereof) knows that I am a total sucker for any and all advice! So we made pizza!
Rian ate the sauce....

... he ate the crust....

... then he ate the cheese!

Take-out anyone?

2007-08-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Rian and his mate Sam! Hilarous video!!!

Part 2!

2007-08-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

More Holiday Pictures!

We spent the week on Mayne Island touring the amazing beaches!

And going for walks!

We had a BBQ at our (borrowed) waterfront cabin! Steaks, worcestershire sauce, expensive red wine, beautiful view and family... does life get better?!

Rian even helped!
Another incredible beach with rocks to climb on!

Pretty nice view, eh?!

And our wonderful little guy!

2007-08-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

Holiday at a cabin on Mayne Island!

Pete, Rian, Nova and I went for week to one of BC's gorgeous Gulf Islands (in between Vancouver and Victoria)

We LOVED the beaches!

2007-08-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

The Park Pictures!
Before Nanna went on holiday to Nova Scotia, we discovered a new playground!
Rian and Nanna have their swing routine down to a science!
Rian loves swings!
One day we hooked up with Sam and his Mom Tammy!

Everest next!!!

Rian got some help on the swings!!

2007-08-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've updated some pictures so this was about a month ago, bicycling in North Vancouver with Nanna, Mike and Rian's driver (otherwise known as 'Daddy')!

Nanna and Rian! With the bikes and our lovely truck in the back- ground!

It wasn't quite as gruelling as the Tour du France...

But we had a great time! Rian kept saying, "Weeeee!"

2007-07-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

Canada Day BBQ!

The Sams (and their parents Anne-Marie & Neil, and Tammy & John) came over for a feast to celebrate our fine nation's Dominion...

Nothing says party like ice cream cones!

Rian scarfed his down the fastest! This is his "Please... Moa... Moa please" look! Our in-house Oliver!
Sam did his best "impression of a 20th Century Dictator"!
Sam totally mastered the slide! He and Rian took turns... kinda...

Sam thought the digger was pretty cool... well, I think he called it a 'front-end excavator' as trucks are his thing!
Rian in the fort, saying 'cheese' for the camera! Its kinda cute, in a scary way!

Sam puts all his energy into his laugh! Talk about a big expression!

The other Sam has a pretty charming laugh too!

In all, we all had a wonderful afternoon... us parents doing what we do best - sittin' around, talkin' and drinkin'!

Anne-Marie!

Tammy and John!

Pete!

Happy Canada Day all!

2007-07-04T23:26:00.000-07:00

Rian and Nova at the local dog park! It was a beautiful weekend so we played ball!

How many parks have this kind of mountain view?
Nova is our wonderful family dog! She's not the most obediant (our fault for dropping out of doggie kindergarten) - but we love her to bits!

2007-07-04T23:23:00.000-07:00

Rian in the park with Sam!

Rian is quite cautious but a terrific climber!

2007-06-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

We stopped by Rice Lake on our recent biking expedition!

Mike and Rian share the same fashion sense with a theme of high visibility!

Happy visitors!

2007-06-29T23:48:00.000-07:00

Biking at Lower Seymour Reserve!
Our UK friends Sam and Simon love biking so we went into the woods... ok, on paved trails but this path runs 8 km through the North Vancouver mountains!

Simon and Mike took the biking seriously! Simon was a good role model for helmet safety...
Rian just looked cute!

With our new propane fueled Ford F-150 truck, we can transport 6 people and five bikes... kinda...

2007-06-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

Sam and Simon in Van- couver!!
Our and Mike's mates from the UK are visiting us!
We took a trip to the Sunshine Coast where Simon got in touch with his inner cave-man....

Mike will like this picture... because it was just seconds before Simon murked him off the log!

Does Simon look like:

a) a Survivor castaway with nice sunglasses

b) an IT guru desk jockey in south London

c) a Canadian Beachcomber???

I think Beach- comber! [Molly's Reach is a Canadian landmark made famous in the long-running TV show, "The Beachcombers"]
We saw our now cleared land with a new septic system!

Mike got to try out the big digger! Quote of the day was, "NOT THOSE JOY- STICKS!"
I think they liked Sechelt Inlet!

2007-06-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

Rian loves his new sandbox that Uncle Kyle built for him! Nanna taught him about buried treasure!

Yea! Ok, it isn't exactly gold but the look on Rian's face is priceless!

Rian and his Nanna!

In our cabin- building process, the land has now been cleared!

Check out the amazing view! And just imagine if it wasn't cloudy!

2007-06-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

One afternoon last week, we hooked up with Nanna in the park!

High-five!

When he's not tearing around and going down slides, there can be a moment of reflection!

We also saw our mate Sam on the swings!

Then off for a stroll on the Drive with Uncle Mike!

2007-06-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

Every year, Pete and Rian do the Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life in memory of Pete's Mum, and Rian's Granny, Isobel Bonny.

It was a rainy day but the fire truck was fun! Nanna was on hand to act as photographer!

Lots of balloons!

Afterwards drying off and having a snack in the tent!

A HUGE Thank You to all who sponsored them!!!

2007-06-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

Wearing his Bob the Builder shirt from Grandpa Bonny, Rian helped "Uncle Tile" construct a climbing wall up to his fort!

Look at that hammer- ing action!!

Yep, Kyle was grateful for the help!

2007-06-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Thomas Day!
On the sunny Sunday, we all went up to ride Thomas the Tank Engine in Squamish!Rian got to see Sam (with parents Anne-Marie and Neil) and Jonah (with dad Dan)
Jonah having a laugh with his Dad!
Rian was intrigued by the train!

Sam knows every tank engine character's name so was our tour guide!

Rian was lookin' great in his Thomas outfit from cousins Mandy and Lucy!

Had time for a little cuddle with Dad!

Thomas, Rian and I!

We all thought the little train around the grounds was the best!

Anne-Marie and her posse!

2007-06-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

The new bubble toy!

Rian loves bubbles so when we saw this toy in Sechelt, we brought it back as a souvineer.

Our deck has never been cleaner!
End of a long day!

2007-06-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

You want to see my cabin plans, you say?!? Well, I just happen to have some!

Yep, our lil' cabin will be pretty cool I think, not to mention have lots of room for visitors!

2007-05-31T23:18:00.000-07:00

Building permit day in Sechelt!

Pete and I took the day off on Weds to visit the Sunshine Coast!

We still act like tourists, not locals eh?! Couldn't miss this photo op from the ferry!

Exciting progress on the cabin we're building - we have an official address and are ready for water hook-up! We met with the Sechelt planning office and opened a file for our Building Permit!

And hurrah! The land is being cleared!

Rick Pearson, our clearing guy, even let Pete play with the big orange digger!

2007-05-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we saw Marissa (Teresa and Victor's amazing little girl) - Marissa shared some "Dora the Explorer" stickers with Rian!

Fearless and charming are just a few of her many traits!

I was quick enough with the camera to catch them both on the bouncy thing! Marissa doesn't look too impressed with Rian's technique...

2007-05-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

Rian loves his birthday presents!

He got a book so beautiful from 'Oddparents Kirst and Chris that this is one of the only times he's touched it! He'll still be loving this when he's 30!

I found him one morning lying down and playing with this wonderful puzzle from Mia and Max!

He got a useful wheelbarrow from mate Sam - perfect for carrying a shovel!

Batteries still going strong in the amazing WordWhammer from our Toronto friends Josh and Rachel!

The "Tickle Book" from Grandpa Bonny!

No childhood is complete until you've had blue hair! I'm still finding playdoh all over the house!

The Dougans know how to have fun - thanks Riley, Rebecca, Olivia, Emma, Lauren and Genevieve!

The Soviet-styled ambulance from Jonah is one of Rian's favorite 4-wheeled toys !

Rian and the larger-than-he-is Pooh! From Grandpa Roberts and Veronica!

2007-05-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

Eliane came to visit! Our friends Caroline and Jean moved last year to Bowen Island, a lovely part of the world a short ferry ride away from West Vancouver!

The gorgeous Eliane is growing up, adventureous as ever!

For us still living in the urban jungle, we get our nature in places like the Lower Seymour Conservation area, where we took Nova for a walk!

Hiking is hard work on short legs!

Rian and Nova still get along (mostly) well! Giving treats are fun!

Its hard to get a good picture of a mostly black dog but this one turned out well!

But who needs forests when our front garden looks as overgrown as this?!? It was once a nice yard - and definitely on the list of things to tackle this summer!

2007-05-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

More pictures!

Here's Rian at the local park - with our other favorite park being renovated at the moment, I suspect we'll be here a lot this summer!

Rian's little mate Jonah, helping to open a present! Jonah spends Weds. here with the fab babysitter Pam!

Yea! The Paper Bag Princess book, a Canadian classic!

One of Jonah and Rian's funniest games is "rickshaw", invented shortly after Jonah's Mom went to India!
It's sooooo hilarious!
We took a day trip out to see our new 1/2 acre plot of land on Seaview Road in the Sandyhook area of Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast (say that 5 times fast!)

We're applying for our building permit this week and if all goes well, we should have the cabin at "lock-up" stage by early August! Maybe...

This is one of the main reasons we bought the land - a 9 minute walk away is the beach and boat launch!

Yep, our new life philosophy of "Investing in Leisure" is taking shape!

2007-05-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Roberts' Visit! My soon-to-be retired father came down to visit us in early May!

Rian was able to show off his impressive frizbee skills!

Rian invented the "Grandpa Slide" where he crawls up behind Grandpa, then slides down!

Kinda hard to describe but I've got video if I can ever work out 'You Tube'...

Rian also loved having someone to read him stories - he's figured out that if he asks for "more stories", he can stay up later and later....

Having a BBQ! Check out Nova next to Rian - so optimistic that something will fall....

And last but not least, because my Mom is just up the road now, we don't take that many pictures but I did snap this one at local Victoria Park!

2007-05-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

The Sunday after the 2nd Birthday! Its all about the presents!

Getting this good at Mini-Basketball took a lot of practice (thanks Marissa!)

Looking thoughtful at the new duds from Grandpa!
Loving the new hoodie! It says 'Part-time Ninja' on the back - my sis Kelty will love this as Ninja is her kitty... Thanks Sam!

And we have two winners of the Love-the-toy-Hate-the-batteries present awards!
Rian LOVES the Wordwhammer..."every letter makes a sound"! I think I can hear it from every corner of the house ..."every letter makes a sound"! But he's learning his letters and those batteries can't last another week! Thanks Josh and Rachel!!

And another great toy from Marissa, this one we're keeping away from Nova who disemboweled her Xmas pressie to Rian! "Row, row, row yer boat" is Rian's all-time favorite tune thanks to this green puppet!! ...I wonder if we can re-program it to play something else though....

2007-05-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

More of Rian's 2nd Birthday Party!

2 Birthday Cakes = Happy Rian!
Daniel, here with mom Belinda, was an expert at birthdays having turned 2 several months ago!

Sam and his dad Neil enjoying the balloons!

Jonah's mom Libby!

Daniel kinda had enough of the paparazzi, here with dad Oscar!

Ah, toddler friendship at its best! Daniel helping Rian with his supper!

Being 2 years old is pretty fun so far!

2007-05-01T22:06:00.000-07:00

April 14, 2007! Party time!

Rian LOVED his birthday this year! The cards were great and the pressies were fab!

Here's Rian with a train from his cousins Izzy & Chris...

We thought we should do something fun for the b-day party - what's more fun than balloons!?!

So we drafted our friends Olivia, Emma, Lauren and Genevieve (4 of the 6 girls in the Dougan clan) to help make the balloon hats and animals!

Talk about talent!

It was fabulous to see Rian's first girlfriend Marissa who was born 2 days after Rian! Cute kiss!

Cute, cute, cute!

2007-05-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

Rian's 2nd Birthday! April 14, 2005.... we had this marvelous little addition to the family!

And now our little baby is now a little boy... I mean, it does kinda feel like 2 years for us!

But just look at who has grown up so much!

I've trawled though our gazillion pictures to find these little ones of Rian's early days....

2007-04-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

Sunday with Daddy!

As Mom/Nanna and I went up to the Coast to meet with the tree-clearing guy, Pete and Rian went to Maplewood Farm with Daniel and his dad Oscar!

Daniel LOVES the bunnies!

Afterwards, there was an impromptu football (soccer) game at our place with the brand new goal that Rian's great Uncle Hugh bought for Rian's 2nd birthday!

With a generous contribution from Uncle Hugh, Pete went to 3 shops to find the perfect toddler size net and its a huge hit with the under 3's!!

We think Sam might have 'goalie' tendencies...

Rian and Daniel demonstrated the proper goalie leg stance!

See, Rian would know all this from all those Saturday mornings with his Daddy watching Reading FC climb to 8th in the premiership league! Who said all TV was bad?!!

But Daniel is a kid-of action!

We didn't set the camera to 'sports' mode so had trouble catching a pic of Daniel in focus...

Then Sam changed the game to curling, another great Canadian ice sport that we excel at! Nice technique Sam!

2007-04-07T21:43:00.000-07:00

We took Nova on a walk to Lynn Creek Park in North Vancouver today.

Poor Nova didn't get much of a walk as we got distracted throwing rocks in the creek!

But she got lots of treats!

Rian and his Daddy!

Our little nearly 2-year old cutie!

2007-04-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

Rian and the Sams on an Easter Egg Hunt!

The joy of having friends with kids the same age as Rian is that, as a group, we can get it together to organize seasonal festivities!
Like an Easter Egg Hunt!

Rian and the Sams were surprisingly good at finding the eggs!

We're going to have to up our game next year!

Opening the eggs took a little concentration but was no challenge at all!

They seemed thrilled with the organic raisins...

... and stickers! Sam knew immediately what to do!

Sticker sticking is more of an art than a science so he helped Sam put it on just the right spot!

Sam found other uses for the plastic eggs!

While Sam helped decorate the fort!

Happy Easter all!

2007-04-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

Spring cleaning of the tree fort!

It had to be done so yesterday we power-washed the moss and gunk from Rian's tree fort!

Roll on summer!

2007-04-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

Pete and Rian in the backyard!

Our sidewalk-chalk Rembrandt!

We're just starting the spring clean up of the backyard but that hasn't stopped Rian and his dad from making the most of daylight savings by playing ball before bed!

Action shot!

2007-04-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was beautiful here in Vancouver so we went to play at New Brighton Park overlooking the wonderful North Shore mountains!

Nova was pretending to be a well trained dog by actually fetching the ball!

Rian climbed on the play equip- ment!

And loved the springy teeter totter!

2007-04-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

Rian loves putting train track together!

2007-03-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Pics of our daytrip to the Sunshine Coast!

How many ferries give you this kind of view?!
Rian and Uncle Mike!

We took a short walk in Porpoise Bay Provincial Park (about a mile from our new land) - Rian loved the rocks!

Our cutie!

2007-03-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

Seaview Road, Sechelt Inlet! Pete and I are buying land!

With a nearly 2-year old toddler who doesn't sleep well in new places (3-6 times waking a night when travelling), we've decided to build a cabin about 2 hours away from our home in East Van. It is a 30 min drive to Horseshoe Bay in West Van, a 40 min ferry - that Rian loves! - then a 35 min drive up the Coast!
We found a terrific 1/2 acre plot of land with water views over Sechelt Inlet . Our land would be in between these two water views...

Our year-round cabin will have 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms so we can have guests! We'll also have a huge vaulted living room and large deck overlooking the view!

If we took out some trees - not the beautiful Arbutus in this pic above of course - it would be an amazing view!
We could keep our canoe at the local beach - a 10-min walk away!

How fantastic is this?

2007-03-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Rian and Sam!

Tammy and I have been trading babysitting and our little guys are SOOOO cute together!

Sam!

2007-03-21T22:14:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite weekend activities is taking a walk in Lynn Valley...

Rian just loves throwing rocks in the river! The rocks seem to get bigger every time we're here but he's good at not hurting himself!

Mike is Rian's coach - just check out that concentration and technique!

Nova loves it too!

My good lookin' family!

Do you think we're raising a nature lover?

2007-03-21T22:07:00.000-07:00

Rian at Science World!

Its been raining most weekends here so we went to Science World to play!

Rian has fun with the groovy toys - so much so that we have to drag him out screaming at closing time...

I mean, we don't give him a big mallet at home and let him bonk things.

2007-03-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

Most Canadians grew up watching the "Beach-combers" about a small little community on the West Coast of people who made their living collecting stray logs. Molly's Reach was their main caf' and as such, its a tourist attraction!

Here's Mike on a recent trip to Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast.

We saw our amazing family realtor Tim Hiltz who helped buy homes for Uncle Kyle, Uncle Mike and Nanna (not to mention several work colleagues). He now lives on the Coast and we're thinking about getting some land up there for a cabin.

Rian liked playing with Woody and Buddha, Tim and Mark's babies!

Finally, Rian and Nova on the way to a walk! Aren't they cute?!

2007-03-06T08:36:00.000-08:00

Monday at Kindergym!

Our babysitter Pam was sick yesterday so Tammy and I started a daytime babysitting exchange.

Rian, Sam and I went to Kinder- gym.

In the extra logistics of getting 2 little guys going, I forgot the snacks! Rian sat at the little table looking hungry...

But thankfully we saw the other Sam! Anne-Marie is the fairy godmother of snacks!

Tammy called this his Austin Powers look: "You're a tiger, baby! The camera loves you! Rrreow!"

2007-03-04T20:44:00.000-08:00

Best of February 2007!

We took so many great pics this month!

Its hard as Rian's official blog-journalist to choose the best pictures, so this posting will be a smorgasboard of unpublished pics of our past month!

It was great having my little sister visiting from Saskatoon!

She didn't like having her picture taken but got this great one with Kelty dashing off and Rian doing one of his signature backflips.

And in flipping away from the ever-ready camera, we got this cool picture! LOVE it!!!

Rian does weekly adventures with Nanna! Here they are at the Bloedel Conservatory in Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Park looking at the birds!

Don't make him call!

Can you spot the bird?

Rian doesn't understand the nuances of poker...
Bluffing a bad hand isn't one of his talents yet!

Snack-in-hand we're happy though!

2007-03-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

Walk in Lynn Valley!

... that black blur is our trusty-if-untrained dog, (Super) Nova!

Rian and I having a laugh!

Only a few rocks between Rian and the raging creek - our little guy does love a challenge!

Clever guy - does it himself but not afraid to ask for a little help!

Nova (aka the black streak) slowed down enough for me to get one picture in focus!

Checking out the water... or in Rian-speak, "Wah-Dah"!

If rock throwing was an Olympic sport, Rian would be bring home the Gold!

2007-03-04T20:02:00.000-08:00

New haircut, same cheeky personality!

2007-03-01T22:17:00.000-08:00

Rian's 1st Haircut!

The time has finally come.

There's a superstition that cutting a baby's hair before they turn 1 year old is bad luck... but at 22.5 months, we couldn't use that as an excuse anymore...

We toiled with who was going to do it... we ruled out a home-cut pretty quickly (thankfully for all of us)!

Near Pete's work in North Van is a kid-oriented hair- dresser so off he went today!

I'm still in shock! My little baby is growing up!

But he sure does look pretty darn cute with his new 'do!!!

2007-03-01T22:10:00.000-08:00

Rian is a natural climber!

When he's not doing back-flips off the sofa, we take him to Mosaic Park to scale real rocks!

2007-03-01T21:49:00.000-08:00

Weekend pics of Kindergym!

We joined the rest of the tired-looking parents with their not-tired-looking kids at Kinder- gym!

Rian had a GREAT time with all the big plastic toys (that thankfully aren't in my livingroom).

Had a few technical problems with basketball that not even Daddy could help with...

But with a low centre of gravity on his side, Rian showed Daddy how to play hockey, Canada's national game.

2007-02-25T10:02:00.000-08:00

This weekend we saw the CN Tower! (at the BC Home and Garden Show)

At first, Rian didn't understand the purpose of the cut-out Mountie...

...But he worked it out!

2007-02-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

After a busy day at the park, we met up with our little friend Sam for a fresh juice!

The juice was Ok but the straw was fantastic!

Rian's working it for the camera...

For his final trick, balancing a dinosaur the head! Our dude's got talent!

2007-02-25T09:14:00.000-08:00

Stepping out to the local park!

Rian made a bold fashion choice with his strawberry hat and groovy vest!

It had finally stopped raining long enough for us to enjoy the slide at Britannia!

2007-02-11T22:14:00.000-08:00

Nanna turned 60... I mean, 06, on Friday!

We had a big family dinner, homemade carrot cake and balloons!

Rian likes cake!

Uncle Mike and Uncle Kyle!

My sister Kelty had just flown in from Saskatoon! She's not a fan of having her picture taken... no one knows why exactly... but we got this pic!

Someone had fun with the balloons the next morning too!

2007-02-11T22:08:00.000-08:00

Rian at the Aquarium!

Rian does loads of cool thing on his 2 'Nanna' days per week!

Monday was the aquarium in Stanley Park looking at all the fish!

2007-02-05T23:12:00.000-08:00

January pictures!

More Xmas presents from the Roberts' - Grandpa, Veronica, Uncle Kyle and Aunt Kelty! Considering "dawg" is one of Rian's all time favorite words, this book looks like it will be a huge hit!

'Daddy Ball' is our new game... I don't get all of the rules but so far nothing has gotten broken and Rian is a terrific kicker! He can actually aim on target! Watch out Reading FC!

Rian's fort is still one of his favourite toys!

We took a couple of day trips to the Sunshine Coast! Pete and Rian at Roberts Creek!

Pretty awesome cruise through some of the world's most amazing scenery!

Rian loves his shiny black car at Kindergym... he puts his beach ball in the back and off he goes!

2007-02-04T23:23:00.000-08:00

NEW YEARS EVE!!!

Ringing in 2007, we had a potluck at our place, then over to 'Mickey Ds' (my friend Mike's new penthouse apt around the corner!).

Rian loved the (juice) shots!

Except when he was empty...

Seen here with his little friend Sam... Cheers!

Mike's friend Jan, visiting from the UK!

And Sam and his mom Anne-Marie...

It was amazing! Both boys did so wonderfully well that we stayed up until past 10 pm, counting down the new years in Winnipeg (-2 hour time difference to Vancouver)!

...parents didn't feel so good when 7 am rolled around the next day but a wonderful New Years! 2007!!

2007-02-04T23:11:00.000-08:00

Finally, more pictures!

Not sure what happened to our January but a little flashback to Xmas, here is Rian perfecting his unwrapping skills!

Love the mugs from Aunt Karen, Uncle Duncan and my cousin Lindsey!

Bath toys are always fun!

My older brother Colin also visited from Victoria so Rian showed him around ScienceWorld.

And our 'family present' to ourselves was a new chair for Rian's room to cuddle up and read on... perfect end to a day!

2006-12-30T21:35:00.000-08:00

Rian LOVES trains and obviously the word has gotten out!

We got trains from Grandpa Bonny!

And Auntie Wendy, Uncle Alex and wonderful cousins Mandy and Lucy!

What is Xmas without a shiny new trike with big ribbons on it under the tree?! Yea Nanna!

Speaking of traditional Xmas gifts, Pete got boxers!

Mike got hair (and a groovy hat)!

Shaping up to be a very nice Christmas!

2006-12-25T13:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning!

But first, a flashback to last Christmas (2005)! Rian was barely sitting up on his own... and our house looked so uncluttered!

Oh yes! Now we're a year older and we LOVE Christmas!

Auntie-'Oddmother Kirst's stocking just barely fit all the loot from Santa!

Uncle Mike gave us a fort! A real fort!

Then we helped Daddy with his stocking!

And Mommy with hers...

But Mike didn't need any help at all! I think Santa got him a rubber duckie!

And Nanna! Looking festive!

2006-12-25T13:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve at Science World!

We love our neighbourhood, not least of all because the uber-groovy Science World is a a 5-min drive or 1-stop on the skytrain!

There are slides!

There are parachutes!

And when the little guy goes to bed, the Parents, Nanna and Uncle Mike wait up for Santa while playing poker!

Quote of the night was, "Oh shucks, don't think I have anything.... oh well, maybe I'd better look again... Ho Ho Ho! Look! 4 Jacks!" After which he started making images of elephants with all his pennies, I mean, winnings. Guess who that was?! Hint: it was the guy with the antler-santa hat!

2006-12-24T12:16:00.000-08:00

Its Christmas Eve!

Rian went to the park today!

This is one of our favourite local parks with the mosiacs and the climbing rocks!

And benches when we need to sit and contemplate our New Year resolutions...

2006-12-24T00:54:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Eve Weekend!

Not a moment too soon, we figured we'd better decorate the Xmas tree before Monday.

Rian was a huge help!

And Rian did this one all by himself!

How cute is this?!?!
Pete with our traditional top o' the tree wire Rooster made by a local artist!

2006-12-24T00:45:00.000-08:00

This morning Pete and Rian went with Oscar and Daniel to Maplewood Farm.

Rian's just learning all of the animal sounds so it was great fun for him!

Looks like Daniel loved the bunnies!

2006-12-24T00:36:00.000-08:00

Party with our Drive Family Friends!

Earlier this week we had a terrific potluck party with Rian's little mates the Sams and Jonah!

Sam and his Mom Tammy loving the gifts!

Puzzles are an easy way to Jonah's heart, seen here with his Mom Libby!

Sam didn't really like the furniture arrangement so he made a few last-minute changes. The other Sam didn't seem to notice....

Sam and his Dad Neil!

And Sam and his folks!

2006-12-18T08:49:00.000-08:00

Weekend in Whistler!

There has been some crazy weather here in BC recently - record rains, snow in Nov, typhoon-like winds - but we still made it up for some fantastic snowboarding in Whistler over the weekend!

Rian, Mom and I took the gondola up Whistler Mountain while Pete spent the day on the slopes!

2006-12-12T22:47:00.000-08:00

We also got to see Joanne and her amazing two children Josh (1 year older than Rian) and Rachel (1 year younger than Rian).

They say lightening doesn't strike twice but not in the Farber household with 2 happy little people!

Rachel! Too cute for words!!!

We played at the park and Josh climbed up the wall on his own!

Can you tell that both his parents are marathon runners?

2006-12-12T22:21:00.000-08:00

Toronto!

The final stop of our mega-trip was Toronto to see our wonderful friends.

Rian's 'Oddparents are Kirst and Chris!

We were lucky enough to be able to storm the castle as part of a big annual medieval festival!

We met up with Brayden and his Mom Tanya - here he is with a shield made by Mythical Merchant, Kirst's enterprise!

Enjoying veggie booty!

Playing in the leaves!

Anna, Kirst and Chris' closest friend is a rising star in the fencing world.

Meanwhile the battles and swordfights raged outside!

Rian had a fab time! Ok, ok... he doesn't look too happy here but its only because he hated being contrained by the stroller with fun to be had!

Love Kirst's armour!

2006-12-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

Seeing Cousins Mandy and Lucy again!

We managed one last stop down to Southampton to see Pete's sister Wendy and Rian's amazing cousins!

Cousin Lucy...

... and Cousin Mandy!

Rian loved all the toys!

Playing with Uncle Alex!

Rian showed off his froggie costume again, here with a local cat...

It was too short a visit but I got to see my dear friend Helen too, shortly before she jetted off to a safari in Kenya!

2006-12-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

Rian's 2nd Halloween!

Ewan showed Rian how to trick o' treat!
A little frog could have no better teacher!

Rian scored (us) himself some wonderful choccies! Photo credit to Elliott Franks Photography

Ewan, taking a well deserved break after!

2006-12-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

More Friends in London! Sorry I've been so slow with these pictures...

Anyway, when we were in London we saw our terrific wonderful friend Jaleh - all grown up! - and spent a wonderful afternoon shopping on the high street! She cooks dinner for her Mum even - Spagetti bolognese is a speciality of the house! If only Rian could learn some of that... and Rian will have to learn some of Jaleh's dance moves!! Jaleh is incredibly thoughtful to her friends and was so loving with Rian!

... and Jaleh with her mum Aimee when we ate at Slurp, our fav restaurant!
Now all mums are amazing but our dear friend Aimee did it all on her own and has raised a lovely, sensitive and generous young person Jaleh, which in my book gives her A1 'SuperMum' status!

Few days go by that I don't think of how incredible Aimee and Jaleh are....

Then Pete and Rian saw the Vicki, one of his longtime friends and who now works at the Tate Gallery promoting and building the artist community - we saw Vicki in Laos on our travels years ago!

And we got some help from Elliott getting Rian ready for bed! LOVE this video!

2006-11-16T20:59:00.000-08:00

London calling....

We went on for a short visit to see our friends Pete, Fiona and their 4.5 year old son Ewan in London.

Ewan even sorted through his toys to find ones that Rian would like! He's a lovely little dude!

Rian had fun in the British-sized bath!

2006-11-16T20:40:00.000-08:00

Leaving Malvern...

We sadly had to say goodbye to Grandpa Bonny and his wonderful girlfriend (Grandma) Sylvia!

The 3 Bonny's - can anyone see a family resemblance?!

And the Bonny-Roberts....

2006-11-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

Our final day in Malvern we spent with Grandpa at the local playgound at Priory Park!

Rian loves slides - and its always nice to get a little help!

Rian and I on the elephant...

Fun was had by all!

Malvern is a lovely part of the world!

2006-11-13T19:30:00.000-08:00

Family visit to Malvern, UK. part 2
It was wonderful seeing the family all in one place - sadly cousin Chris was in school this week.

Gotta love family!!

We took a walk on some beautiful land which Aunt Sue and Uncle Peter own... it almost made me miss England.

Grandpa Bonny and Rian!

Izzy and Mandy, on the path less travelled.

Rian's Aunt Sue and Wendy, Pete's sisters!

Every night we had a gourmet feast at Teal Farm - here are Izzy, Mandy and Chris just before supper.

Lucy, waving hi!

Mandy was always showing Rian something new, here with Grandpa.

Chris, who happens to be an excellent rugby player [rugby, for our North American blogviewers, is like a more brutal form of football without the protective kit... I don't really understand why anyone would play it - it sounds too rough for me - but seems to be popular across the pond].

Izzy, Rian and Chris in their amazing playroom!

Check out some of the ribbons from the horse jumping events that Izzy and Chris have won... pretty impressive, eh?!

2006-11-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

Visit to Malvern and Teal Farm, part 1

Our first stop in the UK was for Rian to meet most of his British relatives for the first time . Rian is here with his whole wonderful family (counter-clockwise from the top: Aunt Susan, Uncle Pete, Lucy, Izzy, Sylvia, Grandpa, Dad, Aunt Wendy, Chris and Mandy).

Rian LOVED visiting with his only cousins!

Rian learned piano! From the top, he's here with Lucy, Izzy and Mandy.
Getting a private lesson from Lucy!

Reading a book with Izzy.
From left to right - Lucy, Chris and Izzy

Chris and Rian driving a truck, I think.

The back of Chris' head building Rian a tower, with Mandy right beside!

Izzy and Rian on Safari!

Here with Izzy and Mandy... and a camel!

Cousin Lucy, posing with some safari wild animal food. Somehow Pete and Rian managed to get food over the nice new rental car.

Rian wasn't too impressed to be back in his carseat after the safari, posing here with Mandy.

Playing blackjack with Cousin Chris!

Cousin Mandy, UK's next Top Model!

And Cousin Izzy, winning at checkers!

2006-11-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

Greetings all! We've been away for a super-sized holiday to Montreal, the UK and Toronto. Rian and I just got back last night (Pete has had the weekend to recover without us).

I'll start the vacation series with Montreal, our first stop!

Pete's long time friend Geraint, his pregnant again wife Florence and their amazing son Trystan (nearly 6 years old now) live in Montreal.

Trystan and Rian had a great time together! Rian had his own chauffeur! Needless to say, Trystan is already a better driver than his dad - but the upside down VW bus is another story...

The boys had fun at the park on the waterfront in Old Montreal...

... and at the Biodome!

We went to the viewpoint on Mont Royal - its fun being a tourist!

I was a bit worried that I hadn't coordinated things well with seeing my friends on the trip but thankfully hooked up with Becka, my friend from high school!

Good thing too - she knew all the great restaurants...yuuuumm, Tonkinese soup! Ok, maybe Rian's mush doesn't look too appetizing but...

Montreal was fantastic!

2006-10-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to the UBC Botanical Gardens Apple Festival.

Rian loved walking on his own around the gardens!

Had to also check out the local swings!

Chillin' with his shovel and riding the fire truck at Chick Pea

2006-10-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving All!

Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving a month before our American neighbours do.

After a relaxed morning in our PJs with our favourite rocking horse 'Best Mate', we had a wonderful Thanksgiving Sunday being an extended 'family'!
An afternoon walk in Pacific Spirit Park.

Rian wanted to walk on his own, with a happy Nova in the background! He's a pretty accomplished biped... and when he falls, he dusts himself off and keeps on going!

Then a short walk/run on the beach in Kits.

Finally an amazing meal at Mom's place!

And the Uncles (Mike, my friend of 20 years, and Kyle, my brother of 21 years) had fun, even if they got the hard questions in Trivial Pursuit later that night!

Ahhh! Cutie!!

2006-10-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

Long Weekend here in Vancouver!

We made the most of a mostly sunny and wonderful Fall weekend by going on a bike ride to False Creek, near Science World.

And stopping at 3 different playgrounds en route!

2006-10-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

Later on Weds - my day off per week - we met up with Sam and his mom Tammy for some bubble blowing!

And rock climbing.

2006-10-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

Rian and his mates!

On Weds morning we all have art class at the local community centre - the boys in Rian's little circle of friends are the Sams and Jonah.

Two of the boys excelled in class!

Just to introduce them all again, the boys are are:

Anne-Marie and Neil's Sam

Tammy and John's Sam

And Jonah, Libby and Dan's son. Jonah spends Fridays with Rian and Pam, our wonderfully energetic, outgoing and lovely babysitter!

Yep, so art class happened this morning and before we even signed up, Tammy joked that her son Sam would be the one eating paste....

I secretly feared that Rian wouldn't like art too much - he doesn't seem to like to getting his hands dirty.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before we were off to other adventures at the Kindergym!

2006-10-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

Where has the weekend gone?!

I mean, we were busy! Going on a bike ride along the Vancouver seawall checking out progress on the Olympic Village for 2010, eating at our fav 'Take Thai Home', watching the first season of 'Weeds' which was pretty funny, going to the East Van Swap-o-rama with Anne-Marie where you take a bag or two of yer old clothes and then fill-er-up with new-2-you treasures (it was a crazy but wonderful zoo in true EastVan style!), walking Nova, shopping, Sunday brunch at Mom's and yep, swinging in the garden - see above - but still... where did the weekend go?!

2006-09-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

A few more cute pics of our day....
I think Rian'll be a singer like his Momma... high pitched squealing meet Canadian Idol Baby!

A reflective moment, quite worried about the Republicans sweeping the mid-term elections...

Yet too young to be cynical...