Parksville Vacation ~ July 30th - Aug. 6th, 2017

With Ann and her kids being in BC for the wedding, we had also planned to take a week together for a first-ever extended Newsham family vacation. We had found two cottages to share between our four family groups in Parksville, a place we have enjoyed many times in the past. Once again, this beach town of warm ocean water and family-friendly activities did not disappoint. We left Sunday morning after finishing up the wedding festivities the day before, which was a lot to organize last minute after a wedding, but so wonderful to have the chance to do this trip.

 Happy to make our ferry in time!

 Rathtrevor Beach is never crowded.

 Nora enjoys her cousins so much.

On the 31st, we surprised our parents with a dinner out for their 53rd wedding anniversary. It was a fun evening without the kids, one of the benefits of bringing older teens along. The meal at Kalvas- The Log House was truly delicious.

 A dessert on-the-house.

 Shortly after our meal arrived, Scott's parents surprised us. They saw our van in the
 parking lot and had just booked the hotel across the street as a surpise!

We spent the next several days enjoying our favourite places in the area. The public playground was fun for all ages and helped get out some energy before bedtime.

Englishman River Falls is a great place for a picnic lunch and a short hike.We suspect that my Dad was the first person to go off-road wheelchair "hiking", thanks to Rob guiding him through the forest. Pushing him back up the hill was more challenging that working around the roots on the way down!

Ann took the younger kids to the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre afterwards to view a variety of wild birds. Her energy level is much higher than mine, so I appreciate the quiet breaks.

Mini-golf is always popular.

 The sculptures from the sand castle competition are inspiring.

As the week progressed, the blue skies became hazy as the smoke from the forest fires in the BC Interior made it's way west. The sun was a glowing orange ball, and the moon was incredible at night. We were thankful to be away from home at this time to get some relief from the hotter temperatures and smell of smoke as we were near the water with a breeze. It was a really good time NOT to be at my workplace with it's lack of air conditioning.

 The sun mid-day.

 Nora learned some new skills from her cousins.

 Lewis was our lone Karpiuk son to come along, and did so well with his cousins.

 The haze is more obvious here...

Friends Julie and Anna came over for the weekend to visit Ann, so all the kids got along well. The more, the merrier!

We also enjoyed a visit from friends in Victoria. We had first met when we traveled to China in 2010 to adopt our daughters so it was great to reconnect again.

 After a swim together!

 Anna, Jenna and Nora. 

Kellie had her birthday on our last day there, so we had a birthday dinner out at Tigh-na-Mara the night before, which was also delicious. It was very special to go away and enjoy visiting so much when at home life seems too busy to get together on a regular basis. After a busy wedding season, this was a very relaxing week in many ways, with many laughs and new memories made.

Mom and Dad stayed longer into the next week to accompany Ann and kids to Tofino to "camp" for a few days on Long Beach. They continued to have some adventures of their own. We were so thankful Ann made it out this summer despite driving across Canada to do it. She's amazing!

After we came home, we had BC day to unpack and reorganize, knowing that there would be no rest for awhile as I was to start my new job at hospice the very next day. I was to do a temporary part-time position of 12-hour days and nights until Jan. 3rd, 2018. Meanwhile, I was on-call at my original casual position at the dementia centre as well. I took a deep breath, thankful the wedding was finished, and that the new employer had been gracious enough to allow me to start after the wedding and family vacation. Now it was time to focus on the next big challenge of the year, and I wanted to give myself 100%. What a year it had been so far! I was to learn the value of each day up close.