Our drive to Kamloops was uneventful, although noisy... Nora didn't nap until Merritt, and then we drove around Kamloops searching out my old house from growing up there so that she would sleep longer. As usual, all kids get a little hyper checking out the hotel room...
We stopped by John & Judy's on Friday night to say hello. (The home flying Canadian, Chinese and American flags from the deck...) Amelia, our youngest traveller on the way to China, was looking so much older already. She enjoys being a big sister to Saffron.
We ended up in the pool as it was too challenging to keep Nora away. She was very unimpressed with the life-jacket, so that didn't last long on her. She and Isabella, 4 days older, mostly followed each other around.
Saturday morning had Nora up first as usual... she did fairly well sleeping in the playpen but still woke us up too early. Eager to see her China-sisters, I'm sure... :) Let's go!!
Thomas and Lewis were in the pool shortly after arrival. With not having seen sun in the Lower Mainland for weeks (it seems...), it didn't take long to get a sunburn despite the sunscreen.
The enormous inflatable duck was a huge hit...
Nora enjoyed the water... wasn't hesitant about being in the pool.
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| Evan and Isabella |
The "Mamas" take a turn... Bev with Jenna, a year older than Nora and so smart! She can sing "Oh Canada" already, and is learning Mandarin.
Saffron and Nora enjoy some rice crackers. In many of our photos Nora is seen snacking. She became immediate friends with anyone carrying food...
Bev and Jenna out of the water...
Back to the food, Nora was soon hovering over the Cheesie bowl. Isabella was good to share...
More of the Moms... Melissa and Nadine.
Isabella was quite put out when her Mom was holding Nora... was quite hilarious.
A compromise was met when Melissa could hold them both. :) You have to love toddlers, especially when you have 6 of them together. Yikes! :)
Nora checks out the big girls in the pool. Isabella's cousin, Taylor, was visiting from Alberta so she was a great playmate for Amelia. Our boys had fun teasing them, too.
Dean and Layna with Ai-Li, enjoying a frozen yogourt tube. Of course then Nora wanted one.
Amelia, Clay and Nadine's daughter, held her own with the older girls... she's only three months younger and just as busy!
Just enjoying the shade and watching the girls' hang out... Hannah, Evan's older daughter, was brave to hang out with us too. :)
Catching bubbles was very exciting!
So was the dance party the girls had inside when watching "The Wiggles" DVD... I'd have to say those guys seem a little scary!
Lewis spraying the older girls under the pool... their screaming let us know they enjoyed every minute of it!
Sunday morning, we gathered once again as John and Judy made a delicious brunch for everyone before we got back on the road for home. We tried for group pictures before anyone became overtired. The girls avoided the cameras most of the time, but our goal was to keep them in one place for as long as possible.
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| Nora, Jenna, Saffron, Ai-Li & Isabella |
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| Susan & Nora, Layna &Ai-Li, Bev & Jenna, Melissa & Isabella, Nadine & Amelia, Gillian & Saffron |
Quick flashback...
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| Sept. 2010 ~ Ai-Li, Isabella, Jenna, Saffron & Nora |
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| Clay & Amelia, Brent & Jenna, Evan & Isabella, Rob & Saffron, Dean & Ai-Li, Scott & Nora |
The girls enjoyed one last game of dumping out the bowling pins from the basket and then putting them all back in again.
We had time for one more swim before leaving...
We left for home around 2 pm, as Nora was nap-deprived most of the weekend. Within minutes of leaving the house, she was fast asleep and thankfully remained so until Princeton.
We wanted to pass by the Hope slide to show the boys, even though it did take longer.
Scott had fun with the boys trying out unusual poses...
Nora eating once again, as she'd helped herself to a bag of chips she found on the van floor when we weren't looking.
We certainly had a lovely weekend together. And the boys were awesome, too! Can't wait for our next China-reunion!
