our spring reality...

Was it earlier this month that we had summer?

Those memories have all but washed away!

We've had nothing but showers all week.

Apparently those doves sitting out on the rail fence are called rain doves...

though hubby tells me they are mourning doves.

Either way...

they are appropriately named for the weather we've been having.

The three grands from next door were staying with us this week.

We had lots of plans.

Most of them involved being outdoors.

 Instead we played Monopoly most every evening.

They are getting to be pretty shrewd when it comes to real estate...

and banking...

and handling credit cards.

(Did you know that the new Canada Monopoly game has no cash?)

And we played ping pong...

and Uno Attack.

And we made noodles...

and cinnamon twists...

and baked bread.

Our BBQ'd meals were eaten indoors.

We figured out that smores can be made in the microwave...

instead of over a campfire.

Lay two Celebration (love the name) cookies on a plate.

Place a marshmallow on top of one.

Microwave on high for 12 seconds (in my oven).

Form a sandwich with the two cookies...

and enjoy!

The girls advised me to be careful...

marshmallows explode if cooked too long in the microwave.

We stopped short of that.

We had a good time despite the rain!

The grands have now gone home.

We are hoping for sunshine this weekend.

We are celebrating my nephew's wedding on Saturday...

and have all kinds of family things planned over the next few days.

 And I hear there is grass to be harvested on the farm.

Sunshine would be very nice!

Have a wonderful weekend...

sixty-five years ago today...

Lily of the valley the official flower for May.

It was also the featured flower...

at my parents' wedding on this very day in May...

sixty-five years ago.

The year was 1948...

and they were married at East Aldergrove Mennonite Brethren Church.

 

They went on a one-day honeymoon...

to Vancouver.

The honeymoon was short-lived...

since the great flood of  1948 swept in the following day.

Their new home in Greendale stood under water...

and it was months until it was once again inhabitable.

My mom returned to live with her parents...

and dad camped out at his place of employment.

And so began their marriage.

We heard that story on occasion...

and observed firsthand throughout the years that the hardships of life do not mean defeat.

They were committed to each other...

'till death did them part'

...and we never doubted that.

Today I am thankful for parents who loved each other...

loved their family...

and modeled commitment.

Mom passed away 13 years ago...

but this day was always special to her (to them)...

and so today I am remembering!

The wedding.

The flowers.

The dress that the mice destroyed.

The flood that dashed their dreams temporarily.

The love that withstood many waters over the years.

And I am recalling the last big anniversary celebration we shared with them.

We marked their 50th anniversary with a family cruise through the Panama Canal.

We thought that there would be many more anniversaries to celebrate in the future.

There weren't. 

Once again I am reminded that...

Today is a gift.

Let's celebrate it.

spring showers...

A bridal shower for Paulina...

...brought together all the girls of the family on Saturday night.

Paulina married my nephew Jamison at a small intimate ceremony...

on the beach on Vancouver Island's western shore.

They just returned from their honeymoon...

and are having a reception for friends and family next weekend.

First...

we had a bridal shower for Paulina.

I smiled as I saw most everyone arriving with packages beautifully wrapped in black and white.

It seems we all shopped at the same place!

(Winks...where they make everything beautiful.)

And of course she was gifted a cookbook...

the MGCC Celebrations edition.

Nola was ready to assist as needed!

What girl does not like unpacking china?

And between all the unwrapping and chatting...

we dipped into the appetizer spread.

Welcome to the family...
Paulina.

I forgot to ask Paulina if she traded in her surname for a new one.
That is not to be taken for granted these days.
I rather liked the surname she grew up with.
 It is one I shared with her. 

On to showers of another variety...
the wet ones.
We had planned a Sunday afternoon hike with the three grands that are spending a few days here.
We awoke to rain on Sunday morning...
and by mid-afternoon it was still sprinkling.
The hike to Cascade Falls was postponed...
while we played Monopoly and  ping pong...
and did some loom knitting.

According to the weatherman...
we will be blessed with more showers until the end of the week.
It is spring after all...
and we do live on the west coast!  

the garden...the good, the bad and the ugly!

Let's start with the good! 

There are strawberries ready for the pickin'...

in the garden.

I ate the first few.

Then we had some for breakfast yesterday.

There is nothing like berries fresh from the garden!

The clematis are still lookin' good.

The Miss Kim lilac is smelling mighty fine.

The white heather WAS looking great this spring.

Not any more!

I took my new hedge trimmers to it...

and it now looks very bad sad.

Will it come back?

That remains to be seen!

After 8 years of growing...

everything in the raised planter was overgrown.

We pulled out shrubs...

and cut back what was there.

It needed to be done.

The good part?

That the trusty John Deere loader tractor hauled everything away.

I think everyone needs one...

a John Deere tractor with a loader!

As for the ugly?

We seem to have tent caterpillar infestation here this year.

For the third time in as many weeks...

all the caterpillar nests have been 'purged' from the willow trees...

the oak tree...

and the apple tree.

Will they come back?

I hope not.

They are destroying the trees...

one leaf at a time!

Let me end on a better note...

...and share a red rose from the garden.

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. 

We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon...

 instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today.
Dale Carnegie

I say...

get out and smell the roses!

joy-riding...

The text said...

The girls are coming across the fields to return the wiener roast sticks they borrowed.

Did I know they borrowed our roasting sticks?

I looked out the window...

and they were already on their way.

Why walk...when one can take the 'scraper tractor'?

And it seems their friends like nothing better than getting behind the wheel...

when they come for a visit.

They were bouncing through the field...
without a care in the world...
when suddenly there was a German Shepherd dog hot on their tail.

They looked a little concerned!

Whew...
they arrived safely at 'my back porch'...
sticks in hand.

The dog owner arrived shortly thereafter...
all out of breath...
coming to retrieve his run-away Shepherd.

 

Joy-riding in the fields with a friend...

late Saturday evening...

all wearing pyjamas.

That is what Emme and Spencer do for fun on a long weekend!

Oh...

and I hear they had their first real babysitting job over the weekend as well.
Time hurries on!

milestones and memories...

We took a trip down memory lane this weekend.

It took us past places where we once lived.

Where hubby grew up.

Where we lived with our young family.

Where the ferry used to cross the river...

and the bridge now stands.

  Past rivers that are overflowing their banks at this time of year.
By the experimental farm where we used to go for picnics.
Past cousin Loretta's place on the other side of the river.
Past the old railway station...
and the museum in Harrison Mills.

By pastoral pastures...
with fields of Charolais cattle.

To the monastery that sits on the hill overlooking the mighty Fraser.

Down the trail that leads to the lookout...

 

...where one can see the churning muddy waters and the farmlands beyond.

 The river that is still used today to transport logs from one place to another.

Memory lane was a good place to be...
on this long-weekend Saturday.

Especially for Vern and Martha (hubby's sister)...
who were visiting from Kelowna...

...and who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary that very day.

 Mr. and Mrs. Willms.

Married in Chilliwack, BC on May 18, 1963.

They haven't changed a bit...

have they? :)

When our trip down memory lane came to an end...

we took them to Milestones for a celebration dinner.

It seemed the appropriate place to go!

They are celebrating with their family at Harrison Resort for the next few days.

Congratulations, Vern and Martha on reaching this milestone.

Blessings to you both as they carry on down the trail from  here.

The past is a diary of God's faithfulness.

Take a long look back and remember.

'Till now the Lord has helped us.' 

1Samuel 7:12

in search of teapots on teapot hill...

We do this hike about once a year.

A trek up the mountain from Cultus Lake on a hiking trail called Teapot Hill.

 We set off on our hike with three of the grands (ages 7, 7 and 4)...
on a cool, wet afternoon.

Someone asked us if we were searching for teapots.
What?

 Apparently there are several dozen teapots hidden along the trail...
usually high up off the ground.

Well that proved to be an added incentive to keep the grands going UP the trail...
... as they searched for teapots.

It was rather like an Easter egg hunt.

We made lots of stops along the way.

And we found four teapots.
I guess we will have to go again one day...
to find the rest!

Grandpa said there would be oranges when we got to the top.

And there were.
 They wondered...
'Are there really always oranges at the top?'
Yup.

The way down went quickly.

It's a great little hike for all ages...

even Maggie did awesome. 

A hike up Teapot...
and a chilly picnic at Chilli-wacks's Cultus Lake.

An afternoon to remember.

Have a  wonderful (and long) weekend!

just visiting...

 We get visitors over here on occasion.

Some are invited.

Some just show up.

This one came by at breakfast time the other morning.

I watched him from my kitchen window.

When he confirmed that we had not left him any scraps...

he carried on across the fields.

Though there are lots of coyotes around here...

they are quite spooky and don't usually venture close to our yard.

We had summer weather for two weeks.

It's gone now...

but I have photos from a few days ago to remind me!

Maggie and Lucy came to visit.

They love filling up the bird feeder.

Grammy is sometimes negligent in keeping it topped up.

They always check!

We pulled out the hoses...

and set up the sprinkler...

 and they had fun!

Cheap entertainment!

Grandpa wonders why we go through so many sprinklers.

It could be because they don't always quite make 'the jump'. :)

I suggested we bake cookies...

with smarties.

Not little ones...

a big pizza cookie-cake like we had for Ranen's birthday

...was Maggie's request.

What fun!

Surprisingly...

there were even Smarties left to decorate the pizza.

Smartie pizza on a beach towel in the summer sun hit the spot.
(Click link for recipe.)

And the rest of the pizza went home...

to share with mommy and daddy.

I had another visitor this week.

Pondside was in the area on business...

...and we had such fun catching up.

We always do.

She wasn't driving her little red car.

She won't be anymore.

Check out her story here.

Today I plan to be the visitor.

I'm off to visit my granddaughter's brand new school.

They moved into their new facilities last month...

and I'm going for a tour today.

Have a wonderful Wednesday...

whatever it may hold for you!