HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

Canada Day is often referred to as "Canada's birthday," particularly in the popular press. However the first day of July does not commemorate a clear-cut date of "independence" or "founding," but instead merely commemorates the begining of the establishment of the Canadian Federation through the 1867 British North America Act. The holiday was formally established by statute in 1879, and was originally called Dominion Day, making reference to the term "dominion," which was first used to describe a political union within the British Empire for Canada, at a time when the British government was hesitant to adopt the name proposed by the Fathers Of Confederation: Kingdom of Canada.The British Parliament still retained several political controls over Canada after 1867, and the country still lacked many of its modern provinces. July 1, 1867 represented the establishment of Canada as a kingdom in its own right, the begining of a new phase of Canadian self-soverignity and democracy, and was the begining of the slow march towards full independence from Britain, attained with the proclamation of the Constitution Act by Elizabeth II,Queen of Canada in 1982.

Have a great holiday everyone. Take care..........

Congratulations to Joe and Shona on the birth of their baby boy!!! Noah Joseph made his debut appearance tuesday, June 19th at 7:23 a.m. at Mater Mother Hospital in Brisbane, Qld.He was 8lbs 3oz, 52 cm long, (20.5 inches). What a beautiful baby. Shona was lucky and labored for only 3 1/2 hours..?..( I know..I know!).... 3 pushes and Noah emerged to greet the world. Mom and baby are doing well.Congratulations Joe and Shona, Ashley, Tasha, and Jonah on the newest little member of your family!!!!!

Its 3 am they're all asleep and no one's here to see

As we rock slowly back and forth my Baby Boy and Me.

His little head is feather light tucked up against my chin

I hold his tiny hand in mine and stroke his baby skin.

The house about us creaks and groans the clock hands creep around

He snuggles closer to me still and makes his baby sounds.

I love these quiet hours so much and cherish every one

store memories up inside my heart for lonely nights to come.

All too soon he'll be grown up his need for Mama gone

but until then I still have timefor kisses and for song.

Time for quiet hours like this with him cuddled in my arms

where I wish he'd always stay protected safe and warm.

And yet I know the day will come when this tiny little hand

will be much bigger than my own he'll grow to be a man.

But until then he's mine to love with no one here to see

as we rock slowly back and forth my baby boy and me.

For Fathers Day we went to the annual Show and Shine. It's a display of old cars, trucks, and motorbikes. The city shuts down the downtown core for about six blocks. All the old vehicles line the street and it takes about 2 hours to walk around and look at everything. There is music, crafts for the kids, venders, lots of exciting things to see and hear. Ashley and I took a few snaps of the cars, so bere with me as I attempt to post as many as I can. I may have to split this post into two. After the Show and Shine we took the kids to the waterpark, and then went over to Curtis and Michelles for a bbq. It was a wonderful day we all had. Enjoy....

The El Camino below belongs to the owner of the car rental place I'm at, and the cherry car below that is my neighbor's....

After the Show and Shine, we went to the water park......
We all had fun. I know the dad's were a little bored of being at the park but, oh well, suck it up buttercup's!!! LOL !! Hope you enjoyed the photo's.I have a few more so I'll post them in a couple days. Take care and have a wonderful weekend.....

DAD

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle's flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so, He called it ... Dad

Happy Fathers Day Dad!! And to everyone else ,blessings sent your way for a rich day with your children. Renae

It was Our Anniversary yesterday, We have been married for 16 years!!....holy moly! Last night I stopped in at one of my best friends to drop off a and pick up a few things and her sister and brother in law were there.So I called Neil and said come over for a visit then we'll go home. So he brought the kids . Gord made us a beautiful anniversary dinner! Roasted potato with dill and butter, a spinach salad with creamy dressing, corn on the cob, tomatos and onions done in a sugar and dill sweet wash, cucumber salad with another creamy dressing, all homemade, and done on the bbq! It was sooooo good!!! Then we sat around the fire pit and came home. All our kids were there. It was a wonderful time. That is what I love to do the most. Be surrounded by family and friends instead of going out somewhere to have a quiet dinner. We used to do that but now I would rather be with family and the good friends that God has placed in our life. Have an excellent weekend everyone!!!

While we were on our vacation in Langley, B.C. we took in a little pub called Dublin Crossing. What a beautiful Irish pub. Neil and I took mom and dad there for lunch the next day.

Everything was from Ireland. The furniture, the pictures, the lights, the building!!!! Everything was shipped from Ireland and built in Langley. They had painters from the New York Institute of Art come in and hand painted Everything!! The writing on the walls are all done in Irish Celtic.

There are murals everywhere you look. This one was painted over the entrance.

The upstairs balcony had old iron railing that lined the top almost like an old castle.

This was upstairs. It's called the Royal Room.

Live bands play there. All the music is Irish. I will definately go back again. The food is amazing! You get so much, and it is very reasonably priced. We had a terrific time. I recomend to take in this Pub if anyone is in the area. You will not be disapointed.

There are so many little nooks and corners to go in. I just loved it!!!!
Hope you enjoyed the pictures. I know I love looking at them. Have a wonderful week!!!

I'm back!!! I never really went anywhere, I've been ill for the last week and a half. I tried so hard at work I finally had to take a day off. So now I'm feeling way better. My stomach still is not the same. I caught some stomach virus that really did a number on my system. I haven't slept a whole night through. This is a bad time of year for me anyway's because as you can see the sun doesn't really go down all the way.I'm a light sleeper anyway, so combine that with some mild insomnia, makes for a tired morning. Some mornings I wake up with only about 4 hours sleep in total and I get up like I slept for 12 hours. I took this picture last night at 11:30. We know which way north is!!! I would hate to be up there where the sun is up 24/7. Once all color is gone from the sky it's about 12:30 a.m. for us. Then it starts to rise about 3:30 a.m. . By 4:45 a.m. the sky is bright and the birds are singing. It's quite pretty. So, today I'm off to work and Ashley's home. She is such a good girl, she'll clean the whole house for me so I don't have to when I get off work tonight. I think we'll have Grandma over for a bbq. Grandpa passed away a few weeks ago, so she's kinda lonely. She is Neil's grandma, great-grandma to the kids. Have a wonderful relaxing weekend everyone.