It was a summer Friday night in Downtown Chilliwack. For the past few years this meant something. It meant it was 'Party In The Park' at Central Park for families to enjoy. A main stage is set up for three live bands to perform every Party In The Park. As well as a Funzone for kids to have some play time. My son Cayden's favorite thing is the face painting done by the owner of Miss Muffets Toy Shop.

It is only for face painting that Cayden will stand for a whole hour patiently. That's not fair. He won't stand this long if it was for something I wanted! I have to say, It's worth the wait.

Another favorite is that after have a face painting, we head over to sit and listen to the music while Cayden and many other children dance and move in front of the stage. I think Cayden must have been catching a few episodes of 'So You Think You Can Dance'. He had the moves! I loved all his attempts at break dancing.

There is also a little market to browse. I got some good deals on some fresh produce and we all walked away with an ice cold pop and some Kettle Corn. Another favorite thing of mine is bumping into alot of people I know and having a quick catch up. It has been a growing event and well worth the trip even if you happen to live in the Sardis side.

The Animals Are Too Loud!

It's about 10:30 pm and our dear little boy is still awake. He has come out of bed with a number of different requests through the evening to postpone the inevitable; falling asleep.
It's finally been about 20 minutes since his last appearance so I figured, "finally, he's gone to sleep." I go down to peek in on him, only to find him laying on his back, twirling some hair with his fingers.

I ask him why he's still awake. Thinking at this time the obvious answer would be that it is far too hot to sleep. (It's verrrry warm tonight!) But his response is this. "My animals are too loud so I can't fall asleep." What you need to know is that on this very hot night he has piled six stuffed animals into his bed to sleep with him!

So I said to him, "Why don't I take them out of your room so that you could sleep." He says, "No, they need to stay here, but I need to sleep somewhere else."

He didn't get his way and the house is finally quiet. His animals must have stopped "being too loud" because it wasn't too long after before he finally fell asleep.

The BMX Track Gets Found

Yesterday Cayden and I were on a search for a little dirt track for him to test his new two-wheel biking skills. We never did find the track so this afternoon we made another attempt. We headed out the door before the rain clouds came and did a little more searching by the Canadian Tire, where two people mentioned thinking there was a track.

Ah hah! It was found! What a great little place for kids to hang out get some hang-time. Cayden had a blast. With a little confidence through practice he picked up speed and attempted even some of the bigger hills. It was rather funny because every time he'd go over a little hill he'd let out a loud giggle.

Were looking forward to making some more visits to the track in the future. He gave me a list of a few friends we should call and invite along. So don't be surprised to get an invite to hang out at the local BMX track by Cayden. Don't worry, he'll encourage you to start on the 'little bumps' first to get some practice.

Today was day unlike most days. It was a day with zero plans or commitments. It doesn't happen very often and I found it rather strange. We decided to hit the road and see what would come our way. We set out with a bike, swimsuit, snacks and camera so as to be prepared. The camera was as per Caydens orders. He informed me that I needed to take the camera along to take pictures of him because 'I like pictures'.
Our first thought was to find a place with jumps, bumps and lots of dirt for Cayden to ride his bike. We were sadly dissapointed to not find the track that a friend had thought was located somewhere by the local Canadain Tire. Anyone with information of where such a track might be will have to let me know.
With a whole day ahead of us I decided to hit the highway and head in the direction of Langley. We made down to my favorite stores with-out a hitch. This was not the case for all the travellers atempting to head East out of Vancouver. Those poor travellers had numerous accidents in their path. One at 248th St. ( Traffic was stop and go all the way to 176th St!) One at Clearbrook Rd., Another one at Whatcom Rd. and even another serious one at Vedder Rd. We managed to scoot our way down many side roads to make good time getting back to Chilliwack.
The afternoon was still young so we had a nice afternoon in our very own back-yard sanctuary. Cayden dunked his head in the pool and styled his hair in a mohawk that he was very proud of. What a cutie. In perfect form he modeled his new hair for the camera.

The Three Amigos

This week I learned one important thing. When you have two extra kids for a sleep-over be prepared to give yourself at least an extra 1/2 hour in the morning if there is a time-line to keep! I think this is probably the first time ever that I have had to get more people than myself and Cayden up and out the door and off to work.

I thought I had given myself enough 'extra' time for the extra two children. Not so. It seems that just because Cayden and I have a routine of breaking Olympic records for morning preparations, not all children are up for the same challenge. It wasn't with-out a lot of 'hurry up, were going to be lates' before we finally got loaded up and on the road.

It was a fun time for Cayden to have his two little cousins over to play. Definitely not a lot of peace and quiet for me this afternoon. I have no complaints though. The sound of kids laughing, giggling and then arguing over a toy, is what makes children so fun to be around.

We won't have too many more opportunities for sleep-overs due to the Antolin family pulling up stakes in BC and moving to the Philippines to join there dad on the missions/resort endeavours. He left on his own this past May to get the resort started before the family joined him. You can read about their new and exiting venture at;
jovenantolin.blogspot.com.

Cayden chats with Nana while having some lunch. He invited himself to join them on their next camping venture.
Not too tough to get kids to eat their lunch when it's got this on it.

Jessica showing off her missing teeth. Look at those big eyes!

JJ says it was finger licken' good.

GOSPA

Surprising enough, even with-out being in school I have managed to be late in turning in an assignment. Not a school assignment, but a work one, mind you. The assignment was what one would think should be pretty easy to complete. My task was to come up with a Strategic Plan for the agriculture division at Denbow. That's next on my task of things to do tonight. It'll be only one day late. Not too bad eh?

Developing a Strategic Plan is a great thing for everyone to do. Whether for business or personal reasons. The term GOSPA refers to the following;

Goals- are both qualitative and quantitative
Objective- the sub goals that must be accomplished to achieve the larger goals.
Strategies- different ways you can accomplish objectives.
Plans- the written plan on how to achieve those objectives.
Activities- the tasks that have to be completed and measurable for you to fulfill the plans.

Alright, so I've now re-educated myself on how to develop a Strategic Plan, so I'd better get down to business and 'get er done'.

Friends Through The Ages

I can hardly believe that it has been two full weeks since the last time I've written. Time truly does move quickly when your having fun!

I'd like to take a few minutes to write about a good friend of mine who celebrated her 34th birthday yesterday. If you knew her and you knew me, you would likley be very surprised to learn that we have been good friends for over half our lives. I'm going to call her 'Andrea Bonneo'. This is a pen name she had given herself years ago just as an author would. She is a very creative writer and I have encouraged her over the years that it was never too late to give 'writing' a try.

We co-existed in the same class at a small local school from the very start of our education. She was one of 'the smart kids' in our class and so very quiet. I was an 'average kid' and not so quiet. I don't even know if we really ever talked to each other until about grade nine when I started working at the same greenhouse she already worked in. (I could write pages about this job, LOL).

It was through working side by side at the greenhouse that we came to become unlikely friends. She really came out her 'quiet place' at this time. I'd like to think that it was because she really had no choice but to open up. Something like 'fight or flight' I guess. We have maintained a comfortable friendship ever since. Probably one of our most common interests has been 'catching up' at a great restaurant by the name of Dakotas.

'Andrea Boneo' and I have a friendship that evolves not around our similiaries, but around our differences. This is probably the only friendship that I have of this kind and I something I truly enjoy. I believe that she brings the calm and I bring the exuberance to our friendship.

It is so great to have a friend of many so many years and I look forward to many more! Happy Birthday to you, and may you have many more healthy and happy years.