The Search is Over

Jan and I spent the weekend searching for our wedding venue. At first we thought Whistler would be perfect but after checking out the sites we both weren't impressed. Marita gave me some great places to check out which led to the weekend long search for the right place. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted I only new it had to be somewhere beautiful. We first checked out the Van Dusen Botanical Garden. (See below)





A true utopia! However, it didn't really seem like "us." While we were there Jan revealed that he needed to be near water which led me to cross off a few other venues.

We went to Stanley Park and were impressed with the Vancouver Rowing Club. It was very scenic and fun and was a good choice. However, we were troubled with the logistics of parking and where to have the wedding ceremony. The next day we drove to Furry Creek in Squamish. It's a golf course that has won many accolades for its amazing views. We both felt more at home with the mountains, lush forest and view of the ocean. I think I actually got goosebumps on the golf cart shuttle to the wedding ceremony site. We both knew it was where we wanted it all to begin! Unfortunately, my camera was being finicky and wasn't working at the time so no sneak pics....sorry!

Father's Day

It's rare that Jan and I are actually around one of our dads on Father's Day so it was great to have John here to spend the day with us. We longboarded/biked to Britannia Heritage Shipyard where John made friends with one of the members of the historical society that helps to restore traditional Fraser river boats. Actually, it was very interesting because I learned about the rum runner which was used to bring contraband liquour to the states during the prohibition era. It used to outrun the 5-0 and even suffered a gun shot to the bow! Fun stuff for history geeks....





After getting in some local history Jan and I made John dinner. Actually, it was mostly Jan because he's the barbeque master and I just make the salad. A bottle of wine and a full stomach later John killed us on the bocce field! It was an embarrasing defeat for Jan and I. The final score was 10, 4, 3. We tried to pretend that we were letting him win but he knew better!

Longboarding in Steveston

Yes, I know we are a little old for skateboarding....but not longboarding! Jan and I took Jersey down to Garry Point Park for some fish and chips. (Or rather Jersey took us...) We are taking advantage of our area and are out on the boardwalk every night. God, we are so lucky!

Housewarming

Our place is officially a home! On Sunday our friends joined us in celebrating our new home and our engagement! It was wonderful. We had some appies, a bbq and of course a few games of croquet and bocce. We received lovely bottles of wine, some champagne and a great photo for our bare mantle. Since Marita's wedding we've had some pretty competitive croquet matches and Sunday proved no different. We gave out a few silly awards but the most amazing feat was watching Marita swing the mallet with little Atticus sleeping in the baby sling. He's an amazing baby and most fun to have around. Isn't he adorable?

The Village

While we've been in our new place since May 29th, we are just now getting settled. Moving went really well thanks to the muscle we enlisted! Jan's friends Djordie, Darren and Sandy helped us power move into our new place. I was not sad to say goodbye to the dark dungeon but was a little reluctant to let go of Jericho beach. However, Steveston is simply incredible. We are both shocked at how friendly and kind everyone is here. Jers is quite the celebrity and receives many compliments on our walks. (Which by the way are starting to go to her head...) It's a really neat community as there a lot of young families, couples with dogs and sweet elderly people. The views are beautiful and there are many great eateries. Did we mention there is a dirt jump park minutes away......We haven't really gone there yet because half my students are always there.....Enjoy the pics of our new place. We're having our housewarming this Sunday so stay close for some more pictures.