Summer Vacation

During July we took a trip to Las Vegas and Southern California. We had a great family vacation. First, we spend 4 nights in Vegas at the MGM Grand. The kids loved the pool and all the sights to see around town. We also found Judah is now 7 so he asks questions about what you see around Vegas, so may be a number of years before we return.

After 4 nights in Vegas, we continued on south to Carlsbad California, which is just north of San Diego. We stayed at the La Costa Resort and Spa for 5 nights, and it was the perfect place for the kids. The resort is about 1 mile from the beach, but isolated in the hills with great grounds to walk around in and a golf course on site. The highlight of the resort was definitely the pool. They have an entire area called the splash zone which includes a shallow pool (with a beach) for the younger kids. Ava loved it, but kept thinking she could walk in 3 feet of water. As she, and the lifeguard found out, she can't. Another pool is a traditional 5-6 foot deep pool. And finally, they had a splash play area and a 2 water slides, which Judah (and parents) loved.

We spend Ava's second birthday on the trip as well. Being the bad parents we are she didn't even have a cake, but did appreciate the Mexican treat with the candle for her birthday. Although, singing by the wait staff scared her.

To see all the pictures of our trip, please go here:

Trip Pictures

Overall, it was a great trip and look forward to more adventures with the family.

India Trip

I am just finishing up a 7 day trip to India - now it is off to Manila for 2 weeks. This has been the most eye-opening experience of my life. I never realized how good we have it in North America. I had previously been to Manila and Mexico (which at the time seemed bad) and witnessed extreme poverty among the people. However, India is quite another story. Aside from the initial and ongoing shock, the trip has been a great experience. The daily drive to work is quite a journey as there are really no rules to follow on the road, and normal roads which we would have 2 lanes of traffic on have 4-5 lanes here - it is quite crowded and slow.

India can best be described in three areas:

• The People: Everyone out here is amazing! They go out of their way to make sure that you are comfortable in their culture, and in your daily travels. The team took me to the "Gateway of India" yesterday. That is the arch in the photo above. Next to it is the Taj Hotel in Mumbai.
• The Food: The food is just amazing. In my first two days I had eaten the best Indian food I have ever had. The second restaurant was a traditional one where you eat with only your hands. It gets a bit messy, but is good. At this restaurant they have name bread in regular size and super size - which is called "Shoulder name" - obviously because it extends from the waiters hand to his shoulder. See Pictures.
• The Poverty: Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is an interesting city. So many people live in what are called "slums" that it is just amazing. If someone is not in the slums, they normally live in an apartment. This is not like an apartment you or I am use to (see the pictures). Despite these slum areas that are everywhere, you feel safe as you move along through the city.

To see all the pictures I took during my trip, please go here:

India Trip

Overall, I am looking forward to my second leg of this trip as I return to Manila, so there is some familiar places and people to see again. I will keep you updated as the journey continues... Pete

Heather's Birthday

Well, this is a birthday Heather will definitely want to forget. NO, not because she turned a significant milestone, but instead she was sick with the flu all day. After battling the flu all day, Heather managed to pull herself together for birthday "pie" (no they don't do it different in Canada, she just wanted Pie instead of cake). Unfortunately, we almost had a disaster - first her hair caught on fire when she leaned over to blow out the candles - I guess she is really old! Second, the pie she made did not work out as expected. The day was not a total loss as she received some nice gifts, including a running outfit as she prepares for her first half Marathon in early October. The pictures on the left are of the birthday girl and the kids, as well as her posing in her new running outfit.

Summer Fun

We had a great summer here in Canada. The area we live in is called the Okanagan. It would be considered the summer vacation spot for British Columbia and Alberta. It seems like the summer flew by, but we managed to experience a few new things. We spent a few days on the lake learning to wakeboard (see Heather in the picture), played some golf, and spent a lot of evenings on our deck overlooking the lake. Georgia is growing & changing daily. Her hair is now almost blonde and she runs around the house saying "Heather" all the time. Here is a recent photo from the local fair. Judah is getting ready for his second year of preschool. He is trying out a new school this year which will be a bit more structured than his last one. We are looking to the fall and winter as we have some vaction planned, as well as we are trying to teach Judah to ski while also learning to snowboard ourselves. Georgia will have to wait!