Monday and off to Qwanoes!!

Shannon and I dropped our kids at Qwanoes this am!  Nice and easy Covid drop-off -- at the gate, they tell you what tent they are at, you stay in your car and drive around the property to the correct tent, kick your kids out, and leave .... After drop-off, I went back to Shannons to work for the rest of the day, and at 2 we all went out on the boat to enjoy the islands before the 5pm pickup.

Pickup of some very happy boys!!  Qwanoes actually didn't want to release the kids to us down on the dock because of 'Covid policies' .... ultimately our response was that we were already on the water ... soooo ... and we KNOW that the staff to camper ratio is basically 1:1, so it ended up that staff walked them down to the dock to us! ;-)  And off we went!



Back to Tent Island for dinner and a play!









We pulled it off!  A very successful first day!

First ride on the lake in YEARS!!

Many things have happened as of lately ... one being that Mark is no longer on the board (OR the lake!) .... which means we have been allowed to put our boat on!

It was a nice night for a boat ride ... the kids lasted about one round of the lake, and then it was just Chris and I ... and the boat died ...it re-started again ... but man, it is deflating to have a boat that isn't reliable!

We explored across the lake and discovered a peddleboat!  So we dragged it back to the dock !

Burdges have NO boat, and now we have 2 boats!

Isaac gets his L and an Elk wrecks my garden ...

While I was with Carrie, Isaac sent me this picture!!  

And when we got home, I snuck out to the garden to see how it did while I was gone ... it had exploded while I was away ... so much greenery!  Well, fast forward 5 hours later, and I woke up to a garden that was attacked by an Elk who had a great midnight snack!!  I mean, look at his hoof print!

Friday .... leaving Shushwaps!

Elliot arrived with the folks the next day .... I think they were impressed that Elliot actually does speak because he is always mainly pretty quiet ...solo time is always good ...

Funny how the boat suddenly felt smaller with 3 more bodies on board ...

Carrie and dad were working on a few projects, and so Elliot and I decided it would be a good time to hit the road and get home a day early ....

In the parking lot saying goodbye!

Snacks in the car ...

ALMOST home .... I think this was his first time pumping gas ... it was nice to crawl into our own bed ... we pulled in at around 1am .... Nice to go, nice to go home!

First full day on the L'il Diamond ...

Had a great sleep ... woke up to coffee and sister time ... best way to start the day!!

granola, fruit, yogurt, coffee ....

Today's goal was to get her winch installed ....

Lol .. it's a good thing the girl is so skinny ... she fits into all the places ...

Lisa told us we needed to get ice cream at this Dairy farm nearby, so that is what we did ... it really was the best icecream ....glad we listened ... these cows and their tongues though,



Dad's only rule for Carrie's boat - "NO BANANA's"!!!  No idea why, bad luck maybe?  Anyways, Carrie saw my banana and tossed it overboard ....



We decided to take the ol girl out for her maiden voyage!!  It was so beautiful out!  And we were on a boat!!  By ourselves!!  (We told our dock neighbors what we were doing, just in case ;-)

She was pretty excited ... as she should be!!















Celebratory spa night!!!

Off to see Carrie on her BOAT!!

On Tuesday morning, Elliot and I hopped into the car pretty early and caught a ferry to head over to the Okanagan ..... I miss my family, and Isaac and Chris are busy at camp so it seemed to be a good time for the 2 of us to leave.

We were both happy to stay in the car ... Covid or no Covid ....

We got to the folks house and were able to relax for the evening ...

Sigh ... this kid .... I hope that headset doesn't hurt him in the long run ... such new technology ... but I don't like it ...

Mom and I slept on Carrie's deck bed ... it was actually a really nice sleep ....

Me and Ma in the AM!

So I had alot of work to do, so while I set up office in Carrie's house, Mom and Elliot took to the local trails and had a nice bike ride ....

Meanwhile, back at the ranch lol .... dad was busy with his critter re-location program.

Elliot looked settled, and I was done work, so I headed out on my own to see sister .... she picked me up in an appropriate mode of transportation to bring me to her boat.

So many houseboats!!

There she is!! L'il Diamond!



Dinner time!!  She whipped up the best chicken dinner!







Bait box aka Foot spa ...

She had a dream, it was fulfilled, and now she is in the middle of it ...

It's interesting writing this later in July and this trip was a few weeks ago ... since then, she has learned that this boat is too small for her little family, and its too much work for one adult .... so her plan now is to finish off the summer and sell the boat ... I am so proud of her ... the girl has no fear (yes, she may puke over the side of the boat from nerves, but she powers through ... respect)