Family Barbeque

We had a family barbeque today as a prelude to Monday's annual MacKenzie Family Labor Day Golf Tournament. Five of our kids and their spouses were there, and 12 of our grandkids. The other two kids/spouses and 5 grandsons will put in an appearance on Monday.

I went around taking candid pictures of the kids and groups during the evening.



Kenzie and Max played hide and seek with Layla, Sydney and Brooklyn.


Anson found a good perch on the roof of the play house.

Alex played with the toys in the house, pushing the doll stroller around as practice for his baby sibling that'll be here in April.

Max showed his girl cousins how to play his favorite Wii 'punching' game.

Layla and Sydney played with Kenzie and Max in the toy room.

I heard water running and went around the corner of the house and found 2-year old Aidan playing with the hose. He dropped the hose as soon as he saw me because he's not supposed to play with it, but he looked so cute that I had to tell him to pick it up again. He was so happy to have permission to do it - he couldn't keep the grin off his face. He thought he should try to get his Grammie wet though!

Baron ate some watermelon and got it all over his white shirt then went out back to sit and watch the bigger kids play.

Kenny and Elly enjoyed playing on the swings and slides.

Brooklyn took her turn on the swing when she wasn't playing with her cousins.

And Charlie was so tired from being up most of the night visiting with Layla that she slept through the whole thing until about half an hour before we left. Poor baby.

In the meantime the men sat in the diningroom discussing strategy for Monday's golf tournament and solving all the problems in the hockey and football leagues.

And the women sat in the kitchen discussing kids, clothes, health, diets, hair, and other important things.

It's so interesting to watch the cousins when they get together. They seem to pair up according to size, rather than age these days and the ones they played with today may not be the ones they played with last time. The oldest (Kenzie) will be 7 in December, the next two (Charlie and Brooklyn) will be six in November, Layla is 5, Syd is 4, and Elly is almost 2. Most of them are the oldest and/or only girl in their families so are 'princesses' and used to taking the lead. I must admit it leads to conflict when they play, especially among the older 4. They're gradually learning to resolve their difficulties and take turns and share in the leadership. The boys aren't near the trouble. Life is never dull when they're all together.

Last Day of Summer

Tomorrow the kids go back to school. My granddaughters Kenzie (6) and Charlie (5) spent today together hanging out, although Kenzie actually started homeschooling in grade 2 with her Mom, Amy, this morning. She's looking forward to being home with her Mom and siblings all day while 'going to school'.

Charlie, on the other hand, is entering grade 1 at the local elementary school tomorrow. Last year she attended kindergarten in the afternoons. This year it's schooling full days. She's a bit nervous about what's ahead for her, who will be in her class, if her friends from kindergarten will remember her, etc. She's a bit anxious but I'm sure everything will go well. I hope so anyway.

They spent part of the day sprawled on the chaise lounge watching movies (Hoodwinked, Hannah Montana).

Then this afternoon they gathered up a stack of books, took them out to the back deck, and read for an hour or so.

Meanwhile, 4-year old Max got on the computer and played some very serious games. He spent last year in pre-school and will be in Kindergarten half days this year, with the same great teacher Charlie had last year.

And then there's Elly. Although she doesn't realize it yet, she's in for changes in her life this year. With both siblings spending so much time in school, she'll have lots of one-on-one time with her Grammie. Should be interesting for both of us.

She enjoyed picking dandelion seeds this afternoon and blowing them.

And pulling the petals off the last roses of the season.

Mickey and the Dragonfly

Mickey loves playing outside and spends hours chasing the flying moths and whatever other insects she can see. We watched her today as she ran and leapt and jumped at a huge dragon fly that was exploring the back yard in search of mosquitos and whatever else dragonflies eat. After awhile her persistence paid off and she captured the beautiful insect and ran inside with it.

In typical cat fashion she tossed the poor creature around, jumped around it, batted it around and seemed to enjoy her new toy. The following pictures are a bit blurry because of the kitten's movement, but they tell a natural history story.

After playing with it in the house, she carried/batted it outside for a play session.

Then she brought it back in the house and ate it.

And then curled up in her bed for a couple of hours of sleep where she dreamed, no doubt, of further successful hunts.

I can't decide whether or not this blog is in poor taste. Some readers may think it is. I hope no one is offended by it. Let me know.

Okanagan Beauties

Lloyd and I spent a beautiful half day exploring around the off-roads in the Osoyoos/Oliver area. It really pays to get off the main road and see what treasures of nature you can find.

Like these apples. I love seeing fruit on the trees - don't know why, but it pleases me in a very basic earthy way.


And these apricots...I had noticed the trees with the long slender leaves but couldn't identify them until we got up close and could see the apricots (or nectarines, I'm not sure which) peeking through the leaves.


More apples I think, or maybe peaches??? I'm not a very good naturalist but I know what I like!

A close-up of the above picture. I guess they're apples after all.



It was amazing to me to see how heavy they were on the trees - great large clusters of the fruit just waiting to be picked.

I really loved how the grapes looked hanging on their vines...


...especially this bunch which contains the whole spectrum from green to red to mauve and the lovely blue/purple color of ripening grapes.


In the midst of the orchards we found this quaint little church. The sign on the front of it said "The Little Brown Church". It was beautifully kept with well tended gardens surrounded on all sides by fruit orchards.



We went down a non-road, a trail really (thank goodness for a 4-wheel drive truck) which led to this lovely lake. And this fellow who's been following me around this week was there so I took his picture too. Hi Lloyd!



And then I gave him the camera and he took my picture as well.





Across the main road from, and surrounded by orchards, we found a desert reserve. This valley is Canada's only desert - an extension of the Sonora Desert which extends from Mexico, through Arizona, California and up into the Okanagan in BC. There was lots of prickly pear cactus growing there, although smaller than the variety we have in Arizona. We did a very interesting self-guided tour there.





It's interesting to see the desert give way to the orchards, with the lakes, vineyards and mountains in the background.


We would have liked to have had more time to explore this fascinating part of Canada, and now with a daughter and her family living there we'll have more reason to come here to visit and explore. It's no wonder Mary and Greg love it so much.

Kids, Grandkids and Dog

It's been a good day here in Osoyoos/Oliver. Lloyd and I spent the morning exploring, taking pictures of scenery and fruit on trees, which I'll post another time. Today was about spending time with Mary, Greg and the kids.

Lloyd, Mary and Greg went golfing this afternoon while I stayed home with Layla and Baron. We all had an enjoyable time. Mary took pictures of the golfing and will publish them on her blog in the next day or so. Following are random shots of the family.

Greg barbequed ribs for dinner and after Baron had gnawed all the meat he could from the bones, he wanted to share with Chester.

Here Baron is working on the ribs under the watchful eye of his Papa.

He even fed Chester some potato salad.

Lloyd and I with Layla and Baron.

Greg cooking dinner for us. Those grilled tomatoes with cheese on them are sooooo good.

Mary, Layla and Baron. Layla was taking pictures of me taking pictures of them.

Chester is so patient and gentle with the kids. Baron is all over him, just as Layla was when she was a baby.

Layla - 5 years old

Baron - 1 year old

Layla keeps a close eye on her baby brother and likes to blow on his belly when the chance presents itself.


Before we came to visit them, Layla told us that she wanted to show us what she wanted out of the Sear's Wish Book. It's her favorite book and both Lloyd and I had to sit with her at different times and go through the whole book. She had circled everything she wanted. I've never seen such a marked up wish book in my life!

Already Baron is following in his father's footsteps by developing an interest in basketball. He does his own version of dribbling, catching and shooting the ball. So cute.

Tomorrow morning the family is coming to the resort to join us in some pool fun - Layla loves the water slide here - then we'll go to Okanagan Falls to watch Mary and Greg jump off the bridge. And then it'll be time for us to leave. We're really enjoying our stay here.