Sandy as a 2-month old pup.
With every change in season heralds new family experiences. This summer has proven to be no exception. Perhaps the most overwhelming addition to our family is our new dog Sandy, born on March 17, 2009. He's a male English Cream Miniature Dachshund. He is adorable as most pups are, but every time one of us takes him out we get lots of questions. Sandy has created an entirely new social scene for all of us!
Sandy, 5-months old here, is guarding the Golden Ears campsite while Claire puts a pony tail in Lindsay's hair.
Lindsay and Claire pose on a rock in Gold Creek at the mouth of Allouette Lake.
Work has kept Amy and myself quite busy this summer. I'm not going to speak for Amy here, so I'll just say that my lab, despite its shrinking size (3 M.Sc students graduated in the last year) has been fairly productive. We've published a couple papers in 2009 with others along the way. I spend most of my time at work at my desk writing, which means that I have something to write about.
In between long hours at work for both Amy and myself, we did manage to enjoy a 10-day vacation in Coronado to celebrate the 4th of July and visit with Amy's folks. I went off with some friends on an annual 3-day kayaking trip – this year we went to the Deer Group, which is a set of small islands in the southeast part of Barkley Sound on Vancouver Island. We experienced a mix of weather, but the wildlife including eagles, killer whales, sea stars, and sea lions kept our attention.
In between long hours at work for both Amy and myself, we did manage to enjoy a 10-day vacation in Coronado to celebrate the 4th of July and visit with Amy's folks. I went off with some friends on an annual 3-day kayaking trip – this year we went to the Deer Group, which is a set of small islands in the southeast part of Barkley Sound on Vancouver Island. We experienced a mix of weather, but the wildlife including eagles, killer whales, sea stars, and sea lions kept our attention.
Sunset from our islet campsite.
At this point Claire will be entering 3rd grade and Lindsay will be joining her at Queen Elizabeth Annex as she starts kindergarten. Lindsay is going to start a dance class, but I'm convinced that she'll love cross country running when she gets the chance at school. Maybe next year she'll go out for the swim team since she appears to be a natural at backstroke. Interestingly, Lindsay is fairly intense about her math workbooks and in this regard she is just like her mother. Fortunately, her curriculum will be en français, so she will be faced with some healthy academic challenges that will keep her attention. Claire will begin another season of swimming with the Vancouver Pacific Swim Club and playing soccer for the Point Grey Tigers. She's proven to be quite a little powerhouse, particularly with her butterfly and freestyle strokes, and she expects big things from herself in the pool and on the pitch (no pressure). Lately, I've been reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling's fifth installment in the series) to Claire. It's quite amusing to get very serious inquiries about spells (e.g., septum sepra, avada cadavra, and expelliarmus) and the wizard world. Both of the girls have been and will continue to be the ultimate joy in this world.
Adam and his petites filles in the ice cold water of Lynn Creek in North Vancouver.
