Paige and I arrived back in Nelson on Tuesday, October 6^th and we are adjusting to the time change quite well.   Roger flies back on the 30^th of October and I will explain why in a bit.

Two months at home went by way too fast and we did as much as we could as fast as we could in that time.  And we apologize to the friends and family that we did not get to see.  We did rounds at the doctor for yearly check-ups (a year late but oh well), dentists, eye exams and of most importance renewing our passports.

We spent the first week getting over jet lag.  The day after we got home we did go to our favourite restaurant Kam Han with a few of our friends and family.  The food was great as usual.

The week of August 16^th, Paige went to Bates Bar J horse camp.  She had a great time and her horse, Bimbo was perfect for her.  The camp is located west of Cochrane, Alberta in the foothills of the mountains and the scenery for riding is spectacular.  Camper pickup was on Saturday, August 22^nd.  Roger and I left with plenty of time to spare to arrive between 6 & 8 PM.  Well, my car broke down and I had to have it towed to the dealership while Roger took a $70 cab ride home to get another vehicle.  We arrived at camp at 9 PM with Paige beside herself about where we were.  We had called the camp and they forgot to tell her we were going to be late.  Poor kid!

While Paige was at camp Roger and I flew out to Sidney, BC, just to have a look around, check housing see what’s going on out there.  We love it out there and you just never know maybe we will find the perfect spot.  Guess what we found our dream spot so we bought it.  We are now the new owners of a very large home on 6 acres on Salt Spring Island.  The home is about 70% complete so we get to finish it when we come back from this trip.  We are quite excited about it but are trying to curb our enthusiasm until we finish cruising.  That is the reason Roger is still in Canada, he is getting the house to lock-up stage so it can sit.

On August 22^nd the Gunn family got together to celebrate our mothers 90^th birthday.  There were 28 of us, 4 children and spouses, 7 grandchildren with spouses and partners and 7 great-grandchildren.   We had a great time and Miggs was thoroughly pleased that everyone could get together.  Jane & I drove her back to Lethbridge and stayed a couple of days so we were with her on the actual day of her birthday which is the 25^th.

Every year Global Fest takes place which is a fireworks competition for invited countries.  We went to the finale and thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular display.  Mexico was this years winner.

Paige for her 9^th birthday wanted to do her birthday party at the West Edmonton Mall so in better late than never fashion, Roger and I took her and her friend Jenna to the mall.  We stayed in the Canadian Railway room and the girls shopped, skated, did rides at Galaxyland and topped things off with the waterslide park and then shopped some more.  We were also celebrating our wedding anniversary so the girls made a reservation at Earle’s Restaurant for us and had a special treat waiting for us in the room.  It was a great couple of days.

On September 1^st Aline flew out to see us.  We had every intention of flying down East to see her and Roger’s brother and sister but we just ran out of time.  We were running the rails with her and kept her busy until she left.  We took out to Salt Spring to see the house which also included a trip to the Bouchart Gardens, one of her favourite spots.  The weather was very, very nice.

After Aline flew back to New Brunswick we took a road trip and drove out to Salt Spring to do some work on the house.  We spent a week out there and had a lot of company come to visit.  Steve & Diane came from Gold River; John from M/V Maestra was cruising by so he stopped and anchored in front of the house; the Tremblay’s from S/V Orca 3 had come from Vancouver for the weekend and my sister Jane and her daughter Jamie came over for the night.  Needless to say we did not get as much work done as we had wanted to.

Just so everyone knows Roger turns 50 this year so before we left for NZ, Paige and I planned a surprise birthday party on September 25^th and we pulled it off.  He had no clue and was flabbergasted when he walked out onto the front lawn and 30 people yelled surprise.  His actual day is October 15^th and he is going to be in Vancouver by himself.

Sometimes I just love to gloat over my sister.  For the second time in our lives I am going to be older than her for 24 hours.  Because NZ is a day earlier than Canada, my birthday comes before hers.  Here’s to ya kid and Happy Birthday.

On September 30^th, Paige and I flew to Los Angeles and stayed with our friends Erik, Sandy, Isobel & Abigail.  We went to Disneyland and had a great time.

Finally it was time to return to NZ and so on October 6^th we left LA and flew business class on Air New Zealand.  What a way to go, we may never fly economy again.  Our seats folded down into beds so we got some good solid sleep during the 12 hour flight and the service was impeccable.

Paige started school on school on Monday, the weather is great and we are glad to be back on the New Paige.  So until next time…

Cheers