Boys fishing trip to Janice Lake

Janice Lake is above Kamloops in British Columbia and it is a special place for Tom who learned to fish there. His grandfather helped the present owners of the only fishing camp on this pristine lake get started some 50 years ago. Silver, who still cooks all the meals and runs the camp, is now 91 years old and counting. As she told me on the phone -- this may be my last year.
Don't count on it. Silver has the sharpness and the energy of people half her age. She is an inspiration.

In any case the "boys only" fishing trip included Peter, Shawn, Tom and Andy, who was very excited to be included in this outing.





The cabins.



Andy takes a nap on the island, fishing with Peter, and the day's catch being smoked.




The island in the middle of the lake offers respite from fishing and an opportunity for a dip in the clear, cool waters.






Andy helps Silver make bread for dinner.

With a few noodles and some imagination

Andy and Sylvia got clever with some noodles and dish towels becoming robotic natives with noodle finger shooting devices.

Dancing to the music

Like a really long sleepover

Four adults (and with Pete, five), two kids, one large fluffy dog in an eleven-hundred foot condo for five weeks and that's all anyone needs to know to understand the chaos. Daughter and son-in-law are selling their home and a huge part of doing so is keeping it free of mess. In order to accomplish that the family moved into our downtown condo. Strangely enough, it all worked out well. Here are the kids doing what kids do. We really enjoyed Sylvia and Andy coming into our bed in the morning (somewhere between 4 am and 7 am). Talk about a wake up call! They are back in their house now and getting ready for the next phase -- finding a house that will accommodate two active kids and a dog (not so active).








Andy's year-end school musical. He loves to sing and sing he does -- loudly -- at home. But when it comes to the actual performance, he's quiet and contained.

Andy's Glorious Adventure Part I

I'm starting with the last day first, but this will give you an idea of Andy's great adventure in Washington, D.C.

Andy specially requested that we lunch at Bread and Chocolate our last day in D.C. The dazzling array of desserts there was, of course, the draw. He had a cupcake for lunch. Oh well, who will know? Then we headed to a nearby playground to get that last burst of energy out before our long flight home.





Did they say "Don't touch the sculptures" and "Don't climb on the rocks"? (At the Hirschorm sculpture museum and the Native Indian museum).







Pretzels and ice cream and spiders and dragons -- oh my! Lot's to do in D.C. for a kid.






We had a fun day at the D.C. Zoo. Sleepy boy Andy dozed all the way back to the hotel from the zoo unaware of the comments and stares his gorilla mask caused.







Andy's mom (Cherise) was in Washington D.C. for a conference with lots of important meetings and chairing a panel but she took some time to sightsee with Andy the day before the conference began. Highlight of this day with the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial, a walk to the back yard of the White House where we saw Michelle Obama's vegetable garden and we saw President Obama in a motorcade pass right next to us (the secret service man denied it but he did so with a bit of a smirk). Andy was sure he'd see President Obama (and he did) but he also thought the bronze statue of an "economic genius" that graces the front of the Treasury was John McCain ("Look, John McCain"). He got a few laughs from the crowd walking around us for that one.