As today was a school holiday, we made our way to Heineken House in Richmond. We were there early so there was no line-up to get in! Didn't need to use Hugo's passport after all. We had fun on the simulators. Aidan did a great job of driving our sled. Then made our way to the arena area where we ate kroket on a bun, a delicacy more appreciated by dad and mom than the kids.... We watched the first bunch of teams in the mens long track pursuit on the big screen there. Then we walked around a bit, unfortunately nothing else opens until 3:00 so we went to Ikea... The kids enjoyed checking out Ikea. When we go to stores like that you see that we've been living in a third world country for the past number of years.

Last Saturday we walked around Campbell Valley park. It was beautiful weather! As we see virtually no wildlife in Papua, the kids thought the chipmunks and ducks were very cool.

Olympic Curling....

It was a raucous night! Just getting to the Curling event location was an olympic event! Parking at skytrain was a nightmare leaving us begging permission from Home Depot to park in their parking lot. They acquiesed... (free parking!) Then a squishy skytrain ride to meet Chris at his building on Robson, right where the CTV live broadcast booth was located. Then we walked around a bit and saw the flame; behind fences. Apparently, Vancouver is allowing the public to get a lot closer to the cauldron then other cities have allowed in past Olympics. They have since replaced the fence with plexiglass. We grabbed a bite to eat at a crammed restaurant in Gastown, sitting beside some members of the Russian delegation, who took photos of everything. Then we made our way to the incredibly long line-up for the Canada Line. The line went extremely fast and soon we were on our way. Then we took a bus for a couple blocks and then walked a few more blocks before getting into line to have our bags screened. Finally, we were in! A whole 53 minutes before the event was to begin! There was an atmosphere not unlike one you'd encounter at a hockey game. Foot stomping was a favourite way to through off opponents of Canada while they were making crucial shots. Canada beat Denmark 4-3, needing an extra end to do it. After that we made our way back to Robson where the streets were loaded with people cheering and having a good time. We viewed the nightly laser light show and then made our way to this teeny tiny shewarma place where we joined the line-up for sustenance. I don't think they could have made this place any smaller! But the food was delish! Finally we made our way to the sky train station and home. What a fun Olympic experience!

Christiaan's birthday party...

The very happy b-day boy!

Nearly 10 years ago, our oldest son made his entrance into the world. Tomorrow, D.V., he will celebrate his 10th birthday. We held his party on Friday after school.

Four friends came over and after sending them on a "treasure" hunt ending in chocolate bars all around, they made their own pizzas and headed to the park while I baked them. Then they ate them while watching the Olympic opening ceremonies (of course!). Good times!

Extracurricular stuff...

This is totally not related to anything... but the guy who made this was my parents neighbour in Vernon. I've met him a few times....

Ontario

This past week Hugo and I went to Ontario. First we spent Friday evening til Monday noon with my folks in Owen Sound. There was a lot of snow there! My brother and his wife were there and my sister and her hubby and new baby came down from Burlington for a night too. It was fun to catch up with everyone! On Monday Hugo and I headed out to Guelph and on the way stopped in to visit my sister Marsha at her new home. Got to meet some of her fun roommates too! Monday and Tuesday we had meetings with some of the MAF staff. And on Tuesday we got to have lunch with Clarence and Jeanette Togeretz! So fun to catch up with them! It was an incredibly quick trip but a very good one.