Being a Dad...

At 8:33am Sunday 8th May 2011 our lives changed forever. Our son Finn Noah Kennedy was born weighing in at 9lbs 4oz.

I now have a lifetime to work out how to be a good Dad but in the last three weeks (which have passed so quickly) I've learned a small number of things already.

1: Having a child is amazing.

2: Its hard work and afternoon naps are a welcome reality

3: Communication with Finn is a learning curve but mostly the cries seem to mean "Your not the mommy, bring me to a breast!" or "Be ready, I'm working on something and I WILL need my diaper changed"

4: Winding a baby can be a two directional process with VERY audible and on occasion physical results.

5: The natural human response to catch things is hard to overcome, even if the projectile is liquid or from well within a baby's body.

6: I'm thankful I'm not a squeamish person!

7: Having a child is AMAZING and we are loving it.

Chasing Winter

We've hit a run of warm (ish) weather the last few days, blue skies and sunshine. Spring has very much arrived and Winter has long gone. Not content with Winter leaving of its own volition we chased it off this weekend by heading around 140 miles North East to Bluey Lake, which is still well and truly frozen at this time of year.

Jaime's dad invited us to try Ice Fishing, not something I've ever tried. As it sounds Ice Fishing is fishing through ice. In this case Bluey lake had an ice surface which was several inches thick. The ice is not only thick enough to walk on but easily thick enough to support the weight of a quad or much heavier vehicle. An ice auger is used to drill the hole through the ice before dropping a fishing line into the water below.

Like most fishing, from there on its a waiting game, and this being far enough from civilisation it gave us the chance to enjoy the view and be in the great outdoors. While the sun was out it was warm and pleasant but as we were sitting on one massive piece of ice when the clouds closed in a little, the temperature dropped. A fire to warm us through and a few Thermos flasks of warm drinks soon resolved that as a problem.

Unfortunately we didn't have the most successful fishing day, but it was of no matter, it was a chance to experience outdoors somewhere and something new.

Spring has not arrived yet.

March 2011 has rolled around and I'm led to believe spring is supposed to have started. To be fair the level of rain we're getting in the Fraser Valley is much like the wet springs I've been used to in the UK, but the pattern is all thrown to pot with the odd down fall of snow.

As of today we have 9 weeks to go until Stottie's (as we've come to call the bump) due date. Jaime is still doing very well and is very active. Last weekend we headed out for a hike up in the hills behind Mission. We planned to drive up towards Davis Lake on a disused logging road and hike down to the lake itself on a trail we'd read about.

We should have paid more attention to the 70 or so spent shotgun shells beside the car as we got out. We should have made more note of the sounds of shooting. We should have taken the number of tailers for 4x4s, ATVs and Dirt Bikes as a sign this was not going to be our usual wander in the back woods, but we didn't. We carried on regardless.

We parked the car, ignored the garbage, the sound of constant gunfire, negotiated a stream of dirt bikes, and found the trail, where we clambered around a burnt out BMW 3 Series. Onward and downward towards the lake, we found the trails well worn by 4x4s. From here things seemed to quieten, the gun fire was muffled by the closed in trees, snow on the ground made for a perfect playground for the dogs although a little slippery for us. We encountered the occasional train of ATVs and heavily modified Toyota 4x4, but for the most part had a not to terrible hike down to the lake shore and at first glance it looks amazing, but then the eyes focus and you can see a bunch of vehicles further around the lake, the ears pickup their country music blaring through the peace. Non the less out came the camera to catch a shot of a mostly picturesc and flat lake.

We managed three or four shots between us when the grumble of ATV motors behind us started to get louder and louder and down the tail came a four strong troupe heading straight for the lake, presumable to show their skill on all terrain. The first made a long sweeping semi circle around a bush and through the first few feet of the lake, the second followed in a more direct line straight into the lake and stopped and sank. Amusing to watch, more amusing to listen to, lots of advice was bandied about, to push, to pull, to rev. The best information of the day coming from the rider himself "Well my old quad floated!" Recovery was not swift but did make for and entertaining if brief rest stop.

The arrival of three more quads who's riders dismounted and fired up their own pre-recorded country concert, breaking out the beer and smoking up a storm spurred us on to bushwhack out way back to the car away from man and vehicle.

A little snow adventure.

Jaime and I both enjoy snow boarding and haven't been for quite a few years now. This year being back in BC for winter would have been our first chance but with baby on the way the prospect of a bad wipeout on the slope seemed like risk we didn't want to take. Still wanting to go and enjoy some of the great outdoors in the winter we thought we would try snow shoeing, neither of is has tried this before and as we planned to treat ourselves to a night away we chose to try at Whistler.

We started our trip Thursday morning heading towards Vancouver and then joining the 99 Highway also known as the Sea to Sky Highway for which is it is very aptly named. The road follows the rocky cliff and mountainous coastline north of Vancouver with views of mountains descending into the sea all the way to Squamish. The names of places and land marks in Canada takes a little getting used to. There are mixes of native, descriptive and British and European place names. Squamish or Sḵwxwú7mesh as its written natively (yes that is a 7 in there) is named after the aboriginal who lived in the area. The journey also took us through or near names such as The Chief, Furry Creek, Lion's Bay, Eagle Run and Daisy Lake to name but a few.

Thursday around lunch time we arrived and donned our snow shoes for the first time, the snow depth we walked on was around four to five feet and easily soft enough to sink in to the waist with conventional foot wear. Initially it all seems very easy and to be honest it doesn't take long to get used to walking with the big frames on your feet. However the start of the first trail was straight and a steady decent, when we tried the first real climbs and decent then the learning began. Jaime proving herself very confident from the off and I blame the back pack for my lack of balance.

We managed about 4 hours on our first day, finding some trails which were still fresh and enjoying every minute of it as almost as much as the dogs who were having an absolute blast. For about every kilometre we walked the dogs must have run, jumped, bounded and fell at least three.

After the first day the dogs were exhausted and didn't move from their mat in the hotel room for hours and needed to be woken for a short evening walk.

Whistler is very popular ski resort, and this is prime ski season we were both a little envious we couldn't take a few trips down the slopes but were content that we could get a little more snow shoeing in on day two.

The weather took a turn for the wet on Friday but we fastened the shoes on again and managed to squeeze in another couple of hours before we loaded up the car and headed home and the dogs slept the whole three hours back to Mission.

A busy new year ahead

Happy New Year one and all.

Just like for everyone else December was a busy month for us. Christmas has come and gone, but being here through the whole festive season has allowed us to catch up with faces we have not seen for quite sometime.

In amongst the family gatherings and celebrations, Jaime managed to arrange a visit to her work (Animal Insight) for myself and two of our friends. We got a lot closer to the animals than I expected, feeding a raccoon by mouth and even patting a bear on the head. We could see the wolves from a distance but they are very shy and most stayed well back.

The common perception of a lot of the people I talk with in the UK is that we must be experiencing mass amounts of snow and constant sub-zero temperatures. Other than rain its been another fairly mild winter in the Fraser Valley, no where near as much snow as back in the UK, we've had some chilly temperatures which has allowed for some fairly thick ice and it turns out our dogs see it as new addition to their play ground.

2011 is now well on its way. Jaime and baby are both well and everything is good. We hope to get some snow shoeing in at the end of the month. Jaime and I are both big fans of Snowboarding but with baby on the way its a bit to much of a risk so we decided to try snow shoeing for the first time up in Whistler. The dogs will be coming with us as they love the snow.

Snow but not as you know it.

Just like friends and family in the UK we have been experiencing a cold snap here, with temperatures down to -11c we even had some snow. Before it started melting we had up to about 5 inches of snow. Now we have none at all, although this fabled worst winter in 40 years is still being talked about by a great number of people. Good luck to everyone in the UK, particularly those on the North who have been putting up with this for over two weeks now not the measly 1 week which is being reported internationally. Towns and City's outside of London do exist.

Mission, BC is where were currently living. In terms of longitude it is about in line with Guernsey and in general the weather hear is quite reminiscent of the UK, summer is generally warmer and although there is generally more snow in the winter (maybe not this year) temperatures are very similar. Mission is a small city, with a population a little under 35,000. Like a lot of towns and smaller cities here the municipality, local societies, and business groups organise parades, shows and fates, the sort of thing I grew up with in the UK but seem to have long since died out.

Friday night was the Mission "Candlelight Parade" for Christmas. The parade was 2 minutes walking distance from our home so we took a walk down to watch floats, trucks, emergency vehicles and so on all coming past. I think its something the UK could do with a little more of these days. Some things to build a bit of community.

The weekend had us delving into what is becoming a tradition with Jaime's family. Harvesting a Christmas tree. Yes I said harvesting. Numerous places have gone into the very long term investment of growing Christmas trees. Many harvest them on mass and have them sold at green grocers or supermarkets, but a large number still offer a pick your own setup. By "pick" I mean by use of a chainsaw. We were along as an extra pair of hands and a critical eye for a good tree.

My efforts were modest... next year I'm going for a whole foot tall tree.

Saturday afternoon was still chilly crisp and dry so we took a chance on a short hike with Jaime's dad and all the dogs and having a little camp fire cook-out, much like last time but much drier. We hope we can get a few more of these hikes in this year. We have an ambitions plan to try this while snow shoeing.

Fall is upon us.

Fall has arrived, and much like general Autumn weather in the UK the Fraser Valley is wet. Rain showers are lasting days at a time. The temperatures are still 10c and above but if they drop we may well get the really bad winter most people here are expecting. The extremely long range forecast people seem to believe in is based on "it was so mild last year, it means we'll have the worst winter for 40 years this year". I'm happy wait and see what happens.

There was a break in the rain yesterday afternoon and we took a short hike off into the woods to enjoy a camp fire and the wilds before the weather gets any worse. Fire cooked sausages, hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows. Not exactly nutritionally balanced but hey, warm and filling.

A nice warming Fall camp fire, not as easy to light as it looks when everything is wet.

Sausage on a sick - Fire roasted, perfect lunch.

Dessert!

For the British among you, you will have noticed the use of the word Fall instead of Autumn. Its just one of those little differences between the UK and here I'm adapting to. The biggest difference in North America and not just Canada is Size and Scale. Things are big, huge MAHOOSIVE! Canada itself is big enough for the UK to fit inside it 40 times. Food is big from fruit and veg to cuts of meat and not to mention prepared food.

An Obscene sandwich. OBSCENE!!

A difference which I only very occasionally miss from time to time is the lack of the pub culture from the UK. I don't mean the getting lairy falling face first in a gutter experience. I mean the meeting with friends and family for a few pints and putting the world to rights. Canada has a Coffee Shop culture where, dudes, guys, gents in fact people in general meet up day and night and socialise in the same way... but really I mean, you can't sort world peace and generally iron out the issues in the world over a Tim Horton's large double double and a maple dip doughnut. With that all said, the trade off's are much more in Canada's favour!