Another boat....WAVES!!!!

After the Buddhist Temple (see previous post) we made our way into Steveston and to Gary Point Park. Our kids love to play in water and so we scouted out a perfect beachy area and set up. It was the perfect place: beautiful sand, hardly anyone else, beautiful drift wood, and a delightful breeze. The best part was that we were quite close to a marina so all of the boats would pass by. As soon as we saw a boat we would yell to each other and run into the water because we knew we were going to get big waves. It was so fun. From trying to jump over them, trying to stand up in them, to finally giving up and diving into them, it was so much fun for all of us. After a few hours (and getting quite a bit of sun) we walked into the village for some well earned ice-cream. It was the perfect family daytrip.

Buddhist Temple

On Friday morning we headed out to Richmond for the day. Our first stop was the Buddhist Temple. We like to give our kids a wide range of experiences and so we talked to them a little about Buddhism, explained to them about what would be happening at the temple and that we could not be a distraction to those that were worshipping. This experience really showed us how much Ben is growing up. He took it so seriously and I have to say that I haven't seen him "walk" so much in a long time. He's always running around everywhere but he knew he had to be quiet and well behaved. He also loved the fact that the gardens and the temple reminded him of one of his favourite movies "Kung Fu Panda." Then he saw a panda and said "There's Po." It was great. Hannah had a different type of experience. You could see the wheels turning and so I tried to figure out what she was thinking. I think she thought that us being at a temple meant we were doing something a christian shouldn't do. I explained that there was nothing wrong with it and that it was good for us to learn about other religions and that would help us understand when we talked to these people about God. You could tell she was really thinking about it. I told her as long as we aren't worshipping, it's ok. Here are some pics of our time there.

This is Ben and "Po."
This is the beginning stage of a lotus flower and then next one is the end stage. I thought it was beautiful.

That evening when I was saying our prayers with the kids Benjamin prayed "Thank you God that I don't have to go to a temple to worship you and that I can talk to you and worship you anywhere." That was awesome.

VBS

What a whirlwind of a week. Last week I directed our VBS. It was a crazy busy week and I was exhausted, mostly because the week prior I spent setting up. My decorating boss kept me mega busy but I couldn't have done it without her. Thank you so much Jen. All of the kids had a great time and I think they even learned a few things. I asked my kids what their favourite things were and Hannah loved the Bible Story Station and the visit from the Reptile Guy. Ben loved to sing and dance. I have to say it was quite an experience getting to see the snakes the reptile guy brought. I figured I would never have the chance to get up close and personal again so I wrapped a 90lb python around my neck. Crazy!!! Another highlight of the week was the missions project we had. Because our theme was set in the Bayou we decided to collect money to send down to Louisiana for people who are still homeless because of Hurricane Katrina. We raised $417.00. I was very proud of the kids.