Monday, March 19, 2007

Back from Pender Island

We were on Pender Island, in the Gulf Islands for the past week, and we just got back yesterday. It was a really great time. We had a whole week to just do whatever we wanted, and it was such an awesome holiday! The cabin we rented (I say "cabin".... it was more like a house!) was beautiful... and it had a hot tub! We went in it at least twice a day.. although by the end of the week, it wasn't such a big attraction.. I think we actually got sick of it! :) But it was so nice to have! We went in it almost every morning, every night, and several afternoons too! Ayana and Moses loved it too. Ayana called it the "big bubble water", and Moses loved to sit and splash whoever he could reach!

The house has 2 bedrooms, plus a loft, so Megan, Josh, and I slept in the loft, and Ayana and Moses shared the second bedroom. The only thing was, we only had one play pen for Moses, and Ayana had to sleep in the bed.... she was terrified! She's never slept in a bed (except for the first week back home, before we got her crib) and she hates them, unless she's with somebody. It would take her hours to fall asleep... she would sometimes still be awake at 11! She finally got over it,and got used to the bed, but it was so sad at first when she was crying at telling us to come back... my mom had to stay with her for a good 20 minutes before she would settle down.


Apart from that though, it was a great experience. We went to the frisbee golf course (soo much fun! We went twice, and the holes 19-27 were killer!! Up and down huge hills.... we almost died by the end!) We also spent a lot of time on the beach.. the views were gorgeous! It really is a beautiful place! We had picnicks all the time... just a great holiday for everyone.. and Moses and Ayana loved going to our favourite beach. It had pebbles, instead of sand, but there were actually really cool rocks.. I came home with quite a few in my pocket! All different colours and sizes.. I found the smoothest one.. it feels like glass! Ayana and Moses LOVED throwing rocks in the water.. and at us too! But my parents quickly put an end to that!


The island had a little shopping center, called the Driftwood Center, and it had a grocery store, a bakery, a book store, an eye clinic, a souvenir store, and a gas station. We loved going there, and we got movies from the gas station almost every night. The book store was really cool, because the front half had new books, and the whole back half had used books... shelves and shelves of them. We made quite a haul there! :)


They also had these really cool craft angels at the book store, called African AIDS Angels. They're $5 each, and all the money goes towards four different orphanages and/or organizations in Africa, working with adults and children who have AIDS. The angels are each given a traditional African name, in memory of a child who died from AIDS. They're so sweet. Me and my mom both bought one, and mine is called Selema, which means peace. They're all handmade, and they're actually really beautiful. I think you can find out more about them on this website: www.wolfweb.ca/angels ... I hope that works! It's really cool, because it was started by these seven people who went to Africa, and wanted to make a difference, and in the last 4 years they've raised over $100,000, just by selling these little angels! You should check it out. :) It's a really cool project!


Anyway, we just got home last night, and we're sad to be home, but happy that we still have another whole week of spring break ahead of us! I love having a two week spring break! :D