Gavin's Graduation Extravaganza!!!!!

This last weekend Elizabeth was in Vancouver to attend Gavin's Graduation. As you can see from the pictures Gavin is a "Distinguished Gentleman".

Elizabeth got this nice picture of the mountains on the way.
The family even got some bubbly to celebrate and of course Becka went way over board.
Everyone went out to Romano's Macaroni Grill for both Gavin and Elizabeth's grad. Looks like a fun time maybe too fun for Dad Cowley and i'm sorry I missed it.

Moving Day

The day after the wedding was moving day for Tricia and Justin. Usually I dread helping people move and avoid it at all costs but this time was different. I was really excited for them moving into their first house. We had a fair amount of help considering it was at 9:30am Sunday morning(Yes we skipped church). Our cousin Ben was the first person there bright and early with his coffee ready to go.

It was a fairly warm day out, I had to make due as best I could.
Justin's dad, Justin, My dad, and me. Just havin' a break before the KFC feast began. We were kind of tired, but considering we started at 9:30 and were done around noon is pretty good I would say.

Justin got a barely used mower from a guy at his work, so I gave it a test run in the front yard. Who would have thought I would volunteer to do chores, my parents are going to be baffled.

It was actually a really fun day and the Macdonald house is a really nice place. I hope they are happy there for years to come.

Ryan and Elisa's wedding

Are they a good looking couple or what. This last weekend was the wedding we've been waiting for a long time. There was talk of it like 3 years ago but April 22, 2006 was the day it all went down. It was worth the wait. It was a beautiful wedding at Bethel in Ladysmith, with the reception in Cowichan Bay at The Grand Oceanfront Resort. The Day was so sunny and warm, not a cloud to be found. In case some of you don't know Ryan and me have been best friends since childhood, and Elisa and Elizabeth the same. It's a pretty unique and awsome experience when best friends mary best friends. Anyways the day was a lot of fun, there were tons of laughs and a few tears but everyone got threw it. The pictures took place in Ladysmith at Transfer Beach. Same place as Our wedding almost 5 years ago.
Pretty in pink? I would say so. Especially that Blondie second from the left.

Another good picture of the bridesmaides, and of corse the Bride.

A Very Brokeback Weekend

This last weekend was Easter as you all know. We spent the weekend in Ladysmith with the Cowley's. Becka and Gavin were also home for the weekend, all we were missing was Phillip. The weather was rather miserable but I did happen to get this picture of a double rainbow outside Chateau Cowley. I know it's sort of brokeback but I think it's pretty cool. The Easter dinner was amazing as all festive dinners are by Mom and Dad Cowley's. The turkey was moist and supple, the potatoes were mashed and creamy, the stuffing was spiced and the corn..... well the corn was as nasty as always to me but everyone else loved it.

The sign of a good meal is having traces of it stuck in your teeth for hours and hours.

On Sunday morning Bethel Church had a small Easter contata. The small kids did a few songs followed by short dramatization of the Easter story. It was good and sort of funny at times too, except for the 10 minutes of absolute awkwardness due to technical difficulties. All in all it was a really relaxing weekend and we had a lot of laughs.

Ist Baseball Game Of 2006

Thursday was our first baseball game of the year against our arch nemesis Colwood. These guys really get under our skin with their cockiness and their tight baseball pants and their jerkiness. Anyways we creamed 'em 23 -12. Elizabeth played well at first base looking lovely as ever.

As for me, I hit my first homerun of the season and trotted around the bases like a gazelle but was out of breath for the next two innings. We had lots of fun and the team should be lots of fun like usual.

This weekend is Easter weekend so we'll be in Ladysmith enjoying the festivities. Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter.

The Wedding Party

Here is the lovely wedding party for Ryan and Elisa. Less than 2 weeks until the big day

More Stag/Stagette Fun

I said I would update with more pics from the celebrations so I'll put a bunch of pics on the site. The stag was an awesome time with awsome friends. We had 19 people at TNT Paintball in Metchosin. The day started at 9:00am and went until 4:00pm, It was definitely an early start to a Saturday of running and gunning. We had a good group of guys who all knew each which made the day even better. After the paintball we got cleaned up and went to The Four Mile Pub for dinner. Again we had close to 20 people. After a long day of paintballing we worked up some kind of appetite. We had lots of laughs and it was all in all a pretty tame night, more than I can say for the the other party that day(that's a story for another time).
The stagette was also on Saturday mixed in with a shower for Elisa in Ladysmith. The gals had a busy day which combined a scavenger hunt, lingerie shower, regular shower in Ladysmith and karaoke. First was the scavenger hunt which Elizabeth planned and set up. She did an amazing job hiding clues at a school, Tim Horton's, Home Depot, Home Outfitters, and other places. The girls had to race around in their cars to all these places.
Tricia, Sarah, and Rayael on the move.
Michelle threatening the other girls
A couple of Barbie dolls.
The girls trying to figure out the next clue
I think Elisa's a bit confused as to the whole UNDER wear situation.
Elizabeth giving some lessons to Elisa on proper cake cutting etiquette.
Elisa and Angela belting out some little ditty.

Ryan's Stag

Click picture to view larger. I will update and tell you more later tonight.

Houston Vs. Seattle

These last two days I was in Seattle watching a basketball game with Elizabeth's Dad and Brother. We left on Tuesdays morning in Phil Jr's car. It was a gorgeous day with blue sky everywhere. The trip was going great until the car broke down in downtown Seattle. The power steering fluid was leaking out everywhere. We had planned on coming back to Vancouver to stay the night but we had to stay in Seattle. It was O.k. because we ended up staying in a nice little place called the "Mediterranean".
We had the car fixed by a really nice guy at "Taylor Brakes". Who Also ended up Giving us a tour of the area with his wife. They showed us a burger shop called "Dick's" which has been there for 35 years. They dropped us off at our Hotel and said we could call them if we needed anything at all.
Anyways the main reason we went was the game. The game was O.k. except for the fact that the one person I wanted to see was not only injured but not even in the building(T-MAC, AKA Tracy Mcgrady, AKA the greatest player ever!!!!). But the experience was awesome. Key Arena was pretty cool because they let you go right down to the court if you're early enough and watch the players warm up and take pictures. We were standing ON the actual court!!!!!!!!!
Above is Phil and Phil outside the arena.Stromile Swift warming up. In the background one of the 50 greatest players Patrick Ewing(Now an assistant coach).
The new Twin Towers. 7'5" You Ming and 7' Dikembe Mutombo having a laugh before the game.
Me after the game just Chillin'.

The Big 5 0

This last weekend we had a birthday party for Elizabeth's dad. He's 50 believe it or not. Lots of family and friends were there and it was a total surprise. We had the celebration at The Lighthouse restaurant in Nanaimo and it's a nice place right in the harbour. There was probably about 40 people, most from the church or the Cowley clan.
He is a true teacher captivating the masses with knowledge and wisdom. When he speaks we listen, knowing that a man blessed with such years is truly an insightful man

First wedding shower of the year

With Ryan and Elisa's wedding coming up soon, things are really happening. This last weekend was the first shower at Glad Tidings. It went well and everyone had a good time. I personally don't think she got enough used wooden candy dishes from the little old ladies but oh well. Only four weeks until the big day. It should be fun.

Happy 25th Elizabeth

This past weekend we went up to the Cowley house to celebrate Elizabeth's birthday. It was kind of a late celebration because of Elizabeth's busy schedule. But we had a great time just hanging out and having an awsome turkey dinner. 25 and has a degree in nursing, how proud am I. I hope this next year is a great one and should bring much change.

PG 13 but kinda cool

I was playing around with Pohotoshop and came up with this. I thought it was kinda cool.

The New Chateau Macdonald

Well this has been a great week with great news. Tricia and Justin are officially the proud owners of their first home. And what a home it is. It looks amazing inside and out especially for a starter home. We looked at a bunch on the MLS that they were looking at and none were as nice as this one. They also didn't have to move out of town where most of the houses they looked at were. I think they made a great decision with this house. It was on the market for I think one or two days and they liked it so much they put an offer in and two hours later it was approved. Congratulations to you guys I hope your really happy there for as long as you live there.

I took these pictures on a cloudy day so it might not look as nice as on a bright summers day. The second picture is what it should look like on a sunny day..... In July......about 25 degrees.....Eating hamburgers in the back yard after a long day at the beach sun tanning and your all hot and covered in sand and your skin is red from the overexposure and your car seats are burning hot from the scortching sun but once you get in the car and turn on the air conditioning and feel that cool breeze on your face you just want to get out and hop into a crystal clear pool with all your friends and play marco polo until the sun goes down casting that burnt orange glow across the sky and you settle into your patio chair with a cup of hazelnut vanilla coffee and laugh the night away......I miss you sun........I miss you summer.

I also took this picture from the back of the house. It just sort of gives you a different angle on the house