John Harvey Photo

June 2017

Go to Slide Show Smaller Images Love the Start of Summer


David and Stephen's Wedding

Saying VowsWedding Cake
Who doesn't like being invited to a wedding!  Stephen and David were kind enough to include us in their special day.  They rented Heritage Hall on Main Street and setup the space for a service followed by a dinner.


Helen and I married about 9 year ago and there are a lot of things we didn't think of at our wedding.  Stephen and David had an activity table for kids (and the young at heart) to entertain themselves if the traditional sit and chat wasn't going to do it.

Claira With An Origami BoxHelen At WeddingNara And David At Craft Table

Xander And Eric Being SillyEric As Photographed By XanderNara Looking At Dead Bee
 
Friends Of The Groom And Groom
Having kids does change your social calendar - now you need to fit in swimming classes and Chinese classes and vacations often involving taking your kids to see relatives.  I must admit I've been remiss in planning trips with friends so it was nice to see so many friends together under one roof.



Family Portrait
Time for updated family portraits!  We were all dressed up fancy and David Schaub kindly took our picture.

Family Goofying Around
 

Bike and Beach with Dad


Biking In Jericho Park
Claira started biking a few weeks ago.  Trying to find a good place for a 4 year old to bike is a bit of a trick - flat and wide, but not grass.  No too much traffic and some interest for kids.  We parked at Lorcano beach and then biked back toward the city along the sea wall.

Nara Pushing Up HillHigh Five For Good Ride

Our goal was the playground at Hastings Mill Park.  I bike by sometimes and I noticed they recently renovated the playground with new climbing structures.

Claira Climbing On LogsClaira Resting On Logs
We played on the structures and had a small picnic lunch.  Having lunch next to playground is hard for kids because you want them to wash their hands before eating, but they want to play as soon as possible.  Every bite might be their last if the slide looks too attractive.



After playground time, we got back on our bikes and rode back to Lorcano.  The tide was out enough to expose the huge sand beach so the kids went down for a walk in the warm sand. 

Claira At BeachNara At Beach

Claira With Her StickWalking In Warm WaterNara Wrapped In Seaweed
 
We were home in time to pick up Mom from work .

Nara Graduates Chinese School Kindergarten

The kids go to Chinese classes on Saturdays.  The classes are set up like a regular school - two years of Kindergarten, 7 years of elementary and 5 years of highschool.  At the end of "Grade 12", you should have decent reading and writing skills.  After completing your two years of Kindergarten, you get a mini-graduation ceremony complete with gown and cap!
Nara Grad PoseNara With Claira In Grad GownNara Receiving Certificate

Nara had a great time and I think here sister was proud of her!

Happy Birthday Claira!

Claira Climbing
We asked the kids what they wanted for their birthdays and both kids said they wanted to go to Adventure Zone at Granville Island.  It's the kind of place you best book months in advance or you might have to compromise on your dates so we booked and started invites.


The party is pretty simple - the kids climb for about 45 minutes, eat and then go to the arcade for the last half an hour.  The climbing area has a multi-story slide, ball pits and lots of places to climb.  The kids seem to like taking the balls from the bottom and hauling them all they way to the top where they store them.  Near the end, they push all the balls down and slide with them.

Haley About To SlideNara About To SlideTristan At Bottom
 
James ClimbingMarcus Climbing
 
Lunch is usually pizza from the local pizza place + veggies and dip and fruit.  We let the kids pick a treat at their lunch - Nara picked cheesies (her favorite) and Claira picked marshmallows.  Helen did a great job decorating the cake.

Pom Poms And UnicornsClaira Sipping Juice


After lunch, it's arcade time.  The machines are a mix of old and new - digital and mechanical. 

Playing Ball Tossing GamesClaira Following Game

Nara Doing Fishing GameMarcus Fruit Ninja

Doors Open Vancouver

After a morning of birthday party, Claira was pretty wiped.  Nara and I went on a little adventure to doors Open Vancouver.  It's a city organized event where they give little tours of buildings that don't always give tours.  It's free and fun so Nara and I went for a bus ride to check it out.

Our first visit was the Marine building on Hastings Street.  This building has an Art Deco design and the city provided a guide who talked about the features. 

Marine Building Reflected In GlassView From Second StoryNara With Revolving DoorsNara In Marine Building

Elevator Doors Opening
Apparently only the bottom two floors are fancy.  The elevators look spectacular. Once you get higher in the building, apparently it's just regular office buildings.



Pipe Organ At BackIn Church
We still had time so I had hoped to tour the bell tower in Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary - one of the largest churches downtown.  We got there just after the last tour left, but we were still invited inside to enjoy the architecture.   The insider reminded me of Skookumchuck Church of the Holy Cross, a small church in Skatlin, a native community far from Vancouver


I didn't know at the time, but this appears to be the last year that Doors Open Vancouver ran. 


Pipe Organ At Back
Tags: Doors Open Vancouver, place of worship, Vancouver
Claira With Her Stick
Altitude: 2m (6 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: beach, stick
Haley About To Slide
Person: Haley
Saying Vows
Person: Stephen
Tags: wedding
Walking In Warm Water
Location: Go To...
Tags: beach, stick, Vancouver
Nara In Marine Building
Claira Climbing
Person: Claira
Biking In Jericho Park
Tags: biking
Nara About To Slide
Person: Nara
Claira Sipping Juice
Claira Climbing On Logs
Altitude: 6m (19 feet)
Location: Go To...
Nara Doing Fishing Game
Pom Poms And Unicorns
Tags: birthday cake
Claira At Beach
Location: Go To...
Tags: beach, freighter, stick, Vancouver
Claira Following Game
Person: Claira
James Climbing
Person: James
Nara At Beach
Location: Go To...
Wedding Cake
Tags: cake, wedding
Nara And David At Craft Table
Claira With An Origami Box
Person: Claira
Nara With Revolving Doors
Tags: door, Doors Open Vancouver, stained glass, Vancouver
Claira Resting On Logs
Altitude: 9m (29 feet)
Location: Go To...
Elevator Doors Opening
Nara Looking At Dead Bee
Family Goofying Around
Person: Claira, Helen, John, Nara
Nara Receiving Certificate
Person: Nara
Tags: academic dress
Friends Of The Groom And Groom
Person: Abby, Claira, David, Eric, Gabi, Haley, Helen, Jeremy, Jesse, Jin, John, Michael, Nara, Stephen
Marine Building Reflected In Glass
Tags: building, reflection, Vancouver
Playing Ball Tossing Games
Person: James
Xander And Eric Being Silly
Person: Eric, Xander
High Five For Good Ride
Altitude: 5m (16 feet)
Location: Go To...
In Church
Tags: Doors Open Vancouver, place of worship, Vancouver
Marcus Fruit Ninja
Person: Marcus
Nara Wrapped In Seaweed
Location: Go To...
View From Second Story
Nara Pushing Up Hill
Person: Nara
Tags: biking
Marcus Climbing
Person: Marcus
Tristan At Bottom
Helen At Wedding
Person: Helen
Nara With Claira In Grad Gown
Person: Claira, Nara
Tags: academic dress
Family Portrait
Person: Claira, Helen, John, Nara
Nara Grad Pose
Person: Nara
Tags: academic dress
Eric As Photographed By Xander
Person: Eric
Tags: Vancouver(6), academic dress(3), Doors Open Vancouver(3), beach(3), stick(3), wedding(2)
People: Nara(8), Claira(7), Helen(4), Eric(3), John(3), Haley(2)
From: John Harvey Photo > Blogs for 2023 to 2005 > June 2017

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