to canada, and beyond!

I've realized that I use the "Ready? Set. GO!" a lot. I use it in videos, so Blake knows when to start performing. I use it to mentally prepare myself for something like putting on a swimsuit in order to have fun, rather than to feel badly about myself (side note: I was the only adult female actually IN the pool at the hotel I mentioned in a previous post, and I had an absolute blast with Blake and Reagan, a cousin's daughter). I also use it to prepare you. I just finished processing over 60 pics, many of which I'm going to post and talk about so you have context.

Ready?

Set.

GO!

Reese featured this on her blog, and I stole it. I am not ashamed. Mom and Dad came for a visit in May, and Grammie snagged some double baby time. It's just a beautiful and unusually GOOD photo of three typically beautiful folks. Vesper has Grammie's iPhone. All she does is hit the home key, but she's dangerously close to figuring out how to unlock Apple devices. Terrifying.

The next story comes BEFORE the photo. Dad asked for some help with his logo. As in, helping him find where he put it on his computer, and possibly some help with the file itself so he could submit to an online list of home experts in Yellowstone County. After finding some pretty low-resolution files and asking about specific file types, he said, "Yeah, I remember one of the scans being REALLY big. It took up a lot of space. Is that what you need?"

"No, Dad. The company that made your logo should have the original .EPS file. Can I contact them?"

"Oh," Dad says. "Mike Mahoney did the original. I have it right here." And he handed me this:

I found the high-resolution version (a scan, as he said) I needed, made the changes HE needed, and proceeded to save it in a few obvious places on his computer so one or both of us could find it again. He proceeded to find me all the examples of how it USED to be done for business cards, envelopes, and letterhead. Cut and paste was a very, ah, analog affair. It is amazing to me the amount of progress that's occurred in my own lifetime that I'm largely unaware of.

Dad gave Blake a very old digital camera (very old digital camera = circa very late 1990s or very early 2000s), since Blake's shown an interest in photography. He owns the copyright on this one.

And now, some context before the next stack of pics. We went to Canada to meet ALL of Rob's family, and that is nothing to sneeze at. First, we were in Peachland for a Bedford family reunion, and lo, there are many Bedfords. I had a cheat sheet (thanks to a long conversation with my immediate in-laws about the family tree a few months ago), which seemed to impress everyone. I volunteered for something that ended up with me putting a ridiculously large marshmallow in my mouth and attempting to name all the people I knew.

There were several "Thing 1" and "Thing 2," but with the enormous marshmallow (I could have used it as a pillow), I don't think anyone could tell. I met scads of folks I'd only previously known through Facebook, and it was overwhelming and wonderful to finally put faces to names. The amount of blending on that side of the family, and of which I'm a direct beneficiary, is incredible to behold. I didn't get many pictures of that time (Vesper and I were fighting, due to her abnormally early waking hours and my desire to put a pillow over my head to drown out her noise). Blake was surrounded with a glory of cousins and was shocked that he had GIRL COUSINS! He got stung by a wasp, jumped on the two trampolines, was flung from the merry-go-round, and pretty much had the best time ever.

So, there are five Bedford brothers, all with children, some with grandchildren. This is Dan's family (he is the youngest Bedford brother and has no grandchildren... yet!): I would pretend I could confidently name them all without help from Rob, but that is a lie. I know there's a Ben, a Noah, a Levi, a Linnea (Lynn-EH-ah), and his wife's name is Mary-Ann. Ta da!

The Bedford family has awkward "before" photos, too! I BELONG HERE.

Part of the family reunion involved wearing attire that easily identified which brother's family you were part of. I think the Dan Bedford family skipped that part, and we, the Yankees, opted for a red, white, and blue coordination rather than match-matchy-matchy. I even found a Star Wars shirt for Blake in the correct color scheme.

The much more flattering "after" photo.

This child is just remarkably pretty. I would say that I am biased, but strangers regularly stop me to tell me so, which makes me believe it must simply be true.

It was freezing. I wasn't even tempted to join him, and this was before my pledge, anyway.

He lasted all of 15 minutes in this pool (in a narrow valley, the camp where we were was significantly cooler than the rest of the town - I got a sunburn in mere moments on a deck in town, but the camp was heavily shaded most of the day).

During an informal church service on Sunday, all the family members who had been on any sort of mission trip recently shared about their experiences. Vesper simply lent Bethany moral support, as Bethany shared about her short term stint with an oral surgical team in Guatemala. She was with the pharmacy part of the team, since she is a real, live doctor. Doctor Auntie Bip, that's what we call her.

We got a little bit of one-on-one time with a few of the cousins, including Cherie, her husband Damian, and their sweet boy, Declan. It was their deck that sunburnt me, but I was so happy to just be warm that I did not care! Peachland is a lovely temperate little paradise in the mountains, on a lake, and with weather warm enough to grow - surprise! - peaches, among other fruits that we were there too early to partake in. Rob's not-so-secret hope is that I will fall in love with the area and demand we move the family. I told him I could fall in love with almost anywhere that provided us a living.

Except the deep South. I think I would melt.

My boys, in the lake.

How Blake spent much of the next portion of the drive, where we journeyed to Vancouver to visit the Taylor side of the family. It rained for most of our time there, so we went to Ikea (spent almost nothing!), and did important things like stock up on chocolate Smarties and ketchup chips. I finally got to meet Rob's grandparents (Vesper's middle name honors his grandmother, Eileen), and Blake went from a glory of cousins to one cousin in particular who loved all the same things: Spiderman, Legos, Super Mario Brothers, Star Wars. This might have been his favorite trip of all time, made even better by the fact that he missed the entire last week of school for it!

Sleepless in Canada. This little turd and I were not on ideal terms for most of the trip. Even in the car, she wouldn't really nap. Unfortunately, this makes her just like her mother.

Selfie of the parental units. We look so cool and out of focus.

A snap of the sleeping Blake. When I showed my mother these pics, she exclaimed, "OH! That seat goes back! He could have laid down!" She had very graciously loaned us the van (more comfortable and roomy than either of our cars) for the trip, but had neglected to tell us ALL of the features until we got back.

We had a grand time, and I look forward to getting to know some of the adult cousins even better, for they seem like they could be kindred spirits. Peachland is also home to some impressive vineyards, so I'd like to go back and get to actually tour some. I'm sure Rob won't mind.