Water slides, beaches and more!

On day two of our trip, we spent a quiet day (it was Sunday) with the T's.  Who am I kidding - there were seven kids in the house - it wasn't quiet!!  The next day, the weather wasn't all that great, so we packed up the kids and drove down to the states.  I think it took us 10 minutes to get there!  Seriously!  We made our way south for another half hour and did some shopping - some of my boys inherited their mother's love for shopping, not mentioning any names.

Day three was movie/lake day.  We took the kids to see "Brave" and then went to the beach.  We planned on doing some cliff jumping, but the water was way down and that beach was closed, so we headed to another lake where the kids played in the sand/water while the adults chilled.

Day four - Cultus Lake Water Park.  I think this was the boys' favorite day of the trip.  We got to the park at about 10 or 10:30 am and stayed ALL day.  I think we left at about 6 or so.  The little boys (and Natalia) loved the "Colossal Canyon."  Okay, it was my favorite too.  You could have a maximum of 5 riders in the raft (or four adults) and when you rode with Lindsey, you were sure to have a blast!  He always made the raft shoot up the sides of the slide and it was super fun!!  Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of this day - too busy having fun!!!

The Vancouver Temple and Stanley Park

 Our first full day with the T's brought us to the Vancouver Temple.  It is on a quiet, unassuming street, but as soon as you pull up, you know that you are at a very special place.  Above is the crew, minus the photographer!!

 

Then, it was on to Stanley Park.  It was very beautiful walking around the park - it may however, have been too long a walk for some of the little people that we were with.

One of Tyler's favorite things to do - play in the sand (or dirt, if it is the only thing available).

 

                                            Jaren giving his little buddy a piggy back ride. 

                                        Four cool cats catching a breeze and taking a break!       

 

Teenagers!!!

In the middle of our journey around the park, the boys were inadvertently included in a very large water fight.  While I wasn't too thrilled about them getting all wet, they had a blast!!!  After Stanley Park, we headed to a take out Italian place and had a little picnic.  It was a great day!

First Leg of our Summer Vacation

Back in the "old days" when I used to sell Creative Memories (scrapbooking supplies), I used to tell people to start their albums with their recent photos and then work on the back log.  That is what I am going to do here.  So, on to our summer vacation!!

First stop:  Sky Trek Adventure Park in Revelstoke, BC

This shot is so you can see how high up the boys were - just the older boys were allowed to do this.  The younger two had a course just for them!!

 This is Linds patiently waiting for his turn and Kayden (below) traversing the double black (hardest part of the) course.

 Jaren looking so comfortable ;)   On the skateboard!!

 Jaren making his way through and Daddio just hanging out!! 

 Tyler made this little kid course look like a piece of cake! 

 Carter just rocked this course!

The boys had a great time at the aerial playground.  The big boys took a lot longer on their course, so Tyler and Carter go to play on a cool adventure play ground which had a zip line and everything.  Once they tired of that, we headed to the Enchanted Forest, which conveniently, is right next to the Park. 

 Carter was a bad boy!!

 Ty having a nap in Old Mother Hubbards' house. 

The Enchanted Forest was great for the younger boys.  I love the above pic of Tyler challenging the pirate (too bad the pic wasn't better).  Now, off to Abbotsford!!

Baptism!

Tyler and Linds on his special day!

Tyler was pretty excited to get baptized!  Uncle Nate, Auntie Steph, Wes, John and Mary made the long trek for this special occasion (we were so glad that they did).   Aunt Jackie, Ciana and Brock came too and so did lots of our friends.  It was a special day for Tyler and Uncle Nate even had the privilege (at least that is what I think he called it) of giving a talk. 

 Here is the ever growing Halladay family.  When I say growing, I mean taller, not in numbers!!!

Tyler's Birthday Party

It's great to be EIGHT!!!

This year (and last year too) Tyler chose to have his party at our local games place.  The kids had a great time, playing games, winning tickets, and choosing prizes at the end. 

As you can see here, Tyler and some friends are making a toast to the birthday boy!

YAY!  Lego and so many other fun gifts!! Thanks everyone!

Here Tyler and Carter are battling it out at the air hockey table.  Those two went hard at it, and were pretty darn good too!

Sparklers on cake? Nah...

After Tyler's birthday cake extravaganza, we (and I mean Dad, cause he is way more fun) decided to take the sparklers outside and use them as wands or whatever light up glowy things you can use them for.  I think the pictures turned out really cool.  I had my camera on the tripod for the sparkler pics, but the one with the glow ball wasn't.  Isn't it cool that Ty has a ghosty shadow to our left?  You've got to love his costume too - a little ninja/vampire/cowboy?

April FOOLS!

Every year the Halladay house is full of tricks and jokes on April 1.  Not only is it April FOOLS, but, it is also birthday to our one and only crazy man, Ty.

This year, Tyler got his toe nails painted during the night.  Carter woke up to a sweet fake mustache.  Kayden had chocolate smeared on his bathroom toilet - it was too funny, cause Tyler did it and it looked like a mammoth sat on his toilet.  Jaren had the best prank played on him.  His momma fashioned some dog poop out of yummy brownies and put it on his bed.  Lindsey called him in to his room and told him the bad news - the dog had pooped on his bed (it looked SO REAL).  Jaren was grossed out, but in his true character, tried to shove Carter in to the "poop."  Good thing Carter knew it was fake, otherwise I think we would have had a battle on our hands.  And yes, the boys ended up eating it after all was said and done.  YUCK.

Marker on faces came from Kayden falling asleep during General Conference and truly, I think Jaren just wanted one!