Light the Night Walk 2011

As many of you will remember from last couple of years Nancy and Wendy have raised funds for the charity The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, in memory of Bob. The culmination in October is the Light the Night walk to honor and support people battling blood cancers. This was the third time the family attended the walk and this year we had Kris and Emily join us along with a number of local friends.

Light The Night Walk events are evenings filled with inspiration and the carrying of illuminated balloons - specifically with gold balloons in memory of loved ones lost to cancer was an amazing sight. Hundreds of people turned out last night and was certainly an evening to share memories.

Later in the evening, we all headed to the Player's house for a post-party when Nanaimo bars were on offer and many friends to chat with.

More Emily and Kris Fun

With Emily and Kris in town, enjoying the sights and sounds of the city - especially with good times being had while I am working at the office. As they are updating their travel blog, it saves me time by sharing their blog posts than creating my own. Check out this link which has some great photos, including Sam swimming.

http://jumpedupholiday.blogspot.com/2011/10/enjoying-sunshine-in-vancouver.html

Auntie Emily and Uncle Kris Arrive in Vancouver

Auntie Emily and Uncle Kris arrived in the early hours of Friday morning (4.32am to be precise) from Honolulu and I picked them up, while being half asleep. The highlight of the first twenty-four hours for them seems to have been meeting Sam for the first time in person. Sam was particularly happy with his gifts from his new housemates, which included a T-Shirt from Australia (see photo) and a Hawaiian outfit for next months holiday.

It is great having Emily and Kris stay with us and we celebrated in style with brunch at Cafe Zen, where they serve the best eggs benedict on the planet. This was followed by a leisurely stroll along Spanish Banks beach with a view of the city in the background. The Stanley Park seawall was on the agenda today and then a wander around the shops in Gastown, including a fantastic used book store, which was literally filled to the brim with books - certainly not stroller friendly for Sam.

More adventures and stories to follow in the next couple of weeks with Em and Kris in town.

Canadian Thanksgiving 2011

This weekend is my third Canadian Thanksgiving in Vancouver and obviously Sam's first, which was spent with the family - Scott M (and new girlfriend) as well as Betty. It was low key event, with a harvest full of food and wine at Scott's apartment and a good time had by all. Sam certainly enjoyed himself, although we had beef instead of turkey, so his first taste of turkey will have to wait.

Anyway, what are Canadians thankful for? The American thanksgiving holiday is famous for the celebration of the Pilgrim Fathers and the Mayflower ship landing on the East coast of the USA. Many Canadians are unsure on why they are thankful and receive a public holiday, especially as I ask a few of them the question at this time of the year. Thanks to Wikipedia, I discovered that the history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean. Frobisher's Thanksgiving was not for harvest but homecoming. He had safely returned from a search for the Northwest Passage, avoiding the later fate of Henry Hudson and Sir John Franklin who died.

I forgot to get some photos of our thanks giving meal, so enclosed is a recent photo of Sam enjoying one of his meals.

Sam's First Live Footy Match

Today, Sam experienced his first footy match live and in person, the Vancouver Whitecaps were playing against the Portland Timbers. Vancouver Whitecaps were playing in their new stadium with a retractable roof for the first time and they introduced it with a massive fanfare. In addition to the retractable roof, there were internal covers that block off the upper deck, and seats that pull out to field level to create a more intimate setting. Also the stadium has a new HD giant screen which is only second in size to the screen at the Dallas Cowboys stadium.

All of this stuff received positive reviews, but the Whitecaps look like a side that simply didn't have enough for this season. It was the visiting Portland Timbers who spoiled the Whitecaps’ B.C. Place launch. The Timbers won with a solitary goal, which was impressively taken from the edge of the penalty area.

Sam (with his head phones) watched the majority of the first half with wonderment, especially at the big screen. By the second half he was snoozing away, but awoke for the final ten minutes.

Sam Fix for September

Sam has now acquired his first high chair, so he can share his meals with the rest of the family at the dinner table. As you can see from the photos he is really pleased about this development especially as he is now eating solid food. Sam has swimming lessons on Tuesday lunchtimes and he has become quite adept at dunking his head underwater. I had the pleasure of accompanying him last week and good fun was had by all. At playgroup, Sam has discovered his first set of wheels and seems to enjoy the need for speed.

Spruce Meadows Event

The eyes of the horse jumping world were focused on Spruce Meadows in Calgary over the past weekend. This is because the best athletes from the world's top show jumping nations competed for top prize money and international acclaim during the Spruce Meadows 'Masters'. Well, that is what I was told when I was informed that I would be attending the event from Friday through to Sunday as the Mercedes-Benz representative. Mercedes-Benz was one of the main sponsors for event and so I was asked to show my face.

Apart from attending the horse jumping events and hosting Mercedes-Benz customers, I was involved in meeting the riders and awarding some of the winners with their medals. At the Saturday dinner, I rubbed shoulders with a number of dignitaries and sporting folk, including the British Commissioner to Canada and the new Superman actor. The evening highlight was also seeing the Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers performing the theme from the Great Escape. My Sunday afternoon was spent watching the final "Masters" event, whilst being sat next to Bill Gates of Microsoft fame.

Sam Over Six Months

Sam is over six months old now and recently had his six-month checkup with the Doctor. He cruised through his injections with only a small whimper and the verdict was that he was fully healthy. He weighs in at over 19 pounds and is in the 75th per cent on the weight chart - the kid never misses a meal!

Sam has a new play area in the apartment designated by a colourful play mat with a couple of new toys to keep him entertained and developing. We needed to distract him as he discovered the Xbox on/off button with its green light.

Nancy Crosses the Tri Line

Sunday morning was an early start for Nancy as she woke at 4.45am to head off for the the start line of her triathlon. As many of you will know, Nancy has been training for the last fourteen weeks in the three disciplines of swimming, running and cycling with Team in Training, who are raising funds for a cancer charity. Nancy raised nearly $2000 for the cause and the overall group raised $40,000, so thank you to everyone that sponsored her.

After her early morning wake-up call, Nancy was ready and waiting for the starting gun on Second Beach in Stanley Park. By the time, myself and Sam had woken up, had breakfast and walked to the beach we made it just at the moment that Nancy was finishing her 750 meter ocean swim. We heard the announcer call her name and watched her transition to her bike for the second stage. There was perfect weather for such a feat of endurance with wall to wall sunshine, but the ocean was still cold. Sam and I continued to cheer the other competitors, whilst we waited for Nancy to return from her 20 KM cycle ride around Stanley Park. We cheered Nancy as she returned her bike for the last stage of a 5 KM run and then made our way to the finishing line. Admittedly, Sam had a snooze at this point but I woken him up just in time to see his Mum cross the line at just over two hours, and pick up her medal.

Great performance by Nancy as she beat her estimated time by five minutes and we are so proud of her. Sam made sure that his Mum received a big hug at the end, as you can see from the photo. So what next for Nancy's sporting prowess?

Sam Flies for the First Time

This past weekend Sam, Nancy and Wendy took a trip to sunny Manitoba to attend the 85th birthday of Leona Foster. Leona is the older sister of Bob and lives in Winnipeg. This was not only Sam's first flight but while he was away he had his six-month birthday. According to reports Sam was particularly fussy and loud for the first ten minutes of the flight and didn't initially make friends with the other passengers, but once the plane had taken off he settled in. The weekend involved visiting all the extended Marks family and for a number of Sam hugs. Sam has now officially started his world travels and he has Maui to look forward to in November.

Mum and Dad Holiday in Vancouver

As per my last blog post, Mum and Dad arrived into Vancouver for a week's holiday and to delight in all what Vancouver had to offer. This was their first time in the city since our wedding in 2008 and it was also their first time meeting Sam in person. We certainly filled their time with various activities, including walks round the seawall, a visit to the 9 O'Clock gun, visit to Gas Town, cycle rides, swimming with Sam, which meant that everyone was tired come the end of the day.

Some of the highlights were a visit to the top of Grouse Mountain, where we saw a lumber jack show, bird of prey display, a ride on the mountain chairlift to the peak and also seeing the resident bears - one of them aptly named "Grinder". On the same afternoon, I took my parents to the Capilano suspension bridge for the adrenalin rush of crossing the valley like Indiana Jones. The new Cliff Walk was also open for our visit and so we had an excellent experience.

A funny little moment was at the local fuel station, where Dad and I were pumping up the tires up on our bicycles, and waiting for the air supply was a gentleman with his Rolls Royce Phantom. Dad was fascinated and helped the driver with his car, all in his bicycle helmet!

Mum and Dad enjoyed their Vancouver visit, especially meeting Sam, and have now moved onto Washington DC for the second leg of their holiday. Ross, Laura and kids have the privilege of their company for the next week.

The Egyptian Head has Arrived (oh Mum and Dad here as well)

My Mum and Dad arrived safe and sound into Vancouver on Wednesday evening, following the ten and half hour flight from terminal five at Heathrow.

After many others (Emily and Anthony) turned down the opportunity to bring out one of my prized possessions from the UK, my parents provided me with the pleasant surprise of unveiling my Egyptian Head from their bags.

I bartered for this statue back in August 2000 in Cairo and dragged it back to the UK in my hand luggage. However, since moving to Canada it has been gathering dust in a loft in Milton Keynes. I'm so happy that we have been reunited again and all thanks to my parents and a trans-Atlantic flight. I should point out that the head easily weighs 7 lbs or 3.2 kgs and was approximately one eighth of their luggage allowance. Just when they thought the loft was empty, the task now is to find my Maldivian carved wooden statue! Any volunteers??

The Footy Season has Started

The football (soccer) season has now officially started with the first round of Premier League fixtures being held last weekend in England. Fulham FC started with a solid draw against Aston Villa, but it meant that we as a family could enjoy BBC's Match of the Day together. As you can see from the photo, Sam soon gained an appreciation not just for the football but also for Gary Lineker.

The start of the season is also when the fantasy football begins and this year there are ten players involved in our mini-league, including a surprise entry from Nancy for the first time. Nancy's team was thrown together at the last minute, with a little help from her friends, but as you can see she cruised to the top of the table in week one. The reigning champion is Ross, who is already looking up at Nancy in the standings, although it is a marathon not a sprint.

#	Team	Manager	GW	TOT
	1	Down on Downing	Nancy Shears	59	59
	2	Reigning Chumps	Ross Shears	56	56
	2	Travelling Bum	Emily King	56	56
	2	Viva de Ryan	Ryan Preisman	56	56
	5	Los Merengues	John Greenhalgh	55	55
	6	Holding Up The Rest	kris king	53	53
	7	BOOGAS ARMY	ian cullen	49	49
	8	Wildcards R Us	Geoff Preisman	48	48
	9	Sea Biscuits	Laura Shears	40	40
	10	Coming From Behind	Scott Shears	37	37
	11	Login Failed United	Sean Blair	35	35

Thank You for Your Support

Nancy here....
I just wanted to send out a BIG thank you for you support and donations. I have hit my fundraising target so now there is nothing between me and the triathlon on Labour Day. Under four weeks to go....wish me luck.
Nancy

Thank you for your generous support in making a donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada. Your help and encouragement will help get me to the finish line of the Vancouver Triathlon (BC); but more importantly, you are helping to accelerate cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma and bring increased hope to the patients and families who are on the front lines of the battle against these diseases.

You can learn more about my efforts and continue your support of the Society by visiting my Web site: https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/StartUp.aspx?EID=66254&Lang=en-CA

Vancouver Tennis Open

Thanks to the MB North Vancouver dealership, we had VIP tickets to the Vancouver Tennis Open on Saturday. A chance for Sam to see professional tennis up close for the first time. As you may have seen from a recent blog post, he was fascinated by Wimbledon 2011 on the television. This tennis tournament is part of USTA Pro Circuit and this year there were a few Brits in contention for the Men's singles title, including Alex Bogdanovic and James Ward.

In the Summer sunshine, we watched the men's semi-finals with James Ward (Brit) versus Vasek Pospisil (local Canadian). Sam managed to stay quiet for about five games, until the need for food was too much. What he missed out on was James Ward putting down the local boy 6-4, 7-5, in spite of a partisan crowd. I was the lone voice cheering for the Brit and he made the Sunday final with some top shots. He went onto win the tournament against the number one seed.

Sam Photo

Sam is over five months old now and starting to teeth, most importantly he is sleeping through the night. This is my favourite picture of him from the last couple of weeks and so I thought I would share on the blog. Enjoy.