Cloverdale Rodeo

Last weekend in Canada was a long weekend with Monday as a public holiday, called Victoria Day. We, as a family, went to Cloverdale to experience the big event of the Cloverdale Rodeo. This rodeo is billed as an opportunity to catch the World's BEST cowboys & cowgirls in Saddle Bronc, Bareback, Bull Riding and Ladies Barrel Racing. I have to admit that I was skeptical and thought it was going to be very hokey, but it turned out to be good fun and entertaining. The highlights was certainly the bull riding. While the biggest laugh was the sheep riding by three year old kids, at the interval, and all they were given were hockey helmets for protection. Not something that we will be volunteering Sam for when he gets older. We also got to meet Dr. Phil (ok.... not the real Dr. Phil, but a blue screen version of him).

cloverdale_rodeo on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Wife Beater!

Sam in his wife beater shirt, just needs a few hairs sprouting from his chest to make the look perfect. This is a long weekend in Canada and so we took Sam to his first Rodeo on Saturday (pictures to appear soon).

However, today he was a true Englishman as he came to the pub with me for an English breakfast and we watched the final round of footy games from the English premier League. Multiply screens allowed us to watch all the matches live and keep track of the teams, especially who was to be relegated. Always entertaining to watch grown men cry when their team gets sent down at the end of the season. Sam was well-behaved throughout, despite, various people screaming and shouting around him.

For all the Canadians reading, we did then watch the Canucks beat San Jose in game 4... so Sam is being brought up on sports from both his nationalities.

For Nancy's recent birthday, Nancy created a list of 36 things to do in her 36th year (which I hope to publish on the blog soon) and one of these bucket list items was to visit the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. Personally, I didn't even know it existed but turns out it is a place dedicated to world arts, culture and specifically first nation culture with a number of totem poles and wood carvings. The place had a number of interesting exhibitions, although, Sam snoozed all the way round.

Sam at Ten Weeks

Sam is growing at a pace at over ten weeks old and we have had a number of people request more recent photos of him. So in order not to disappoint please find enclosed some recent pictures. He is also looking forward to meeting Uncle Ross for the first time, who arrives into Vancouver in less than two weeks time.

The Big Adventure Begins....

Inspired by Emily and Kris, who leave on their world tour at the end of this month, we have started to make arrangements for our own big adventure. On 1st February 2012, Nancy, Sam and myself will set off to Sydney, Australia and then onto New Zealand for a three week trip. Today we booked and confirmed our flights, all thanks to a bunch of aeroplan miles. Next step is to research accommodation, possibly including a camper van in New Zealand.

So any recommendations on places to stay or activities to do in Sydney or New Zealand please let us know either by blog comment or email.

First Official Family Photo

The other weekend, our little family had its first official family photo session. One of the best pictures is enclosed for the blog.

On Sam news, he is nearly 10 weeks old and weighs in around 12 pounds. He saw the Doctor this week for his first set of injections, which all went to plan and the Doctor described his weight and height as perfect for his age. Not bad for an early scorecard! (I know biased parent talking).