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.

Bre and Kielan's Wedding Day

We had the pleasure of attending Bre and Kielan's wedding as honored guests on Saturday 30th July. It was a gorgeous event highlighted by the Summer sunshine and the fantastic scenic view. The setting at Mill Bay reminded Nancy and I of Poets Cove on Pender Island some three years ago. The ceremony itself was beautiful and included the release of Monarch butterflies by the Page Boys and Flower Girls. This begged the question how do you coax a butterfly into a little, white box - answers on a postcard. Another highlight from the event (well, for me anyway) was the "pick & mix" sweet (candy) selection that was situated very close to our dining table.

Many congratulations to Bre and Kielan and all our best wishes for your future happiness as Husband and Wife.