Here are some pictures of Caleb. He has two teeth at the moment and more coming.

Happy Canada Day!
Yep! I know it's a few days late, but that's because I'm on holiday! Canada Day is 1st July (beat the Americans again by 3 days!) and it's a big thing here! Big celebrations and lots of Canada Day discounts and special offers in the shops.
Lilian and I went to one of the local parks which was hosting the celebrations with all sorts of activities going on for the kids. (Most of them free!) Representatives of the emergency services were there and we had a chat with one of the fire crews. (In a recent survey the police came out with an approval rating from the public of 89%! Can you imagine that in Northern Ireland)
The following day we met Pamela and her family in a different park and the kids went for a swim in the lake. Lilian and I took a walk around the lake with Caleb.
The next day we met them again at Dave and Stacey's house and we went to a small park just behind where they live, (lots of parks in Medicine Hat).
Kids played on the swings and Troy, (Pamela's husband) and I played with the aerobie, (a high performance frisbee.)

Here are some pictures of David and me geocaching in Saskatchewan. Lots of room to roam in this part of the world.

The prairies are just amazing at this time of year. They have had a lot of rain this Spring which have brought out the flowers in abundance. Lots of wildlife about as well, suirrels, moose and deer. Big skies everywhere you look.
Did a lot of geocaching using the jeep as some of the trails are pretty rough. I have never seen the place look so green. It's like Ireland with good weather! Played croquet on the lawn but these guys keep their grass prreetty long by our standards which made it difficult. Also had a game of golf, although the mosquitoes came out in the evening and ate us alive!
I'll keep in touch. So long for now.

Headed off to Fort Walsh. The North West Mounted Police were formed here, (they became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) for the purposes of smashing the whisky traders and bringing law and order to this part of Canada. Interestingly, they were based on the Royal Irish Constabulary. Their formation was prompted by the massacre of some local indians by white hunters. Good tour of the fort itself as well as the museum and the surrounding countryside. Spent the day there and then headed back to the park.

Hi folks, back again. Still talking about Cypress Hills where we stayed for four nights. Great appartment overlooking the lake. Did a lot of walking in the forests and out in the prairies and some lying about! Here's a picture of the moose I mentioned in the last post.. (The Last Post!) Borrowed Troy's Jeep which was ideal for some of tthe roads round here. Went out to Fort Walsh for the day and I'll tell you more about thiat on the next blog entry.

Hi everyone. Haven't had internet access for a while as we have been in Cypress Hills in Saskatchewan. However the day before we left we were invited to a police picnic in the park (Can you imagine it!) Big family day out with lots of kids and great food. Because of the heat everybody picnics beneath the trees.
The following morning we headed off to Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park in Saskatchewan. About a 2 hour drive. We stopped in Maple Creek, which still shows its cowboy town origins, and had a bite to eat. This is wide open country here with miles between farms.
We reached the park where we were staying and booked into our condo. Great place to stay with a lake and lots of wildlife and walks. Startled a moose wiith her calf one morning and took a quick pictuire and cleared off as she looked pretty aggressive.
Dave and I did a lot off geocaching in the area. Will post again soon.

Absolutely cracking weather! Spending a lot of time outside.
I take Dave's mountain bike for a ride every morning round Police Point Park which is a really super spot down by the river. Usually see lots of deer but difficult to photograph them as they are very shy.

This is Jazzfest in Medicine Hat and there are little bands playing in the town.

Preached in Dave & Stacy's church this morning and then in the afternoon went to a barbeque hosted by the police in Ecodale Park. Very hot all day.
Took people geocaching this evening.

Planning to go to Cypress Hills tomorrow which is a four hour drive.

Arrived in Calgary after an excellent flight from Gatwick and Dave picked us up. Drove down to Medicine Hat through thunder and forked lightening and hailstones at one point! Had my first Tim Horton's for six months!
Have never seen Alberta looking so green. Cattle are up to their shopulders in grass! They have had a lot of rain this Spring. Nice warm sunny afternoon in the Hat when we arrived. Stacey had a curry ready for us and Caleb is a dote. Great to be here. I'm really looking forward to the next couple of weeks. Weather is good with big Alberta skies. I'll try to keep this blog up to date as best I can.

Busy sort of weekend. Went to hear Paul Tripp at a breakfast at Focusfest in the Waterfront in Belfast. Afterwards got into a fascinating conversation at the Farmer's Market with a coffee roaster from Derry!
That afternoon did a few visits and then went up to the 25th Wedding Anniversary of some friends I hadn't seen for a few years, Charlie and Flo Houston. We were in Feba together and we stayed in their house in Seychelles for a while!
They had organised a garden party with a bouncy castle for the kids and Sumo Wrestling suits.
Took on Charlie and Flo's elder son Ben at Sumo wrestling. I think I had a weight advantage!
Good to see them all again. Lots of folk milling about and enjoying tea and sticky buns!
Linda McClaughlin's birthday on Tuesday and we had them all over here for birthday tea. Rick arrived and they brought Jonny and Sharon with them.
We head off to Canada tomorrow, stopping overnight in Gatwick and arriving in Calgary about mid day on Thursday. It will be good to see Dave and Stacey and Caleb again. Looking forward to it.

Went out for a meal in Holywood during the week with Pearl and Archie. Our favourite Indian Restaurant is "The Ganges" in Newtownards, and they appear to have opened this one in Holywood as well. By the time I finished work and got over it was 9 o' clock, so it turned out to be a pretty late meal but it was excellent, well up to Ganges' standards.

Saturday morning, decided to make marmalade as we had run out. Easier to make it outside in the garden, as the wasps and bees haven't arrived yet! Lovely morning for it and made half a dozen jars or so. Working during the rest of the day but had a barbeque planned in Campbell and May's in the evening. After a couple of weeks of scorching weather it became overcast and drizzly about 7 o'clock just in time for the barbeque. When we arived they had moved everything into the garage and we had it there. Jackie and Nicola came and we had a good night.
On Sunday we had Trevor Morrow from Baptist Missions Peru speaking in church and as we have a group from YF heading out there in July we invited them all up for lunch. Turned out a lovely afternoon with Trevor able to meet the team and bring them up to speed with the latest info on what they will be doing.

You can visit the Peru Team's blog here

Friday was my day off and it turned out to be an absolute cracker, clear blue skies and temperatures well into the mid to high 20's. Spotted these poppies growing in someone's garden and thought they looked terrific!
Lilian and I went on one of our favourite walks down to Shaw's Bridge and along the towpath to Lady Dixon Park. Looked pretty cool in the shorts, white socks and brown shoes!
Hard to believe that this is on the edge of Belfast! This stretch of the river was once a major waterway with horses pulling the canal boats along to Lisburn and beyond but it is now used only by walkers and cyclists. Fairly quiet today despite the good weather. Did two geocaches on the way which were just off the towpath and another one when we reached the Park.
Had a picnic and a doze under a tree for some shade and then slowly made our way back along the towpath to the car (about 3 miles).
Went up to Winnie's for an hour and had a cup of tea and a read of the papers in the garden and then came home.
Dave & Stace Skyped us to tell us that it was raining in Canada.
Big fireworks display down at the castle and we went down to see it and have a walk along by the marina. Beautiful warm evening and good to see eveybody strolling about the waterfront or sitting outside at restaurants and cafes.

We had our Home Group barbeque on Wednesday night. Some folks were on holiday but we had about 16 or so turned up on a beautiful warm evening. It was one of the children's birthday and so we had a cake for him as well. Neville and Trevor brought their barbeques down so we had three going at once. Lots of burgers and chicken and other barbeque stuff with Maud's ice cream and fruit etc afterwards. Nice night.

First of the poppies came into bloom! Looks stunning, especially beside the blue fence.
Absolutely cracking day Friday and Saturday, very hot and sunny. Planned a barbecue for Saturday night and decided to make the chili the guy in Canada gave me the recipe for. Went up to Junction 1 where they have an anniversary sale on. Free coffee at Rankin's place and half price on all herbs & spices in one of the shops. Pearl and Archie came on Friday evening for supper and brought photos of their holiday in Antuiga. Looks fantastic. They brought me a rum cake back from Antuiga, (really, really tiny!) which we ate on Saturday.
Made the chili on Saturday afternoon and it turned out fantastic! Winnie arrived in the afternoon Rick and Katie came for the barbecue. Played Scategories until it got too cold to sit out when the sun went down. Lovely weekend.