Merry Christmas...

Just wanted to send a little Ho Ho Ho out to everyone. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Love the Armstrong Gang.

Santa Claus is comming to town

So with Christmas just around the corner everyone is expecting to see Santa Claus anyday now, and to our surprise on Friday morning Santa was in our very own living room. Take a peek....

Santa Claus (AKA Thalia) with her babydoll Pete......

Let it snow Let it snow

A wonder sprinkling of snow began falling around supper time Saturday night, and with three young girls there was nothing but excitement. So we all got bundled up in what poor snowy weather gear we had and went for a walk.




What a wonderful surprise for the girls that when they woke this morning not only did the snow not dissappear but there was more...which had contiuned to fall for the remainder of the day.

The first creative snow man, made by Thaila.

Peanuts first photos...

So today Heath and I had the first ultrasound and where able to see "Peanut". How exciting it was, just thought I would share the photos. Enjoy!

A picture of the growing belly, about 2 weeks ago!

It is hard to see but this photo right here is "Peanut" waving.

The above photo is of "Peanut's" legs and feet.

These photos are for the profile and a really great picture of a foot.

owwwww halloween is approaching....

Just wanted to post a picture of some guest that have arrived for the halloween season.

The belly is a growin

So for those of you wondering how the belly is coming along, well its a growin. The following is a pic at approx 13.5 weeks along. A couple of weeks ago the family was treated to the sounds of the little peanuts heartbeat. What a cool thing to hear. As for me, I think the morning sickness has passed, well at least I hope so! Cheers Erin

The great pumpkin adventure

Last Saturday the Armstrong gang set out for a weekend exploration. We decided to go for a casual walk along the coast line of Todd harbour in Brentwood Bay. A neat adventure as we saw the old remains of a cement company that functioned in the area during the early 1930's.






After our afternoon walk we hit up a local market for some yummy fresh produce. To our surprise this is when the great pumpkin adventure began. The field adjacent to the market was full of wonderfully orange pumpkins, and as being so close to Halloween we decided to let the girls go for a wonder through the field. What a fun thing to watch, Thalia picking up pumpkins that mostlikely as heavy as she! Then watching as Alyssa and Thalia try to carry the pumpkin through the field. Also thank goodness for "muscles Samantha" as she very skillfully pushed a wheelbarrow through the field loaded with six pumpkins of varying sizes.

The girls paying for the six great pumpkins. On the last weekend of the month we will be having a great pumpkin carving session at the Armstrong household. I'm sure it will be a wonderful time as we create some spooky jack'o'lanterns....

The gang is getting bigger

So for those of you who don't know yet, the Armstrong gang is on the verge of getting bigger. To our delight Heath and I discovered that we are expecting a little bundle in mid April. The entire family is affectionately calling my quickly growing belly "Peanut". Here is just a little glipse of the growing "Peanut".

Metchosin Days

The second weekend of September is Metchosin Days. What is Metchosin Days you might ask? Well it is when the community of Metchosin gets together for a fall fair of sorts. Lots of local venders selling their wares, such as fresh produce and home made crafts. As well there is fun activities for the kids. The girls took in a hay ride, candle dipping, and Thalia took a run at being a junior firegirl...

Just an ordinary Saturday afternoon

For a wedding present Heath's cousin Darryl sent the whole family on a whale watching tour. The girls were especially excited at the prospects of seeing some ocean wildlife.

Heath and the girls just getting ready to board the Fast Cat for our whale watching experience.

A beautiful Saturday morning, but just a little chilly out on the water, as you can see little Thalia is bundled up.

In the distance the first site of an Orca. We learned that it was not one of the Vancouver Islands resident pods, but rather a group of four orcas known as the T3's a transients. During our tour we watched them make three kills, which proved to be quite exciting because that is when we saw more than just the dorsal fins. Lots of jumping and arching.

After following the pod around for a little while, the tour company made a little side trip over to Race Rocks where hundreds of Stellar and California sealions could be seen just relaxing on the rocks..

What more could a girl ask for but to sit back and take a relaxing boat ride after a long week at school. As you can see Thalia is most enjoying herself, as did the entire family.

An overdue update

So we have been a little lazy on the updates lately, esp since we are all back to school and working. On September 5th the girls started back at school and both Heath and I are back to work too! Samantha and Thalia are attending John Stubbs Memorial School, where Samantha has taken on the challenge of French immersion, and Thalia is in grade three. Alyssa is in the 8th grade at Dunsmuir, and taking band this year. We are treated to the lovely sounds of the Alyssa practicing the flute and Samantha on her piano echoing through the house. Heath had been working almost every day at a variety of schools, and I have been busy working at a new position at Dunsmuir as the Youth and Family councilor. So things have been very busy.

A make over story

For weeks and weeks little Thaila has been asking to get her hair cut. When we asked her how she wanted it cut, she responded by saying she wanted a "bobble". When asked why, "So that I can brush my own hair". So here are a couple before and after photos....

Shedding a few tears....

Upon returning home from our wonderful camping experience, we had an unpleasent surprise. The family hamster, which we lovely called "Hamster" had decided to leave us for "Hamster Heaven". We are sure there is an endless supply of his favourite sunflower seeds in Hamster Heaven so he should be very happy. The girls and I decided to take Hamster out to my parents place for a funeral and to be buried along side all of my families pets who have passed.

Camping day two....

On our second day, we decided to head towards Gold River and explore the Upana Caves. The Upana caves are actually several caves within one cave group, with over 15 separate entrances and over 450 metres of passages. Everyone really enjoyed this exploration. With flashlights in hand, Heath lead the group of us through the caves. A couple tight fitting spots, always leading to somewhere unbelievable.

Inside the entrance to a cave.......

What we discovered after climbing through the cave.....

And a mystery photographer.......Looks a little like Samantha maybe......

After exploring the caves we started on our way back home...only a 41/2 hour drive.....can't wait to do it again.

Camping in Strathcona Park

This past weekend the Armstrong Gang went for a camping adventure. On Friday afternoon we packed up the car, and picked up Heath around 4:30pm for the start of our adventure. Driving for about 3 hours we kept ourselves busy reading, and playing word games. At about 8:30pm we finally arrived in the wilderness of Strathcona Park. Keeping our fingers crossed that we would be able to find a camping site,we headed towards Buttle Lake Campgrounds. Once inside we drove around the campgrounds keeping our eyes peeled for an available spot, not too many around as it was the weekend. Luckily, on our last pass through we found the perfect spot to set up the tents.

The girls helped set up the tents and camping gear, and then headed down to check out the playground. After the campsite was all set up the entire gang went down to the lake side beach to gaze at the stars. While gazing at the stars we also had a good laugh, as I almost stumbled over top of a couple also enjoying the great outdoors....!!


Day one, waking up to the familar sounds of the resident crows chattering away. I know everyone who has ever camped can relate to that!! After a yummy camping breakfast of pancakes we set our for our days adventures. The first stop of the day was Lupin Falls. A lovely short but sweet walk through the forest in search of a waterfall. Once we found the waterfall, the explorer in us all started to take over. Alyssa, Thaila and Heath found a way to climb, climb, and climb to see more of the falls. While Samantha and myself remainded more grounded and explored the forest. Lupin Falls while not a huge waterfall, still proved to be quite beautiful. Our next stop was to see a more grand waterfall, Lower Myra Falls.


Myra Falls, is located near the south end of Buttle lake and our hike in took only about 15-20 minutes to hike in. Once there it was nothing less than spectacular, the water so crystal clear, cool, and crisp. We all couldn't resist the temptation to dip our feet into the water, and a couple of us even had a little taste of the wonderfully clean water. After spending about one hour maybe even more exploring we headed out for another adventure..... How about pulling over on the side of a river to cook a little lunch....




Thailia dipping her toes.....

Requests for pictures of the garden..

To show everyone how beautiful the set up was. As you came up the driveway you were first welcomed by a lovely wooden planter made by Allison's father, Bob McLean.

From a distance you would have been able to catch a glimpes of the tent, housing our dinner tables and chairs. Not only was it perfect for dinner but it also played and important refruge in providing some well needed shade. It was a HOT HOT day. Metchosin is well known for its blustery winds, well not a single breeze blew on this day!!!

A view from the kitchen window.. Some of the buffett and dinner tables inside the tent. Toward the very back you can see some pink, this is where the head table was set up.
Oh and a picture of my wonderful husband. I will always remember the look on his face as he watched my dad walk me down our garden isle.

okay so just a couple more

So just going to share a couple more photos, as we enjoyed ourselves so very much....

The Miller family and The Armstrong family...


Heath and I strolling through the park
on our way to take the beach photos
My Four Mile Family Cutting the wonderfully yummy cheesecake! Yum
And one of my best girls...