trip down memory lane

• George, when I woke up, I found you outside shooting grandma with a water gun.  You're a little twerp.
• Lila, you were busy today building forts with the couch cushions.  Those poor couches have been through a lot.
• George, when I asked grandpa to make me a Jimmy special this morning, you asked for one as well.  You ate it so fast and with such enthusiasm and enjoyment.  
• Katie, you took Lila down to the lake to find more shells.  You found a ton.  Grandpa built a little shadow box for Lila, so tomorrow we're going to glue them in there so she can take them home.
• Daddy and I went for a drive this afternoon.  We took a trip down memory lane.  We originally set out for Canim Lake to say hello to grandpa Ted.  The provincial campsite was closed due to the fires, but we parked by the gate and walked it.  The bluff where we spread his ashes is pretty much straight across from there.  It really is the perfect spot for him.  It's remote, yet visible from the shore, it's close to where he grew up, and it's a peaceful beautiful spot.  We didn't stay long because you could see a big storm blowing in down the lake.  
• We spotted a fire at Cabbage Patch on the way back from the lake.  I couldn't believe how close it was to the road and the house there.  It was still smoking and there were helicopters flying around it.  
• Then daddy made a last minute decision to drive by his first house in Forest Grove.  The current owner just happened to be in the driveway, so we stopped and said hello.  He gave us a little tour and we chatted for a while.  Daddy lived there from the time he was born in 1975 until 1983 when they moved into town.  Daddy was amazed that that rundown trailer was still beside the house, as the trailer looked like that back when he lived there.
• The next stop was daddy's grandma and grandpa's house on Perkins Road in Buffalo Creek.  They lived there from the early 70's until 2005 (?).  I bullied daddy into going down the driveway.  The lady who owns the house came out to greet us and we chatted for a nice long while.  She invited us to look around the property.  Daddy and his family used to go there every single Sunday for family dinner.  All the cousins and uncles and aunties would be there.  Daddy used to go and spend time there by himself too.  He loved to fish in the creek and play outside.  He particularly remembers playing croquet on the lawn with his cousins.
• Next was Uncle Steve's place on Birchwood Rd in Gateway.  He was pretty surprised to see us.  Annie wasn't home...she's working in Williams Lake, so we're going to try to surprise her tomorrow at the Best Western.  We had a cup of coffee and a few laughs, then headed out again to continue the tour.
• We drove around downtown and stopped at A&B video.  Auntie Jenny worked there for a long time when she was a teenager.  Apparently it's Canada's oldest video store.  We rented a DVD for grandma.  We also stopped to see the mural that was painted in memory of Shirley Case.  Shirley was daddy's first girlfriend in high school.  I was friends with her too.  She was pretty amazing.  She was killed in 2008 in Afghanistan while doing humanitarian work there.  
• The next stop was daddy's house in 100 Mile.  He lived there from 1983 until we got married in 1996.  His family lived there until 2011.  It is unrecognizable.  All the trees from the front yard including a HUGE willow tree, are gone.  The only thing left was the lilac bush at the end of the driveway.  We stopped in front of the house and decided to get out.  The owner saw us, and came out to greet us.  She was so nice and invited us to come it.  She gave us the full tour of every room.  She asked us a bunch of questions and daddy told her all the stories of what it used to look like and what things his dad had changed.  The kitchen was exactly the same.  It was so weird.  Like stepping back in time.  Even the chairs around the island were the same.  Apparently grandma had left them when she left, and they are still there.  It still felt very familiar and like "home" even after all these years.
• Then we made a quick stop at our love nest.  It was our first apartment after we got married.  It was so ugly.  The kitchen cupboards were mustard as well as the carpet.  We had all hand-me-down furniture including one of those massive cabinet TV's that sat on the ground.  But we loved it.  It was ours.  We lived there from the time we got married in December 1996 until August 1998.  I think our rent was $400.  Daddy was working at the mill and I was working at Safeway, so in that short time we lived there we were able to save around $40,000.  We used that to pay for daddy's university,  four months of traveling around Europe, and the downpayment on our little condo.  Wow.  We were so responsible, especially seeing as we got married when we were only 21 years old.
• As we drove back to grandma and grandpa's, we rounded the sharp corner at Chris Horn's field, and I looked up to the most beautiful sky.  The rays of sun were breaking through the clouds.  The smoke is creating some gorgeous colors in the sunset.  It was spectacular.  A beautiful ending to a day full of memories.