February

What better way to start February than with a trip to Mexico?

We spent a week at the Wyndham Alltra Vallarta in Puerto Vallarta...

 

...joined there by Jim and Kathy and Mary Ellen.

Janet Riediger would have been there with us...

but had to cancel last minute due to medical reasons.

We were quite happy with our choice of resort

quite small and quiet and right on the beach.

Elmer preferred to keep his sandals on and feet off the sand... 

...but I quite enjoyed long walks on the beach.

Unfortunately, Kathy took a spill the first day there and injured her knee.

She never left the resort or visited the beach...

and spent the week in a wheelchair.

Mary Ellen, Elmer and I took a cab to Bucerias one day...

...a quaint village on the beach a short distance from our resort.

We checked out the markets but came home empty-handed.

The sun set on our winter get-away...

but we are left with good memories.

Our last minute decision to book a a warm get-away to Mexico, came about because of our plans to head to Iowa later in the month to attend Kiley and David's wedding. 

Time spent in wintery Iowa called for a vacation in the sun first!

We were home for a week and then headed to Iowa...

where it was -22C.

There is no quick way to get to Iowa.  

It took us two flights and fourteen hours until we arrived in Oelwein. 

It was -22C there. That's cold!

It may have been cold, but the hospitality was warm!  

Friends and family gathered from afar and were fed in the Baerg kitchen for days on end. 

We were thankful that we could be part of Kiley and David's special day.

They will be living in Baja, Mexico.

Despite the cold weather, some of Bill and Jeanne's neighbours went to town in their open buggy.

We found ourselves in the bleachers at lots of basketball games in February.

Lucy's grade eight Stitos team won the Eastern Fraser Valley finals and went on to play in the provincials.

Maggie and two friends (the Folka twins) were there to cheer on their sisters.

It was a fantastic game...but they lost to Burnaby South.

Next year!

February 24, 2025 marked the thirtieth anniversary of a car accident that forever changed life as we knew it. We were struck by a truck that ran the stop sign  and Elmer spent the next few weeks in the spinal cord unit of VGH.  The days, weeks and months that followed were a bit of a blur, but God was faithful and carried us through. We have made thirty years of memories since that day...the good, the hard, and the ordinary moments of life. It was a good day to remember and be thankful!

 

Though it was a mild winter, we had a cold snap mid-month.

Bridal Veil falls looked good trimmed in ice!

And just like that...

the sun set on February.