After an uneventful ferry ride, we arrived at Michael and Dolores's house at around 5:30 PM last night. Dolores came over to Vancouver in November to attend Karley's baby shower but we hadn't seen them both together since July. It was great to catch up on each other's news and see their kids, Jake, 16 and Alicia, 17. After confirming that the MacLachlan's could join us for dinner on Saturday night, Dolores and I planned a menu, something we used to do many years ago when we both lived in Ontario.

Today Dolores and I set about preparing our dinner after collecting ingredients at various shops around town. She has always been an amazing hostess and together we have had a lot of fun creating some tasty treats when we work together. For me, it was an opportunity to "play" in a well-equipped kitchen working at one of my favourite hobbies of the past, cooking. Meanwhile, Rick and Mike first did a little yard work before going for a drive in Michael's lovingly restored Lotus sports car. (Boys will be boys!) We'd all had a most enjoyable afternoon before Karley, Ian, Makai, Becky and Lachie arrived for a delicious, broiled halibut dinner.

Dolores has known Karley since she was only 4 years old and she, Michael and Alicia were anxious to meet this new, little boy. They have a photograph of Karley holding Alicia when she was near Makai's age so there were even a few joyous, tearful moments. Unfortunately, Makai slept through a lot of his visit but everyone enjoyed just holding him, even for a short time. We finished off a great evening with cake and coffee and a good time was had by all. Pictured here is Ian, Alicia holding Makai and Karley.