Karley and Ian (and Makai) moved from Vancouver to Mission at the end of January. The primary reason for the move was to have a home that was more conducive for raising a family; one with a large backyard and more bedrooms. Ian, as Chief-Scientific Officer at Protiva , has a very busy career limiting the time he has to do gardening and yard work. Karley, five weeks away from delivering their second child, has her hands full chasing Makai around, hence gardening is not a priority for her either. For us, coming here for the summer has given us the opportunity to help Karley and Ian while spending valuable time with Makai and his soon-to-arrive sibling.

This week Ian had to go to Baltimore on business so while he was gone Rick mowed the lawn, cleaned up some gardens and planted some new plants. I helped with some of the gardens, planting some perennials and hopefully they will fill out quickly reducing some work down the road. Rick also did some plumbing alterations to accommodate full hook-ups for the motorhome and oversaw the addition of some concrete to the existing driveway. Today Rick powerwashed some of the old concrete, removing 8+ years of dirt and moss, making the old and new look similar. Most of the changes will be a big surprise for Ian who is expecting to help Rick with the paving at another time.

Our contributions are being well rewarded because now we have a great place to park when we are in BC and we can spend time with everyone without getting underfoot. When we aren’t here, the expanded area will become a great parking spot/basketball court/play area for the family so it is a win/win situation for us all.