Party of Five: Beverly Hills Camping

When we looked on Google Maps the drive from Portland to West Bank looked like a good idea . . . with three extended stops and about 11 hours later we pulled into West Bay RV park tired, a little delirious, and with five numb bums. One of the great things about staying in Papa's and Grammy's trailer is that we just get to show up, unlock the door and start relaxing . . . or in this case, get ready for bed!
This year we decided to spend ten days up in West Bank enjoying our time together and taking advantage of what the area has to offer.

1. Went to one of our favourite pools H2O in Kelowna. There are water slides, a wave pool, a river run, diving boards, and a flow jet. Emma loved splashing me in the water park as she turned the different knobs and dials. This year the boys did a great job on the surf simulator as they were able to stay in the surf with their body boards.

2. Spent the day at the water park / skateboard park. For the boys first time riding in a skateboard park, they did fairly well riding up and then down some of the ramps. Emma must have gone up and down the little water slide about fifty times.

I don't think Emma is having much fun!

3. Took the kids to see a working orchard in Vernon called Davison's Orchard Country Village where we learned a little bit about the area's history and the orchard. The kids enjoyed playing in the kid's zone where they got to play mini golf, play in the corn box (like a sand box, but filled with corn), tricycle races, duck races, tractor ride, and petting farm. One of the highlights was feeding apples to the sheep, goats and the donkey.

I like d'em apples.

4. West Side Go Carts needs a lot of TLC, but the kids had a blast anyways. Josh and Jamie were allowed to drive the Kitty Carts around a smaller track which they both really enjoyed. Emma who was Josh's passenger was smiling from ear to ear as she pretended to help steer the go cart from her seat. Josh wants Jamie to take Emma next time as the added weight appeared to slow him down.

The boys had a dilemma on their hands as they struggled with being a passenger in the faster carts or driving themselves. Josh really thought about this as he decided to drive his own cart since he never gets to drive himself at most go-cart centres. The boys made a great choice as they had fun racing each other around the track.

5. We found a crocodile sanctuary online called Croc Talk that has tortoises, chickens, a variety of species of crocodiles, and a couple of African big cats. The kids learned a lot as we were a part of a guided tour of the different animals that they saw. They all were brave enough to touch one of the crocodiles, but they really enjoyed watching the owner interact with Carlos the African Caracal. Lets just say that the cat was not happy about him playing with his stuffed gorilla and being woken up from his sleep. Connection!!! I know someone else who is not a morning person and does not like to be woken up . . . I've been know to hiss and take swipes at people as well!!!

6. The boys were super excited about participating in a free skateboarding camp that was put on by West 49th and Disney XD. Mich received the Mother of the Year award from the boys as she was able to register them into the camp in Kelowna. The boys had a blast learning to ride the ramps and on how to do an ollie. Oh great . . . now my boys want to be professional skateboarders.

6. And of course hanging out at the lake and the RV park with the kids swimming, playing deck wars, running and doing dock jumps, playing in the sand, and fishing off the docks.

Every time we drove by Wendy's after this treat, Emma wanted to go in for another Frosty. Another summer tradition

Yes folks, Jamie caught his first fish using his fishing rod. He was not excited about it or anything.

Although we missed having S'more Day at our friend's house, we did manage to have our own little celebration at the lake. Mich made the s'mores using a shoebox and tinfoil . . . of course she did . . . doesn't everyone do this?

Even Ji-chan and Ba-chan came up to visit us for a couple of days. They were really good sports about playing a little beach volleyball with the kids.