Two different destinations

Parts of the Kelowna airport are lovely, like the section with the little waterfall that masks the noise and conversations of other passengers while you are waiting for your flight. However, the part where Rachel waves "bye-bye" as she and Meggs walk through the security door is lame. It is also hard to watch people traveling together as a family, today's opposite of families like ours, since we have to get on two different flights, and only half the family gets to go home. But that isn't the fault of those other families, so I sit in the airport and smile at other people's kids instead of my own. Someday Meggan's paperwork will come through, she and Rachel will return home, start work and daycare, and we will hugs lots. But not today (sigh)...

So I will tell you about our weekend in the Okanagan Valley, where we used to live. Meggan and Rachel arrived in Penticton on Wednesday, saw friends, and then Jehanne drove them to Kelowna on Thursday and dropped them at the hotel. When checking in, Meggan let the desk clerk know that I would be checking in late (after midnight), and could he give me a second key and let me know which room was ours? I worked Wednesday, then went to the airport, flew through Seattle (4-hour layover) to Kelowna, rented a car and drove to the hotel.

My cheering section at the Citizenship ceremony

Friday we got up and Rachel and I played in the hotel pool before heading to my citizenship ceremony at Kelowna City Hall. I checked in and was given my seat assignment, and Meggan and Rachel were directed to the spectator seating area. I was really excited; even though this may seem trivial now that we don't live in Canada, it was very important to me to complete this journey to citizenship that began when I moved to Canada in 2006. It was exciting to see people from so many different places and cultures, all excited to become Canadians. The ceremony began with a short speech from the citizenship judge, then we all recited the Citizenship Oath (in English and French), and the judge heartily declared, "Congratulations, you are Canadian!" Everyone cheered, and it was very emotional for a lot of people in the room. I saw a man from Senegal who was present the day I wrote my citizenship test in November; he has been working toward this day for over 9 years, and I'm sure many in the room have waited longer. Then we heard some speeches from local dignitaries, and sang the Canadian national anthem, before adjourning the ceremony and taking some pictures. Very cool!

A new dual citizen!

Then we headed to Penticton, where we went to Jehanne and Nick's house (thanks so much to them for letting us stay there while they were out of town for the weekend), where we  promptly exploded our stuff all over the place. Oops, hope we got it all clean this morning before we left! That evening we visited with Scott and Sarah McMillan, just across the street -- thanks to them for the weekend loan of the Pak N' Play, so Rachel could have a place to sleep without us bringing our travel crib.

Saturday we went for a family run up to the reservoir (thanks again Sarah for the running stroller). Then we went to Caithy and Sean's house so Rachel could terrorize their remotes, DVD collection, and other fun things. We are so excited for their little one coming soon! That evening we had a great dinner at Amber's new (well, since we left) apartment, then she and Greg came over for games. It has been so long since we've played games that it felt great to enjoy Settlers without having 50 other things to get accomplished that night.

Sunday we drove to Rob's house in the morning, and he and Andrea were kind enough to give us a ride up to Apex for the Annual Snowshoe Hash! There was a huge group there, and a wonderful trail through the woods was laid out for us to follow, complete with fun surprises along the way. So fun to see all our hashing friends again! Rachel was a good sport about being carried in the Bjorn for so long, but probably enjoyed more when she was set free to roam around the Gunbarrel restaurant afterwards. Back to Penticton for a fun dinner and catch-up with Dave and Stacey before it was time for us to pack up our things to get ready to leave this morning.

A crazy long weekend, but aren't they all for the three of us? Meggan and Rachel are winging their way back to Victoria, and I am waiting for my own flight day to start here in Kelowna. Hope all is well with your families; please give them an extra hug for us when you see them.