Hailey Simone Croston

Natasha gave birth to a 7 pound 3 ounce baby girl! Natasha and Hailey are doing great. Attached are a few photos taken shortly after the birth. Also included are a few bonus pics of Nathan.

Coire Dubh Integrale

For my thirty-second birthday Colin and I went for a mini-alpine climb in the Bow Valley. The route starts on the ice of Coire Dubh and continues up through some mixed climbing (ice and rock) to the ridge line just shy of the summit. As warned in the guide books, the ridge was extremely windy - a few time I was almost blown over. The top left photo with Colin and I in it shows the route; it follows the shaded area on the bottom of the face and then veers off to the right near the summit. The vertical relief and winter classification for this climb is 550 m III, 5.7 WI 3. "This is one of the few winter mixed routes that is also climbed in the summer and is rated 5.4. But in winter, a 5.4 climber would find it pretty 'out there'". To complicate the climb, the area was experiencing a warming event resulting in large section of ice not being formed. So instead of an easier ice pitch we were left with a polished rock surface not suitable for crampons and ice tools - after a bit route finding that would be considered 'out there' for a 5.13 climber, we overcame this minor setback. Once we were onto the main face of the climb it was a quick push to the summit.

Halloween 2006

Halloween was a huge hit with Nathan. On the Sunday before Halloween we had a few friends over to carve pumpkins and enjoy a pizza feast. My pumpkin was probably the worst one I've ever done. Natasha, on the other hand, pulled through and produce a great one, but the best pumpkin had to go to Ryan. Shown below is a photo of the pumpkins - you can guess who's is who's. On October 31, Natasha and her sisters took the kids done to the mall to trick-or-treat. Nate dressed-up as Buzz Lightyear, Jayda was a bat, and Paige was a princess. That night Ryan, Robynn, and I took the kids out trick-or-treating around Heather's house. There is nothing better than three kids jacked-up on sugar, running, screaming, and knowing that the inevitable sugar crash is just around the corner.

Skateboarding in Castlegar

Here are a few recent photos of myself skateboarding at the Rotary Skate Park in Castlegar.


 

Rob and Cindy's Wedding

Well, we have just returned from a trip down to Vancouver to be a part of Rob and Cindy's wedding. I will start off by saying that we had a terrific time but it is good to be back in the Kootenays. I can finally get some rest. The trip was jam-packed full of activities and events all of which were awesome.

Our trip started off with us heading out to the neighbouring town of Castlegar to join in some kiddy party, mainly to tire out our son so he would sleep for the drive. We were accompanied by the Greenaways and met up with the Holmes. The kids had a great time bouncing in the inflatable rooms, painting rocks, etc., but I was eager to get a move on. Soon Natasha, Nate, and I were on the road. My intent was to drive to Bromley Rock (outside of Princeton) and camp for the night, however when we arrived Nate was still sleeping. We carried on. My new plan consisted of us finding camping near the west end of Manning Park, not an option. We carried on. After stopping at a few more road side campgrounds we finally secured a site at the Hope camping area. My sleep was rudely interrupted on a couple of occasions due to the noisy neigbours, who I am assuming were from Surrey.

The next day we packed up and headed for Lions Bay to hook up with my parents. On the way through Vancouver we stopped at Park Royal and took Nathan to the Gator Pit (an adventure play ground for kids and parents alike).

The week before the wedding was our time to explore the city and relax in Lions Bay. Early in the week the Kootenay Crostons headed downtown and sampled the Vancouver Aquarium. It had been quite a few years since I had been and I had forgotten how cool it was, especially seeing it through the eyes of my two year old. At one point Nate got so excited to see the beluga whales that he began to screech uncontrollably. I had to fend off some dirty glances from some of the more snooty attendees. The first photo is the classic 'child in front of the underwater viewing window', I couldn't resist. That evening we met up with my parents at Dundarave Beach and had dinner. Later that night my dad and I went to the airport to pick-up James and Cindy (Cindy Sue). My brother was unaware that I was there to pick him up, as noted in the look of confusion/surprise on his face. In the foreground of that photo is Cindy Sue and my dad exchanging a hug.

On Tuesday night Tash, Nate, James, Cindy Sue and I went to visit Colin and Jo at there camp site at Porteau Cove in the Howe Sound. The site was in the walk-in camping area and was situated right beside the ocean.



Wednesday was the batchlor party; paintball, dinner, enough said.

Thursday my parents had a dinner and down at the Lions Bay Beach after the wedding rehearsal. The picture to the above right was taken from the beach looking toward the gazebo. It was the perfect setting for the first offical meet and greet between the two families.

Friday a few of us went out to the reception room and set up chairs, tables, and made sure that everything was to be as planned. Once we had finished setting up the four brothers, Jo, and Cindy Sue went cliff jumping at Lions Bay Cliffs. Note Rob's graceful position in the air.

The wedding was the next day. All the men from the wedding party all met at my parents house and got changed into our tuxceduos. Family photos ensued. From there we piled into a van that Rob had rented and went down to Dundarave to meet the ladies. After some slight confusion, the ladies arrived and the photo tour began. We spent the next few hour travelling around the ambelside area in a streched SUV taking multiple stops for photos. Finally we were at the Church. The ceremony was perfect, there was no fainting, no uncontrollable crying, and they both said 'I do'. After the wedding we hopped back into the SUV and headed for the reception at Furry Creek Golf Club. Dinner was superb and the speechs went off without a hitch. Once I had finished my speech my party began. Even Nate was given'er on the dance floor.

Sunday was spent relaxing/shopping followed by the gift opening at Leslie and Linton's house. Once again another great dinner and a good time was had by all.

Monday Tash, Nate, and I headed back for the mountains.

More photo's of the wedding and other activities can be viewed here.

The Ultrasound

Today Natasha and I went to Kootenay Lake Hospital so she could get a ultrasound done. The baby and Natasha are doing well. The doctor said that the baby is a normal weight and size for 4 1/2 months along in the pregnacy. I have added some photos taken during the ultrasound, the captions in the photos tell what they are of. The one photo without a caption is of the baby's arm.

Rogers Pass - Canada Day Long Weekend

On the Canada Day long weekend my brother Colin and I went climbing. I left Nelson, BC, on the Friday morning and headed north through the Slocan Valley, across the Arrow Lake Ferry, and passed through the town of Revelstoke enroute to the Illecillewaet Campground in Glacier National Park. This was where I hooked-up with my brother who had driven in from Canmore, Alberta. That night we discussed various routes and decided what peaks we wanted to summit, we opted for Mount Sir Donald and Mount Uto (far right and next to it, respectively, in first photo).

The next day started with a four hour hike to base camp followed by a few moments of relaxing. As soon as we regained our strength we headed for the summit of Uto (2927 metres). Our route from camp was to gain the col between Sir Donald and Uto (see picture to right), from there we dawned our climbing gear and followed the southwest ridge to the summit. Base camp to base camp took us approximately 4 hours. This was our warm-up climb and we had to save our energy for the big climb the next day. The photo below is of myself at the summit of Uto. That evening, Colin and I fell asleep quite early, in spite of the annoying mosquitoes.

Day three in the mountains came early. Before I was even awake I was already at the col and getting ready for the climb up the northwest ridge to the top of Sir Donald (3284 metres). A few quick pictures and a bite to eat and we were off. It was an enjoyable climb. Some of the pitches were challenging, others were easier. Our summit of the mountain was almost denied due to some late season snow on the route. It was a good thing Colin found us an alternate route, albeit much harder. After a grueling 5 and a half hours we summited and I came to a stark realization that we were now only half way and that the decent was going to be twice as hard. A total of 9 hour was spent on Sir Donald and I enjoyed every minute of it. The last part of that day was spent hiking back down to the Illecillewaet Campground and relaxing.

The last day was when we decided that next year we are going to hit up the Bugaboos and conquer the Snowpatch and Bugaboo Spires. The last photo is Colin and I at the base Sir Donald.

More photos can be viewed in my online photo album: Click Here

Nathan's Second Birthday

The Parties of the Century

On May 27th Nathan turned two years old. The weekend consisted of two parties, one with the Nelson relatives on Saturday and the other with Nathan's friends on Sunday. Both were loud and action packed, with the relatives being slightly louder than the kids.

When Nathan first woke up on the big day we let him open the presents that my parents and brothers sent him, followed by the gift that we got him. He enjoyed all of his gifts, but he especially liked the Twist Trike given to him from my parents. Later on that day Heather, GG (Nathan's Great Grandmother), Ryan, Mandy, and the kids came over for dinner. The rest of the Nelson relatives showed up for dessert and cake and to give more gifts to the Birthday Boy.

The party on Sunday was fun for all the kids. They played with Nathan's toys and each other very well, I can't recall any fights or crying. Gifts were given and cupcakes were eaten. There's nothing like getting kids all hopped up on sugar and letting them go crazy. There isn't a whole lot to report about the party other than I'm glad they only happen once a year. I guess soon to be twice with the new baby on the way.

Pictures and Descriptions

The picture in the top left corner is of Nate and Natasha checking out the Twist Trike. The picture in the top right corner is of Nathan when he was very excited about his Chocolate Cookie Cake, note the crazed look in his eyes. Bottom left is Nate, Paige, and Jayda playing with Nathan's toys. The pile of toys is now twice as big following all the presents he received on the weekend. Bottom center is of Nate eating his cupcake from at kid party. Lastly is a picture of Nathan and all the girls getting ready to open presents. In the foreground of that photo is Paige and Jayda assisting Nathan by opening a few for him, that was very nice of them.

Spring is Here

Here are a few pictures of some recent action in the Kootenays. I would have had pictures of our visit to Canmore, except we lost our camera for a little while (a whole other story). The first picture is of Nathan at Heather's house on Easter. He was much more interested in collecting balloons over Easter eggs. The next picture is of Nate, Paige, and Jayda having a bubble bath at Heathers, the picture was taken shortly before Jayda was engulfed. The third picture is of Nathan helping Tash with the mixing of the waffle batter for our Sunday morning breakfast, DELICIOUS! Lastly is a picture of Tash and I down on the Prestige patio for a Mother's Day dinner.

Gymnastics

Well, Nathan started gymnastics last week and he seems to enjoy it thoroughly. A bunch of our friends who have kids Nathans age also joined, which makes it more fun for the kids. It starts off as a free-for-all and the children run around sampling all of the various apparatuses. By far Nathans favourite is the trampoline. After about 15 or so minutes the instructor calls all of the children (and parents) over to the main mat for stretching and warn-up. After warm-up the instructor shows the children the first of three circuits. The kids spend about ten minutes at the first circuit and then we all move on to the next, again the instructor shows them how it's done. The idea of the circuits is that each gets progressively harder so the children can work up to the more advanced apparatuses. The top picture is Nathan during the free-for-all when he discovered the balls, very exciting. The picture on the right is Nathan and I on the spring board and the bottom picture is he and I on the trampoline.

Next weekend we are off to Canmore to visit with Colin and Jo, Mom and Dad, and Gail and John. Needless to say there will be another post with lots of pictures in the near future.

Recent Photos

Here are some recent photographs of Nathan and Xena. The first picture is of Samantha feeding Nathan raisins. The next picture with Natasha, Mandy, and multiple children in it, was taken at Jayda's second birthday. The second photo down on the right hand side is of Xena enjoying some mid-winter sunshine (rare in these parts). The bottom left photo is of Nathan shortly after he learned the concept of hop-scotch. The two girls playing with Nathan are Samantha and Aleisha, the girls Natasha looks after. Lastly, there is a photo if Nathan enjoying a luxurious bath at Heathers.