poplar road

Here is the first installment of my photos from our fantastic long weekend “UNniversary” campout. I’m a little short on sleep and super busy, so I’ve put together just Saturday breakfast and lunch so far. It was really, really hot (40 degrees on Sunday afternoon as we headed to the river, for example) so everybody just sat around in the shade keeping cool and talking most of the time – not a good weekend for a stroll around the Wildlife Park or sports that didn’t involve getting wet! So the food was what brought everybody together – with big smiles all around. The boys got the grill and deep fryer going, the serving area set up and the canopies overhead for shade, and we were off and running. I think we were better organized than last year, and everybody pitched in wonderfully, so feeding everyone went pretty much without a hitch. And Richard outdid himself on this year’s menu. Everyone gave it a thumbs up!

Why would anyone spend one’s precious vacation hours camped out in somebody’s back yard? That’s the question that seemed to come up a few times in the past month, as we began extending our annual invitation to our long weekend “UNniversary” campout to new guests both from the coast and locally. Certainly as I was trying to paint a picture of the weekend for my colleagues at my new job on campus, the expressions of puzzlement on their faces made me look at our UNEvents with fresh eyes.

When I was a child, camping meant stuffing our old VW pop-top van with all our vacation supplies and catching some sleep at barely-remembered campgrounds on our way across the country from Vancouver to Winnipeg to spend summers with my grandparents. I only have vague memories of actually pitching a tent in the woods somewhere, but I still treasure one night as a girl at my best friend’s house, when a casual sleepover was transformed by putting up the family’s cavernous manila-yellow canvas tent on the back lawn. Our whispers and stash of brightly coloured candy were interrupted by a typical North Vancouver downpour in the middle of the night that sent us dashing inside, leaving the tent to record the hilarity in sticky rainbow-coloured splotches on the floor.

You can have adventures in your own back yard, and wonderful moments of laughter, excitement and true relaxation that keep you going when you return to the daily grind. That’s what we try to create with our UNEvents, something more than just a backyard barbecue on a sunny long weekend. It may look like an overblown backyard food fest from the photos, but I for one felt like I packed a year full of visits into those three short days that phone calls and the odd dinner get-together just can’t achieve.

I made more of an effort at recording our UNniversary with the camera this year, and I know many of our guests did too (many thanks especially to Bob, who quickly showed me a few essential features of my own camera!). It may take me some time to pick out the best and share them here, but before the march of images begins, I wanted to say how much Richard and I love sharing this weekend with everyone, how happy we are at how well it went this year and how grateful we are that so many of you spent long hours in your cars to spend the weekend camped out in our weedy, sun-baked, work-in-progress back yard, despite extreme heat and holiday traffic and other challenges. You are a wonderful group of people, and if we could pull off this event once in every season, instead of once a year, just to see you more often, we would!

Watching the three little girls, Anika, Olivia, and Daneaya, (and their mischievous little brothers, too) playing together so well, I remembered many times as a kid when I’d meet my parents’ friends and their kids at their homes across the province, many seen only once a year at most, and think how vivid the memories of those children and places still are, and in the background of those visions, how happy my parents were to see their far-flung friends again, if only briefly. I find it hard to express how I feel to see the same patterns again, only expanded so that our friends and their children are becoming friends with each other on this one weekend a year. It’s kind of a nostalgia for the future, isn’t it, to look forward to many UNEvents for years to come, with old friends and new ones. Thanks and big hugs to all of you who shared the weekend with us, a resounding “we missed you” to those who couldn’t make it, and don’t forget to put us on your calendar for next year! We’ll be here.

Our annual long weekend camp-out (the UNniversary as Richard has shortened it) kicks off with the arrival of about 15 guests in time for dinner tomorrow night. We're exhausted from preparations - yard work, shed reno, grocery shopping, cleaning, and cooking - but buzzed with excitement to see everyone. Richard just finished a pot roast rubbed with Mexican spices, and several roasting chickens are next in the morning, to be shredded ready for burritos with all the trimmings. We still need to make Richard's Road Trip Salsa and chocolate chip pecan cookies, just to name a few, and a whole lot of other things need to be set up in the yard before people begin to arrive, so we're off to bed and rising early to do the heavy labour before the heat drives us inside. Thank goodness for AC or we'd never get a thing done in the afternoons. Looking forward to spending an afternoon with everyone at the river - maybe the water won't be quite so chilly this year given it's been above 30 for most of the last 6 weeks! Anyway, I won't get my prep photos up before the weekend, just ran out of time, so look for highlights of Richard's yard project along with the weekend's festivities (ie food) sometime next week. Happy long weekend, everybody!

Thanks to all our guests who’ve posted comments on the UN-Event so far. If you’re just catching up now, note that this is part 3 and there are lots of other photos in parts 1 and 2. I’m still hoping a few more of you will send photos our way, but these are the last batch from us.

Part III: Friends

Despite the focus on the food, the best part of the weekend for us was seeing so many of our friends together, some of whom were just getting to know each other. In case you missed the introductions, I’ll try to put names to all the following photos, as I did in a few cases with the last two posts. What a great group of people our friends are! I personally am feeling more grounded, relaxed, optimistic and loved after our long weekend together—thanks for being here for us. Those of you who feel like sharing, please post a comment or two. Richard would love to hear suggestions for next year’s menu (see Part I) and I’d like to hear what activities people enjoyed most, so we can plan for next August!

Chad gets his & Maria’s bikes ready to go Sunday morning.

Always the photographer – but Maria took it easy this holiday.

Maria, Adrie and Dagny enjoy our ‘new’ patio furniture.

Richard levelled areas for tents. Too bad 10x12’ was too small!

Barbie checks out the other shady spot by the campers.

Dan, Barbie, Chris & Dagny chill out after lunch.

Ben and Adrie enjoy their milkshakes by the fire.

Now, what were Rob, Richard and Dan up to in the garage?

Kahlyn, beading Anika’s canopy – wish I’d got a photo of it.

Ah hah, I caught young Erik sitting still for a second!

I tried one of those so I know why Andrew’s smiling.

A Pacific tree frog fascinated the three 2-year-old boys.

Sharon and Cynthia, surprised by a 4x4 on their toes.

Rick and Josh watch the bikes and remote-controlled truck.

Is Ben practicing parenting, or cross-dressing?

Adrie’s thinking, next year I'll have a 5-month-old!

Friends and neighbours around the campfire.

Richard and I are happy campers. Thanks, everyone!

What a difference between this weekend and last! Yesterday we had a massive thundershower that dumped a torrential amount of rain, and in the middle of the day I had the overhead light on in the kitchen, it was so gloomy. Thank goodness the showers forecast for last weekend barely sprinkled our Friday night campers and then dried up. We had beautiful weather the rest of the weekend. Shade was a little hard to find in the afternoon–we’ll work on that for next year.

With most of our guests arriving after lunch on Saturday, it was a quiet morning, and then our afternoon arrivals had to set up their campers and tents. After our pulled pork dinner it wasn’t long before someone lit the campfire and we sat out late, talking and star-gazing. Sunday morning Richard got to use the commercial grill, starting the day off with blueberry pancakes. It ended up being a really full day… Most of the following are from Sunday afternoon, on the river.

Part II: Fun!

After breakfast we said goodbye to Chad and Maria, who continued on their weekend bike trip, and Rob who had to get back to his regular work week in Washington State. Then while Pam, Cynthia, Bob, Dagny and I played some badminton out on the new concrete in front of the barn, the rest of the guys were inside, starting assembly of Richard’s 2-post hoist. Matt, who spent all of Saturday wiring the lighting, ran electrical for the hoist while everyone else put the thing together. The other gals found shady spots to sit and talk or read, and watch the kids play in the hammock. The kids were our clocks, letting us know when it was time to cook up the wings for lunch and head to the beach.

We spent the afternoon on the river, with the twins’ boat and kayak, and Dan’s amphibious Predator. By the huge smiles all around, I’d say people had a good time. Chris is very glad the boat was well used, because on their way home, someone stole it when they stopped in Merritt!

After dinner, we sat digesting our burgers and shakes, and the guys continued with the hoist installation. I couldn’t believe how bright it was in the barn with all the lights Matt finished wiring. Richard said he was too tired to express his happiness, but he looked pretty pleased as the hoist lifted the guys into the air. We squeezed a lot into one day, and yet everyone lingered by the fire for a few more laughs before bed.

So glad Pam and Rick brought their badminton set!

What are they all looking at? Ah. Toys.

Ben, Matt, Richard, Adrienne, Chris, Dagny, & Cynthia.

A day right out of an Impressionist painting.

Bob and the kids in the Olson boat – wave to Mom!

All the kids got a ride down the river.

Too cute. Look hun, crocs float!

Sharon, always with an eye on Olivia and Andrew.

Ben and Matt take the kayak for a spin.

Look at that smile!

If the water’s so warm, why are they screaming?

Bob says, “So you want a funny photo?”

Dan made quite a splash with his amphibious Predator.

Then Chris gave it the Olson touch – and drained the battery.

Andrew really wanted to join dad Pat up there.

Last thing Monday morning, up went Mechano!

Now that we've taken stock and nearly finished our cleanup, here is a short list to recap:

Lost: 1 boat

Found: 1 beading needle

Missing: 1 down duvet

20 lbs of chicken wings

15 lbs of french fries

and more than 90 bottles of water

Left over: 5 dozen eggs

about 60 ice cream bars

and a lot of bread

Total happy campers: 19 adults and 6 kids!

Our first anniversary of the UNWedding, dubbed the UNAnniversary, was a huge success. Everybody had a great time, Richard got to stuff us full of his favourite comfort foods, and there was just the right number of people so that, as we hoped, we had time to truly connect with everyone. And our guests made this gathering so easy to pull off, jumping in to help with the food prep, cooking and cleanup. By the time everyone left us Monday afternoon, there was hardly a thing to clean up. (Thank goodness – at that point we both had a nap!)

Because I had to swing right back into work mode alongside finishing the remaining cleanup, and we were surprisingly exhausted (not from the visit but from weeks of preparations), it’s taking a while to select my photos and get this post written. I took over 400 photos, unbelievably, not to mention those from Bob and Dagny so far, and my short list narrowed that down to 60! Meanwhile Richard says everyone has been nagging him to get pictures posted… So, I’m going to do this in three parts.

Part I: The Food

After our annual trip to visit the Lunds in Washington for July 4th, it occurred to me that we could make meals over the long weekend even easier for everyone by following the Lunds’ example. This year, instead of each family taking responsibility for a meal, they bought all the food and we all pitched in to cover the bill. It worked out much easier for us, as we can’t take food over the border and normally pay ridiculous prices for produce when we get there. For our UNEvent, being at home means we have everything we need to cook for a crowd (more than most people!), so we set a menu for breakfasts, lunches and dinners for three days and all our guests left their own food, cooking gear and coolers at home.

It worked out wonderfully. Chef Richard beamed from ear to ear as he used the grill and deep fryer, which Chris worked on all Saturday evening to convert to propane for our outdoor kitchen. Our chafing dishes made it easy to feed our crowd of 25 without things getting cold. Richard kept notes and calculated how much it actually cost compared to what everyone paid per meal. You all paid $6 a meal; next year it will be $7.50, and we’ll plan it so we don’t end up with a freezer full of ice cream and bread. (Not that I’m complaining about the ice cream!) We promise to have lots more onions, mushrooms, and Dole tropical fruit juice. Least favourite item? Coke Zero. Nobody was watching their waistlines!

There’s nothing Richard loves better than feeding his friends, and apparently you all love to eat, so it was a recipe for a fabulous weekend. More on fun and friends in the next two posts, but following are highlights of the food. All you busy people who couldn’t make it can sit there and salivate, and mark your calendars for next August. Those of you who stuffed yourselves to bursting this weekend, we’d like you to post comments on your favourite food or dining moment, and let us know what you’d like on the menu for next year! We’re looking forward to your comments.

Friday morning, our cooking zone still looked like this!

Half a truckload of gravel made it more kitchen-friendly.

Chef Richard was up early Saturday to set up.

Chris got us the grill and fryer and fixed them up.

Our outdoor kitchen in action: wings!

More equipment: the potato cutter made perfect yam fries.

Happy campers Dan, Barbie, Sharon, Cynthia, & Bob.

Sunday's dinner: burgers, fries & shakes.

Andrew loved his milkshake. Pic by Dagny.

Monday morning, everyone helped with the leftovers!

August was a VERY busy month for us since the UnWedding long weekend, and I'm stunned that Labour Day long weekend has come and gone already. Sorry for the delay in getting party pictures posted. Richard and I were a little too busy to take any ourselves. Many thanks to Bob, Gudrun and Dagny whose great photos are featured here. If you've got some good shots of the party, the trip to the Wildlife Park, or the food – surely someone photographed Richard's food?? – please e-mail them soon!

Since I don't have photos of the food yet, I'm going to do another post soon with more party details, and will show some of the Wildlife Park images Bob took, they're amazing! The party on Saturday was a blast, and it was so nice to wake up Sunday, eat a decadent breakfast (cheesecake) while our guests wandered in and out, and then spend another day with most of you. After the Wildlife Park we went for a dip in the river at the local swimming hole, and had another big dinner on Saturday's leftovers. So hard to say goodbye to you all Sunday night/Monday morning, but what an unforgettable weekend!

The day dawned cool and sunny, perfect weather.

The UNbridesmaids decorated the tables beautifully.

I took a moment to chat and relax at lunch.

Great to see our friends getting to know each other.

Three of the eight visiting princesses.

Cute face, killer aim with a squirt gun.

Uncle Rick, where'd my slurpee go?

Richard's salsa and some sushi kicked off the foodfest.

Party favours: bubble mix, paper fans, & water pistols.

Now it looks like a dining hall!

One great toast after another…and prime rib, turkey roll,

smoked salmon, salad bar, sundae bar, cheesecake…

We set the stage with music, flowers and candlelight,

and then out came the squirt guns.

I missed this battle, distracted by cheesecake, mmm.

Richard had so much fun!!

Thank you everyone who made it (50 people including kids, wow). It was wonderful to look around the room and see so many of our loved ones. So wonderful in fact that Richard choked up too much to finish his speech. I think he put most of what he wanted to express into his food, though, don't you agree?

We're so happy you had a great time. We sure did! So much so, in fact, that we're going to make the August long weekend an annual event, a sun-soaked long weekend camp-out BBQ open house, without the UnWedding part, of course. (I think Richard has the menu planned already!) We hope those of you who couldn't make it can join us next year. We missed you. I can't thank everyone enough for coming, for helping out, for making this event truly magical.

The Un-Wedding preparations are going well! Cleared out the barn, dug a trench and put in plumbing, gas and electrical, filled the trench with several truckloads of sand, covered the area around the barn with several truckloads of gravel, tamped it flat, and painted the barn's interior. Lots of stuff still to do this weekend to get this place in shape but most of the party organizing is done. Fifty of our family and friends start arriving as of Thursday, most Friday night and Saturday morning. The long-range weather forecast is now saying cooler at 26 degrees, with some cloud and possibly showers! And here we were worried it would be 40 degrees and burn us all to a crisp. With luck it will be 26 and blue skies. It's a gorgeous day today and time to get outside. Can't believe there's only a week to go. We can't wait to see everyone!

My sweetie dug himself a hole.

With a little help from friends and family.

So much for our so-called lawn.

Does it look like a dining hall yet?

Voila, camper parking!

All painted, wired, and just about ready to go. Yay!