Oh Canada!!!

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Happy Canada Day to everyone. Once again we were lucky enough to spend Canada with Sarah's family at the beautiful Casa Melville nestled in the heart of the Okanagan Valley. Now that Casa Melville is officially finished it was time for George and Sylvia to welcome the world in the warm and inviting way they do. Canada day began with a flurry of decoration and organization. In the afternoon people began to arrive on the beach to partake in hotdogs (served up by the iron chef Mark Melville -- YAY MAIRK!!!) and fun Canada Day games. The waterfront was a swarm of red and white with the pinnacle of the afternoon being a stirring rendition of 'Oh Canada' and the cutting of a LARGE Canada flag cake.
As the evening started we all moved up the hill to the big house where we ate, drank, and danced the night away to some wonderful live music, flamenco dancing, and an elvis impersonator. Why not! After eating a wonderful meal of lamb, turkey, fish and much more we watched the sunset and prepared for the fireworks display. With the barge right in front of the property in the lake we all had a front row seat for the show. At the end of the night we headed off to bed in our tent which was pitched in the nicest spot in all of Canada - right on the lakefront.
The rest of the weekend was all about rest, relaxation, and spending time with family before we head out of the country for the next year. We couldn't have asked for a better weekend.
Now as our departure date approaches we will be spending our time tying up loose ends and saying our goodbyes. The word from Ecuador is that good chocolate and soy milk are hard to come by - don't worry Eve and Mike we will be shopping before we come.

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