Long lost cousins. New found cousins.

The two sisters are Julie and Diane. The dude is their uncle Calvin. I met them in the summer of 1979 when my parents last brought me up to Nanaimo–exactly 30 years ago! I stayed with them for a week and had the best vacation of my childhood! I have not seen or had contact with them since. So when I found out that I would be seeing them again, I was a little nervous and didn't know what to expect.

Needless to say, the girls have not changed. Still as friendly and fun as I remembered. The day we spent with them was easily the best day of our entire trip.

Julie's husband Harold is by far the most amazing person I've ever met. We ate delicious fresh salmon steaks that he caught and cooked (2 for lunch, 2 for dinner), plus we ate potatoes that he harvested on his family farm. Oh yeah, and the house they live in, he built and landscaped.

Every place we went (including the Mars), we were treated like royalty. Our accommodations were nicer than the hotels. And every single meal was lovingly prepared for us. One aunt even did our laundry for us! I'm already bracing for the cold reality when we return home and have to cook and do everything on our own again.

The kids were thoroughly entertained all day and all night at Julie's house.
We partied for over 12 hours there! Now that's what you call a party!
Nonstop fun. Nonstop eating. Nonstop laughing.
Cream puffs and cheesecake were served at 11 p.m. and the kids were still going strong.

The view from their deck.

I didn't help with the cooking but I did help decorate the Halo-themed cake.
The severed leg and cherry juice blood was my contribution.

Like I said before, there's no party too far for us to attend.
Nigel just turned three years old and he already can play Halo on the Xbox!

With the exception of Nigel and Justine, all the kids are one grade apart, from K to 5.

They lived next to the wilderness so to unwind after a day of jumping and water fights,
we went trail hiking to a nearby lake. They collected huckleberries along the way.

New friends.

Kids and water, kind of like flies and poop–just can't stay away from it!

Justine's new big sister, Mia.

Nigel recruiting rookies for a game of Halo.

The next night, Diane graciously invited us over to her house for dinner. I tell you, as nice as the restaurants are up here, nothing beats going to someone's house where the kids can spread out and I can relax. They also had a trampoline!

When I visited in 1979, I met six new cousins. I was able to reconnect with four of them this trip. This year, our kids discovered seven new cousins they never knew they had. Hopefully they won't have to wait another 30 years to meet up with them again. Thanks to the internet, I'm sure we'll do a better job of keeping in touch than our parents did. We're already looking forward to the next time we visit Nanaimo again.