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My next class took place in Parksville and was yoga. I have been trying to figure out my yoga style. Did I like hot yoga? Vigorous yoga? My yoga – The one that makes me feel the best. I have to say, my experience with April Kuramoto of BLYS Yoga (new studio opens on October 3 at #4 – 205 Jensen Avenue) was magical. Big words for a gal who can barely haul herself out of bed some days. I feel awkward in a fitness place at the best of times, but it felt different here. Her choice of music and conversation was not what I usually heard in a yoga studio, and I liked it. I tried the poses and transitions and she would say to us it does not have to be perfect, but you are here and in the moment. She had a gentle, guiding touch and I cannot wait to go back. I have even signed my ten year old up for her preteen/teen class. I want my kids to have the April experience. It is a good and wonderful thing. Here’s what I keep telling myself from my time in her class – “Her Practice made me feel Perfect”. High praise indeed. April I am your new groupie! All the class information – for kids, teens and adults can be found at www.blysyoga.com.

Ella Rose learns the marimba from Fahlon

We love the Craig Street Market in Parksville. So many great things to see, buy and eat! Also hear. We fell in love with the local youth group Kumbana Marimba, led by sisters Fahlon and Jasmine Smith from Errington. They play traditional African music along with some South American tunes for a fresh, upbeat, world music sound.

The group formed in 2009 and has an energetic group of young people playing. The not only perform around BC, but they also teach classes. Ella Rose, 7, wanted to try it out and Fahlon was a fantastic teacher. We got some good sounds coming from the various sized marimbas.

Fahlon encourages all ages to check it marimbas – and she has private sessions. Prices are not crazy (group class is like five bucks). The kids were having such fun playing music and talking about how to make the song complete. You can see the excitement in their eyes and hear it in the music. Phone Fahlon at 250-951-9886 to get your marimba on!

Saturday, February 18, Port Theatre

Musical Instrument Zoo (11 a.m. -12 noon)

NoteworthyKids Music Club Family Event (11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.)

Open Rehearsal (12:30-1:30 p.m.)

Reserve your Complimentary Ticket: 250-754-8550

Info: www.vancouverislandsymphony.com

The Lighthouse Country Fall Fair – Saturday Sept 5 in Bowser/Deep Bay.  Features plenty of activities for the kids, including pony rides, a petting zoo, and bouncy castles (how did we manage before bouncy castles came along?), and the theme this year is home gardening, with lots of tips and displays,  as well as fresh produce.  The fair is at the Lighthouse Community Centre from 10am until 4pm.  Adults are $5.00 and kids under 12 are free.

Port Alberni Salmon Festival – Fri Sept 4 – Mon Sept 7.  Grace will be too busy ripping out fence posts to be able to take part in the fishing – there’s a $10,000 prize for the largest salmon caught during the Festival and hundreds of other prizes.  Fireworks will be on Friday night, and there’s a dunk tank, lots of great food and entertainment all weekend long.  There’ s a free bullhead derby early Sunday morning.  All takes place at the Clutesi Haven Marina.

Labour Day Swim – Mon Sept 7, Nanaimo – With the Aquatic Centre closed for maintenance and the ocean losing its “make you think you’re living in Hawaii” temperatures, you can grab a good long swim between 12 noon and 5pm at the Beban Park pool.

Hike to Labour Day Lake – Ok, you’re really celebrating the weekend if you make the trek to this lake – yes, that really is its name – which is literally half way between Port Alberni and Nanaimo (as the crow flies – see the map below).  It’s a pretty hefty hike for a family, but what are days of labour for, as George would say.

Or you could just relax at home and have a nice barbeque – maybe do a New Year’s Eve kind of countdown to the kids going back to school.  Oh wait, that’s for later at night when they’re in bed.

Will Stroet is the MC and provides muscial entertainment between acts, which include Rick Scott, Friends Forever Puppets, Tickles the clown, and a production of Grimm’s Fairy Tales.  Lots of displays from local businesses and organizations, and of course, lots of food.  Things get underway at 10am right through to 4pm.

We’ve been discovering the variety of kids’ activities they offer, from day camps to building stuffed bears to beading to movie nights, and tennis or swimming lessons.  Grace and Ella have been having a blast and there’s always some artwork or project they’re bringing home with them.  The day camp in particular is great fun and unless things get really rainy, it’s all held outdoors under the shade of trees, so the kids get a full day of fresh air and sunshine without the burn.  And that means – thankfully – they usually get to sleep nice and early at night (my concern here is for the children’s health and well-being, of course).  Most activities are available for a fee to non-residents of the resort, but always check ahead and book for activities, as they fill up fast.

Then we met Sally Whibley who has a booth at the Errington market selling hand-made hula hoops and helping people like us. Partly it’s a matter of having the right kind of hoop (too light and there’s nothing to counter-balance against), then you need to find the right swing of the hips (think minimalist instead of wild gyrations).  You also don’t want to have too big a hoop. Pretty soon, we were putting the hula back in the hoops.

Ok, so maybe we only got about two feet and not 10 kilometres, but we were keeping those hoops going!  Grace was absolutely into it, though I had the feeling Ella wondered why we were all so concerned about encircling our bodies with plastic tubing.  Surely a princess, like Cinderella, would never do such a thing.  I was liking it because the hula hoop gives me some exercise and it’s something I can do with the kids.  George is into to as long as it’s in the backyard and no one can see.

Sally is bringing a hula hoop expert to Oceanside for a whole series of workshops on Hoola Dance from August 8 – 16th.  The woman’s name is Betty Hoops – no really, that’s her name.  Betty is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records for having travelled 10 kilometres while hooping. She combines dance, aerobics, and yoga to make hula hooping a fun routine.

The heart of the street market is being able to browse over 120 vendors selling everything from artichokes to artworks, bread to beads, clocks to candles, and from every other letter of the alphabet.  The kids bought a very fun puppet here and they’ve also found unique gifts for friends’ birthdays.  If they can sample something – like honey or fresh bread – they’re extra happy campers.  And they’ve made lots of new friends there too because plenty of families come to the market.

The kids always have a fabulous time dancing to the top quality musicians featured each week.  We’ve tried in the past to have the kids stay in their shoes, but it’s a losing battle and blackened feet are a small price to pay for all the fun.  Face painting is another favourite and the ice cream wagon gets a regular visit as well.  And since the beach is so close, we often come up there first for a picnic and then show up for the market starting at 6pm (which is crucial if you want some of the fresh bread and other goodies!). The market is every Tuesday night through to August 18 from 6pm to 9pm.

We love Transfer Beach as you probably know, and that’s a great place to have Canada Day, which is why the clever folks at Parks and Rec are having it there from 1 to 5pm.  There’s going to be music and lots of family activities.  And of course they have the water park there and one of the best concession booths around – great burgers!

Nanaimo’s Maffeo Sutton park boasts one of the best playgrounds around with a wonderful view of the Harbour, plus it’s getting all polished up for the opening of the new Spirit Square, so what better place to hold Nanaimo’s Canada Day celebrations.  Our kids love the Kerplunks and guess who’s going to be there!!  A multi-cultural food fair promises lots of good eating and there’ll be plenty of fun activities as well.  It all starts at 11am and runs until 3:15pm.

If you like your celebrations to start early, then Parksville’s Canada Day celebrations will get you going at 8am with the popular Shriner’s pancake breakfast.  What could more Canadian than piling on the butter and the maple syrup!  Then it’s the annual Canada Day parade down the Island Highway starting at 10am.  Get your seats early because this is always well attended and this year everything about the Parksville celebration is supposed to be even bigger!  Then it’s off to the Community Park for a full day of fun starting at noon.

No matter where you spend the day on July 1st, though, you’ll want to end up in Parksville around dusk because it’s time for fireworks!  Our littlest one has turned out to be the biggest fireworks fan after a couple of years of ear-covering, so she’ll be there.  With her family of course – can’t have the 5 year old driving by herself to Parksville.

We have a great sprinkler toy that fills with water and then waits… waits… and then sends a blast of water way up in the air when you least expect it.  George calls it the scream machine because of its effect on the kids.  But even the scream machine can’t hold a candle to some of our favourite watering holes.

The water park at Transfer Beach in Ladysmith is one of the best around.  George wanted Ella to try out the bucket dump;  the bucket fills with water and then wait… wait… down it pours on unsuspecting children.  Yep, more screams.  But George didn’t properly calculate the water-to-Ella weight ratio; she was no fool and left the deluge to her big sister.

Nanaimo has several city parks with water equipment, but our favourite is the Harewood Mining Community Park on Howard Ave in the south end of the city.  A lot of the water features are built around a painted train track and the kids love to race around it and get sprayed as they go.

Parksville community beach has a classic old water park with some particularly tricky sprays built into the ground, which unsuspecting parents can get caught it while they’re keeping an eye on the kids.  Ok, only George, who keeps forgetting that the nozzles are there.

While up in Parksville the kids also can’t resist going on the bumper boats at Paradise Fun Park – the place with the giant mini-golf courses.  Tip for parents and older kids – the taller you are, the more you’ll get sprayed.  Hmm, I guess that’s kind of a tip for the younger kids too, isn’t it…