We Love you Canada

Since 2009, we have celebrated Canada Day by taking in the Salmon Festival Parade.  We load up the wagons with kids and snacks and walk into Steveston.

As we waited for the parade to begin, the kids created their own mini parade route and ran for the camera.

Blankets were laid down, snacks were doled out and the kids settled in for the entertainment.

The beginning of the parade always puts a lump in my throat and goose bumps on my arms.  The haunting notes of the bag pipes, the echoes of the marching foot steps and the Canadian flags blowing proudly in the breeze, does it to me every time.

The kids waved their own flags proudly as they waited for candy to be thrown.

The best photo from our Canada Day photo shoot.

I love where we live for many, many reasons.  Off the top of my head, here are a few things I love about Canada:

1.  Our health care system.  By no means perfect, but when I needed to take Jack to Children's Hospital last week because he was having trouble breathing, we received superb treatment immediately.

2.  Our landscape.  We have flat plains and rocky mountains, rain forests and many bodies of water.  I love the beauty of our country.

3.  Our education system.  We still have the freedom to teach they way we want within the parameters of our ministry prescribed learning outcomes.  We have not gone the way of standardized testing and there is an emphasis on thinking.

4.  We have ketchup chips and dill pickle chips.  Need I say more?

5.  Our anthem.  I love the way it sounds as our voices echo through a stadium or school gymnasium.

What do you love about where you live?