Yeah, We are here in beautiful B.C on Bowen Island. The weather is great, the air clear and the sky is blue. Auntie Teeny met us at the ferry and today we explored the island and had halibut at Doc Morgan’s. This is life! Check our pictures at our photo album.

Rosemary and I had the pleasure of entertaining two plane loads of Scottish clan. It was a first in 18 years or so. Now our Gillier side will be doing a similar engagement after a similar multi-year wait. My take on this is that we have spent too little time together…and hopefully this is a start of much more involvement. I will join everyone in Chatham on Saturday. Pictures and stories are sure to follow!

I would like to thank Martha for behaving herself at the concert last night. Canadians from coast to coast were watching the events unfold on CBC and MuchMusic and Simulcast on the internet. We knew that the girls were parked near the V.I.P. tent and the CBC Booth and so there was a good chance that they would get on camera. When we saw all the women flip their tops to the cameras and bare their breasts I was cringing to think…if Martha does that…viewers might confuse her with me. Yikes!!! Thanks Martha for not getting your hot flashes.

Martha and Laura ventured up the 401 today to rendezvous with Jackie to attend the Toronto/Sars Rolling Stones Concert. They are young at heart and burning for adventure. Martha will have the time of her life at the rock concert of the century. This will also be Laura’s first. Jackie of course is an old pro at attending this kind of venue. Auntie Eileen chickened out and will be sitting back in the comfort of her basement watching the events unfold on TV. The crowds (430,000 expected) had something to do about her decision to forgo this invite. They are also expected to walk 2hrs to get to the park and again another 2hrs walk and agonizing hours to get home again. Good Luck Gillier Girls.

Martha, Laura and I went to a miniature air show to day at the invite of a friend. I had never seen anything like this before and I was very impressed with the flying abilities and the building skills all these people had. Pictures available here.

Yesterday the residence from Copper Terrace had an outing to Mitchell’s Bay. The Rotary Club sponsored a KFC picnic. Irene and Martha attended and had a great time. To view pictures from the day click here.

Yesterday my life changed. It was a miracle! 
 I underwent laser eye surgery called LASIK. This is a procedure where I had my nearsighted vision corrected by an excimer laser. All went well! It has been 40 years and I can now see without wearing my glasses!
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The 4th of July was enjoyed sitting in a Muskoka chair on the dock sipping a Smirannoff Ice. The 5 Bako’s were invited to a cottage on Canning Lake in Haliburton. The weather was perfect and the bugs were just a bit annoying in the evening. We had fun soaking in the lake and the boys did tubing and tried wakeboarding. We fired up steaks on the Weber and drank fine wine till the wee hours of the night. Thank you Keith, Cathy and Evan for sharing a little bit of your paradise with us. You can view all the vacation pictures here…

Brian and Peter had their big day at the St Christoper, Grade 8 Graduation Ceremonies. They got all decked out in their finest on a steamy 37oc evening. Thank goodness the hall was air conditioned. We had a little dinner at the house beforehand and Tacos was the choice meal requested. The boys got the essential teenage “Bling Bling” and were all smiles for the grueling family photo session in the garden. Nick and I were very proud of all three of our teenage sons (they are all grown up now!). Peter was awarded the gold cord and the religion medal. We are going to call him Father Peter from now on! 
 We dropped the boys off to their first mixed party and the parents settled in at the “Pump and Patio” for some of our own fun joined by friends and siblings. I do want to mention that we closed the place. Now the summer has officially begun. Yeah.

Yeah, Jaclyn surprised us at her graduation with the announcement that she was offered a position as a junior designer at Ireland + Associates in downtown Toronto. She signed the contract on Wednesday. She has been doing her internship with this design firm for the month of June and they love her gifted spirit. She is working with some very talented designers and photographers in the publishing field. Way to go Jackie!