DeNatly Cousins take Canada 2015

laurenphansen2
Feb 27, 2016
2 min read

It has become a family tradition to spend a week or two of every summer on a small island in Canada. Located in British Columbia, we meet on Vancouver Island in the North Saanich Marina to take a small boat to an even smaller island named Piers Island. Impossible to get to without a private boat and a private dock (or knowledge of a small landing beach), it is the ideal setting for our little family trips. It is the perfect place to disconnect from technology, and just explore. Every year, my nine cousins, two siblings, and myself manage to find new adventures. This years adventures included running through the forested areas, getting hopelessly lost trying to find a good spot to hid from the adults trying to find us, and swimming in the freezing cold ocean. Swimming in cold water in the middle of the ocean isn't exactly new to us, however, we always try to find new ways to liven the summer up. We decided that jumping off of the small dock about a foot and a half above the water level would be a great idea. As the tide got higher, we got more adventurous, and decided to jump from the pier about fifteen feet above the water level. Our glamorous "Before" shot:

Left to Right: Sydney (10), Me (17), Eden (14), and Sierra (16)

The even more glamorous "After" shot:

Left to Right: Madison (14), Sydney (10), Me (17), Eden (14), Sierra (16), Ben (14), Thad (7), Will (12)

We might have frozen our butts of, almost drowned (yes that's an exaggeration), and suffered from weak arms and legs after trying to pull ourselves from the water, but we all now have a great memory to remind each other about, and one day hopefully share with our kids as we walk up the same old dock and pier, to the same pale grey house, to continue the traditions we had growing up.