vancouver

At the beginning of October, us girls and kids took off for a weekend trip to Vancouver.  Thankfully my Aunt offered to drive while my Mom and I entertained the kids (with the help of Cars 1 and lots of snacks).  We stayed in a beautiful hotel, had great weather, visited with Aunty Kaity, ate amazing dinners, shopped, walked the city, went to the Vancouver Aquarium and a Canucks game.  It was perfect!  And we're al still talking about how much fun we had.

Getting ready to depart.  Loading the car turned out to be the most frustrating part of our trip.  Avery's car seat was not cooperating.  At all.  But look at these two happy-campers.  They didn't mind the delay.

Avery slept for all of about 25 minutes (!?) of the 4 1/2 hour trip and Jake made a lot of bathrooms stops but we made it with no other troubles.

The hotel was a huge highlight for the kids.  Elevators to ride.  A room full of floor-to-ceiling- windows to look out of.  Three beds to try and jump on.  And a long, narrow hallway in our room that turned out to be a perfect place to play soccer and to run back-and-forth at full speed.  Jake was literally bouncing off the walls with excitement.  

And when they needed a little fresh air, we just popped outside and to run around in the green-space out front.

Eating out went off without a hitch.  No highchairs?  No kids menu?  No problem.  Jake ordered the sushi both nights and we pulled the stroller up to the table (and brought the bumbo for night number two.  So smart).  Our food was delicious.  Good company also helped and we were so spoiled by Aunty Brenda.

\
The Aquarium was so much fun.  We saw a million different things but some of the big hits were the jellyfish, octopus, starfish, stingrays, belugas and penguins.

And Stanley Park is always so beautiful.  Next time we'll need to devote an entire day to roam the park, it's forested paths, ancient trees and beaches.

Aunty Kaity babysat (and played and played and played) while we did a little shopping.  And funnily enough, Billy was also in Vancouver for a business trip.  Even though he was in a different hotel we were within walking distance, so he met us for a dinner and he and I were able to sneak out and go to the Canuks game.  Such a fun atmosphere and such a treat to sit and watch a game with Billy.  This is only the second time that has ever happened in over eleven years!

Until next time Vancouver.