Greetings from Arizona! We have been really enjoying ourselves on vacation. It is hard to believe more than a week has already flown by. There is a lot to share from our trip, and I look forward to giving you a glimpse in upcoming posts.
The weather has been stunning. It is amazing how wonderful the sunshine feels, and how good it is for your spirit. Having breakfast and drinks outdoors has been such a treat. Going from the hot tub to the pool, and back to the hot tub again has been wonderful quality time for our family. Big Brother and Little Sister LOVE the water, and so do Mommy and Daddy J! Our favorite way to spend happy hour is right in front of the fire pit, where Big Brother has enjoyed a marshmallow or two. We are so fortunate to be spending time with the proud grandparents. There have been lots of precious moments, but luckily we have not come across any Javelinas. At least any real ones that is! J
I can’t wait to share lots more from our trip, but for now it is bed time, and we are soaking up every precious moment of vacation that we can.
See you soon, my friends!
What is your favorite happy hour drink?
And we’re off!
Today we start our journey to Arizona, and we are all pumped for a nice long vacation. We’ll be gone for 2 weeks. This will be the longest we have managed to get away before. I know! What were we thinking; we should have done this earlier. J
While we are away we will get to visit with lots of family! All the grandparents will get to see Big Brother and Little Sister. Oh, and of course us! J
Getting away to a warm climate is just what we are in need of. Although the weather has made a turn for the more beautiful, we have endured a lot of time indoors and rain this winter, so getting outdoors more is going to be wonderful.
I’m sure we will have lots of fun adventures along the way, and maybe a few challenging ones. This will be Little Sister’s first time flying and she is just at that perfect age of 1. Too old to sit still, and too young to care about watching an in-flight movie. Wish us luck, and the people around us a lot of patience! I feel for them already.
Here is a picture of Big Brother’s favorite doll the last time we visited. OK, so maybe he was too scared to walk down the hall, but I think it’s neat, and how many grandparents do you know cool enough to have something like that in their hall?! Watch, Little Sister will probably just laugh and want to play with it?
For the 2 weeks I’m away, posting may be a bit sporadic at times. I like to change things up while on vacation and prioritize relaxing as much as possible. I have been hard at work preparing some posts ahead of time, and anything I don’t fill you in on while we are away, I will be sure to do when we get back.
See you soon, my friends!
Any must-dos while we are in AZ?
Packing is on my mind right now. I am starting to think about what I SHOULD and what I SHOULD NOT bring on our trip to AZ. The truth is I don’t like packing, however the up side is it is good practice for my mental strength! J It is a time for me to strengthen my happiness muscle and either find a new outlook on it, or get good at saying positive mantras while I am doing it.Traveling with kids, especially young ones, well I say especially because that is all I know. Traveling with teenagers is foreign to me. It is a difficult thing to do. I’m fortunate because my husband doesn’t mind packing, so he does the majority of it. I try to do some of the brainstorming ahead of time, and then discuss with him what he thinks is necessary to bring.I also have another plus on my side. My husband’s parents are EXTREMELY helpful in picking up things we might need to help cut down on the amount we need to bring. Not only do they stock up on cloths and food for the kids, they also have provided the essentials: crib, highchair, car seats. Thank goodness for that or I don’t think we would be able to fit on the plane :-/ They deserve a BIG THANK YOU!!!In thinking about what to bring for myself I started to ponder what shoes I should pack. Now if you know a woman, and I am sure you probably do, you’ll know packing shoes is a challenge. Not only do we want our shoes to match our cloths, we need different shoes for a variety of activities.A common complaint I hear from my husband is “Why do you need to bring 85 pairs of shoes? I am packing 1 pair, and wearing the other. That is all you need!” Sound familiar? You are either a man and have said the exact same thing, or you have watched a woman pack.Here is my condensed shoe packing list, and this is VERY condensed for me. · 1 pair of sneakers - these will be my all-purpose shoes, and probably the ones I will wear on the plane. Usually I would bring my golf shoes as well. Oh how I love my golf shoes! You will be missed. But as my husband said I will live if I just wear my sneakers golfing, and like usual, he is right.· 1 pair of dress shoes – cut down from 1 black and 1 brown (ladies you understand!), not to mention any colors.· 1 pair of sandals – I’m hoping this one holds up! I don’t know if I can do it. Usually I would like to bring 1 black, 1 brown, and my crocs to wear by the pool because they are great to get wet. Is it bad if I am already seriously re-thinking this one? Stay tuned, my will power is feeling weak! 3 pairs, that’s it! OK, so I am going to call it a GOAL, but even if I miss by one, it will still be good for me. It’s all about baby steps... Did I forget to mention my husband and I have already been thinking about bargain hunting for a pair of everyday shoes while we are down there to replace the ones we have run into the ground? I LOVE Vancouver, but not for good shoe prices. The mark-up coming across the border can be wild. For some reason it is easier to spend $ to buy a pair of dress shoes for a special event that you probably won’t wear very often, instead of shoes for everyday even though half the leather is worn off the toes. Anybody else have that problem?Help! What are your shoe packing strategies?A special thank you my friend Tina from Carrots-N-Cake whose documentation of packing improvement over the last 2 years has helped to motivate me!
On Sunday our family decided to go on an Olympic Adventure of our own visiting some of the wonderful downtown sites. There is so much beauty in the world, which leaves me with a long list of places I would like to visit and see firsthand. That is not always possible so a passion of mine is visiting places through photography. If you allow it, a photo can give you a sense of adventure, and visiting in your mind can be a lot of fun. For me travel photography can be a nice mini-break from my day, leaving me refreshed in a way.
Being fortunate to call the Olympic city home, I wanted to share the love. I hope you enjoy this trip of Olympic sites as a travel break from your day. There are links provided for more information on any areas you would like to explore further, or to continue your mind’s travel. Welcome to Vancouver Entering Vancouver’s Chinatown, North America’s second largest Chinatown after San Francisco. Celebration in the street Now to the heart of downtown The beautiful view Vancouver has to offer includes both the ocean and mountains, which inspires a sea of glass windows on the buildings. Many buildings downtown are condos. A great city to live downtown and walk everywhere!
Two flags that hold a special place in my heart ♥ CTV filming their broadcast on Robson Street, a popular street to visit in Vancouver with lots of shopping. The streets are jammed with people. Some buildings are decorated to Welcome the World Big Brother is wearing his mittens in support of the Canadian athletes. And because it was Valentine’s Day I had to take a photo of some pretty flowers on the sidewalk. At the bottom of Hornby Street you can catch a water taxi to take you over to Granville Island, a large marketplace with a wonderful array of food and artistic vendors. You can see the market place across the water in the background. It was a beautiful afternoon for a walk along the sea wall.
Here is another water taxi pick up area you can take to get around. The view No words, just beauty... As luck would have it, playing roller hockey at the rink right on the ocean were a few wonderful people we know.
Little Sister checking out the hockey players. Back on the walk, there is Daddy with Little Sister on his shoulders. Here we are coming up on the Vancouver Olympic symbol Inukshuk. He is wearing his mittens too! When we reached English Bay, we went down Davies Street to the sea wall on the other side in search of... Can you see it in the background? Look what we passed by on our way. The Olympic rings J Here we are getting closer. And in case it is too Hot for you Daddy, Big Brother, and Little Sister in the stroller, ever so close... We made it! The Olympic Flame!!! As close as you can get!
Hope you enjoyed this tour of some downtown Vancouver Olympic sites.
Have a wonderful evening!
Can you feel the heat from the flame? It is larger than it looks in the picture J
Here is fun Time Lapse video of Vancouver The downtown area of Vancouver is not that big, which makes it a fantastic walking city. When I first moved to Vancouver and was not very familiar with the area, a few times I got a little lost. I would look up at the skyline and head towards one of the tallest buildings I knew was located near the condo I was living in and could find my way home.Big Brother loved walking down our street and taking the water taxi, a small ferry, over to Granville Island. A large market place with great vendors.For a little trip down memory lane, here is an old picture on the ferry to Granville Island when he was just a baby. The huge heated salt water pool located right on the ocean in Stanley Park that you see in the background of this picture is marvellous!An old picture of Big Brother having A LOT of fun in the mud Provided in this post are some links to a few of this areas attractions that I mentioned should you have a moment and would like more information.Vancouver holds a very special place in my heart, and always will no matter where life takes us. It is where my children were born. More to come...Did you watch the Opening Ceremony last night? Did you have a favorite part?
We had a great time at Whistler. Thank you so much everyone for your comments! They mean a lot to me J
After breakfast we cleaned up the house, packed up the car, and away we went. I spent a lot of the drive home taking pictures. It was still a little bit foggy, but a nice drive none-the-less. A little while into the drive the kids were being quiet. I turned around to see what they were up to, because quiet isn’t the norm for them, and this is what I saw. I thought it was so sweet they were holding hands as we were driving along. I just had to snap a pic. I’ll save this for when they are teenagers. Their winter scene cups are cute. One of the par three holes goes out onto the water. I tried to capture a picture of it, but it was a little hard to do. A few more shots of the water and we were almost home. There is a peak of Beautiful British Columbia as the licence plates say.
Friday I was pleasantly surprised with some good news, thank you very much to Katie from Fit to Wed. She passed along the Beautiful Blogger Award to me. I really appreciate it Katie! Here is how the award works: you are supposed to list 7 random facts about yourself, and pass it onto 7 other lovely bloggers.
Here are my 7 random facts:
Random Facts
1. My favorite flower is Black Magic Roses. I used them in my wedding. 2. I sleep with a fan. Sometimes I have trouble shutting my brain off. The noise and the wind help sooth me. My husband is completely hooked now too.3. My first date with my Hubby was Valentine’s Day 10 years from this coming one, when I was 19. We met in an economics class and started dating about 1 month after meeting for the first time.4. I love to take care of my home. Not because it is perfectly decorated, or perfectly cleaned and organized, but because it is where my family and I spend a lot of time together. It gives me joy making it a nice place for all of us, and I find that fulfilling. I didn’t always think about it this way but learned it from my Grandmother. She told me often how much she used to love taking care of her home. That was when it occurred to me that it was a great way of looking at it, and that I wanted to share her positive attitude. It is amazing how good it feels when you find happiness in simple things.5. Something I would love to do and have told no one, until now, is write lyrics to a song.6. I love snow, which might be obvious from my last few posts J. A life goal of mine is to have a winter home where all my Christmas decorations can live, and I can cover the walls in winter decor.7. After giving birth to my children one of the changes my body went through is one of my toenails turned slightly crooked. Not enough for anyone else to notice but I did. The seven lovely bloggers I would like to pass this award on to, in no particular order, and without overlapping Katie’s are:Jessielynn @ Thoughts PunctuatedTina Carrots-n-CakeVictoria@ SwoonetteJen @ Healthy LapsJulie @ Maui Vacation GuideChad @ Chad And Tammy AdventuresDustin @ The Cycling Monks
Great job, I really enjoy your blogs.
Thanks so much for reading everyone! I hope you have a great week. Flowers can bring lots of happiness, the smell, the color, how they liven up a room, and so I am really curious:What is your favorite flower if you had to pick just one?
Our drive to Whistler was a rainy one. The trip to Whistler starts with a beautiful drive along the ocean.
However, the fog and rain were not cooperating with me. I am sure there will be more Whistler trips in the future, so hopefully at some point I can share the breathtaking view when the sun is shining. We were saying and would guess there is some filming of the area going on for the Olympics. Be sure to check that out in just 34 days! There was still some construction going on. Hopefully they will be done in time. The gorgeous mountains are behind that fog somewhere. We made a pit stop a Starbucks. Lil’ Sis loves to hold the empty cup. Here we are pulling in. So Happy to be here! Lots of rain upon arrival. But there is still snow!
Soon after we arrived it was time for dinner.
The top to a Tupperware tray always makes a great backup toddler plate. Kids went to sleep around 8. It takes longer to get them to bed in a new environment, but soon after it was time to break out the wine. We enjoyed it, but wouldn’t say it was a must try.
Saturday morning rolled around, and it was off to the village. The rain followed us. How cute is that covered bridge? Love it. Which way should we go? Sledding break. Wee! Baby enjoying the snow too. There was lots of giggling J Village bound. Normally it is easier to pull a sled with snow on the ground. The rain washed some of it away, but that didn’t stop Big Brother from pulling his sled on the brick. Up the stairs. As he likes to say “I’m a strong boy.” A place for kids to meet up. You can’t really see in this picture, but in the background is a magic carpet for the kids to ride up to the top of the bunny slope. It is adorable to watch the little kids all buddle up in their snow gear ridding it up to the top. Whistler is a beautiful, fun place to be no matter what the weather is. Here are some village shots. I love how at Whistler with all the outdoor heaters, people are dinning outside year round in every type of weather.
You can even go swimming outside in the middle of winter! What a great way to enjoy the view! Of course we stopped to refuel at Starbucks. A warm buckle with the turkey sandwiches, carrots, and trail mix we brought along really hit the spot.
Now that the men, I mean kids, were fed, it was time to browse a few stores. We didn’t buy anything, but had fun looking around. It is time to say goodbye for today. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Are you getting excited for the Olympics yet?
Today is all about a pile of growing lists! I think I am up to 3 lists going right now. I don’t always do this, well at least not this many lists J, but when my brain gets overwhelmed with what needs to be done I find it helps me.
I need to pack, pack, pack as well as get a bunch of things done around the house so we will be prepared for our trip tomorrow. We are only going away for the weekend, however, a lot of the packing list needs to go with you whether you go for one night or 2 weeks when you have kids, especially a baby! Stroller, playpen, baby bedding, diapers, wipes, Sippy cups, and that isn’t even a dent.
Then there are all the travel toys and activities for the pre-schooler so that he is occupied. Trust me the extra work finding things to bring for a pre-schooler to do is far better than the alternative of what it is like when they have too much time and not enough to do. We made that mistake on a plane ride once and people in different rows were handing us stuff, mostly because they were very generous and probably felt bad for us.
There is nothing better than traveling on a plane and having really friendly people seated behind you. Kids love to stand up, look at them, and invade their space. I completely understand people not wanting that. I have sympathy for the people that are trying to have a peaceful flight and they are seated near kids. Being on the other side and having very young children that are not old enough to be completely reasoned with yet, it feels like a miracle when you are next to really understanding people. Your brain wonders let them stand up, and invade someone’s privacy, or have the overtired kids who can’t nap on planes all out loose it. It is such a hard thing, and I have to put out a BIG HUGE THANK YOU for all the people who have been so patient with us!
In addition, we need to fit the sleds, cloths, boots, and winter gear of course, into the car somehow. Plus the electronics camera, phone, computer and their accessories...yikes! Thought that was it? Nope not yet. Here is where the traveling for less money comes in...
Bring your own food.
If budget is not an issue for you, than I can see how it would be worth the extra money to just get food when you are at your location. It saves time, and is definitely less of a hassle. However, if you do need to keep the cost down bringing your own food is a huge money saver.
Vacation destination areas such as Whistler are very expensive. The grocery stores there are small, crowded, and the prices are high. At least the ones I have been in.
Bringing your own food saves a lot but in order to do it, it takes your time and organization. When it seems like it is not worth it, just pretend you are getting paid with the money you are saving. If it is a matter of being able to afford to go away or not it is completely worth it. We already have a vacation to AZ planned in March so we need to keep our costs down.
Plan each meal: breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as snacks and beverages. Do that for each person. A couple of days really adds up to a lot of food when you have 4 people. Bring meals that are easy to prepare, and are filling. This will help you reduce the urge to go out to eat. If you do this, a splurge might mean getting a specialty coffee, or hot chocolate, which will cost you a lot less than dinner for 4. Fortunately, I have a gift certificate to Starbucks from Christmas so we are all set for that too J!
When making your food list keep items that need to be left cold on one side, and items that can be left out on the other. It will make it faster when packing the cooler, and food bags. The night before gather all your refrigerated/frozen items on a shelf in the fridge so they are ready to go. Don’t forget things like hot sauce, ketchup, peanut butter or whatever else you need with your meals. I like to put these items in small tupperwares to bring so they take up less space.
Make extra ice ahead of time to fill your cooler. Fortunately we have an ice machine so I plan on emptying the ice from the machine into bags in order to make more. That way it is ready to go.
All that being said I have a lot to do! But first, I think I need a green tea to motivate and calm me J Hope you have a wonderful day.
What do you do to save money when traveling?
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