Green Lake Summer 2013

  On the 13th, Gary and I went on a date! Yahoo!  We went to `Date Night' at Eighteen 27 in Fort Langley.  Three course meal for two for $39.99.   There were some additional rules to this that we found out when we got there.  Each person had to order a drink (add $10) and you share the appetizer and dessert.  Would've been good to know that info ahead of time!  I had the ribs (as usual, I always get them!) and they were really good.    I gave it 8/10, Gary gave his salmon and experience  a 7/10. 

We have committed to date night once a month.  In June, we went to Cactus Club and it was really, really good.  I loved it and was surprised how much I loved it.  We did have gift cards which made the experience much nicer because you aren't thinking about the money you are spending!  

The picture above is from our Cactus Club date and that bread appetizer was AWESOME.  I also got ribs there:)

For my birthday, this is going to sound terrible, but I got a bunch of alcohol.  Beer and then wine.  Gary had the kids decorate labels and then he wrote on the inside.  I don't drink a lot.  Maybe a glass of wine three times a week?  I think because I didn't drink for so long (pregnant, bfing) I really do enjoy it now!  Anyway, the birthday was pretty uneventful.  I think next year I will spoil myself with the spa or something.  I'm very low maintenance (in my opinion) but I really do enjoy being `spoiled'.  Not with gifts, but experiences.  And loving words.

On my birthday, we drove up to Green Lake.  This is the best sight you could see; Babes sleeping on the way up!!!  Okay, so she only slept 30 minutes and then the other 5 hours were spent pointing out of the window saying `Mama! Mama!' meaning `I want outside!!!'  She has started nodding yes and no to questions, it is amazing!!  She can `tell' us what she wants. So great.

The power was out for 12 hours when we got there.  Not ideal.  We had lasagna on the bbq.  The next night we had a greek pasta salad with bbq chicken. Yum.

Nya had this funky rash for over a week.  No idea what it is.  She is teething so that's what I'm assuming it is.

The boys went on the quad

and they went canoeing.  Kai loved canoeing.  Kai and Koen LOVE Amazing Race Canada.  Kai is determined to be a mom/son team in 9 years.  He told me I needed to `train' paddling with him in preparation.  He talks about the race every single day.  He's trying to figure out what our team name will be and what sort of training we should work on. 

We played some Balongoball.

There is a fire ban so we couldn't make s'mores but we could make s'morepedoes!!  Put mini marshmallows and chocolate in  a waffle cone, packed full, cover in aluminum foil, and bbq for 5 minutes. YUM! So good and way neater to eat:)

We did a hike together, just 10 minutes away at Mt. Begbie.

The boys loved the hike.  I carried Nya up but she wanted OUT. 

So we took a different path down and she did the whole thing on her own!! Her first hike!

On the last day, my dad flew in to visit.  He landed on a private air strip just 5 km down the road.  It's on the grass field!  You can see his co-pilot on the leash; Boom Boom.  My dad is hilarious because he's just so random.  So, he hung out with us for the afternoon and then I drove him back to the plane.

I forgot to say that Kai vomited the first night and Koen did the second night.  I think our kids are still struggling with some residual stuff from the SE Asia trip.  Nya is teething but still sleeping pretty well at night.

The kids had fun so that's good.  I was able to finish editing a session and even read a book! The joys of not having cable or internet:)  

When we got home, we picked out our new pet.  Swimmy Gordie Chapman. Kai picked `Swimmy' and Koen picked `Gordie'.   This is as much pet responsibility as I can handle.

Kai starts hockey camp this week and he's excited!   It's just ball hockey, not ice.

Not sure if you follow the news but there was a ferry that sunk outside of Cebu, Philippines.  It is the same ferry company that we used (2Go), and the same port.  It was coming from a different island, but still.  So devastating.  800 people aboard and almost 100 missing/dead.  It had collided with a tanker.  Once again, I am so thankful for our safety on our trip and my heart grieves for all of those that have lost loved ones.

I'm off to a couple of family sessions now....it's awesomely cloudy so should be good.  Hope you had a good weekend.

Love, Louise

Trust Your Gut

I'm going to blog about our trip to Green Lake but just wanted to post a little tidbit about trusting your gut.  When Kai was sick 3 weeks ago, I knew it was more than just food poisoning by the 4th day when his fever was still high.  He had no diarrhea so that is not consistent with food poisoning.  I even took him to two different doctors and both were not that concerned saying it was food poisoning or a viral infection of sorts.   I have this idea in my head that doctors don't want me doing my own research and they wouldn't listen to me anyway and they know best.  I have a great family doctor but I still feel like I shouldn't question them.  Not sure if it's just my perception or reality.  I'm just scared they are going to think I'm a crazy mom.

  Anyway, over that week, Kai was very sick.  Lethargic, feverish, no appetite. All he did was sleep and moan about his sore stomach.  I did my research for several hours over the week.  Looking up his symptoms.  Looking up Chiang Mai.  Looking at images.  Once his legs developed the giant bruise, I knew it must be Dengue Fever.  I went to the doctor and said, `Look at his legs, I'm concerned he has Dengue Fever'.  He took a look at his legs, googled it, and then said he would send him for a blood test.  I went back to the clinic today with Koen (going on 10 days of `digestive issues') and asked about Kai's final test results.   He had been preliminary diagnosed based on low platelets.  The receptionist said there was nothing unusual with them, negative results.  REALLY??  He didn't have Dengue Fever? What did he have then?  When I saw the doctor, I mentioned that I hadn't heard from him so assumed Kai was fine?  He looked it up and printed up the results. Yes, Kai had tested positive for Dengue Fever.  The results had been in a WEEK AGO.

It is important for his medical history to know what he has had.  It's important for me to know.  True, there is no treatment for him but it was good to know what to look for in case it got worse.  ANYWAY, my point is, had I just stopped after the first doctor visit, I never would've known.  Think about if he had something that did require treatment?  Or if it turned out to be hemorrhagic Dengue? (deadly).   I'm not saying anything against the doctors.  They are awesome and hard working and I always wanted to be one.  I just think that as parents, we shouldn't feel bad about being persistent and it's good to advocate for our kids sometimes beyond what we feel comfortable with.  I felt kind of dumb going back a third time.  But, I'm so glad that I did.   So, if you ever aren't sure, better to be safe than sorry, right?!  

Trust your gut, people.  Don't ever feel bad about getting a second opinion. Or a third:)

Video of SE Asia Trip!

Gary made a video of our summer trip! It is 13 minutes long so if you can't watch the whole thing, I understand!!

I can't attach it here for some reason but here is the link.

Our Weekend

This afternoon we went to Campbell Valley Park to feed the birds.  I think the birds were full:)  We went with my sister Maria, her husband Kris, and their 4 girls.  So easy as our kids just get along really well.  The oldest kids, Ani and Kai, are just 6 months apart and then the youngest two, Georgia and Nya, are 6 weeks apart.  

Kai was super pumped he got a bird.  

Two funny things that Kai has said this weekend:

1.  After a good meal by Gary he said, `Mom, I think Dad is ready for `Chopped' now'

2.  While helping me hang the laundry on the clothesline for the first time, `This is a sort of an interesting experience'.

Kai did not have an official birthday this year.  Opi, my dad, did take him out for McDonalds which he loved.  He also brought back a meal for Koen (very thoughtful) and ice cream for us:)

Then, on Thursday Gary and I took Kai, Koen and my nieces Ani and Izzy to Splashdown Waterslides for his birthday.  We were able to use three coupons so only had to pay for three of us.  Way more affordable.  My sister Maria took Nya for the morning/afternoon which made our day so easy.  When the youngest is 4.5? Oh wow, SO EASY!!!  The last hour I just sat at the bottom of the slides and watched them come down.  I could've probably read a book or something!

I had a photo shoot at Redwood Park on Friday so Gary and the kiddos came to play on the playground and then we had a little picnic.

Koen got a new Star Wars Lego clock.  He loves it.  He loves Lego Star Wars and he loves numbers/time.

Gary is going to be laying (?) cement tomorrow to extend our patio.  He's going to do a smaller section first as he's never done it before.

We had a barbeque at my sister's house on Saturday and almost everyone was there (minus Jackie, Tyler and Isaac who are camping).  We all got cuddles with the littlest babe, Grace. She looks just like her big sis and is filling out quickly! She'll surpass Nya in no time!

Nya had a crazy reaction to either whole milk or kiwi.  I think it was kiwi.  She got hives all over her legs and weird sores on her cheeks.  She's had it for two days so I hope it clears up soon! Below she is eating beef curry with pineapples and yogurt...so yummy and she loves to feed herself. I don't even know what this expression is but you can see she has some work to do on her accuracy with feeding herself.

Made a super yummy Blueberry Strawberry Cobbler.  I need to buy a bunch of blueberries to freeze for the winter!  You can find the recipe here.

And because I have a couple more pictures of Kai Bear, here he is.  He is completely better and his appetite is back with a vengeance!  He won't stop eating! 

Kai has gorgeous hazel/green eyes and Nya will have the same.  

Kai said that the best part of being married is that one adult can stay home with the kids so the other adult can go out.  So true!  Not sure it's the best part but WOW, I LOVE THE FREEDOM RIGHT NOW!!!   I can go for a run in the morning, I can go shopping (did Gary's back to school shopping)...so great.

Talking about exercise, I'm thinking of buying a small machine to work out with.  I've had a manual treadmill, elliptical, and a bike.  I used them all quite a bit (each for 2 years...they were second hand and not the best condition) but am looking for something else.  I always need it for the fall as Gary has basketball and if I want to get some exercise in, it needs to be in our home.  Thoughts?

Hope you had a great weekend!!

Love, Louise

PS Someone is turning 35 this week!! Not sure it's that exciting. The big 40 will be way more exciting and I'm planning on going to Vegas for it:)

Boys and Girls; Really That Different?

**I have so many pictures of the kids doing things that are not stereotypical for their gender roles but lack of time is preventing me from adding them.  So picture Nya playing cars and the boys baking and then all three of them wrestling **

Very few things get me riled up but one of those things is gender equality.  I was one of 5 girls.  Yup, no boys.  It seemed like every day someone said `Your parents must've kept going to try to get a boy!'.  This drove us crazy!!! Are girls not just as wonderful as boys?  Would my parents love us more if they had a boy? Of course not, who would they trade in? None of us!

{Is this really the most recent picture I have of all 5 sisters?}

Thanks to my feminist father, we grew up knowing that we could do whatever a boy could do.  We knew that we were just as capable as boys at anything and everything.  He may have taken it too far in the other direction saying that girls were better, but regardless, I never thought for ONE SECOND that boys could beat me in anything.  I loved math.  I arm wrestled boys and girls.  I became a science teacher.  I hiked. I caught and gutted fish.  I played barbies but I was also excited to get my very own hammer (which I may have hit Maria over the head with).  We built forts in the forest.  

When we found out we were having a boy, I was so nervous.  I knew very little about little boys, how would I relate to him?  Well you know what, boys and girls aren't that different.  They have the same needs.  Within the two genders, there are variations.  Sensitive girls and sensitive boys.  Wild girls and wild boys.  Often we train the sensitivity/empathy out of our boys trying to get them to toughen up.  How many times when they are hurt do we say, `You're tough.  You're fine' rather than saying `That must've hurt.   Are you okay now?'.  I would LOVE for my boys to cry with those who cry.   Our little Ms. Nya is a tough one and I think that's great.  She's loud.  She's adventurous.  She loves to wrestle.  If she ends up being uber sensitive, that's fine too.

I love that Gary and I don't follow stereotypical gender roles.  The kids see Gary in the kitchen daily (one of his pet peeves is if I put something on the wrong shelf in the fridge!) and I play hockey with them.   However, I can cook and Gary can play hockey with them too.  We are both smart and fast and creative and funny and nice to them.  

I went to a talk about gender differences at TWU months ago and here are some of the things that stood out to me:

1.  Boys are 3X more likely to hear explanations from their parents about science.  Not sure why...let your girls know all the facts too!  If you don't know, google it together!    If your kids have a question, don't just say `I don't know', look it up.  Learn together!

2.  Female teachers can pass on their own anxieties of math and science to girls.  FEMALE TEACHERS, please do not say anything negative about math and science and your ability to do it!!  Let the kids see that although we all have varying degrees of skill in this area, we can all try our best, it has nothing to do with whether you are a boy or girl!  I first fell in love with science while studying the human body with our FEMALE science 9 teacher. I looooooooooooooved mad minutes in math.  You know, answer a whole page of math questions and turn the paper over as quickly as you can.  LOVED it.  

3. Vocabulary parents use with their kids in preschool predicts their vocabulary in grade 3.  Do you talk to your boys and girls differently?  

4. Stereotype threat; anxiety because of negative stereotypes.  This is so true with me. Because I've heard that men are better spatially, I am insecure with any 3D puzzles that require manipulation or video games etc.  

5. Parents may not encourage boys to communicate well.   Use emotion when talking with boys and girls. 

6. Parents discourage challenges for females. There was this whole study about the parents setting up the angle of a ramp for their babies; boys and girls.  They made it much steeper for the boys even though they were both equally capable.  Risk taking builds confidence.

7.  In marketing science toys, often the boys are doing the science activity and the girls are watching them!

Some other nuggets which were taken from `Real Boys' from William Pollock about raising boys are:

1. There is no such thing as giving boys too much love.  You can't spoil him with affection or providing him with freedom to follow his own path.  `There is no single path to a healthy and mature masculinity.  A good school or home environment will send the message that activities like sports, acting in a school, and volunteering at the local nursing home all provide good ways to succeed...'.

2. Boys and girls may connect with their parents differently.  A girl may snuggle or talk or bring a small gift.  A boys would prefer an activity together or do a task for his parents.   Although Kai and I love to read together, he definitely connects to us as parents by doing activities together (mostly sports:)

3.  At least once a day, give your boy undivided attention.  I'm thinking the same is good for a girl too:)  To those of you with one kid, you're probably thinking `Uh, obviously' but when you have three, there's a little less focused time on each so it is a good reminder.

4. When a boy expresses vulnerable feelings, avoid teasing or taunting him.  This is a big one because there is a lot of joking and teasing in this family:)  Gary has really learned a lot in this area.  Just because he might think Kai's reason for crying is silly does not mean that Kai doesn't actually feel sad about it. 

5. `Encourage the expression of a full range of emotions.'  Often when babies cry, we try to get them to laugh and smile.  How about holding them and showing empathy with your words and facial expressions.

6.  `Express your love and empathy openly and generously.'.  Don't be afraid of babying him, you can't show too much love or empathy.  Cutting off your affection and support can be very damaging.  Tell your son that you love him as often as you like, play closely, share emotions.  Give space when they ask for it. 

Why the rant now?  I saw the news about these shirts from `The Children's Place'.   Seriously, it drives me crazy.  If my daughter likes music and dancing that is so awesome, I hope my boys like it too!  But if it's encouraging the ideas that girls can't do math as well....oh my goodness....

{Taken from thegloss.com}

All right!  Time to go play some hockey with the kiddos:)  Nya even has her own stick now.

Love, Louise

Exhale

Life is good.  It feels good to be home and back into routines and just having space to run around!  We've just been doing the usual; family bike rides to the park, swimming in the FREE outdoor pools (yay Surrey!), garage sale-ing, visiting sisters, walking to the grocery store, Gary and I getting to run on opposite mornings etc.   We've definitely had oodles of family time this past month and I'm looking forward to getting away with Gary one day.  And you know what?  We might be able to do that sooner than later BECAUSE NYA SLEPT 12 HOURS STRAIGHT TWO DAYS IN A ROW.    The molars came through (took almost 6 weeks!) and she now has 10/20 teeth.   I think Gary's parents might be able to take them for one night if she sleeps through..will check on that:) 

The day after Kai's birthday is Gary's!  So, we had homemade ice cream sandwiches and then went to Crescent Beach (along with thousands of other people!) and had fish and chips.  So overpriced, it drives me bonkers, but whatever.  Happy 38th birthday to Gary!!  What did he get? A loving hug:) Ha, we are going out for dinner for both of our birthdays next week.

I know I look like a crazy mom but if these kids don't have some structured activities, they are going to kill each other.  Nya got to join in on the school work :)  She's colouring with crayons.  I know I'm all teacher-y but I think it's good to keep it up over the summer.

We love our basement. Love it.  We can send the kids down, unsupervised, and have some freedom!!  It's nice and cool down there too.  The gates have now been removed from the stairs and Nya is free to roam as she pleases.  Kai does get to play Wii (Koen has no desire and his skill level is uh, lacking) and then they just play hockey and soccer too. 

Nya has been so great the past few days.  I think she has finally adjusted to being home.  She is happy, loves to dance, and looooooooooooooves to eat fruit.  We went to the park this morning and now she does the slide on her own...

All right, Gary took the boys to the pool so I should get some things off of the `To Do' list while babes sleeps.   It is so great to see Kai healthy and happy again.  Except for the ample energy to bug his brother, that drives me crazy.

Oh, I forgot to say that I am going to start subbing in September.  I really want to see if part time teaching is something I would like to do again (I'm really thinking it is) and subbing will be the perfect way to test it out.  I am only doing one photography session/week and then hopefully subbing one day per week too.   

Hope you are having a great week!!

Love, Louise

Kai Bear Turns Seven

A quick look back to the little guy who changed our lives more than anything else.  It was a really hard adjustment for me but now I just can't imagine my life not being a mom.  We love our Kai Bear!

Happy birthday to my Kai Bear. We didn't have a fun birthday planned as he is just recovered from Dengue Fever.   Yes, that is what he had! Not contagious, passed on by mosquitoes, acquired in Chiang Mai.  No long term health effects...just waiting for his platelet levels to get back to normal.  Platelets are vital to blood clotting so I was tipped off to Dengue as soon as I saw the capillaries in his legs had burst.  It can be a very dangerous disease if it progresses to hemorrhagic dengue fever but his platelet levels are not that far outside of the norm.  

We will be taking him, Koen and two cousins to the waterslides to celebrate his birthday this year.  I just don't have the energy or desire to put together a Pokemon Birthday Party.   It's also that he doesn't have `best friends', he's just friends with everyone, so who do we invite?  Regardless, I feel like I suck a bit but oh well.  For the actual day yesterday we played hockey as a family and went to Gary's parents house and had pizza and ice cream, he seemed to find that very fun so that's good.  He got a new Wii game for his birthday from us.

What is new with Kai Bear?
He started calling us dad and mom now.  I'm a bit sad about this.  I loved it that he called me `Mommy' up until now.  It started in public a month ago and now he does it full time.  He'll still hold my hand in public though:)

He has acquired some new habits which make Gary and I look at each other like `Uh, does he think that's funny?'.   Just new dance moves and voices that he thinks are funny.  They're not.  They are embarrassing:)

He loves all sports still and especially hockey.  We signed him up for ball hockey camp which he will love.  We are doing it in the summer because he is at school for extended hours during the school year so I don't want to add to that.

He loves his brother and sister and knows how to drive Koen crazy.  They bug each other all day long and yet, they are such good buds.  On our trip, he really wanted to be in charge and babysit the kids.  He said he would just charge us 300 pesos:) (about $10)

He loves all competition, races and anything to do with numbers.  He is gifted in math.

We bond over reading...right now we are reading `Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' together.

He loves to play hockey, badminton or Wii with Gary.

I just took a couple of photos of him this afternoon.  It is soooo good to see him looking normal again!  For the whole week he was flushed and weak and sleeping and miserable.  His eyes were barely open.  So hard to see your kids sick, especially if it's not a disease you are familiar with.

The picture above is so Kai and it reminds me a bit of his cousin Jayden.   He has still only lost 1 tooth but I'm very happy about that.  I'm not ready for the stage where there are gaps and big teeth and all that jazz.  He's about 60 lbs and size 1 shoes so very average for his age in regards to size.

I love all of his freckles.  So cute.  I hope he is never embarrassed by them.

Oh Kai Bear.  We love you very much.  Happy 7th birthday.

Love, Mommy, Daddy (oops, I guess Mom and Dad), Koen and Nya.

Travelling South East Asia With Kids

We spent three weeks travelling through the Philippines and then went to Chiang Mai, Thailand with our three kids. What were our highlights? Low lights? What would we do differently? What is important when travelling with kids?

Highlights first:

Philippines (Cebu, Moalboal, Bohol): snorkeling, visiting friends, good food, ocean, walking on the beach, sleeping in a treehouse.

Thailand (Chiang Mai): pool, meat skewers, feeding elephants, night market, Thai massage.

What would we do differently?

1.  Bring a few more toys for the kids (like a ball) and toys for the pool.  We brought a life jacket which wasn't necessary as they just wore water wings.

2. We were in Chiang Mai for 6 nights and this was too long. We would've stayed in Chiang Mai for just 3-4 nights and then either gone to another city OR stayed at a place outside the city. It was really hard to be with the three kids in middle of the city. There was nowhere for them to run around freely and every time we went out we had to have our hands on them because vehicles were rushing by everywhere. Also, we could have seen all we wanted in four days and then spent three days elsewhere. Another flight would've been tricky with them so maybe staying outside the city would've been good. Or, we had a really nice place in Bangkok andI could have stayed there another night.

3. We wouldn't have let the kids eat outside of the restaurant for health reasons. We all contacted some illness from the food. Gary also had a bad bout just before coming home and this made him unable to care for the kids for 24 hours which made it harder on me. His food poisioning came from eating at one of the food stalls. It's one thing for us to get sick but my heart hurt so much for our kids (each one vomited at one time or another on the last day of our trip).

4. I would have slathered the kids in mosquito repellent. We tried the bracelets and a mosquito repellant fan and they didn't work very well. We were covered in mosquito bites in Chiang Mai and that is where Kai got Dengue Fever. He had a high fever, major fatigue and vomiting which hit him on the flight home.

Important things when travelling with kids:

1. Age: Koen and Kai were easy to travel with as they are four and six. Nya (age 1) was really tough to travel with. She needed naps in her bed, she screamed and she kept us up at night. If your youngest is 4, easy peasy. On planes the bigger kids just watched movies and ate food–they loved it.

2.  Down time: Have down time  each day. When Nya napped the boys would watch a movie or  play video games. It was usually during the the hottest part of the day and about one hour. 

3. If travelling with a baby/toddler: a stroller is useless in these areas. An Ergo is awesome. Get a great travel crib (we have the Phil and Teds) and a good travel high chair (we used a cloth seat that rolled up and fit in my purse!). Breastfeeding is ideal because then you don't need to worry about preparing bottles in a sanitary way or getting bottled water for them etc. Also the milk tastes different because it treated at very high temperatures.

4. Snacks: have a lot of snacks. We bribed them with mango smoothies each day which kept them hydrated too. We always had oreos (or `creamos') and crackers on hand.

5. Stick to bedtimes. The heat is exhausting and they will be tired. In order to get over the jet lag, you have to try to get to a normal schedule asap. If you want to be able to do a lot each day, you need well rested kids!

6. Spending Money: let them have a small amount of money to spend as they wish. They really want that milkshake or keychain? Okay! 

7.  Get time away: We were with our kids 24/7.  In the same room. Always. My highlight included a Thai massage not only because it was good but because it was one hour just for myself. Gary had one too. 

8.  Take transit: We are a family that loves to walk. However, when you are in another time zone (14 hours ahead) and it's 34 C, it's just smarter to take transit. If you are doing a longer trip, take an air conditioned taxi. We rented one for four hours for the elephant conservation and it cost $50 which was so worth it. Otherwise, a tuk tuk ride through the city is just $1. 

9.  Pool: Our kids have a lot of energy.  There are really no parks to run around in where we were (although we realized there was one within a tuk tuk ride the day we left).  A pool was very important to help them get rid of all of their energy and it also kept us nice and cool during the day. We only went to the pool once in Thailand and looking back we would've gone more had we thought of it sooner.

10. Toys: each boy got to bring a backpack with their favourite toys.  We kept a lot of things in ziploc bags which was key due to spills and just keeping stuff organized. They loved their cars, Pokemon cards and Nintendo DS. This was great for down times during the day (usually 1 hour) and especially waiting in airport terminals.

11.  No white shirts: clothes get dirty fast and we had mango juice stains everywhere – yellow was actually a great colour for Koen to be wearing! We had them wear their clothes two days in a row usually so darker shorts were also key. 

12.  Sunscreen and hats: we were outside every day in 30 C weather and only Koen got a minor sunburn on his face (Gary and I did get our backs burnt a bit while snorkeling). Our kids had big dorky bucket hats but it totally kept them safe!  

13.  Visit someone you know!  It was so great to spend time with Jen, Andrey and Ella in their home.  We were able to get over jet lag in a comfortable environment and they could show us the ropes.

What did we miss?

The kids didn't really miss anything.  Gary and I really missed our alone time.  It was really hard being with them all the time, especially with Nya getting up so much at night, I was exhausted. I think had we stayed in Bangkok (our only place that had two rooms) for one more night, that would've been really good.

Overall, how was it?

It was great.  We had a good time.  I was impressed with myself and how I was relatively calm most of the time, although the kids definitely had me swearing a time or two. We won't go back to SE Asia as a family but I'm glad we went. It was totally safe (well, maybe not food/water/mosquito wise) and it was very family-friendly. Everyone was very nice to us. Every day I did think about all the romantic and fun things Gary and I could be doing (like oh boy, I think we missed out on some seriously amazing snorkeling) but at the same time, every day I saw my kids LOVING what they were doing.   

No place like home.

Every time I go away and come back, I am reminded of just how amazing Vancouver/BC is. I love it here. I look forward to just exploring more of BC with our family.  I love our home and our bed. Love having our own bedroom. Why do I keep talking about that?!  

Random side note:

The most comfortable thing to wear?

Yoga pants.

Other random note:

Koen is very friendly.  He would go up to anyone anywhere and start a conversation. Usually they had no idea what he was talking about but he would get hugs and high fives from them. Once in a restaurant I lost sight of him and where was he? He was sitting with a couple and chatting with them because the man had an Angry Birds shirt.

And now....what should we do next summer?!  Ha.  I think we will be doing the Oregon Coast again. We love that trip.

Love, 

Louise