Grouse Mountain

After checking in to the hotel and getting our snow gear on, we headed up to Grouse Mountain.

There was a gondola ride up to the main area and we had a beautiful view of Vancouver at night.

This place is so fun and doesn’t require any equipment. We took a walk through the lighted snow trail and did a little sledding too.

This is Ellie going down.

Here’s Peanut on the sled.

For dinner we ate at the restaurant there and the kid’s meals were served in a gondola box. So fun!

Peanut had to demonstrate how it works.

He also fell asleep at the dinner table. Poor guy was exhausted.

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North Vancouver

After lunch, we drove to North Vancouver to check in to our hotel. It’s a great location close to the local mountains and a fun place for good food too!

Auntie Amy booked us a suite that was complete with kitchenette, pull-out sofa, and a giant bathroom. The kids liked the birdcage chair.

Just outside the hotel is The Shipyard (a fun little shopping/dining area) and Burrard Dry Dock that has a great view of the Downtown Vancouver skyline across the water.

We also had Happy Hour at a brewery nearby.

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Dim Sum

This morning, we met up for dim sum in Richmond. With a novel coronavirus ripping through China, the town (dominantly Chinese) is deserted and this restaurant was empty. They even had a sign out front that said that they had disinfected the restaurant. Not sure what to think of all this yet.

Well, everything was very clean and we even got a private room today. Peanut also had a fun time passing things to and from people with the never-stopping automatic lazy susan.

 

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The Long Journey

We are headed to Vancouver, BC for ski week and the journey from Alameda to Surrey took a lot longer than it should have. It started with 8:30am bus ride to the airport. Peanut drew a map for us.

Once we arrived at the airport, we received a text update that our flight was an hour delayed. That one hour quickly turned into 3 hours so we had a lot of time to kill. The kids were really good about the wait and figured out ways to entertain themselves.

This is Peanut asking when we could get on the plane.

They especially enjoyed the airport store that had a bunch of Paw Patrol pups, including a brand-new Rubble.

When we finally boarded our plane and took off at 2pm, the flight was short enough for a few cartoons and a snack (2.5 hours).

We finally landed in Seattle around 4-something and were so relieved to be closer to our destination.

The next part of our journey was a bus ride to the rental car area. Getting the car was not problem but when we got in, the car wouldn’t start. Turned out it was a brand new car that had come off the truck and was not drivable yet. It even had the clear stickers covering the A-frame and dash. The rental car guys had to look up on YouTube how to install the fuses and change it from shipping mode to driving mode.

Our drive to Surrey took about 2.5 more hours and we got to the US-Canada border around 8pm. The drive to Surrey from there was quick and we arrived at Auntie Amy’s house around 8:30pm. That made our journey a total of 12 hours long!! Crazy.

The whole family was there waiting for us and we arrived in time to have birthday cake for Uncle Jay’s birthday.

The kids were up late and had a blast playing together. I love how they can pick up from where they left off last summer.

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Peanut turns FOUR

Peanut turned 4 today and he has learned and experienced so much this past year.


In August, he started swimming lessons and really enjoyed his new teacher, Coach Jin.

In September, he received his kung fu uniform and started the Little Tiger class. This guy became a big fan of Bruce Lee too.

In October, he went to the dentist and sat for his first set of x-rays and cleaning.

In November, he learned how to spell his name and started drawing the letter T.

In December, we went to Hawaii and he wasn’t afraid of floating around in the ocean or going down the big slide at the hotel. Swimming lessons have paid off.

In January, Peanut got on a snowboard for the first time and LOVED it. He was also not afraid to go down the hill from the moment he got clicked into the board.

In February, we went to Vancouver for the week and he discovered Tim Bits!!! This guy could finish a whole box of 6 doughnut holes all on his own. He also took his first snowboarding lesson.

By March, he was able to write his name and draw figures. He was also finding more interest in coloring.

By April, he was able to write all the letters of the alphabet, could write his last name and fill out a birthday card with Mama helping him with the spelling.

In May, he went to his first baseball game and enjoyed chanting “Let’s Go Oakland!” with the crowd.

In June, he took his first cruise and also visiting Alaska for the first time with his family.

And now it’s July and has turned 4 years old. We have learned that he has a very silly side but also gives the best hugs. In addition to all the things listed above, he had learned to pump a swing, dress himself completely, and has started to sound out letters. He has moved up to the white-black belt class in kung fu and moved up from Starfish to Seahorse in swim. His laugh is infectious and his confidence in life is pretty cool to watch. We love our Peanut and can’t wait to see what’s in store for him this coming year.

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Saying Goodbye


It’s our last morning with the family and the kids were up early to play.


They set up an ice cream shop and took turns being the customer.


Then it was time to say goodbye and drive back down to Seattle to catch our flight. Peanut slept most of the way and Janie did some writing in her notebook.


We also drove past the Space Needle before returning our rental car.


The flight was quick and the kids did great on the plane.

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Snow Day in the City


It’s out last morning at the hotel and it started snowing pretty hard!


The kids had fun watching the snow fall from our window.


They had breakfast in the room, which included timbits – of course!


After we checked out and loaded up the car, we took a walk around the block to a ramen place that Auntie Amy recommended.


It was fun walking and sloshing in the snow.


The ramen place is called Kokoro and was pretty good!

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Fanny Bay Oyster Co.


In the afternoon, we met up with Auntie Amy, Uncle Jay, Auntie Elaine, Uncle Mitchell, and Auntie Laurie for some raw oysters, crab, clams, and a bunch of other seafood goodies.


Janie ate at least a dozen oysters on her own and loved it.


Peanut slept through most of our meal, woke up to eat some crab, and then watched some Paw Patrol.

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