Vancouver/Alaska Part I

I've been off the grid for more than two weeks now - it may be the longest I've gone without posting in more than 13 years but it was worth it.

Grouse Mountain

On June 14, we left for our Alaskan Disney Cruise and started our journey in Vancouver, Canada. What can I say about Vancouver? What a great city! The architecture. The water. The trees. All of it was so refreshing. We boarded an early flight on Friday morning and took the subway to our hotel down by the waterfront (it was easy to do since Air Canada sent 2 of our bigger pieces of luggage on the next flight instead of ours).

We had a quick lunch overlooking the water in a restaurant that had a grass roof and was built into a hill. Very eco-friendly. Then it was off to Grouse Mountain where we took a gondola to the top and enjoyed getting to know their two bears Koola and Grinder. We took in a lumberjack show which was great fun and a birds of flight program where the birds literally flew over your head. You had to really stay in your seats for fear of getting knocked down. The kids enjoyed it all before heading back to our hotel and the gas town area for dinner at Steam Works.

The next morning, we were up pretty early due to the time difference and took the sea bus to north Vancouver and back. Then we took the subway to the aquabus and on over to Granville Island with open markets and stores. It reminded me of Faneuil Hall in Boston. We had lunch there and perused many shops before taking the ferry back to our hotel and then renting bikes for the afternoon to explore Stanley Park.

I think our 5 mile bike ride around Stanley Park may have been our favorite thing we did in Vancouver. It was a beautiful day. The scenery was amazing as we rode right on the coastline and the kids were all able to easily navigate the bike path (well, Hailey was in a bike trailer but the other two did great).

Afterwards, we met up with my dad (thanks Papa for this amazing trip!) and my brothers and their families for dinner as they had just arrived. The next was Father's Day and we started off with breakfast at White Spot where we could enjoy the U.S. Women's National Team playing in the World Cup. From there we headed to the Capilano Suspension Bridge and then on to "Fly Over" a virtual reality ride through all of Canada's landmarks akin to Soarin' at Disney World/Land. We topped off the day with a nice dinner to celebrate all the dads in our family.

The next morning, we boarded the boat for our Alaskan adventure...which was just breathtakingly beautiful. Stay tuned.

The Cactus Club Cafe

Restaurant built into a hill

Grouse Mountain - the clouds/fog rolled in

Bears!

Bike Ride

Totem Poles in Stanley Park

The Bridge

Sea Bus

Capilano Suspension Bridge Tree Top Adventures

Vancouver Steam Clock

In the Jungle

Hailey had her first dance recital last weekend and for once Austen and Peyton had to go and watch one of Hailey's activities instead of her watching them.

The studio was a lot more relaxed than the one that Peyton was a part of for two years but that also meant a much shorter recital and more relaxed requirements regarding the hair and make up.

Hailey was excited when she found out her costume for the recital and I was relieved. Relieved that it wasn't a super girly costume with lots of sparkles and a big skirt. I don't know how I would have convinced her to get into that number! Luckily, it was a lion costume and her class performed to "A Lions Sleeps tonight."

Hailey knew all the steps including where she was supposed to stand on the stage and she even helped to guide the little girl in front of her when she was missing her mark. I can't wait to get the DVD and watch her again. No stage fright either. I can't believe this is my same shy kid that wouldn't talk to anyone outside of her immediate family just three short years ago!

She did great! Received flowers from us and said maybe she'll do it again next year!

Hailey Can Read!

I knew she was close to reading but the other two started reading early on in Kindergarten and I thought Hailey would do the same. So I figured I still had a few months.

Every day, Hailey and I read during lunch but I usually read to her. However, last week she bought home a book from school and I was surprised that she easily read the entire book. I thought maybe she had just memorized it because she read it a lot at school so I tested her with some early reader books we have at home and low and behold - she's reading! I mean really reading!

It's such an exciting time when kids learn to read and I'm equally excited that she's embarking on her journey into reading as I was when Austen and Peyton first learned to read. And, she's two and three months older than they are but she still learned to read a few months earlier than them too. Here she is knocking it out of the park!