Happy Birthday to Josh!

I am totally ripping off the tribute post idea from Kim, but hey, there could be worse things than having two people post tributes to a loved one, right?

Hellllloooo, Josh-u-aaa. Happy Birthday! What do you mean you're not 30 yet? Geez.... what's taking you so long? I came across this video the other day and thought it was a good time to show it off. Thanks for being such a great brother and awesome, doting uncle to our little man!  We love you!

On the Move!

What started in Canada as a crawl/scoot hybrid has progressed into a full-blown, forward motion crawl! It all started to click for Adam on that trip as he managed to just take a "step" or two. Then he got to where he could string several movements together before just simply lunging at his toy. Uncle Kevin was a big help in working and encouraging him. It was great having the family together to see the start of this milestone.

Now it is a week and a half later, and look how he goes! He has developed a foot-and-knee technique and loves to crawl to the nearest table to pull himself up.

With the crawling maneuver down pat, he also realized he could sit himself up, too, and this made bedtimes more difficult. Not long after we laid him down he would flip right over, pull himself up, and stand in his crib happy as a clam. (And how could we not smile at that?!?) We finally stopped trying to lay him back down each time he stood up and just waited until he started to get fussy standing there. I think it's because he couldn't figure out how to get down! But just this last weekend he has started lowering himself down from a stand, so now at bedtime it's a fun game for Michael and I to watch the monitor as he pops up in his crib for a bit, then back down, then back up, etc., until he finally gives up and goes to sleep.

On the down side, crawling has also brought with it unprecidented attention to the cleanliness of my floors. I was okay with being oblivious to how dirty the tile is but now there's no denying what those little hands and knees show me. Yuck!

Last Days in Canada

On our last full day in Canada we packed up and made the drive towards Vancouver. This is about a 6 hour drive, and I was amazed at how often and how quickly the weather changed as we drove. About halfway along we stop at Bridal Veil Falls. It's a short 15-minute walk up to the falls. The forest here was so green, lush and damp (total Cullen territory, by the way) and moss was growing on all the tree limbs. The viewing area stopped short of the base of the waterfall, and if there was drier footing I may have hiked up a bit more to see the base. It was amazingly peaceful in these woods.

We hiked back to the car and just missed the BC undercover police bust some car vandals! It would be absurd to think the cops were around catching hikers with beer. I mean, utterly ridiculous... 

Back on the road to Vancouver! Pardon my naivety, but Vancouver is huge! I don't know what I expected but apparently the size of it was a surprise to me. We  followed the city's electric buses, drove through  historic Gastown with its old fashioned street lamps with hanging flower baskets and found our Marriott hotel (thanks, Kim!) right in the heart of downtown.

We checked in and then headed back out to the public markets at Granville Island. This is a beautiful area of shops and markets and a lovely place to spend the evening. We walked along the many art shops, found the kids pavilion, tried the gelato, and took in the scenery. Along the main waterway it's bustling with tourists and activity. We found the public market here, too, and it was so interesting to walk around the various food stands. Such variety! One could easily eat dinner just by grazing from booth to booth. Beautiful foods. Whatever you were looking for --  meats, cheeses, pastas, fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, candies -- there was no doubt you could find it there.

The interior side of the island features a quiet waterway, and you get the  sense that Vancouvians are active people all year around. Here we saw people playing tennis, kayaking, crewing, running, sailing and walking. In the middle of this big city these parks were quiet retreats. 

Before returning to the hotel we did a quick drive by the 2010 Vancouver Olympic flame site, which turns out was viewable from our hotel. 


So long, Vancouver! I only wish we had  one more day here to really explore and experience this wonderful city, though in my short time here it's apparent that this is a great place to live. It's so clean, eco-friendly, active and has real grass!  But, alas, our Canadian vacation must come to an end, and the next morning we're heading back to the good ol' US of A. Here's a sign you don't see every day: 

From here it was an easy drive back to  Seattle. We had a drive-by tour of the Space Needle, Mt. Rainer, Chinatown (I'm beginning to think every major city except Miami has one), and the Mariners and Sea Hawks stadiums. 

Adam was a wonderful traveler this whole trip as well as the long flight back to Florida. 

What a great vacation.

Adam's appetite

We have been venturing into the world of solid foods for Adam for a month and a half now. I am happy to report that the second attempt of the avocado was much more successful and he ate it with no problem. (For those moms out there I recommend thinning it out greatly.) So far he has tried:

• bananas
• peaches
• pears
• papaya
• mango
• avocado
• sweet potato
• winter squash
• peas
• green beans
• carrots
• rice cereal
• prunes (whoa, the diapers!)
• yogurt (blueberry - his favorite)
• oatmeal (he does NOT like)
• watermelon (not sure about yet)
• Cheerios (still working on this)

So far he has proven himself a good eater and, with the exception of the oatmeal, eats everything we give him. This has been educational for me, too, as these are some foods I have never purchased before. I failed on my first attempt at buying a mango... word of advice, do not buy completely green mangoes; they will not ripen.

Last weekend Michael and I had our first attempt at preparing our own baby foods. It was so simple and a huge money saver. We used the 'cube method' where we steamed and pureed the foods, filled ice cube trays, wrapped them and froze them. Once frozen we moved the foods from the trays into snack bags. We now have a freezer filled with green beans, sweet potato, carrots, and papaya, and it's as simple as thawing a cube for one serving. We also freeze full bananas in the peel; then we just pull one out, cut off a frozen piece, and return the rest to the freezer. When the cut piece thaws it is mushy and ready to serve.

On a side note -- I have realized that I cannot feed Adam without opening my own mouth in sync with his, as if my opening will encourage him to open his. I hate that I do this but can't feed him without it! Any other moms do the same?

The Burrowing Owl

I was not aware that Canada had a wine country, but once we drove along Hwy 97 into Canada toward Penticton, there was no doubting that the region had a hearty wine industry. The Osoyoos region is the heart of wine-making in Canada, so we thought it only appropriate that we go visit and taste Canadian vino.

We happened upon The Burrowing Owl vineyard in Oliver, primarily because we knew it had a restaurant. It turned out to be a great choice -- what a beautiful estate. Our first stop with the gift shop and wine-tasting room. I had never been to a vineyard before, so this whole process was new to me. We bellied up to the bar and sampled 4 different wines. I can't remember what all of them were, but I remember the Pinot Gris was excellent (light and fruity) and the Syrah was a lovely young red.

Afterward we ventured over to the restaurant and while we waited for our table we took a short tour of their cellars and "stomping" room. We also learned that all the donations from the tastings go toward the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of B.C. to protect the vineyard's namesake. We felt a kinship to this cause, too, since the burrowing owl is common here in South Florida.

Lunch was delicious! We ate in a cozy room overlooking the vineyards while it drizzled rain outside. When we were done, we made a quick return to the gift shop (bought 2 bottles!) and then took the liberty of venturing along the vines. It was unbelievably beautiful, and we all had a wonderful afternoon driving among the rows and taking pictures.

Here are a few more of my favorites from this visit.

Oh, Canada ♪ ♫

The Canadian national anthem has been my theme song for nearly a year now. Since the boys signed up for Ironman Canada, every time we mentioned our trip and made plans, these two words would come singing out of me, followed by "da-da-da-da-da-duh..." And every time I shook my head and realized that I need to do the song justice and learn more of the words. 

Oh, Canada! We just returned from 9 days traveling to beautiful British Columbia, and, in doing so, arguably traveled the farthest distance in the continental US, from south Florida to Seattle. Because it all would be a lot to cover in one posting, I will likely spread these out over several postings.

Can I just say, first off, that Washington state is gorgeous? I just loved the cliffs above the Pacific ocean and the tall, tall, very tall trees of the Cascade mountains. We drove for roughly 5 house east and north of Seattle, through Cascade National Forest to the border crossing in tiny Oroville. I can't tell you how many orchards, vineyards and fruit stands we passed along the way. There are clear blue lakes and streams and surprisingly the landscape became more scruffy with brown grass and low coarse bushes as we drove.

We made our border crossing along Hwy 97 at Oroville and entered into Osoyoos, British Columbia easily. The wait was 5 minutes here and we were surrounded by many other cars with bikes on roofs and trunks. Disappointingly, we didn't even get a stamp in the passports! But we drove on across, and Canada looks just like... well.. Washington. If it weren't for the kmh speed limit signs, you really wouldn't know you had entered another country as everything is in English. There are no French signs this far west. Our drive took us through Canada's picturesque wine country (Osoyoos region) and much of the drive from the border to the rental house was along the Ironman bike course -- the easy part. 

We stayed outside the city of Penticton in a house we rented with Michael's sister Megan, husband Andy, kids Austin (5) and Emma (2 1/2); Michael's brother Kevin, wife Jenny, kids Alyssa (10) and Noah (5), Jenny's parents Deb and Ron, and my mom Chris. Our house was a 5-bdrm home on Lake Skaha. 

Not a bad view, eh?

Unfortunately the lake water was too cool to enjoy (temperatures were only around 70 on the hottest days) but the sunshine was warm and the deck chairs were inviting. We arrived here on Thursday. The first few days were busy with Ironman preparation -- dropping off bikes, checking in at registration, doing a practice swim in Lake Okanagan, shopping for the last-minute needs, discussing spectator plans, etc. It is an exciting time! On Friday night the boys go to a pre-race dinner while the rest of us go out to eat. On Saturday Mom, Adam and I accompany Michael downtown to walk a weekly street fair, enjoy the sunshine, and visit the local bike shop for his race day nutrition. 

Sunday was, of course, the Ironman race, and though it was a long day, it was exciting! To be in the race atmosphere is exhilarating. No, no, I have not caught the fever. Even though I was staying in a house with one 4-time IM, two 2-time IMs, and 2 Ironwomen, I will not be signing up for Ironman myself any time soon. And when I say any time soon, I mean Never. But --  have tremendous respect for you men and women, and I am perfectly content being an Iron-Sherpa for future events! And while I'm making an aside, I'd like to publicly thank my mom for being a great nanny and Gramma during this trip. We greatly appreciate your quickness to help us on the plane, feeding Adam in the backseat on the drive, watching him while I Sherpa-ed and took photos, and played with him each day. Thank you!!

Now, where was I? Monday, understandably, was a recovery day, so we took it easy and Mom, Michael, Adam and I drove down to the race site to visit the race expo merchandise tent. It's kind of sad to see all the race banners, tents and arches being broken down, kind of like the lights coming down after Christmas. We drive around the north side of the lake and stumbled upon the village of Summerland, right on the water. We wanted to find a small local restaurant for lunch, and we found it. It's called, fittingly, Local. It's a lovely restaurant that uses only local ingredients from the wines and liquors to the fruits, vegetables, seafood, and cheeses. 

Tuesday we toured a vineyard, took a drive along the bike course (the really steep parts), enjoyed the Canadian countryside, stopped at one of the many fruit stands, and spent the evening with the family over a delicious Michael-cooked meal (all made local!). It would be wonderful to live somewhere where you had so much fresh produce available all the time. Wednesday we drove out to Vancouver for an overnight before flying home on Thursday. Stay tuned for posts detailing these last few days in Canada.

P.S. I am happy to report, that after 9 days in Canada, I now know 5 more words to the national anthem ("...our home and native land") and am content with that much. (Many apologies and no disrespect to our friendly neighbor to the north.)

For Sure!

Throughout our time in Canada, the people were so refreshingly nice! It's as if they don't want to trouble you and no question is a bother to them. It's so lovely! We went into the grocery store looking for safety pins for Michael, and the lady we asked looked so disappointed that they didn't carry them there and even offered us a couple of pins she had on her uniform apron. I also had to laugh that we had two separate waitresses that would always respond with a kind 'For sure' to any request. Everyone was so polite and helpful, even when we had a minor issue with credit cards at Walmart (apparently See ID is not acceptable on credit cards in Canada Walmarts), the customer service manager was still lovely in her firmness. In further consideration, the novelty of this, to me, may not so much be a compliment to the Canadians as a poor reflection of my experiences in South Florida. Sad. Yes, we need to move.

Canada, I think, would be a great place to live, for sure. If it weren't for the different money (though the exchange rate is about even), the metric system, higher cost of living ($50 case of beer!), and the occasional difference in the inflection of their words, one would not know they were in a foreign country. In many ways it was an odd contrast for me. Here I was in another country that felt so comfortable that it was like I was still in the US. In the past I have traveled abroad and I always felt a little out of place, felt like an outsider. Here, we blended right in and I'm sure hardly anyone knew we were not Canadian, too.

And the produce! I loved all the fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs that were available at little stands around every bend. How wonderful it would be to have all that available to you all season, and at a considerable savings, no less.












No, I am not switching nationalities here (though while we were in Vancouver Michael asked when we were moving there). However, I have found a new love and respect for our friendly neighbors to the North.

And I didn't even hear one person say, "eh?".