The Other Vancouver - Vancouver, B.C. (Canada)

Last weekend I visited the other Vancouver - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was a spontaneous trip that my friend Louise and I planned on a Monday and that next left Saturday at 6 a.m. We had such a fun time - I think I'll be more spontaneous in the future. The picture above is from North Vancouver looking across the bay to Vancouver. It is so beautiful - we were fortunate that it was a beautiful, sunny weekend while we were there. We took the ferry across the bay so that was fun.
The picture above is of Canada Place, the #1 tourist attraction in Vancouver. There are lovely views from this location. The building looks like a huge ship but it's not. Now I can say I've been there.
The pictures above and below are of the Public Market on Granville Island which is part of Vancouver. The fruit and pastries were so tempting. I was amazed at how high the boxes above were heaped with fruit. That was impressive and then I noticed the price - $12.95/lb for the berries! I don't know how much a box of strawberries weighs but that seemed outrageous to me - The Canadian dollar and U.S. dollar are essentially equal since the conversion rate is 1:1.03. I'm sure you already know I didn't buy any fruit. I didn't buy any pastries below either. The pastries looked great but were expensive. A cake approximately 6 inches in diameter, 2 layers was $30....

The picture above was taken at Granville Island looking back to downtown Vancouver. I just loved the view! I also loved the seafood from the Sandbar restaurant at this location. I had the best salmon I've ever had in my life! It was so yummy!
I had never heard of Tim Horton's before but I saw one on practically every corner in Vancouver. My friend called it "Timmy's". You can see a picture of Louise and her friend Audley in the picture above by our rental car. This is actually a doughnut/muffin place and I fell in love with Tim Horton's! They were so delicious - not as sweet as doughnuts in the U.S. The muffins were whole wheat so more healthy than here too. I just loved them and can hardly wait to go back again - this will be my first stop when I return. (I already know what I want - a cranberry, blueberry, bran muffin!)
The mountains were so beautiful capped in snow. The mountain peaks above are referred to as "Elephant Ears." My friend said they look like elephant ears. I couldn't see that but maybe you can.
My pictures are a little out of order but the shot above is from inside Tim Horton's. We had to go to 4 different Tim Horton's to find one without so many people so I could take a picture without people in it. My timing was perfect at this location because people were coming in just as I snapped the picture.
Above is a picture of the Vancouver, British Columbia temple (Mormon). It is beautiful. We went there after Sacrament meeting where we heard an excellent talk from a member of the Seventy.
This picture was taken by the Pitt River. Isn't it beautiful? (Jenna, I thought of you when I was here....) My trip was a blast - I laughed and had a great time. I look forward to going again soon.

Benson's First Birthday

Jenna is amazing! She designed and made the cake above and the cupcakes below. They were also delicious. Benson's first birthday party theme was a jungle!

Weston was having a great time playing with his sticks........ He has loved sticks since he was old enough to pick one up and walk around.
Benson looked so handsome on his first birthday.
Paisley getting a little treat..........
Blowing out the birthday candle above.........
Benson going for the birthday cake. He didn't hesitate at all and the hand went right to his mouth as soon as he had some cake in it.

Aren't these cute pictures above and below? I think he loves chocolate as much as I do!

Benson didn't get tired of eating his birthday cake......

I sure love my youngest grandson. I've really enjoyed the first birthday parties this year. I'm kind of sad that this is the last first birthday party - unless I am fortunate enough to have another grandchild come along!
Opening the presents..............
Since Spencer and Benson had matching colored shirts, I had Casey hold them for this picture. Spencer and Benson are just a few months apart.
Benson had a fun day on his birthday! It was a beautiful California spring day and it was perfect! I am so glad I could be there to visit and attend the birthday parties!

Other Precious Photos!

Weston is just an angel - he slept like this when he was a baby also. (Thanks Casey for taking this picture for me!)
Benson is so cute - I was amazed at how he kept his feet propped up on the edge of his tray. He did this constantly. It was just so cute.
Weston eating breakfast..........
Paisley with her new engineer Barbie. She loves her Barbies!
Spencer was having a fun time with the cell phone.
Cute Paisley ready for a day in the California sunshine!
Just a couple of random shots - Spencer Gator above and Princess Paisley below!

Jenna's Birthday........

I went a day early for my trip so I could be there on Jenna's birthday! We had a delicious breakfast at Mimi's to start then went to Target to shop for pajamas. The boys were so cute in the fun cart below that I had to take a photo.

Weston was having fun with his goggles! Below, this picture is so precious - Paisley was reading this story to Weston and he was so attentive. They get along so well. It is just wonderful and we enjoyed listening to them for quite awhile until they left reading to go back to play.

Ashley made this beautiful and delicious birthday cake for Jenna. It is a 3 layer cake and tasted as great as it looks. Ashley also made a wonderful Mexican dinner for us all to enjoy!
I just love this picture above of Jenna - she is so beautiful and so happy!

I got to babysit on Jenna's birthday so that was a special treat for me. The boys were so tired from a busy day that they easily went to bed that night. Jenna, thanks for letting me celebrate your birthday with you! It was a great day for me!

Weston's Early Birthday Celebration!

I wish I could attend all my grandchildren's birthdays each year. Instead I've celebrated early or late. On my last trip to California, I celebrated Weston's upcoming 3rd birthday. Jenna made a delicious dinner. This chicken was awesome and the broccoli cooked perfect.
Weston was so excited to celebrate his birthday. Jenna made delicious gourmet cupcakes! Yum!
Weston was so cute blowing out his birthday candle. As you can see below, he didn't waste much time in starting to eat his cupcake!

I was so happy that Weston liked the birthday gifts that I got him. You can see in the picture above and the one below. I sure love this little boy! He makes me so happy!
I'm hooked on the Fisher Price Little People sets - I hope Weston enjoys this new set!

Impromptu Trip to Grants Pass

Last weekend Nate and Misty got news that their house would close escrow in a couple of days (yesterday) so John and I volunteered to pack up the staged house and take the furniture to Grants Pass for them. Of course my motivation was to see my darling grandchildren. It was well worth the trip. I had been in California the week before and got Easter hats and sunglasses for the girls so I gave them their early gifts. Adalei is above and Brielle below. They look so cute. I wish I could be there on Easter to see them.

Here's a picture of Elijah - he's getting bigger all the time. I just love to see him smile. He is such a happy boy. He's moving around so fast that this is the only good picture I got of him. Unfortunately he was napping when I took the pictures below. It was a quick trip. We arrived at 4 pm on Saturday with the 26 ft U-Haul truck, unloaded it, had dinner and went to bed. The next morning was Sunday and we left after Sacrament Meeting at 2:30 pm. I didn't have much time for picture taking....
Adalei and Brielle were having fun playing and performing on the mattress before church - they looked so cute as you can see. I hope you enjoy the video at the bottom. It is so fun to see them together. (We made the drive in 4 hours each way so I'm not as hesitant to take a road trip next time to see them.)