Canada

     At the end of June my dad and sister planned a quick trip to Canada and at the last second I decided to join. My dad is a mechanic for American so we fly non rev (non-revenue) stand by. Flying stand by means you get the left over seats on the planes and usually end up flying super early or super late. We got lucky and our flight to Canada was direct and at 8 am. We left on a Tuesday and came back on a Thursday. 

We tried to pack in as much stuff as we could, but as with everything you can only see so many things in 48 hours! Our first thing to do in Vancouver was head to the Capilano Suspension bridge. We rented a car and we were all starving and trying to find our way around a foreign place with access to no phones or maps... we didn't think it was necessary to get any international plan since we were there for such a short time. 

Vancouver is super busy! There were people and cars every where. Oh, and the buildings... I am not sure what I expected, but it was not that! There were so many tall buildings it was like the concrete jungle. We finally  made it to the Capilano Suspension bridge and immediately headed to the Loggers Grill to grab some food. We ended up having some of the most expensive hamburgers and fries, but they were pretty good. The bridge itself was not as long as I was expecting, but it was really cool. The trees were gigantic and they had tree house type areas all over that you walk to on different bridges. The river that the suspension bridge is over was very pretty. 

All of Vancouver had the prettiest landscaping. The flowers every where were beautiful. I think it has a lot to do with their weather, not too hot and not too cold. After seeing the Suspension bridge we drove through the different parks and headed to our hotel. Our hotel was the Inn at the Quay and it was right on the Fraser River. There was a cute boardwalk and pretty boats all along the river. That night we decided to venture to a place called Boston Pizza and it wasn't all that great. I think we were all worn out from traveling and walking all day to enjoy any food. 

 

Our second and final day we drove up to Whistler. We had a good French breakfast at a place near the hotel. Kennedy and I had french toast with Canadian bacon, because Canada. Dad had a big omelet and really good fruit.The drive up the mountain and through town was beautiful. The rivers are the prettiest turquoise color from the snow melt. We arrived in the Whistler Village and drove around about 4 times before deciding where to park. After finally parking we took a walk through the Olympic park and went straight into Starbucks! While in Starbucks a small rain shower blew through and cooled down the temps a little bit. I think they said the temperature hung out around 23 degrees celsius the whole time, I was comfortable in jean capris and a pull over. 

We ate lunch at the coolest urban taco place. The food was amazing and my favorite meal of the trip. Kennedy and I shared a chicken burrito and dad got three different kinds of street tacos. I hope Kennedy can recreate that burrito, it was so good! The locals that hang around the village are so nice and always have their dogs. I was loving it! There is actually still one pass that you can ski and snowboard on, but there was no snow at the base. 

After checking out all of Whistler we headed back down the mountain towards the city. We stopped at every rest stop and park to try and see the "green lakes". We found two different waterfalls and could see Daisy Lake only from a far and the pictures just do not do that lake justice. The water was the prettiest turquoise, one that you would expect to see in the caribbean and not the mountains. We also stopped at an old ferry dock to check things out. They said in the 90s you could see whale from that dock, but they haven't been spotted in the last decade. We ate at King Cockney's Fish and Chips that night for dinner, be Kennedy's request because she saw chicken fingers. And then we went back to the hotel and all crashed.  

I can't wait to go back to Whistler in the winter!

Until next time Canada!

Summer So Far

We have flown through June and tomorrow marks the first day of July, which happens to be the best month of the year and full of fun stuff. Summer so far has been pretty dang busy. I sometimes don't sit down until I am laying horizontal in my bed and I kind of like it that way. I am feeling more comfortable in our house and even loving the thought and feeling of saying "our house". We still have a long ways to go, but I am trying to be content. One thing I do not want to be content with is the front door frame falling in or out? ... Y'all, I can move the wall myself and the front door does not shut unless you slam it. This is a problem.

But, moving past that. I have air conditioning, a roof over my head, and a place to call home that is full of love and muddy paws.

June 5th we lost a dear soul and friend. Sue fought a hard 18 month battle against her second round of cancer. She passed away Friday night and we will forever miss her, but are so glad to have spent 18 years with her. She was a second mother to me and someone I always knew would be there. I wanted so badly to bring home my future babies to her. I was blessed and thankful to get to share my nieces with her and my pups. Sue was a firecracker and someone I am so thankful to have loved and been loved by. Cancer sucks. It absolutely does, but cancer cannot shatter hope. It cannot cripple love, it cannot suppress memories. It cannot invade the soul. It cannot kill friendship or corrode faith. Cancer cannot steal eternal life. And it cannot conquer the spirit.

So far we have visited Colorado, celebrated a beautiful wedding! Our grandparents and cousins from Colorado came down as well as Gram and Papa to celebrate my little sister graduating high school! Cue the tears... just kidding I didn't cry, but I did feel all the feels. She is at freshmen orientation right now and I can't really wrap my head around her going to college... wasn't I just in college and she was just a blonde headed tot running around behind me? Time flies people. Before that we celebrated Memorial Day with a fish fry and pool time. That same weekend we celebrated Paw Paws 82nd birthday in Abilene!

My dad and sister planned a trip to Canada and on whim I decided to go with! It was so fun. Canadians are pretty cool and Vancouver was beautiful. Our niece Maddyn turned 1! Griffey was fixed at one of the chop shops for $20... yes I did that and no I don't feel bad. He was 20 weeks old so it was easy breezy and nothing has slowed him down! Yes, I still totally support our local vet and take our dogs there for everything else. Josh moved in with us about three weeks ago and let me tell you its been nothing short of fun. Josh and Cam sit and giggle and talk all night and its pretty cute. We are pretty lucky to have such good friends.

We leave for Cabo in a few days! I can't wait. The salty and humid air is going to make my hair crazy and I just don't care! My only plans are to drink a margarita, Mai Tai, and eat some calamari. We are crossing our fingers and praying that we make the flights we are listed on because I don't want to find out what its like to be on the street in Mexico. While in Mexico I will turn 24! That sounds crazy, I used to think anything over 18 was so old and part of me does feel super old and wondering why the heck I haven't started my life and the other part is perfectly fine where I am in life.

Here are a handful of my favorite pictures thus far. I plan on recapping Canada in its entirety, but who knows if that will happen.