Vancouver

For a date, Ryan and I decided to head into Vancouver for some Olympic adventure. Turns out, so did most of the rest of the world! We figured as much since it was supposed to be fantastic weather and, well, it was the Olympics! We left Camia with my mother in law which, in the end, was a fantastic idea because of the amount of people walking around. We could barely maneuver sometimes with just the two of us, never mind trying to bring a jogging stroller along with us! We parked at the River Rock Casino and took the sky train into Vancouver. The line ups started here already, though we managed to wait not even 10 minutes to get on the train. By the time we got to Waterfront, we were squished like sardines in there, ready to have some fresh air and some room to move.

We followed the hoards of people to Robson Square and contemplated going into the Mint...which we decided against when we saw the line up that was about 1 1/2 hours long. So then we headed to the Bay because Ryan wanted an Olympic jacket. And turned around when we got to the end of the line to discover that it was about 3 hours of a wait. We left Robson.
And headed to GM Place where there were tons more people. We later discovered that it was for a hockey game that was to start at noon. (See that FABulous BLUE sky????)

So, we headed to the Olympic Village and walked around there for a while. We saw where people built Inukshuks along the beach. All these rocks are formed into an Inukshuk of one kind or another.

There were also globes made from different materials with information about recycling. This one is made from carpet and stone. I didn't know that carpet can be recycled! We threw our old carpet into the dump after we ripped it out.

After leaving the Olympic Village, we headed to Canada House to see the Stanley Cup. Man, what a lot of walking! Mainly because some of the Olympic people got our request to see the Canada House mixed up with the Canada Hockey House, two different places located about 4 blocks from each other in opposite directions. We went to the Canada Hockey House about 3 times before we got a map and figured it out on our own. While we waited in line, we saw these two guys on stilts. They reminded me of those two nutty Canadian figures of whom I don't remember their names quite right now. They were fun to watch. They made their way through the line, playing with the kids and then went in front of the Canada House where they had a game of hockey with a bunch of kids. They argued jokingly, it was quite amusing to watch.

The Canada House! We waited about 45 minutes in the lineup after waiting about that much time to get into the House to see the Cup.
The line to see the Cup:The Cup! While we were waiting in line, I called my crazy hockey loving brother to ask 'Guess where WE are right now??' He had wanted to go to Vancouver for his birthday but ended up cancelling it. Ryan and I still went. He only said 'Don't you DARE touch it.'. I almost considered it, just to spite him. But, being the awesomest sister that I am, I didn't lay a finger on it. And in this photo, I am not touching it, though it may look like I am. :)
After seeing the Cup, I really wanted to go see the outdoor Cauldron. See all the people who thought the same thing??? Yikes!It didn't take long to get there. There were cops and people directing people traffic like crazy, so it went rather smoothly.
We got close enough to see the Cauldron!
You can see people on the left side of this picture. They are on the viewing deck, something we thought of heading to. But it was about a 45 minute lineup. We thought against it since we really needed to head home at that point since we had a dinner date with my family in honour of my brother's birthday.
We started heading home at about 3:30. We got back to my mother in law's at about 5:45. We waited 45 minutes to get on the Canada Line. It didn't seem like 45 minutes since there was a couple from Holland in front of us with whom we chatted with the whole way down to the train. Pleasant couple. Made time go by quickly.

Ryan and I had a good day. It was good to be together. We walked and walked and walked and climbed a few stairs in there too, which I told him was a good thing because then I can work to having buns of steel. To which he responded by saying that it wasn't going to take 1 day of climbing stairs to get. Bummer. One can dream, right? :P

Another Project Complete!

I am slowly but surely getting to the bottom of my 'to complete one day' project list. I saw a tutorial on a blog I follow on how to make a little purse out of the pockets on a pair of cargo pants. Since Ryan lost a lot of weight, all his old pants are hanging around, waiting for me to take them to Value Village so they can be treasured by someone else. I've decided that they can be treasured by me. Seriously. It's like a gold mine for me. I get zippers, buttons, and fabric with which to make purses! And a cargo pocket is already prepared for me, so one less thing for me to do! It's a pretty sweet deal! For the binding around the pocket and the inside of this bag, I used left over fabric from the baby carrier I made way back when for Camia.Originally this bag was going to be for Camia. But as it turns out, the pockets on a mans pants are almost as big as she is! So, for now, this bag belongs to me! I am not sure what I will do with it, since it is kinda small for me, but I am sure I will think of something!

A Braid!

Camia's hair continues to grow in both length and thickness, so today I decided that, for fun, I would try braiding her hair. I think this might be a regular hairstyle for her when I really do not feel like doing pig tails!

Magnets!

Camia has discovered magnets and a steel surface. Such a fun new toy! This is another toy that gets hours of use by her little fingers. Her new thing is 'what's this?', something she asks for every little thing. Sometimes she plays the game of picking up a magnet and says 'what's this?', which can be kind of fun and is educational for her.

She also likes the Tupperware shape toy, and has become quite good at putting all the shapes in their appropriate spaces all by herself. Wooden puzzles are another fun thing for her, and she also knows where all the pieces belong. It's been so much fun watching her learn, and I am constantly amazed at how quickly her brain soaks up information sometimes.

Hush Little Baby....

Lately I have been changing Camia's diaper before I go to bed to avoid wet clothes, sheets and baths every morning because her diaper has exploded.....again. And again. and again. Sometimes she doesn't even wake up...like this time.Other times I am not so lucky and she wakes up, which at that moment she lets go, and everything still gets wet, a bath is needed as are clean clothes. One day I will learn how to change a sleeping baby properly and be prepared should she wake up before I am done. One day...

A New Infatuation

Camia has a new (ish) love: balloons. I was in Safeway the other day and her eyes just bug out of her head when she sees balloons...Safeway is plastered with them. I don't usually buy her one since I have a bag at home that I take from whenever she pops one, which she has become quite gifted at. But this one was helium. And at a buck fifty, I am sure it was the best buck fifty I ever spent on a toy!

She played with it for hours ! She put it in her wagon and took it for rides,

ran around with it and just had so much fun! I tried to snap some photos, but she has learned that it is fun to see the photo after it has been taken, so as soon as she sees the camera, she comes running so she can see the photo I've just tried to take. I am crossing my fingers that one day she will learn that I have to take the photo before she can see it.

The Olympics!!

On Monday of last week, Tien, Dawson, Mackenzie, Camia and I headed to Douglas Crescent to watch the Olympic torch run by on it's way to Vancouver.

It was a pretty neat experience, and the crowd was responsive to the torch bearing Canada gear, waving flags and cheering.

There was an Inukshuk made from snow in front of the City Hall,

And we waited for two hours, so we kept Camia busy by feeding her,

Giving her Olympic memorabilia, Letting her run since the roads were closed anyways,

And just taking photos, thanks to Tien's sister's camera.

I had given my camera to Ryan since the torch was going past his work. I don't usually read the newspaper, so I didn't know that the torch was going pretty much past my house until Tien called me that morning to ask if I wanted to come with her. These photo's are what Ryan took.

I love this photo:

And then the torch came! It went so quickly by that just as soon as it started it was over.

A previous torch bearer posed with us...we were really only interested in the torch :), but a torch bearer in the photo is kinda cool too.

Dishes!

Camia has a little chair which she pulls these days out every time I am in the kitchen, especially when I do the dishes. Yesterday she decided that she would 'help' me. She splashed and made everything quite damp, but it kept her happy while I worked on preparing dinner.

My Bakerella

Yesterday I got all my new Tupperware and was working on organizing my pantry. I had received a rubbermaid container when we got married to hold my flour, but had just ordered a Tupperware container to hold it since it takes up way less space and since I use both multi grain and white flour, I can fit 2 on top of each other to save space in my pantry. The big rubbermaid container was almost empty so I didn't really mind that Camia had gotten into it. She came to the kitchen and got herself a measuring cup and went to work with the flour. I couldn't help but snap a few photos...She's in there like a dirty shirt!
What, Mommy?

Mill Lake

Today Melissa and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and head to Mill Lake for a walk. It is conveniently in the middle for both of us, so it makes a great place to meet for a walk. We took our muffins and walk twice around the lake and then spent a few minutes in the park, letting the girls play. Love this one!
My Bean.
She was SO excited to see the ducks, and there were so many of them!

Camia and Sidney watching the ducks.

She was enthralled with the ducks. Next time I need to remember to take bread along so she can feed them...
First iced caps of the year, and its only February! It was warm enough today to walk with no sweaters. At around 3, though, we could definitely feel it start to quickly cool down, at which point we left the park.