Vancouver

A view of the Vancouver skyline from the Harbor!

We left last Friday on our trip to Vancouver!  I didn't do the best job of documenting everything, but I did get some pretty amazing pictures of the city!  I don't have hardly any pictures of just the two of us.  By the time we got all dressed up & ready for dinner every night, taking a picture was the last thing on my mind! 

Every night we had a four course (sometimes more) delicious meal, with beautiful table settings & floral arrangements.  This was from our last dinner at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and it's the only one I thought to take a picture of!  Every night was a new color scheme with amazing flowers! 

Here's a view from our room in the Art Gallery where we had dinner the last night! 

Another picture of our tables at the Art Gallery!  Isn't it gorgeous! 

If you know me at all, you know flying is not my cup of tea!  However, we had four flights total to get there and back, and they were all about a smooth as you could get!  We traveled home with a priest, so I figured we were in good hands!  I even managed to squeeze in a few small, restless naps along the way!

Another view from the top floor of the Art Gallery!

This is a garden just behind the  Art Gallery!

Another view from the Art Gallery balcony!

We had many adventures planned before we ever got there.  One day it was a Sea Safari.  They took us out in these inflatable boats and toured around Howe Sound.  We saw a lot of the native wildlife including sea lions, bald eagles, and many other birds!  Sadly, we didn't get to see any whales!  The Sea Safari was really a smooth boat ride that allowed us to get up close and personal with nature & it's creatures! 

This particular sea lion liked to have his picture taken!

A group of sea lions hanging out on one of the rocky islands!

More sea lions!

This is a fresh water waterfall that flows into the Howe Sound!  It was beautiful! 

Another sea lion

The same waterfall

A shot of Whistler, where the ski/snow events from the 2010 Olympics took place!

This is a $600 million highway that was build in preparation of the 2010 Olympics that links Vancouver to Whistler mountain!  The locals all raved about the improvements that Olympics brought to their city!

The clouds rolled over the mountains into the sound!  It was so peaceful!

We found a pair of bald eagles along our tour!  They say they mate for life!

Here's the only picture of the two of us on the trip!  We had to wear these huge flotation suits for the sea safari!  Aren't we glamorous! 

One of our other adventures was a mountain biking tour of Stanley Park, which is a huge park/forest right in the middle of the city!   Neither one of us had been on a actual bike (that wasn't stationary) in MANY years, so it took us a little while to get comfortable.  We thought it would be about 4 miles, but it turns out by the time we were done it was more like 10!  My butt is still sore!  It was a great way to see the city though! 

Totem poles at the entrance to Stanley Park!

There was a group of totem poles at the entrance of Stanley Park.  This is just one of them!

Craig taking in the view at one of our stops on our bike ride!

Some of the foliage on Beaver Lake which is right in the middle of the forest in Stanley Park!

The Forest in Stanley Park

More trees!

A beaver dam in the middle of Beaver Lake!

Here's a reference picture that shows the size of some of these trees!  This one was obviously one of the biggest, and they say it is thousands of year old!

We arrived in Vancouver early on Friday, so we had some time to kill before our first official event.  We had hear the Vancouver Aquarium was a must-see, so we headed that way!  It was pretty neat to see, but I have to say we are pretty spoiled with the Henry Doorly Zoo right here in our own backyard!

The seawall is a big deal out there...it's a huge walking/biking path that runs all along the shore.  We walked down it on our way to the aquarium, and this is one of the many views we got of the city!

A couple of the little penguins that live at the Aquarium!

Dolphins!

Beluga whales are a big draw at the Aquarium.  Here's a picture I took of one of them through the glass of the underground viewing area.  They were so graceful for being some of the biggest creatures at the aquarium!

I also didn't think to take any pictures of our hotel room!  It was amazing!  We stayed at the Four Seasons in downtown Vancouver, and it was crazy!  The service was wonderful, the rooms were big and beautiful, and the view was great! I think we had house keeping in our rooms every time we left, we had new towels, empty trash cans, etc. 

This is a rooftop of a nearby building to our hotel!  Craig thought it was cool!

Another view from our hotel room! 

I have to tell you about the food!  We had some amazing food while we were there!  Obviously, the seafood was amazing!  We had salmon, sushi, scallop ceviche, jellyfish, and so much more!  I tried to be as adventurous as I could!  We also had about 4 desserts every night!  I actually tried creme brulee for the first time, and it was to die for!   One night after a five course meal, they pedaled in a gelato cart on wheels.  So, along with our creme brulee, citrus salad, and strawberry rhubarb shortcake, we had gelato!  I don't think we had anything that wasn't amazing!  The amazing part it somehow, miraculously I didn't gain a pound while I was gone!  I credit that to being on the go the entire time! 

The flowers around the city were gorgeous!  Many of them were the same type of flowers we have hear, but the environment out there means they all had HUGE blossoms!  It was amazing!

We are all looking forward to the weekend for some quality family time and some rest!  What an amazing gift we were given! I'm sure we'll never be able to take a trip like that again, so we are beyond grateful! 

Weekend Wrap-up

We had a good Memorial Day weekend full of friends, family, parties, & fun!  So much fun, in fact, that I didn't take ONE, single picture!  I'm getting pretty bad about that!  All of these pictures are of the last few weeks from my phone. 

Saturday night, Craig & I had our 10 year High School Reunion.  We had about half of our classmates show up, so it was fun to catch up with some of them.  It's pretty crazy to think how many of us live within about 100 miles of Tekamah, and we haven't seen some of them since the day we graduated.  Two of my favorite people on the planet conspired against me at the party, and I ended up having a little bit (WAY) too much fun!  I sure paid for it on Sunday!  In fact, I'm still exhausted and half a headache...

Sunday we celebrated Chase's 1st birthday with a Monster themed party!  In my hungover state, I didn't document it at all, but it was a lot of fun!  Lots of family, great food, and lots of laughs!  Delaney had a great time, and Chase hung in there pretty well for going on no nap!  He was pretty timid with his little Monster cake, and he got bored with his gifts after about two of them.  His favorite thing was the tissue paper in the gift bags!  He is a full-time walker now, and he's very curious so they will have a busy summer of chasing him around ahead of them.  Poor little guy had tubes put in his ears on Tuesday morning.  He made it in and out of surgery without any trouble, so let's hope he's done with those pesky ear infections! 

We made it back home late Sunday afternoon, and walked into the sauna that was our house.  When we got home it was 85 degrees in there, and the AC was running.  It didn't take Craig longer than about 20 seconds to realize we had a big problem.  Given that the AC unit is 13 years old, we figured it was toast and braced for the worse.  Since it was Sunday night of a holiday weekend, we had to tough it out for a couple days.  We all took cold showers before bedtime, ran every fan we had, and slept with as many windows open as we could.  When you have a freight train track in the backyard, this is a major challenge.  The good news is that it was just some small piece that was bad, and it was really dirty so after a few replacements and a good thorough cleaning we are back up & running!   A couple hours of work and $300 later we are comfortable once again!  (We were expecting to have to put in a whole new AC, which would have been around $3000 so to say we were thankful is a major understatement!)

Monday we tried to stay out of our house as much as we could as it was HOTT in there!  We had a picnic at the park, and D got in some serious playtime at the playground.  She settled in for a long nap Monday afternoon before we grilled some dinner with Uncle Chip & Aunt Lauren!  I did manage to get all our laundry done, so that was a success!

Delaney wanted a picture with her Elmo!  That girl LOVES Elmo!

A couple weeks ago we checked out Pioneers Park for a while.  Delaney got up close & personal with some geese!  Of course, she loved it!  I'm sure we'll be making another trip out there soon with proper geese-feeding supplies!

Little Miss D is becoming quite the challenging grocery shopping companion.  She doesn't like riding in the cart much anymore, and she likes to help with everything...including pushing the cart...

This is what a 3 1/2 hour nap does for Delaney!  One happy girl!

Delaney has developed an infatuation with watering plants.  She loves to help, even if she waters more mulch than plants!  Izzy makes a good supervisor!

She's very independent with pretty much everything these days.  She climbs up into the carseat by herself and buckles herself in.  After I tighten her up, she'll tell me if she wants to wear her sunglasses or if she wants her window or the moon roof open or closed.  Very bossy, this one! 

Catch up

We've been running a hundred different directions lately, so here's a pit of a catch up.  All these photos are random shots over the last couple weeks!  Some day I'll get serious and do a real post with real pictures instead of these pictures from my phone!

I've been saying I'm waiting for something "good" to blog about since my last post was kind of a downer, but if I didn't keep it real I'd never have anything to write about.  Grammy H. still isn't doing well.  She isn't improving at all really, and it looks like we are headed toward hospice care...sooner rather than later.  I did slip up to visit her for a little bit Saturday night, and I'm so glad I did!  I expected far worse, but she knew me immediately, and was very appreciative for the visit.  I delivered some hand-painted artwork from Delaney, so I hope that will brighter her little room up there a little bit! 

We did have some good news last week!  Jessica got a job with Storm Lake Public Schools!  They offered her the job about 24hours after she interviewed!  This takes some of the pressure off Nick for their big move to Storm Lake!  Now, they just need to sell their house and they'll be good to go!  They've had a few showings, so let's hope the right buyer comes along soon so they don't have to spend the whole summer apart or traveling back & forth!

We were lucky enough to be part of a good friend's wedding this past weekend!  Craig's college roommate Travis got married up in Omaha & Craig was one of his groomsman.  If you know Craig, he's the life of the party and he did not disappoint this weekend!  We had lots of fun catching up with some old & new friends, and getting all dressed up!  We even had some carefree moments on the dance floor, which is exactly what a stressed out momma needs from time-to-time! I, of course, didn't take a single picture all weekend, but it was a good one!  We are still very much recovering today!  We're getting a little too old for all those late nights and drinks! 

We celebrated Mother's Day with our mothers yesterday!  We are very lucky to have our mother's here close with us, so that we could see them to celebrate!  We couldn't pull off any of this craziness without their love & support, so we are very grateful!  Two-year-old's obviously have no idea what Mother's Day means is all about, but I felt the love from Delaney anyway!  She was a tired, hot mess by the time we got home, but I wouldn't trade any of it for a second! 

Speaking of Delaney, here are some of her latest highlights!  Enjoy!

Delaney's dinnertime antics have gotten a bit nutty lately!  She's very independent, so she won't wear a bib, sit in a high chair, or use "toddler-size" silverware.  It's always "Dinner & A Show" at our house!

Little Miss D is just getting into Dress Up activities.  It's not fairy princess crowns and gowns for this girl.  With the exception of Mommy's high heels, she's all about super hero capes and hats! 

Her hair is getting so long!  She can rock the piggies with no trouble these days!  The hardest part is getting her to sit still long enough to put them in!

Our gauntlet of weekend travels, and as you can see Delaney is enjoying it!  The mere mention of grandparents, and she's bouncing off the walls!  I hate to "send her away" so much, but I love that she's getting lots of quality time with all her grandparents that love her to pieces!

Delaney has become very musical lately!  She's always singing one of her songs.  Her favorites are ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, and Rock-a-bye Baby!  She has also decided that Mommy isn't allowed to sing in the car anymore and Daddy isn't allowed to whistling!  So bossy!

My nemesis in the kitchen finally kicked the bucket last week, so I got a brand new dishwasher!  I'm such a nerd, but I was so excited...I HATED our old one!  This was supposed to be my Mother's Day gift, but Delaney (with help from Daddy) spoiled me anyway with a spa gift card! 

The farmer in Craig, couldn't resist the first shipment of fresh sweet corn at the grocery store a couple weeks ago!  It was actually pretty good considering it's so early and from a grocery store (we're used to fresh from the field corn at our house!)  As you can see, Delaney loved every last bite!

We have been trying to enjoy the beautiful spring "Summer" weather we've been having lately as much as we can!  This means that the little peanut is staying up a little later, but in the grand scheme of things it's totally worth it for moments like this! 

It is what it is...

It's been a little bit nutty around here, and honestly it's only going to get worse before it gets better.  My grandmother "Grammy H" isn't good.  She hasn't been for a while now, but it just seems to getting worse.  It's a long story, but the short version is that she's 80, she's stubborn, she's incredibly weak & can barely walk, she can hardly talk, she eats next to nothing, and her cognitive abilities are failing her.  She hasn't been diagnosed with anything, and there aren't any real answers as to why any of this is happening...it just is.  Last week, we were told she is likely a candidate for hospice care if the new medications didn't show any improvement.  So far, she's eating a little bit better, but nothing else has changed.  I haven't seen her since Easter, but it's so hard to "see" her like this.  I still remember that fiery lady telling us to get out of her kitchen at Christmas or giving me hell for dying my hair red.  She's my only remaining grandparent, and this whole situation just makes me sad.  Any spare prayers, would be greatly appreciated! 

We have also learned in the last week that my sister and her family (Nick & Chase) will be relocating to Storm Lake, Iowa, so that Nick can take a new job.  This is a great opportunity for Nick, but we are all sad to see them go.  This move will double the distance between us...boo!  They don't want to move, nobody wants them to leave, but it's what they need to do.  It is what it is...  The good news is that there are some potential teaching job openings for Jess, and Chase isn't old enough to realize too much what is going on around him.  I'm just going to have to get a lot better at "Skyping"!    Say a little prayer that they get their house sold quickly and Jess gets one of those open jobs, and are able to make a good fresh start over there! 

We have a lot of activities/outings/events coming in the next few months.  ALL of it will be fun, but the timing is slightly overwhelming for a Type-A person like me!  We will be coming & going a lot.  Poor Delaney will be shuffled between home, daycare, & grandparents.  I'm worrying a lot about all of it with regards to her sleeping, potty training, behavior, etc.  I'm preparing for the worst & hoping for the best.  Everyone says "kids adapt", so I'm hoping they are right!  We also were surprised with a trip to Vancouver in June through my work!  It was an incentive trip for our office and the boys had other trips planned at the same time, so it was offered to me!  Aside from some new clothes (which we honestly needed anyway), it's expense free for us!  Talk about luck...we couldn't have dreamed about a trip like this at this point in our lives, so we are beyond excited & grateful!  Aside from one meeting, it's a vacation full of fun activities (think deep sea Salmon Fishing (for Craig) and Sea Safaris) and fancy dinners.  Of course, if you know me at all you know I'm freaking out about leaving Delaney behind for 5 nights, the plane crashing, and all things of that nature.  That coupled with all the other stress in life right now is starting to catch up with me a bit. 

I'm typically not one to have trouble sleeping at night, but lately that has been awful!   I've never been one to handle stress well, but thankfully so far this hasn't triggered any migraine headaches (knock on wood!)  I'd take sleep deprivation over migraines any day of the week!  My mind gets the best of me in the wee hours, and I have a lot of trouble shutting it off.  My doctor gave me some "help" last week, so I'm starting to get caught up--although last night sucked!  I'm also trying to make a bigger effort to get to the gym, as that's supposed to help with stress too (not to mention, I'm still struggling to lose some of this weight, so something's gotta give!).  I am trying to get in the habit of going first thing in the morning at 6 a.m., so I can be home before Craig needs to leave.  It was getting harder and harder to go over lunch between conference calls & meetings.  This is also my only "kid-free" time to run errands, so it was hard to give that up.  I also have a lot of excuses of why not to go to the gym by 8 p.m. when Delaney goes to bed, so I'm hoping the mornings will work out.  Let's just hope I don't turn into a raging zombie!   

We have a lot on our plates, but we are hanging in! 

Easter 2012

We celebrated Easter with all our wonderful family, delicious food, and tons of fun!  Delaney was far more into the activities this year, which was really fun to see! 

We started the festivities Saturday morning by going with Chase to the kids first Easter Egg Hunt!  Chase was so proud of his little blue egg!

Delaney caught on to the concept pretty quickly and gathered up three little eggs...an orange one, a purple one, and a pink one!  She was also very proud of her eggs!

It was soooo windy on Saturday, that we didn't get the greatest pictures!  We are going for the wind blown look!

Here's Chase and his Momma.  I don't think he put the egg down until lunch time! 

We introduced the kids to the Easter Bunny after the egg hunt.  Chase was infatuated!  He wouldn't look away!

Delaney on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the Easter Bunny!  Get me out of here Mom!

Saturday afternoon had a very special Easter Egg hunt all her own at Grandma & Grandpa Mencke's farm!

Papa Steve helped her spot some of the eggs!

She LOVED running around hunting eggs!

I think Grandma Jaccie had just as much fun as Delaney did! 

Even better after she found all the eggs, she dumped out all the eggs and started over again.  Hiding & finding all on her own!

Then she had a little play time with Daddy!  This girl loves to "fly"!

Sunday morning we were up early for church!  Delaney did extremely well during Mass.  She only caused a couple scenes and many laughs and snickers from our fellow church-goers!

We played with Chase for a while after church before the rest of the family arrived!

Here's Chase showing his "walking" skills with Uncle Chip!  He'll be running by his birthday in May!

This is the best picture I could get of the two kids.  She sat still next to each other for all of 15 seconds! 

Delaney "opened" her Easter basket after church too!  She got some new PJs, bubbles, books, and goldfish crackers!

Izzy was exhausted after all the egg hunting at the farm! 

Isn't he adorable!  I love that kid!

By the end of the afternoon, Delaney was pretty exhausted too.  She spent a lot of the time cuddled up with Papa before we headed back South!  She also zonked out the entire way home!

So, as you can see we had a fun-filled weekend!  The holidays keep getting better and better now that Delaney is more aware of what is happening.  She is starting to figure out how to "perform" for the extended family members, and she put on quite a show for them on Sunday!  It's Wednesday, and we are just finally to feel rested up again!  I've been getting the dreaded, "you look tired" comments all week; which we all know means "you look like crap".  Ouch!  Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!  Now, it's time for some R&R!

Spring has sprung!

We have been enjoying the wonderful weather here lately.  Last weekend, Delaney spent a majority of her time running around outside with the neighbors in her swimming suit!  It was THAT warm!  All Delaney wants to do these days is be outside!

She was being silly on the porch last Friday night as we watched a thunderstorm roll into town!

Izzy on the other hand wanted nothing more than to be inside hiding under the bed.  Delaney tried to make her feel better!

Talk about being silly!  Here she is with a big bite of chicken!  She had such a hard time deciding whether to come outside or finish her dinner, so she decided to turn it into a fun game of back and forth!

We decided to start a new traditional this year and dye Easter Eggs with Delaney.  We will need to work on her gentleness, but she did think it was pretty fun!  Next year, she'll get to be a little more "hands on".  I ran across an idea on Pinterest to use Kool-Aid to dye the eggs, and I have to say it worked really well.  The smell was much more appealing too!

Delaney had fun deciding which egg went with each color!

Naturally, green was her favorite choice!

Of course, Daddy's creativeness had to take over for a little while.  He had to make a very special egg for himself!

Yes, that's right!  Football season is 12 months long in our house! 

Here's our girl with all her pretty eggs! 

Here's to wishing you a Happy and Blessed Easter!