Weekend in the life... Part II

Saturday, May 16th

7:30 Wake up to Taggart staring at me. Get in the shower right away. We have a day planned

8:00 Tony makes breakfast sandwiches (his specialty of egg, bacon, and cheese on an english muffin) for everyone while I make and pack a picnic lunch.

10:00 Everyone in the car and we head into Vancouver for the day.

11:00 Arrive at Lynn Valley Park in North Vancouver. Cross the suspension bridge. Do some exploring, hiking, crossing the rocks by the creek. Absolutely beautiful spot. I would have loved to just stop for a few minutes and enjoy, snap some photos of it all, but the kids kept moving so I followed.

12:00 Turned back around to where we started from. The kids were getting hungry and our picnic was in the truck. Taggart was a trooper the whole time and only asked to be carried a couple of times.

1:00 Waited for Tony to go get the picnic from the truck.1:10 Found a picnic table to settle in for lunch. We ate, the kids explored, climbed trees and just generally had a good time. Tony of course, tried to take a nap, but Reagan wouldn't have any of that. Here she's trying to tickle him while he tries to snooze.

2:00 We all pack back in the truck and head in to Vancouver, driving through Stanley Park.

2:15 We park right at the playground and spend some time there.Tony and Cooper throw a football while I sit and watch the other three play. All is well until Hudson tries pushing Tag and Reagan on this crazy swing and it comes back up and hits him squarely in the nose. There's blood and that's never good. So he comes and has a rest on the bench with me while Cooper runs back to the truck for napkins and water. Taggart hold his little hand over Hudson's eyes to provide him a little shade.3:00 We walk along the sea wall heading towards English Bay. Tony knows he wants to take Reagan (and maybe the boys) to Marble Slab Creamery for some ice cream. So the promise of that keeps them all walking.

3:30 We arrive at our destination and all order our cones. We walk out the front door to sit and enjoy our ice cream and the view when Tag's ice cream proceeds to fall right out of his cone. It lands on the sidewalk where everyone entering the place has to step over it. Tears are fast and furious, so him and I head back in to get his cone refilled. Which the kind girl did for us for no charge. All is well again.

4:00 Tony and Cooper decide to head back to the truck and drive back to meet us. The long walk back with no promise of ice cream at the end may prove too much for Taggart and Reagan.

4:15 The other three kids and I head across the street to the beach to hang out while we wait for our ride. We stop at a big grassy area where Reagan proceeds to do cartwheels and such. I didn't' see it happen but there was a collision between Hudson's knee and Reagan's head and more crying erupts. I'm thinking it was a bit of a rough day for Hudson.

4:30 We sit for a while and nurse our wounds. Then we head over a little further to the sand. Taggart immediately runs right over, sits down right in front of some guy sitting on a log and starts digging in the sand, loving it. Reagan and Hudson sit quietly and wait for the truck to arrive. They are not taking any chances of any more injuries.

4:45 Our chariot arrives and we all pile in to head further into downtown.

5:00 Tony parks right across from the Shangri-La Hotel - his major work project for the last couple of years. We walk around for a while and window shop along Robson Street. Hudson buys a rock necklace from a street vendor for $8.

6:30 Dinner at Red Robin on Robson Street.

7:30 Head for home. Everyone is tired but happy.

9:00 Kids are tucked in. Tony and I watch a Survivor episode we had taped.

10:00 Check emails and bed.

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Today my photo taking hit highs and lows as you can see. Once we headed downtown to Robson Street I completely petered out. This process can sometimes be hard to follow through on.