Day trip to Richmond

My dad returned from Switzerland, and picking him up from the airport gave us an excuse to spend the afternoon in Richmond. We stopped briefly at the mall to spend a gift certificate my co-worker had given Elisabeth. And then we decided to explore Iona Beach. All these years of going to the airport and I had no idea there was a beach there! At least, not a public one!

The first thing we saw, was a frog.

It was pretty epic.

Just behind this view tower was a breakwater that stretches out for 4 km. We didn't have time for a 4 k walk, so we settled with walking along the beach. We'll have to come back!

It really felt like we were on the edge of the earth.

The kids built things, like they usually do.

And made weapons.

And posed for pictures.

And then it was time to eat. We went to MacArthur Glen to try to find food, but that place didn't really have much...unless you're looking to shop. So then it was off to the airport. And those pictures are trapped on my phone, so I'll have to blog them when I figure out how to get them off again!

Mother's Day in Harrison

Our spring craft market was the Friday and Saturday of Mother's Day weekend, so I knew that we had to do something outside on Mother's Day. And after the debacle of trying to go to Belcarra, I knew we needed to head out early. Friday and Saturday were scorchers, so after much mental anguish, I finally decided we would go to Harrison Hot Springs.

I let these crazies come with me.

Unfortunately, Mother's Day Sunday was not a scorcher. It was freezing. Luckily I had a good book so I didn't notice.

I bundled these two up and they begged for food.

Then David decided to try to build a wind break.

It was alright for a while. But then the wind really picked up. So we decided to go to Muddy Waters for hot drinks.

And a game of chess.

Oh! And these amazing salted chocolate chip cookies!

Then we drove on to Agassiz. Where David climbed a tree.

And I bought two dresses (one for me, one for Elisabeth) at the Red Apple. I love that store.

Then I walked down to the train museum and took pictures.

We stopped at Bridal Falls and went for a stroll.

And ended the day by driving to Minter Country Gardens store because our usual ice cream stop in Rosedale was closed.

Days when I hate living in the GVRD

It was a gorgeous day, and we really wanted to stretch our legs. It felt like I hadn't left the basement except to go to work in  long time. So we decided that after church we would go to Belcarra Park.

As we drove through the park, it became obvious that everyone else in the universe was there too. I had hoped that since it was kind of out of the way, we might be ok. ha ha ha.

So we tried Coquitlam Mall, because there was something I was looking for we thought we might find. That disappointed us too.

As we were driving home, I suddenly had the brainwave that we should just go to Ikea.

Genius.

 Since we weren't shopping, we just tried out furniture, and generally had fun.

 David is always designing his next space.

 And Elisabeth was measuring new furniture for the house.

 I can't remember why she was sulking here, but it made for a cute picture.

 As always, the kids section of Ikea was a lot of fun.

 So maybe we didn't get any fresh air, but we still had an adventure. And that's all that matters.

Right?