Our Vacation

Dave had a conference up in Whistler, and his aunt lives in Vancouver.  She hadn’t seen either of the kids before, so he wanted us to come along with him.  We started out super early last Friday morning.  It is such a shame to wake sleeping kids, but you have to do what you have to do.  We got them both up, and we were off to the airport.  It did help that we stayed at my parents’ house, saving us some time.  The flight was uneventful; by the end of the flight, only Peyton was sleeping.  Brandon enjoyed his seat by the window.  He was about to fall asleep, but the pilot made his descending announcement and startled him.  The 2.5 hours went by so quickly!  Let’s hope the 5 hour flight next month is the same 🙂
When we landed, we cleared customs, then went to get the rental car.  It was helpful that it was all together at the airport.  No off-site rentals.  We loaded up and headed south to Seattle.  I’d never been there, and Dave just went last month.  We looked around Pike’s market and downtown on Saturday, and on Sunday, took the monorail to the needle.  The line was pretty long for the needle, so we didn’t go up.  We did make it to the science center, and the weekend happened also to be the UW exhibitors as well.  Student scientists from the college were there with their own booths to introduce science to the visitors.  They had a lot of hands-on things like building a virus (with play dough), making toothpaste (with dish soap, yeast, hydrogen peroxide, and food coloring), and the mechanical engineers with a race car.  Brandon was testing the students’ knowledge of all the parts of the vehicle.  It was fun to see him with the pieces of the car, like his legos.  We started our drive back to Vancouver to meet up with Dave’s aunt.  They waited for us to eat dinner, which she had prepared.  We got both kids off to sleep, then stayed up to chat.  The next day, they took us around to Granville Island, a flower conservatory, and to dim sum.  We went to a Japanese restaurant that made all you can eat sushi to order.  Yummy.  Dave wanted to check into the conference and make sure we got there on time, since it was starting Monday night.  We got up there in plenty of time.  Our hotel was great!  We had a full breakfast every morning, and a manager’s reception every afternoon.  Dave had sessions from 8-11am, and then again from 5-7pm. Some days he had meetings in the middle, but for the most part, he was free.  We did a lot of strolling in the village.  We even found the library, which had an activity for Brandon on Thursday.  They made spring trees after hearing stories about spring.  It was my goal is get to 10,000 steps on my pedometer every day.  The one day I didn’t think I’d make it, I went to our gym and ran a little after the kids went to sleep.
Here are some notes that I’d written down throughout this week:
Peyton’s name for Brandon = “Bud-dah” or sometimes “Brud-dah”.  Kinda sounds like Brandon, but mostly like “Brother”.  Peyton has been fond of picking her own nose, especially in the car.  I guess she has nothing else to do.  My mom has been the recipient of Peyton’s treasures.  Peyton will pick a winner and proudly show it off to whomever will take it from her.  Always siblings, Brandon asked me, “Mommy, I made a bubble, do you want to pop it?”  When I looked, he was blowing bubbles with his spit.  Talent.  Peyton has been talking more.  She is very proficient at asking for her “Why-ya” or “Wah-da”.  We read one of her books to her, and she knows what a cow says, sheep, and her cat sound.  When asked what Peyton says, she says, “Qui” or “Kwee”, I’m not really sure how to spell it.  I’m not sure why but she is pretty consistent with it.  Every day at the manager’s reception, there was a choice between wine, beer, or chocolate – either hot or regular chocolate milk.  The waiter was passing out the beverages, and the last beer was set down on the table, and Peyton started reaching for the beer.  One day, Brandon started asking me what blood was made of.  He had cut his finger, so it was only natural for him to ask.  I think the science exhibit got him thinking.  He was giving the chance to find his way through the circulatory system as an oxygen, then later a carbon dioxide.  I told him about platelets, red and white blood cells.  I didn’t get any more sophisticated than that, mostly because that would require me to think about it more.  He wanted to know what makes blood (when I answered bone marrow, he was mystified) and what lungs are.
It provides good results to order cheap viagra get relief from stress and boost testosterone. It just takes 15 – 20 minutes to deliver longer india sildenafil and stronger penile erection. How Erection problems come about ED can be a blend http://foea.org/viz/ commander levitra of a lot of aspects, which comprise mental problems, health troubles and harm to the adulthood section. Home viagra pills remedies with garlic 1. On Wednesday, we took Brandon tubing.  We rode the gondola up, and then Dave and Brandon went up at least a dozen times.  They had an hour.  We waited at the bottom of the hill, and whenever they were at the bottom, walking away towards the conveyor belt, Peyton would hold out her hands for Daddy.  It was so sad to see.  I tried to keep her entertained.  Her shining moment was when they were all done.  Dave had to pull the tubes back to the shed.  We threw her in one and she enjoyed her ride.  Being in the hotel has honed Peyton’s sense of direction.  By the last day, we let her go from the elevator, and she navigated the halls to find our room at the end of the hallway.  We had to do this without Brandon being around, otherwise he would take the lead.  We just let Peyton saunter down the hallway to lead us home.  She also likes to “piss” (push) the button in the elevator.  She does still need helping selecting the correct floor.
Peyton is a fanatic for eggs.  Every morning she would shove handfuls into her mouth.  She doesn’t get them that often, so I guess she was trying to enjoy what she could.  She does understand “eat”.  We’d ask her if she wants to go eat, especially in the morning.  She’d look up, and say, “UM!” while putting her hand up to her mouth.  She is getting better at walking, and even knows the word.  Her version is “Wah?”
Lastly, this trip has been a bonding experience for Brandon and Peyton.  They’ve had to spend a lot of time together, nearly every waking moment, usually without Daddy around.  They haven’t spent this much time together since last summer, when my mom had them both.  This is a bit different though, as Peyton is more mobile and interactive.  The two were sleeping in separate rooms in our hotel.  Peyton woke up first, and the first thing she did after sitting up was say, “Bud-dah?  Bud-dah?”  Then the tears started to fall.  They were streaming down his face.  I was scrambling to keep her quiet, so she wouldn’t wake up Brandon.  She was inconsolable until I finally let her peek into Brandon’s room.  When she saw him, she calmed down.  She missed him!  Even with all the bumps and bruises he’s given her, she still misses him!
Brandon is on the peak to peak tram with Dave now.  She isn’t missing him yet, probably because she is busy playing with Dave’s composition book from his conference.  She is enjoying learning about diabetes.