Protests, Canada Day, Camping FAIL – Vancouver Summer 2018

It’s the middle of summer in Vancouver + I don’t ever want it to end!!!

The most beautiful place to be in summer is Vancouver.  When it’s pouring rain is a different story but let’s not go there just yet.  Let me hang onto this sunny feeling as long as I possibly can.  I dare not leave the PNW in summer.  A couple weeks ago it was 113 degrees Fahrenheit in Los Angeles.  That’s 45 degrees Celsius, you Canucks.  That’ll be a NO for me, thanks.

It’s been a busy summer so far!

We’ve been using our Aquarium membership.  Squeals for moon jellies!

Push biking at Maplewood Mudflats listening to birdsong + running from mosquitoes.

Clem + I joined the June 30th march for Keeping Families Together.  We started with heart felt speeches in front of the US Consulate in downtown.

Langdon stayed at home with his dad.  Jeff made a good point that at 4 years old Langdon may get confused with the issue.  Since we travel often, he may become scared that the he’ll be taken away from me at the border.  Clementine sat through all the speeches + songs – she was fantastic the whole morning.  Langdon would have NEVER let me let me participate in something like this.

There was a surprisingly large turn out.  They shut down some streets downtown with police escort.  We marched down to Trump Tower.

Where there were more heated speeches.  I’m very glad Clem + I attended this event.  It’s a horrible, shameful act to separate children from their parents.  It’s inhumane + disgusting the mental trauma + fear they’re inflicting upon little ones.

The next day was Canada Day which we usually spend in the town of Steveston, because it’s a cute little town with a lot going on!  Clem loved the parade this year + enthusiastically waved her flag.

The parade is HELLA long, guaranteed to provide an interesting mix of participants!  Always the bagpipes at Canadian parades.  Always.

MOUNTIES!!!!  Canada, eh?!

In Steveston there’s A TON of Chinese participants + A HEALTHY AMOUNT of obscure eastern religious groups.

My favorite picture of the day.  Look at those big smiles!!!!!  I can’t help but smile myself when I see this.

We always end up getting HANGRY + then devouring fried food.

And the Gulf of Georgia Cannery Museum is always free on Canada Day!  Clem is SO impressed with her big brother’s fish hooking skills!

This is Langdon’s fave thing to do at the Museum.  It must be in his blood.  My paternal grandmother worked at a cannery in Southern California.  This is a very well done + well thought out musuem!  Go visit!

In other news, Langdon learned to ride a pedal bike on his first try!  No training wheels!!!

We really credit the push bike for helping this transition.  I’m not kidding, he got on the pedal bike + rode it without any help.  And I NEVER help him with biking, because I’m enormously afraid of riding bikes.

Fourth of July came + went.  Here’s a photo to show that I tried to get festive.

Since then it’s been a whirlwind of family events!  Jeff’s cousin Cecylia, her husband Jan + their daughter Sophie came for a weekend from Poland.  So we had dinners at my sister in law’s house + took them to the Musuem of Anthropology.  A absolute must when visiting Vancouver.

I love taking the kids to MOA.  There’s so much to discover, explore + learn!

Aaaaaand, to end this post – our disaster of an attempt to go camping before Jeff starts a new movie.  Jeff + Langdon headed out to Point Roberts, Washington a day early.  I had a naturopath appointment that I waited two months for (in Canada specialist appointments take FOREVER.  Sometimes a 9 month wait!).  I booked a babysitter for Clem + arrived at the appointment to find out I got the time wrong.  STRESS.  Anyways, they were able to squeeze me in a couple hours later + my babysitter luckily changed her schedule for me as well.  This meant we didn’t arrive at the campground until late afternoon.

We popped over to the beach for a little bit.

Then had dinner by the fire.

All seems pretty idyllic, don’t it?  NAY, my dear friends.  This is where my tale of woe began.  Clem is good in the camper van on day trips for naps.  But at night?  A terror.  A banshee.  A she devil.  She woke at 12:30 that night + screamed for two hours.  I was so filled with anxiety that she was waking the entire campground.  So I grabbed her, the diaper bag + drove ALL THE WAY back to North Vancouver at 2:12am.  I was so amped when we got home I couldn’t go to sleep till 4am.  And then do you know what???  Clem + I drove back down to Point Roberts the next day at 10am to spend the day with Lang + Jeff.  FOMO.  Glutton for punishment.

I literally was hallucinating.  We arrived at Point Roberts, spent 1/2 hour at the beach, took a two hour nap in the van, then went back to the beach for another 1/2 hour.  It was gnarly.  Just look at Clem.  She’s a wreck, too.

It was a beautiful day but boy we were feeling sh*tty.  I mean, look at Baby Lady Gaga.  Someone give her a glass of white wine or something.

It took us a couple days to recover from that outrageous fiasco.  Man, I hope we can figure out a better sleeping situation for Clem when we go camping in the future.  Maybe she just needs to grow up a little.  You know how they start sleeping like logs at a certain age?

Ok!  Well, for my next post it’ll be all about visitors!!!!  My 18 year old niece has been with us the past week from Toronto!  And my mom, sister + baby niece arrive next week!  Family FUN!!!!  Summer never leave me!!!!