Spring Break in Vancouver

Hi all!

In mid-March, Claire & I took a trip up to Vancouver to spend some time with my family. Megan, Ben & Dave are all teachers and schools in the area were on Spring Break while we were there so we also got to hang out a lot with Claire's cousins, Emily & Matthew, and of course my Mom & Greg!

Claire & I flew out of Boise on March 13th, had a layover in Seattle and then a short (30 minute) flight from Seattle to Bellingham. Luckily, we didn't have anyone sitting next to us on either flight, so Claire got her own seat, which was awesome! She spent the flight from Boise to Seattle reading books with me, eating lots of snacks and playing with toys, but her favourite game was watching (and pointing and laughing!) at the people sitting in the row behind us! She'd stick her face between the seats & just watch them for a minute...we were also lucky that they thought she was cute & didn't mind being stared down by a toddler! The flight to Bellingham was uneventful - Claire fell asleep just before takeoff & slept the whole way. My Mom picked us up at the airport, we did a little shopping & sat at the border for 45 minutes...which was nothing compared to poor Mom's border wait on the way down to get us - 1 hour 25 minutes! Ugh. Sorry Mom, and thanks again!!

It was a relaxing trip - I visited with my friend Kelly who has a little guy 1 1/2 months older than Claire. Lucas & Claire had a great time & I was in awe of Lucas' amazing vocabulary! Claire & I also went out for dinner a couple of times with my best friend, Linsie. Lins took us over to her sister's house for a little playdate with Linsie's niece, Delyla (who will be 2 on Mother's Day), and Claire was obsessed with her! Every morning after that playdate, Claire woke up & asked for "Lyla?!" We'll definitely have to do more playdates with "Lyla" when we visit! It was really cute to see them interact, too, since most of Claire's buddies are her age or younger, and she LOVES older toddlers & kids.

Another highlight of this trip was that we were there for both Emily's & Megan's birthdays this year! AND, Zach was able to make it in time for both! He drove all day on Saturday, March 23rd, and got to Megan & Ben's place just as we were all arriving for Emily's party - perfect timing! We had a great dinner with our family & Ben's family, and then Claire & Matthew helped Emily open her presents! The next day was Megan's birthday, and we had a big lunch at my Mom's house, complete with Szechuan food, Chinese food, Sushi and salad! It was a lovely mix, and we topped it off with Lemon Meringue Tarts, which were fantastic!

I think the best part of the trip was seeing Claire interact with all of the family members (including the dogs!) She LOVED Cassie and Sydney, and said "Woof! Woof!" when she woke up in the morning and after every nap. The dogs were very patient with her, and knew when to get out of the way - she even had fun helping my Mom feed the dogs & give them treats! She also LOVES her cousins, and Emily was absolutely awesome with Claire - they played really well together, and Claire would follow Emily around like she was a big kid - it was pretty darn cute! It's been great to see how Claire's interactions with family change as she grows older & understands more about how the world works!

All three of us left Vancouver on Monday evening, March 25th and drove through the night to get home, so Tuesday was kind of a write-off! Shortly after we got home, it was time for Easter! Zach and I dyed Easter Eggs the night before, and then "hid" them (in very obvious spots) around the living room for Claire to find. She did a great job, and then decided that she needed to send some of the eggs down her slide! Good thing they were hard-boiled!

Now that the Easter candy has finally all been eaten, we are getting into Spring mode around here. We had a bout of beautiful weather right around Easter, but in the past week or so it's been sunny but very windy. Hopefully we'll start to see some nice warm, calm days soon, and can get back to the playgrounds without getting blown away!

We hope everyone had a Happy Easter!
Here are some pictures and (embarrassing, for me!) videos for your viewing pleasure!

Love,
The Vickerys

Claire Spring Pictures!
Claire Walks In Mom's Shoes Video
Claire at the Duck Pond Video
Claire Eats Sushi Video
Claire Feeds the Dogs Part 1 Video 
Claire Feeds the Dogs Part 2 Video
Claire in the Yard Video
Claire on Her Slide Video
Claire Pitches Easter Eggs Video
Claire Finds Easter Eggs Video
Claire on the Balance Beam Video
Claire Eats Dinner Video