putting some spring in my step

spring break is just around the corner and 

i'm looking forward to spending a good few

days with the girls soaking up what our little township of langley

(yes i'll forever call it that) 

has to offer.

i'll keep sunny weather in my prayers so that these

awesome little ventures are even that much better

though i know it likely won't happen!

here are my top 5 places to be over spring break:

1. fort langley.

chock full of charm and antiques for days, fort langley

is a wonderful place to take your children on an outing.

go for lunch at wendel's, browse antique shops for old toys

or walk along the river.

2. derby reach.

a recent discovery for this fam! a beautiful

park that stretches along the fraser river with

trails, green space and plenty of river to throw rocks in.

3. go bananas.

what kid doesn't enjoy time at go bananas? 

they can go bananas so their parents don't go bananas

trying to clean up after them in their own homes.

4. chuck e cheese.

typically known as a breeding ground for airborne bacteria,

place where a kid can be a kid, it's really where parents

can be a kid, cuz really? what parent doesn't enjoy skeeball 

or that super awesome game where you pull the lever

and slam on the big red button (usually only to get 3 tickets but STILL!)

or stealing the strip of tickets that some kid (HAH loser!)

left behind or nonchalantly picking up that token on the floor.

super awesome right?

5. home sweet home.

as fun as outings can be, sometimes you can get up

to some funny business right in your own home.

the girls love helping me cook and bake, and dress up

is pretty much a requirement around here so there's really

no telling what kind of fun we could have.

there you have it! looking forward to blogging about these fun days!

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days of summer: haystack rock

so, after you read this post, you'll be thinking

what were they thinking?

well, i guess, we weren't thinking, we thought,

hey! it's all part of the adventure! lets be like

the goonies! 

anyways on to the post:

the next morning we had crepes for breakfast to send off my

sister and fam as they spent an extra

day before we arrived at cannon beach.

the crepes were so delicious we almost went for seconds! almost.

once breakfast was done, we were off to explore the little

town of cannon beach and see what it had to offer.

if you don't already know, the oregon coast is known for it's

salt water taffy. bruce's was in full taffy making swing when we arrived!

but it didn't only have taffy, it had rows upon rows of CANDY!!

bacon candy!

MORE bacon candy!!

bacon. floss.

bacon. toothpaste.

moving along...lol they also had an excellent collection

of starwars memorabilia and -you guessed it: candy!

complete with a darth vader cookie jar!

too many salt water taffy flavors to count!

once we satisfied our sweet tooth, we visited the local toy

shop to get away from the rain.

a vacation isn't complete with the hubby trying on

silly wigs/hats

he's even got emma in on it!

after all of that browsing we built up a 

good appetite so we visited a charming little cafe that

had THE most delicious curried carrot soup (still thinking

about that one lol!) and lamb wraps.

then: it was off to haystack rock. i should note now

(if you can't already notice) that it's dark and gloomy,

rainy and windy. BUT! we were heading down there anyway!

look at all the beautiful houses!

no, she's not crying...

no it's not totally windy..

look! beautiful rocks!!

this is a shot of the wind picking up the sand, which in turn would

pelt our ankles as we trudged through the sand. we also very quickly 

learned that this part of the beach is a seagull graveyard!

every 5 feet you`d see feathers buried in the sand!

there`s haystack rock!!

see! not so bad!!

after rinsing all of the sand off of ourselves,

we managed to have a great relaxing night by the

fire, watching movies while drinking hot chocolate.

there's something so calming about a storm going on outside

your door!

see, it wasn't sooo bad right? i mean sometimes

during a vacation you have to seize the moment, even if it means

your kids will end up hating you! this is a vacation i know they

won't soon forget!

days of summer...part 2

we kick off part 2 of my days of summer series with

our family's first visit to bowen island, a charming little

island off the coast of vancouver only accessible by ferry.

it was a beautiful august morning when we hopped onto the ferry

and a perfect day to spend on the beach.

we went to the top deck to enjoy the spectacular view..

and after a 20 minute ferry ride, we arrived at sandy beach,

a beautiful little inlet just off the ferry terminal with a big

sandy beach (no kidding) and shallow warm water.

a very cool 'ship-wreck' was not far off from where we set up,

there was lots to explore here.

after soaking up the sun for a few hours, we headed back to the little town that is 

situated just off the ferry terminal. a public market was set up with lovely

hand-made items, we always enjoy a good window shop.

we also stumbled upon a great little gift shop that sells a lot of

marine-type home decor, so we'll definitely be back to pick up a 

few things for our home!

we built up a pretty good appetite lounging at the beach so

we visited a little family owned mexican food joint and watched

boats and ferries come and go at the marina.

the girls had an awesome time and the hubs and i

discovered another awesome little place to bring the family

for a little getaway.

up next, we're roughin' it!