Living Through my Sis

As a follow-up to my sister L's experience in New Zealand, here is a link to her blog, of which she is currently updating every few days.

There are some seriously awesome pics, from her tour.  And I am officially full of envy, and trying to figure out how I might get to New Zealand in the next 5  to 10 years (the earlier the better), to see exactly what she is seeing!

Oh, what I wouldn't give to see The Party Tree, drink at the Green Dragon, and trek in the wilds of Middle Earth!!

New Zealand, In Spirit

I sit in my room, with the Lord of the Rings soundtrack playing through my ear-buds, and feeling very complacent with life.  The Husband is downstairs watching a video, and my 2 kiddos are sleeping soundly.  Far away, on the opposite side of the continent, my oldest sister L, is probably winding down her first evening in Auckland, New Zealand in her hotel room.  This is most likely a one-time trip for her, and as-such, she will be there for 8 weeks.

I am with her, in spirit.  L will spend 2 weeks on a LOTR tour, visiting The Shire, Mount Doom, and other LOTR place-names.  As she visits these places, in-person, I will live through her experience by reading about it on her blog and viewing her photos, and re-imagining the splendour of the valleys, fields, rivers, and mountains in Peter Jackson's LOTR Trilogy.

If I could, I would whisk my family to New Zealand for this experience, but alas, the price of such a trip would be too much.  I don't feel sadness, though, for missing out.  I'm so glad that someone I know, someone that I'm close to, will be able to experience a LOTR tour - because when L returns, I can pummel her with questions, and gape and drool at her, as she regales her New Zealand tales to us.

I've asked for a token souvenir, should she be able to find them - The Hobbit postal stamps.  That is all I ask, and yes, I know that they can be purchased online.  However, it would be much more special, if L could bring them back herself.  If she can't, though, I would be happy with one, or many postcards, sent from New Zealand.

This is Day 1, of L in New Zealand.  I hope she had an incredible first day!

Whistler Vacation

Whistler is my favourite local Go-To destination for a short vacation.  A summer weekend at the mountain resort is just enough time for me to unwind and relax.  With nothing to do, but eat, shop, bike, walk, and enjoy the scenery, I can feel the tension leave my body as the summer sun melts it away.  I always return to Whistler, every few years.

Two years ago, we took Little B with us.  It was quite the ordeal.  We packed the playpen with us, as well as the stroller, and that pretty much took up all the cargo space we had in our trunk.  The baby had more luggage than the adults, what with the diapers, too.

This year, Whistler might be on our "go-to" list again, for our short mini-vacation, but we definitely haven't decided.  We may just decide on a stay-cation this year too.

Anyway, below are a few shots of Little B, enjoying her time in the Whistler sun!

Follow up re: ferry trip

I promised a follow-up re: our ferry trip to Victoria, but I'll have to keep it short for now.

Everyone had a lovely time that weekend, little B had her first ferry trip, and her first visit to the province's capital. She slept REALLY well in the hotel (she slept through the night!!) and she wore ALL her pretty dresses during those few days.

Hubby and I fared very well too. Traveling with baby wasn't as difficult as we imagined it, especially since our hotel room was at the same location as the reception dinner.

The church service was small and very nice. Little B got the hiccups in the middle of the ceremony so I had to take her out into the lobby. I thought it was actually quite cute!

In any case, here are some photos... I have to cut my post short since little B just woke from her nap...

Later!!

*Photos Deleted*

Overseas voyage

We are off to the ferry this morning to take little B on her first "overseas" voyage to our province's capital!!

It will be her first "vacation" and I've packed more clothes and baby accessories for her, than I have for myself! She must have at least 9 different outfits (probably about 12), while I have packed 4 outfits for myself!

After packing all the diapers, clothes, toys, stroller, bottles, etc... I can now see why parents are purchasing larger cars (mini-vans!!) There is so much you need to bring, when traveling with children!!

In any case, I'll come back with LOTS more pictures, because we will be there for hubby's cousin's wedding, and LOTS of relatives will probably want to meet and hold little B!

Horizons

My trip to Asia was interesting, fun, and painful.

• I developed a cough there, and came back with the cough due to the pollution there.
• My feet hurt because we were walking everywhere.
• And I couldn't get used to the idea of squat toilets, and only had to use one once.
  

Other than that the plus-side of the trip outweighs everything negative.

Shopping and bargains were a blast. Learning about Korea, and being in HK was eye-opening and fun. Everyone is friendly, even amidst all the hustle and bustle. The transit system was awesome, the cultural sites were fantastic, food was great etc.

Now that I am back, I feel even lazier, if that is possible!

When I have more time, I will put my thoughts about the trip all together, and update this blog in more detail. Until then, I leave you with a few photos from my trip in Korea!

Everything is Green Now