Helloooo, beautiful BC!

We are back from our 1st vacation as a family of 3! We had an awesome vacation in Vancouver, BC ... home of the 2010 Winter Olympics! This was Kendall's 1st vacation ... her 1st time out of Texas ... her 1st time on an airplane (and she was on 4 different ones this trip) ... her 1st time out of the USA ... her 1st time into Canada ... and many other 1st's that I'm sure I'll mention later on. This vacation we got to see all of Ashley's family that live there, meet our 1 year old nephew Tyler for the 1st time, introduce Kendall for the 1st time to her 7 cousins, 3 aunts & 3 uncles, catch up with old friends, visit Vancouver, Vancouver Island & Victoria (the capitol of BC) and enjoy 60-70 degree summer temperatures for 10 days (vs our 100 degree here in Texas) ... just to name a few things! We had a great time and we are so blessed that we were able to go to Vancouver this summer!

We took over 1500 pictures ... I'm slowly getting through all of them. We did so many fun things during our time that I'm splitting our trip up into several different posts ... so stay tuned ... there are plenty more pictures & fun to share over these next several days!


So long Dallas, Texas ... helloooo Vancouver, BC ...
We left on Wednesday evening, June 23 ... we packed very strategically (Ash hates to spend money, especially on things like "checked luggage", so he told me we weren't taking any more than 2 checked bags ... and I actually was able to do it!) ... we had 2 big suitcases to be checked for $20 each, 1 carry-on suitcase, 1 carry-on bag & Kendall's diaper bag ... and her carseat & base ... and her stroller ... (both of which we "gate checked" which is free, at least currently!) ... we were loaded down, to say the least!  Kendall & I picked up Ash at his office and arrived to the DFW Airport with just enough time to check-in, get through security, eat dinner quickly & board the plane ... our 1st leg/stop over at Denver, CO.

We went to board the plane (a completely full flight) and the 1st flight attendant that greeted us was soooo friendly ... and she must have pitied us with all our stuff, plus Kendall, because she offered to hold Kendall while we unloaded the stroller & carseat to be gate-checked ... and we let her ... we had to, we were out of arms & the rest of the people were behind us trying to board the plane as well.  The flight attendant was so good with Kendall ... together they greeted other passengers coming on board and even introduced Kendall to the pilot ... who then got out of his seat in the cockpit to let Kendall sit there!  I of course, grabbed my camera to take a picture of Kendall in the cockpit, but the camera wasn't on the right setting & the pictures came out all black ... so sad!  This is the best I could do with the picture ... but at least we know it's her in the cockpit!

Kendall in the pilot's seat on her 1st flight ...
so sad the picture didn't come out any better than this.

I was fearing the worst on the flight for Kendall & how she might do with ascending/descending, especially since she is still teething and just being in such tight quarters for 2 hours, since she loves crawl, cruise & walk (2-3 steps on her own), but she did great ... she never cried or fussed and only was a bit squirmy during the first 20 minutes ... other than that, she was content with holding Bear, reading her books, playing & chewing on her toys and drinking her bottle & sippy cup.  She is such a good baby!

Kendall & Daddy ... on our way to our 1st stop Denver.

Mommy & Kendall and "Bear" ... Vancouver, here we come!

We arrived in Denver and had 41 minutes to de-board the plane, both have a bathroom break, change Kendall's diaper and board our 2nd plane ... and we were off to Seattle, WA!  It was way passed Kendall's bedtime by the time we began this flight, but we didn't think she'd go to sleep, since she doesn't sleep unless she's in her crib ... but after a few minutes in the air, she gave it up & was completely out ... for 2.5 hours in my arms ... our sweet girl ... one of the things that completely melts my heart!  Huni & GranGran drove down from Vancouver to Seattle spend the day shopping & then met us at the airport when we arrived at 11p (which was 1am to us ... which you know for me is waaay too late!) ... the full plane of passengers waited 1 hour for the luggage to arrive at baggage claim, seriously?!? ... and we finally arrived at our hotel at 1am (which is 3am to us)!  We gave Kendall one last bottle & she was asleep in the hotel crib within a few minutes ... and we were shortly behind her!  We enjoyed a free continental breakfast, picked up our rental car and finally got on the road for Vancouver ... a 3 hour drive, but it always takes longer for some reason or another.  We made it to the USA/Canada border and into Canada that late afternoon ...

helloooo, Canada! 
We're at the border line to cross into Canada!

We made a quick pit stop at Huni & GranGran's new condo (with an amazing view of the ocean & mountains ... truly spectacular!) before arriving at our final destination ... Ashley's twin brother & family's home!  Huni & GranGran are missionaries in the Ukraine and have had all of their home packed away for these past 9 years in storage ... but they bought this condo last winter and have been moving in this summer while they are here on furlow.  One of the best things about it for me was that I was finally going to see all their home videos & pictures of Ashley (& his family) growing up ... more than 20 photo albums, Ashley's baby book, childhood keepsakes, school report cards, and 100 newspaper articles about him in soccer, football & rugby ... LOVE it!  I have been waiting 9 years to see these pictures & items as they were packed up by the time I arrived in the family and I've only seen a handful of pictures of him growing up.  There were many, many things that I loved about this trip ... and getting to see these pictures & momentos and hear stories from his parents & siblings was one of my favorites! 

GranGran & Huni, Daddy and Kendall at the new condo.

We drove over to Brandon & Mary's and were greeted at our car by our 3 adorable blonde-hair-blue-eyed nieces, Brandon (Ashley's twin brother) "Uncle B" and our super-sweet sister-in-law Mary "Auntie Mary" ... the girls were sooo excited to see us & meet "Baby Kendall" and started playing with her immediately ... and Kendall definitely enjoyed them too!

Kendall with 2 of her big cousins, Hannah (6) & Sadie (4)

Auntie Mary was holding Kendall so Kylie
(20 months) came over to check it out ...
this was their 1st interaction & Kylie
gave Kendall gentle pats ... so cute!

My oldest niece Hannah & me "Aunt Texas" ... Hannah is 
the one who named me when she was 2.5, on her 1st visit to
Texas & our house.  She got confused between the words
Texas & Alexis and insisted I was Aunt Texas instead of
Aunt Alexis ... and it stuck!  I sooo heart this sweet girl!

the girls showing Kendall bubbles ... they were as excited
about her seeing the bubbles as she was!  These 2 girls
were soooo sweet with Kendall from the 1st minute we
arrived!  They are both excellent big sisters ... you can tell
they've had great big sister training!  They are the sweetest!

Just a funny weather side note here (after looking at the picture above) ... I love that it is summer there in Vancouver ... although most Canadians would say that this is still a cool summer so far ... while we were there it was about 65 when we arrived and the girls were dressed in their summer clothing ... sleeveless shirts & shorts, but of course, Kendall had to put on her hoodie to be outside (poor Texan!). Ash & I dressed in more summer clothing (short-sleeved shirts, capris (me only, of course), shorts, or jeans ... you weren't too hot in jeans there, unlike here!) ... but I was never too far away from my hoodie, especially at night, when it dropped down to the 50's & we enjoyed hanging out on the back deck after the kids went to bed.  We had a few colder days ... and one or two with a little bit of rain (which is not like the rain we have here ... you know, the down-pour!) ... it's more of a drizzle or a light rain, that could last for a few minutes or hours ... but for the most part, the weather was awesome and a much-welcomed break from our 100 degree days!


We spent the afternoon & evening playing with all the girls and visiting with everyone ... and going through a few photo albums and sharing some old Rogers stories of them growing up ... one of my favorite things!  We had a great time and were so happy to have arrived at our destination!  Mary & Brandon were gracious hosts and had us stay in their master bedroom ... the girls each made us some pictures that were hanging on the door for us & some other artwork they'd made on each of our pillows!  They'd also bought Kendall a set of Disney Princess books (which we will LOVE reading!) and had put together some of Kylie's younger toys/books for Kendall to play with while we were there.  Everything was so nice & so thoughtful ... we felt like we were staying at a hotel ... only personalized!  We LOVED our time with all of them!