Vacation in Canada

We had such a great time in Canada! It was relaxing and low-key - just what we were looking for. We were so nervous about Landon flying for the first time, but he did great! First we flew to Seattle where Matt and Yissel met us. We spent the night at Matt's parent's house and the headed to Victoria the next morning.

Here we are getting ready to take off!
We took the walk-on ferry. First off ... we make quite the sight lugging our bags, a stroller and a baby ... I pack way to much (more on that later)! And second ... Jeff and small boats don't totally agree with each other. This was pre-motion sickness setting in. I think we might have actually still been docked :).
We made it to Victoria to find beautiful weather! It was sunny and clear the whole time, which was so nice! We were planning on it being a bit cooler, but we should know better ... we seem to take a heat wave with us wherever we go!

We stayed at a nice condo with a great view of the water ... and bonus(!) a private hot tub. LOVED IT! We have decided that a condo where Landon can take a nap and we can still hang out is definitely the way to travel. The hot tub was just the icing on the cake :).

We did a ton of walking around their beautiful downtown. We made sure to hit the hot spots - the waterfront, The Empress Hotel, the shopping district, Beacon Hill Park and the Craigdarroch Castle.

The Empress:
Landon was a trooper! He was in his stroller and baby Bjorn a TON and still was content and chill.

(Those are hydrangeas ... amazing. We have a hydrangea plant. It looks nothing like this.) (He's in the jacket ... we promise)

Cragdarroch Castle:
We also went to China town. I was so excited because I hadn't ever been to one before. It wasn't super fantastic, but Yissel and I sporting these fabulous hats proves we were there:
At Beacon Hill Park they have a petting zoo. I didn't think Landon would care ... but this picture proves that turkeys can fascinate children of all ages.
Apparently the goats didn't hold the same appeal for him:
Us at Beacon Hill Park in one of their seriously big trees.
Victoria is known for their beautiful flowers. I should probably create a whole post just to show you pictures. Here is one though ... so beautiful!
Landon almost got eaten by the stuffed wildlife... but don't worry... we saved him :)
When we headed back to Seattle, we had to go through customs. I'm not sure if I look suspicious with Landon in the baby Bjorn and lugging a suitcase or what, but the custom's officer asked me what kinds of souvenirs we purchased. I assure you, we really aren't souvenir people, so they were pretty mundane (although Landon did get a very exciting ABCs book). So then he looked a bit more suspicious and said "Then why do you have so much luggage?" REALLY?! Um, because we have a 3 month old that requires a lot of diapers, formula, clothes to puke on ... and I am a serial over-packer. It's a big problem of mine. Fortunately he decided that answer was sufficient ... I hate it when they want to look through my bags. Doesn't it always figure they will open the section with underwear in it? Or worse ... dirty clothes!

Before we went to the airport Matt showed us around the cute little town he grew up in. I think the entire Pacific Northwest is just beautiful - I love the green. I don't think I could ever deal with the overcast skies but the green is so beautiful!

Here is the whole clan back at Matt's parent's home:
On our way home we got upgraded to first class! Landon loved it. More room to sprawl! I was nervous having him there just in case he cried. But he loved it ... and the stewardess LOVED him!

We had a great time!