Monthly Archives: September 2015

 We made it to the aquarium today for a fun rainy-afternoon outing. Syd was the most excited to see the beluga whales, but it turned out the sharks were the animals to steal her heart. There were two of them sharing an awesome exhibit with a sea turtle and ray, and the kids were spellbound. 

 
Nolie used the word “big” to describe some sizable fish and repeatedly referred to the two beluga whales as “whale.” Two new words added to his vocabulary! Thanks, Vancouver Aquarium! 
The kids also loved Clownfish Corner, a newish play space for kids 8 and under. Some unique stations for being a marine biologist and a marine mammal doctor, plus the ever-popular boat with a, as Syd would say, “ginormous” steering wheel. 

We finally made it to Science World today! Syd has been eager to go since we got here, and she wasn’t disappointed. 

We saw animal exhibits, met Stan the T.Rex, played in spaceships, built foam block castles, knocked down Keva block towers, conducted mini science experiments involving air pressure and water, and used all of our senses in the shadow room. It was a busy and fun-filled afternoon of playing and learning. 

Syd ran from one thing to another, she wanted to make sure she did everything she could get her hands on. The demos were really well-done and entertaining, and Syd loved riding on her own personal hovercraft. Nolie was her little shadow and excitedly followed her to each station. Of course, his favorite activities involved balls – throwing, blowing, rolling them.

   
    
   
It was also another good reason to take the water bus. We bought round-trip tickets for one company, but ended up waiting a while for it after we just missed the previous one. Luckily, the weather was beautiful and sunny, but Syd was hungry and grumbled about waiting so long instead of being able to hop on the other company’s water bus. Last lesson of the day for mom and dad: it might be worth paying a little extra for one-way convenience!

Our condo rental is just around the corner from the Roundhouse Community Center, and we’re so lucky that it is. We explored it for the first time this morning and left with some memorable experiences.

First, we paid a visit to Canada Pacific Railway’s historic Engine 374. It was the first engine to pull an intercontinental train from the East coast into Vancouver, and was saved and restored in the mid-1900s. Now, it’s displayed at the Roundhouse and open to the public. The kids got a kick out of seeing a life-sized engine after our recent rides on miniature trains. Hopefully, one year, we’ll get to see it in Queen Victoria’s birthday, when it gets pulled out into the courtyard and its whistle blows. 

Then, we happened on a fun art and music session for kids. Syd and Nolie got right into the art-making with markers, stickers, paint, and glitter, and we came home with some beautiful masterpieces! And I felt so thankful to have unrushed time as a family, watching the kids have fun. Sometimes, the best times in life are the most unplanned times.

We had a train-filled first weekend in Vancouver! After our ride in Burnaby yesterday, we decided to check out the miniature train in Stanley Park before the weather turns rainy. The actual ride was a tad shorter, but we appreciated the covered, comfy seats.

Syd loved looking for the characters and objects scattered throughout the environment, including a banjo-playing Kermit the Frog and a real-life deer that had jumped the fence of the train park to eat some leaves. Nolie’s favorite part of the ride was the train whistle, which is how he refers to trains – as “choo-choos.” 

Afterwards, Nolie really wanted to sit on the train:

We took our first ride on a miniature train today, courtesy of Burnaby Central Railway in Confederation Park. The kids had a blast chugging along, listening to the occasional “choo-choos,” and spying toy woodland creatures on the ride. Syd chose to sit on the first car, so we got a great front-seat view of everything.

Afterwards, the little ones burned off some more energy at the nearby playground. The play structure was new and interesting, but Syd’s favorite thing was the supersize merry-go-round net thing. She got right in there with the big kids, fearless thing. And she even ran along and pushed it with some big kids too. She’s constantly amazing and surprising us with how capable she is.

We ended our wonderful day with a delicious sweet note of local, handmade ice cream. Good thing we got two cones, because the kids are huge fans!