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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!

We took the water bus (False Creek Ferries) in the other direction this morning to check out Vancouver’s Olympic Village. It was quiet and peaceful, and the perfect area to stroll around in today’s sunshine, with awesome views of BC Place, Science World, and Vancouver skyline.

We walked along the water, across scenic bridges, and through grassy lawns. We explored the little playground and water park area, but the kids loved running around with pigeons best.

Out first time on the water bus across False Creek today! Syd loved looking at the other boats that passed us and searching for jellyfish. Nolie loved bird-watching the seagulls and cautiously observed the water bus operations.

We headed to Granville Island for some laid-back adventuring that included strolling through the market and shops. The kids’ favorite activity was dancing to the street musicians.

A highlight was Nolie’s blackberry passion for dinner tonight. They were local BC blackberries!