.travel: drumheller, ab.

about a month & half ago, peter + jack and i took a little getaway over my birthday weekend to visit some old dinosaurs. it was a perfect mini holiday with my family of three [and our last as a family of three!] and i found it rather fitting considering i'm starting to feel like a 'fossil' as well ;)

we packed up our new vehicle and drove the 3.5 hours south to the tiny town of drumheller, ab. i can't really say much about the city itself [sorry, drumheller!] but the landscape was beautiful and the town filled to the brim with activities for the youngsters. jack was in heaven. 

we visited the suspension bridge, the hoodoo's [and attempted to snap a few maternity pictures in the badlands], visited the world's largest dinosaur, walked the tyrrell museum, and played on the hotel waterslide. we also had a rather delicious greek meal at a local restaurant, which reminded pete and i so much of our europe trip a few short years back. the food was so authentic it was like we where on the island of santorini again!

here's a load of iPhone pictures of our mini trip. it was just so lovely, but then again i truly think doing anything with these two people is lovely.

royal tyrrell museum

.travel: phoenix, arizona.

we had arrived in sunny phoenix well over two weeks ago and boy oh boy, did that sun feel nice. real nice. i finally fulfilled a blogging dream of writing posts pool side, one of the many whimsical envisions i had while i thought of creating fancy napkin way back when [i mean that's what blogging is all about, right? writing pool side of my exciting adventures?! ha!], and after the last 3 months of go-go-go, i think this little vacation was just what the doctor ordered. 

we stayed in scottsdale, at the links resort for 10 days and enjoyed every minute of sun and paradise before having to head home to a snowy reality in edmonton, late last week.
we choose phoenix for its family friendly atmosphere and hot weather! and had absolutely nothing on the agenda other than lounging in the sun [or shade, in my case], playing in the pool, and perhaps eating some food that we didn't have to cook. seriously a little like heaven to this pregnant girl. 

jack had an absolute awful time [i joke!], and he seriously didn't leave the pool or the spray park the entire vacation. we also learned that saying 'time to go' to a 1 1/2 year old is fun. basically it's like peter telling me we ran out of dill pickles! i mean, the pouting!!
on the trip, peter shared a pretty funny story while i was napping...apparently jack had had enough of sitting in the room so he went into his little suitcase and in one hand grabbed his waterproof diaper and in the other his swim trunks. then brought them both over to peter with a little sad face like 'time to go dad'. talk about supreme guilt trip! haha! what a character!
he also added a few new words to his quickly growing vocabulary, like phlaaane! and baay-be [baby]!  it was quite fun watching him soak up these new experiences and i think he loved having both peter and i around to dote on his every whim.

peter also quite enjoyed himself. he was constantly running after jack, which isn't as good as his usual pumping workouts, but he found the cardio pretty exhausting. i, on the other hand, didn't really leave the loungers. ha! one bonus to brewing two babies is milking the rest and having the hubby do the running! i pounded through six magazines and even started reading a book! a book!!! i haven't finished a book since the birth of jack! needless to say, it was relaxing and warm and all things family. 

one rainy morning we ventured to the new phoenix children's museum, which was kid heaven. i have never seen such a marvellous place for children! the learning, the playing, the experiencing! for all ages too! jack had an absolute blast, and i think daddy might have had just as much fun too. highly recommend!

we also visited the phoenix zoo, where jack hand fed some giraffes! which he obviously adored. the uneasiness to the smiles in about zero seconds was pretty funny. and we got some pretty great toddler leg kicking and screaming when it was 'time to go', so i'd say that meant he was having a pretty great morning.

other than doing a little shopping, lining up a bunch of blog posts for this upcoming week and working on a super fun collaboration which is coming soon, we just hung out as a family. it was needless to say, the most perfectly relaxing vacation.

.travel: san diego, to celebrate a new mr. and mrs.

a while back, peter and i flew to san diego to attend one of the funnest weddings we've ever been too! makes sense, since these two crazy cats are seriously one of the coolest and friendliest couples we know -my old cruise ship bestie and her new husband, melissa and bryan swarberg.

[and gosh, didn't they make a gorgeous bride and groom! not even fair!]

and where do i even start? it was all just perfectly amazing. 

from the venue - a new children's museum in san diego, to the guests - probably some of the nicest people we've met in a while, to the decor - the bride has some serious diy skills and such a creative eye. seriously, everything was so beautiful.

we were welcomed with open arms, even invited to the rehearsal dinner the night before, which was super thoughtful of the couple. we had such a blast and made so many incredible new friends. i truly wasn't kidding when i said everyone was super nice. we felt like part of the family.

^^a canadian mountie we found at a local bar, after the rehearsal dinner! sweet! ^^

the ceremony was the best ceremony we've seen. period. it was emotional, personal, beautiful and filled with these amazing little parts - like a rope tying performed by the bride's dad, a reading from the story 'i like you' by sandol stoddard warburg and vows written by the bride and groom.
i cried. i laughed. i smiled. i held my husbands hand and was filled with love.

at the wedding, we sat at table 9 and shared many many laughs. we even had a little bonding session with a few 'famous' people [name dropping! yes, that's kaitlin olson and rob mcelhenney from one of our favourite shows 'it's always sunny in philadelphia']. needless to say i think kaitlin may be calling me to watch her children and vice versa, since we're bff's now. you know how it is. as rob put it, they got sucked into my vortex. umm....that's a good thing right?!
anyways.....

we also partied and drank with 'trebuchet', a band that we cannot stop listening too. peter and i fell in love with them and their music just solidified their awesomeness. seriously, how good are they? they played during the ceremony and it stopped us dead in our tracks. take a little listen below from a short clip i made on instagram.

other than that, we were known as 'the canadians'. and probably 'the loud canadians' as i allowed a few drinks down the old hatch. again, you know how it is....i simply could't let my girl, melly, down.

we danced. we sang. we ate. we drank. we talked. we sprayed the newlyweds with silly string. we bar hopped. it was the perfect way to celebrate love and friendship and everything that a wedding should be about. what a great night.

it was an event i knew we wouldn't miss for anything, and it is a memory that i am so happy to share with the newlyweds. i adore mel. couldn't love her more. she's one of my best friends even with our distance, and i know she's found the perfect match in bryan. he's just one rad guy. and that hair of his!
thanks again, you two. we love you both immensely and can't wait for our annual reunion!