Saturday, May 8, 2010

Temple and Tulips Trip

A couple weeks ago, I took the kids on a little road trip up to Canada to go to the open house at the new Vancouver temple. They were excited to go to a different country for the first time. But when we crossed the border, Olivia wanted to know, "Why doesn't it look different?"

We also stopped at the tulip festival on the way up.

The temple was beautiful! I'm glad we got to go and that the kids got to see how pretty it is inside. But I am also glad I don't have to take kids with me every time I go to the temple. Katelyn didn't want to stay by me and listen to the tour - she did want to go swimming in the baptismal font - and tried to.

We had to be back in Seattle that night to pick up John from the airport, so we didn't have a lot of extra time to explore Vancouver. We made a potty stop at a gas station, and saw that a lot of the candy in Canada is different than at home, so they picked out some for a souvenir for Dad - and some for us. Had to keep up our strength for the trip home, you know. Then we found a park with some cool triple-decker stuff and played for just a little while, until we had to get back in the car, with kicking-and-screaming-Kate in tow.

And headed back to our own country. Oh yeah, and we took lots of pictures, in case you were wondering (that's why Jackson wouldn't turn around for our picture in front of the temple).
These are some of my favorites:
Olivia likes to pose for the camera, especially with all the pretty flowers around. I would point the camera at Katelyn, and Olivia would jump in next to her, smiling for the shot. Or, I'd say, "Look at these pretty ones, " and she'd strike a pose in front of them. We got lots of Olivia.
But we like Olivia.
The other two weren't so into pictures. Here's Kate giving a dirty look to some other tourists pointing at her, laughing at her scowl, and saying "cute!" Or maybe they were just talking about the flowers around her.
And here's the one picture Jackson posed for, with a fake smile. I think he was thinking, "I don't really know why I'm doing this, but everyone else is, so let's get it over with." But he told me those were "cool dragon flowers, not pretty ones."



One still scowling, one still smiling, one ready to go half hour ago.

8 comments:

WendyJ said...

You're awesome to take your kids alone to another country!! I love Katelyn's scowl. She just can't hide how cute she is.

Belkycita said...

Wow Larissa, I might get laundry done in one day but I can not do all the awesome things you do for your kids.

That is one LONG trip and you didn't care much about it, you knew the temple experience was an unique one.
Good for you!! thanks for the wonderful example and Happy mothers day!!

do I get to see you in July :-)?

abby o said...

I hope you brought home a Cadbury Wonderbar along with all those tulip pictures...they're worth a trip to Canada.

Adam and Hilary said...

Cute kids, great pics, beautiful temple, awesome mom. I want to go to that temple. The tulips are pretty.


Happy Mother's Day!

Nancy Mc said...

What an adventurious mom! You have created a wonderful memory for your children. The kids are very cute. Their personalites shine through in the pictures.

Cailean said...

Olivia and Jackson were raving about the trip in Primary. You are the perfect example of selflessness as a mother!

Larissa said...

Well, I wouldn't go that far . . . it was actually a really easy trip - it only took a little over two hours to get there.

Belky - yes! We'll be leaving probably around July 10th. Did you find somewhere to stay yet?

Colette and The Chickenwings said...

These pictures crack me up...especially the one with Jackson's back to the camera! You're pretty brave to make that trip by yourself, but it sounds like it was fun.