Vancouver 2010 Olympics

Peyton and I headed up to Vancouver for an amazing time with family and experiencing the Olympic culture. We headed to Seattle first and after picking up the car we headed to the hotel for some naps. Peyton was ready to get going with her brochures!

After naps we headed to Pikes Market where I was again reminded how much I LOVE Seattle. I fell deeply in love with that city. We walked around and experienced the atmosphere and some yummy ice cream. We walked down by the water and had some seafood for dinner and then walked the insane hills while pushing Peyton home to the hotel. I figured that was my leg workout for the week!

The next day we all packed up and headed to the Space Needle first and took in the sights of Seattle and the scenery...beautiful! Did I say again how much I want to live there! Following the Space Needle we drove towards the border, exploring Bellingham and Blaine on our way. Washington is such a beautiful state. We crossed the border late that day and into Vancouver shortly later.

We LOVED our time in Vancouver! I loved seeing my family and spending time up there. Just like Seattle, Vancouver was amazing and I fell in LOVE! Do you see a pattern of wanting to live in the Pacific Northwest? We had great weather and even the couple of rainy days didn't detour me from wanting to move.

Peyton did amazing with sitting in the stroller which was one of my biggest fears. We figured out a system that whenever she could walk I would let her as long as she would hold onto the stroller. Most of the time she would just hold on and walk and then would get tired and actually ask to get in...perfect!

Here are some of the sites and sounds we saw around town as we were walking around...

One day my Aunt Maureen and I took Peyton to the aquarium which I was a little hesitant about doing because I wasn't sure whether she would like it but she LOVED it. Her favorite exhibits were the floor to ceiling tropical fish tank and this tank that had sharks and turtles. She was so happy to watch the fish. Since it was pretty empty she was able to run around and go wherever she wanted to. It was a great outing!

On Thursday Peyton and I went with my dad and Shannon to the Women's Gold Medal Hockey Game! It was an amazing experience and even better since CANADA WON! Peyton did pretty well watching until the fog horn went off for the goal and she was very upset and I managed to calm her down until it went off again and it went downhill from there. She made it through the game but we walked the concourse for the medal ceremony. She was so cute during the game though and would cheer with everyone and had eyes as big as saucers!


Our trip was wonderful but unfortunately we received the sad news that my Grandfather, Morris Topping, who lived in Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada (North of Toronto) passed away on Wednesday night. He had fallen on Christmas Eve breaking his hip and had recovered from that and the surgery associated with it but had complications with his bowels and had surgery Monday and died from complications.

My mom went immediately to be with her family and asked that we stay in Vancouver and finish the Olympics since we couldn't do anything in Toronto so we did and then the craziness of travel started. We drove to Seattle on Friday night and then I flew home on Saturday, dropped Peyton off with John and flew out Sunday morning with my sister Ashley to Buffalo to meet my dad and sister to drive to Bracebridge for the funeral on Monday morning.