The Wedding

Ted (hubba, hubba!) and his youngest sister, Katherine.

Soula, Yiayia, Papoo, Ted, Katherine, Hera, Isi and Athena.

Gus (Papoo) and Ted.

I love Isi's crossed feet in this photo. She has done this since she was born but now that she is older you don't see it so often. There was a man in the background of this picture and I am pretty proud at how well I got rid of him.

At the reception, while diner was taking place, Isi decided she liked to lie down in the middle of the dance floor all by herself.

Theia Stephanie (Isi's Nouna), and Ted paired up for the ceremony.

This was the lollipop made from Canadian maple syrup that was supposed to help me keep Isi in her seat. It didn't help! She decided she had to run up and down the main isle so I missed most of the ceremony. I tried, sometimes they surprise you and behave awesome and sometimes they really, really don't.

All my gorgeous girls.

Everything at Chris and Artie's wedding was beautiful. Ted was the MC. I missed all the speeches because of a little monster. Even though I started wishing I hired a nanny I was honored the whole family could take part on such a beautiful day of two people who are so special to us. I had my hands so tied with the baby I am counting on some of you to send me a few pictures because these are seriously, the only ones I have (I love taking lots of photos).

Yasas!

Charmaine

Seattle and Whistler

While in Vancouver we couldn't resist going down to Seattle for a few days. My friend Rachel and I have been talking of doing a cruise for years around Seattle and through the locks so we finally did it. We spent some time at the aquarium, snagged some grub and off we went on an evening cruise. If you look closely, Mt Rainer is in the background of this picture.

A beautiful beach to visit in Seattle is Dash point. It's great when you have kids because it is shallow a long ways out and is usually pretty quiet. The kids all took turns burying each other in the sand.

Braedon, Athena, Hera and Kaj.

We crammed so many visits into a few days it was nuts and I would do it all over again. One of our best visits was a playdate for the kids at the school. I was so happy to see so many of the girls friends turn out, play and have pizza!

Anna, Athena and Isabelle at Maywood Hills Elementary.

A silly attempt to try to pose with Isi in a picture.

After arriving back in Vancouver we made a spontaneous last minute decision to head on up to Whistler for two nights. I am so glad we did this, it was a blast and a good distraction from the death of our dog which we had found out about on the way up.

The girls with an Inukshuk

We went hiking and swimming, and the kids went rock climbing, the luge, and all kinds of activities just for them, and I went white water rafting. Great, great time. We even saw a Mama bear with two cubs stroll by from out hotel room!

When we came back we were off for a barbecue than the wedding in downtown Vancouver. I have a few more pictures but that will have to wait till next time.

See you soon!

Charmaine

Home, Sweet Home

We are finally home! It's been a long month so keep checking in because it is going to take a few posts to catch up.
Sadly I am starting off with the news of our beloved and loyal little guy, Java, has passed away while we were out of town. We miss him tremendously and he will always be in our hearts.
Shifting gears from death to life, my good friend had a handsome baby boy! I was very anxious to get up to Vancouver early to be able to see the baby asap after being born. I thought for sure I was going to miss her having the little guy but he decided to wait for Auntie Char. Good boy!
Up next I am posting Isi dancing with her doll at the Greek Food Festival. Isi couldn't get over the dancing and music. The kids even participated in a Greek Dance lesson. The next day I had the worst food hangover in my life. I think the human body is only able to process so much garlic at a time.

It was great to see some of Ted's family from Greece. The kids played great with the twins and they taught each other some new words. Hide and Seek, along with Cosmic Catch (basically an electronic version of hot potato) were the big hit games played where everyone could participate without trying to translate too many rules.
The weather was great and Isi still insisted on being almost naked all the time. This is something that is starting to become a regular, bad habit. What are you supposed to do when your kid is screaming at the top of their lungs in public trying to rip her clothes off? Is it legal to let them walk around in a diaper?

To wrap things up for today, here are a few pictures of Vancouver from the Sea Wall outside our cousins apartment. It was a little cloudy but warm and always beautiful.

This was Ted before a bird pooped all over him! In his hair and all over his shirt. Supposedly it's good luck, (whatever makes him feel better)! Thank goodness he was able to shower at his cousins and borrow a shirt.

Stay tuned for more,
Charmaine