A Boys Day at Cirque

It's turning into an annual event - the train ride up to Vancouver, BC with our dear friend Heather and her son Sasha - followed by a show under the big tent. Cirque du Soleil is a whirring feat of gymnastic, art, live music and generally a cooler and most awesomely colorful circus experience.

The train station is always a fun and exciting experience for the boys. It's equally exciting for the Moms because to take our boys over the border requires extra paperwork (notarized!) from the Dads and there is lots of extra passport scrutiny.

There is also lots of waiting at the train station since we have to arrive 45 minutes early. Thank goodness the boys have such curious minds and love to entertain themselves with fun little nonsensical games, exploring and talking. This time, the conductor sent us all outside in the cold to wait a good 30 minutes for the train (in addition to not allowing us to take our fruit'n'nut Starbucks samplers over the border). The boys were remarkably patient in line and made us proud.

Up in Vancouver, the show was fantastic and held the boys' attention the entire time. We also were able to play off some steam before the train ride home by climbing in the park. We ended up being the very last off the train so had even more lines to wait in Vancouver BC - to the point that we had to dash into a convenience store and get packaged food (tuna fish for Jamisen and me) to eat for lunch.

 

This is a beautiful picture of Lily and Jamisens Great Great Grandparents on my Dad's side. Leah and Louis Faiola; Leah was a nurse as was Louis (who also served in WWII). Lily's middle name is Leah after her Great Great Grandma and Jamisen's middle name is Louis after his Great Great Grandpa. I remember them fondly, especially the many afternoons Erik and I spent at their home after they moved to Chehalis, Washington from California. Also, check out Grandma Leah's hair! Now we know where Jamisen gets his red hair, right? =)

 

 

The deer are 'rutting' in the yard right now. You might not be able to see it in the photo but those are both bucks with a full set of horns. It's crazy so see them wandering through the yard like that. We've definitely instructed the kiddos to stay inside when they see them.

Work for both Chris and I is fine - normal - progressing. I'm headed to DC this week for a advocacy trip to work on FDA legislation issues and Chris just got back from Saudi a few weeks back. I continue to spend the bulk of my time on planning, strategy, culture and pushing new products and new initiatives like, Handmade Beauty Box.