Daniel is 5!

This week Daniel turned 5. My little boy is growing up!

We celebrated his birthday throughout the week. The weekend before we gave him his main present, a trailer bike. He's getting pretty fast on his balance bike (last year's birthday present) but can't go far on it so I thought he might enjoy being able to join me on rides. We snagged one in barely-used condition on Craigslist and took it out for a spin. It took a little adjustment for both of us and felt quite wobbly to me at first (don't see myself wearing clip-in shoes with this any time soon) but we got the hang of it and had fun. Looking forward to more biking adventures together.

The night before his birthday we had dinner at Fuzzy's Tacos at his request. But he mentioned that they didn't have balloons so I stopped by Kroger to get some balloons-Lightning McQueen for him, Minnie and Mickey Mouse for Rebecca. Aside from a brief moment of high drama when he accidentally let go and it floated up to the ceiling (before being retrieved by a helpful employee), dinner went well.

On the morning of his actual birthday we had his celebration of life at school. The tray in the middle of the room has 5 candles, one for each year, and the papers around the edge are the 12 months of the year. He carries the earth once around for each year of life and his teacher would talk about what he was doing at that age and pass around pictures we brought in.

That evening we switched from celebrating with young folks to a decidedly older crowd as we helped call a bingo game at an assisted living center for a senior community visit through the Dallas Area Young Lawyers Elder Law Committee. I'd taken Daniel with me before and he had enjoyed it so when I offered the change to go again he was enthusiastic. I baked strawberry cupcakes for the residents and they sang happy birthday to him and many gave birthday hugs. They enjoyed him and Rebecca and the kids enjoyed the attention. Afterward, the family headed out for burgers and milkshakes.

As befits his generous nature, he passed out cupcakes to all the residents in the room before taking one for himself.

Afterward we watched the slideshow our birth photographer had put together for us. He and Rebecca loved seeing how small they both used to be (we watched hers too) and Daniel liked sitting in my lap in the recliner in his room hearing the story of how after we brought him home, I took him in my arms and carried him up to his room and sat in that same recliner holding him. Of course, I told him, he was a lot smaller then and easier to carry! 

This weekend we did Daniel's big birthday party. As we've done every year so far we had his party at a local pool with party tent areas and a fun kid-friendly pool area. We enjoyed celebrating with so many friends and he and Rebecca had a great time. It's great that with them being at the same school they have the same friends and I love seeing that the older kids make her feel included.

Daniel made an interesting request for his birthday cake. He wanted a cake like Prince Wednesday's on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. This was 1) oddly specific, 2) involving a minor plot point 3) and a minor character 4) on an episode we hadn't seen in months. I had to pull that episode up again to make sure we knew what we were talking about and he confirmed that's what he wanted-yellow cake, layered, with strawberries. I'm a good cook but never been much of a baker but I got some boxed cake mix, icing, and strawberries and hoped for the best. I looked at a screenshot of the Prince Wednesday cake as I prepped mine to make sure I was doing it right. My layers weren't as tall as the show's but otherwise I thought it was pretty close. Daniel was concerned it wasn't big enough but then decided it would do and ended up eating 2 slices at the party, so I guess it worked out!

As much as people talk about how great the youngest years are, as Daniel gets older I'm really enjoying how much more we can do together, how much more we can talk about, and seeing his personality shine through more as he grows into the person he's meant to be. He's a sweet, brave, thoughtful boy with a big heart and an inquisitive mind. He's a great helper and the best big brother Rebecca could ask for. We love our birthday boy and I'm excited about the adventures the next year holds for him.

O Canada: Victoria trip

A few weeks ago the kids got their first stamp in their passports (well, metaphorically anyway) as we took a family vacation to Victoria, BC. Last fall I settled on the Victoria 70.3 as my first half-ironman distance triathlon and we invited my parents to join to make it a vacation. Then, when my aunt and uncle accepted the invitation to come too, we had the makings for a great extended family Canadian vacation.

We flew from Dallas to Seattle (a flight which, with an overtired but refusing to nap or stay still Rebecca, felt even longer than it was!) then another short 30 minute flight from Seattle to Victoria, which gave us a nice aerial view of the beautiful scenery. Our first evening we strolled around the harbour (yes, that's how they spell it ;))) and enjoyed a nice seafood dinner.

Friday, our first full day, we took advantage of the beautiful, sunny, 60 degree weather to walk to breakfast in the harbour area.

Yes, Daniel and I are wearing boots. Representing Texas!

The Government Building...which was also beautiful by night, as a later photo will show

After that we went to the Butchart Gardens just outside of town. They were as beautiful as I remembered from a family vacation there when I was younger and really, iPhone pictures don't do it justice.

Rebecca peering into the quarry area:

Family pic in the Japanese garden:

Kids looking into Japanese garden pond:

The kids' favorite part of the garden experience was the carousel. I think they could have spent all day on that!

Afterwards we took the kids to the hotel swimming pool to play for a bit. Alas, Kevin also accidentally took his phone swimming, and it didn't enjoy the swim as much as the kids did.

Friday was Kevin's birthday so my parents and aunt and uncle graciously took the kids for the evening and Kevin and I went out for a birthday dinner at a restaurant called Olo. From what we'd read it sounded a lot like FT33, our favorite Dallas restaurant, and we weren't disappointed.

Saturday the rest of the family explored the Royal BC Museum while I went to the race site for packet pickup and to claim and then drop off my bike. Hearing the athlete briefing that walked us through the details of the race, seeing the course, and buying Ironman gear for the family made it all real: after months of training, tomorrow I was really going to do this. From what I hear, the museum was nice too, though the food truck lunch they had after was hit or miss.

That afternoon Kevin rested at the hotel with Rebecca while Daniel and I joined the rest of the family for a boat ride around the harbour. Daniel's favorite parts were the seal we saw playing in the water and the float houses in the water. Oh, and the seaplanes that kept taking off and landing. Apparently it's quite the active harbor, even as most of its use is now recreational rather than commercial as it once was.

While we were at the harbour Daniel also noticed "Plasterman," a street performer. We gave him some money to put in Plasterman's bucket and he was rewarded with the chance to pose with Plasterman.

That night Kevin went out to watch a Stanley Cup finals game with a Canadian crowd and the rest of us went for a predictable pre-race meal at the Spaghetti Factory. This meal was memorable mainly for learning the hard way that if the kids are going to share a meal, and the plates don't get split in the kitchen, the meal should be set in front of Daniel, not Rebecca ;). She immediately felt possessive of the plate of pasta set before her and was not a happy camper when we took half of it away. After many tears and a second order, all was resolved. We headed back to the hotel to get the kids ready for bed and after getting last-minute details ready, I was in bed not long behind them.

We got a hotel room suite that had a main bedroom area and a sitting area with a foldout couch. The kids did surprisingly well sharing the foldout couch. Here they are in funny sleep positions during the night.

The next day was race day. You can read about my day here. Here's a quick picture from the transition area before the start of the race. One thing that I had been surprised about was that the race started at 6am. I worried we'd be swimming in the dark but there was full sun by the time I got to the race site at 5. (Side note: thank goodness for thick drapes in the hotel room, or we'd never be able to get the kids to sleep!)

After a leisurely morning the family headed out to the finish line to meet me. The kids enjoyed playing on a playground conveniently located right there and I enjoyed seeing all those cheering familiar faces as I finished my race. 

No visit to Canada is complete without a mozza burger from A&W so we crossed that off the list after the race. Later that night we celebrated our last night in Canada with a yummy seafood dinner. On our walk back to the hotel we were treated to the beautiful night view of the harbour one last time.

Then the next morning we were up and out of the door by 5:30am to make our 8am flight. Kevin and Rebecca slept the whole way to Seattle while the rest of us enjoyed the views out the window.

After planning and looking forward to the trip for so long it's hard to believe it's over, but we had a great time and would enjoy returning to Victoria some day. Daniel asks almost every day when we can go back to Canada. It won't be right away, but we'll definitely be back!