Here I am writing from "sunny" Vancouver as Kelli and Mike like to tell me frequently! Quite the contrary this weekend, however, having said that I can see the appeal of the place even when it is cloudy and cool.  There are still leaves on the trees, there is still green and colour.  It really is quite the place!  We both slept in this morning which I rarely, if ever do at home.  Accidentally rented "Pride and Prejudice" last night, thinking it was a different movie.  If you have missed seeing it.....lucky you!  We toughed it out and watched it from beginning to end but it wasn't exactly riveting and a lot of the dialogue got missed because of the great musical score.  Sorry if you have seen the movie and loved it! It's not going down on my list of favourites, nor on Kelli's I'm pretty sure.

Kelli and Mike are in the process of packing up for the move home so we girls are using this as an excuse to eat out.  Everything's packed you know so we are taking full advantage.  Actually, interestingly enough, it is way cheaper to eat out in Vancouver than it is in Calgary.  Honestly, if I lived where these guys live I would probably give up cooking.  We started off the morning at a Creperie just around the corner.  I had a strawberry crepe and it was fabulous!  It was large, large, large but I ate the entire thing!  Could not believe how many people were having Spanish Coffees, Mimosas etc. at that time of day!   Left there and did a small amount of retail therapy before catching a cab to go to the Aquarium.  Our driver was a little erratic.  I thought it was just me and my queasy stomach but when we hopped out of the cab Kelli was also quite green around the gills.  What a pair.  Enjoyed the Aquarium tremendously.  Haven't been there in years and it is a fabulous place to visit.  Perhaps a tad anti climatic after our three weeks in Hawaii being up close and personal with assorted sea life but still a great way to spend a rainy, grey day in Vancouver.  The two things I enjoyed the most were the Beluga Whales (after all I am an alumni Beddington Beluga!  This was the mascot we chose for Beddington Heights School when I worked there back in the 80's so I sat down to watch and proceeded to sing "Baby Beluga in The Deep Blue Sea," which was our school song at the time.)
The other thing I really liked was the 4D Imax presentation on the salmon run and grizzly bears.  The 4D aspect included smell, being splashed with water and bubbles everywhere.  It was amazing!
We toured the entire facility and marvelled at the wonderful job they have done.  It is a place worth visiting, that's for sure.

We left the aquarium and decided to cab it back home to have a little down time before going out for supper.  Again, another erratic cab driver.  Got out of the cab and came close to losing it again but managed to hold it together.  We came upstairs and relaxed and visited for a bit and then decided we really didn't feel like actually going out for supper.  Kelli ran down to the Japanese Restaurant just around the corner and came back with a delicious batch of sushi, one of my favourites!

Lost some more money at crib.  And here I will diverge to say that not only is my daughter a poor loser....she is a VERY HAPPY WINNER!  Now, I can just hear some of you chuckling out there saying "Hmmmm......apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?"  Yes, I do agree......Bill is much the same!

Not a lot planned for tomorrow.  Perhaps a little shopping and we may go down to Granville Island.  I always love going through that market.  Sure glad I brought my red rubber boots this weekend.  I have been learning "Umbrella Etiquette".  95% of the people walking around downtown are carrying umbrellas but because Kelli and I are vertically challenged, our umbrellas are right at eye level of most people and I keep thinking I'm going to take off someone's face with mine.  So far that hasn't happened but I have had a few close encounters that's for sure.

This has been a lovely weekend for both of us.  Lots of good talks and no boys!  Every parent loves some one on one time with their kids and I'm so lucky to get as much as I do.  We all think we have the "best" kids on the planet......and mine are top of the barrel!