Today is a photo-heavy day. Get ready. We’re talking all about our recent trip to British Columbia.
My husband is from a small town in Eastern B.C. and we try to make it back every year or two to spend time with his family and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Growing up in Texas, I had no idea what real mountains and lakes look like. Now I do. 😉
And this is the cabin in the snow … wow!
We left Friday after Jarrod got off work, and Parker was PUMPED to say the least!
I wish I knew just how much she remembers from last year’s trip. Here the two of them on our way out last year.
And here she is this year. Her hair is so long now!
Taking an evening flight was not our preferred time of travel, but it takes so long to get to the family cabin that we wanted to split the full day of travel into two days. Our fingers were crossed that they’d fall asleep during the flight. That definitely didn’t happen. Here they are running through the airport, wide awake, after we landed in Spokane, Washington at 1 am Central. Where do they get their energy?
The next morning we spent some time walking around the Spokane riverside area and we just love that part of the city. How cute is this playground? I might have loved the Radio Wagon Slide more than the kids even!
We had breakfast down the street and the kids loved their pig pancakes at the Satellite Diner & Lounge. Yelp to the rescue as we woke up with no idea of where to get breakfast. Our waitress even had on an Austin t-shirt. Ahh, the feels.
After breakfast my mother-in-law (otherwise known as Gigi to the kiddos) picked us up to drive us back up to B.C. She was a saint and made the 10-plus hour round trip twice for us during our visit. Thank you Gigi! Then we headed to see Nana, the kids’ great-grandmother. I’m kicking myself now because I didn’t take any photos with her this year.
Then it was off to the cabin which requires another hour and a half drive and a boat ride with Grandpa. Look how sweet — the kids were holding hands on their own. I love it!
And, of course, I have to show you the same photo from last year. Slow down time!
My little boating girl.
We spent the next few days just hiking around the cabin (watching for bears and cougars – eek) and just relaxing.
My selfies with the kids while hiking. I love that they love the outdoors so much.
Love those little legs trying to carry her up the hill.
We were at the cabin during the eclipse and had about 88 % coverage. I think I was the one who geeked out the most, but we all enjoyed watching the sky darken and looking through our Cheerios box viewer.
And, as I mentioned in my What’s Up Wednesday post last week, Foster even got to search for dinosaur bones. Wow … he’s a lucky boy!
He really hoped to find more at the beach, but instead we just enjoyed the gorgeous view.
Umm, have I mentioned how lucky my in-laws are to enjoy this sunset every night? Crazy!
I get to be completely lazy as Gigi and Grandpa mostly handle all meals. Hello dream vacation! One day Grandpa even made Foster a special dinosaur pizza.
And can I just tell you I feel like I’m in a Pottery Barn catalog when I’m at the cabin. Jill did such a great job making the cabin feel homey yet stylish!
And how cute are we, kayaking as a family? Lol.
Unfortunately, British Columbia is having a bad summer as far as wildfires go. As a result, the province has forbidden driving up high into the mountains to some of the gorgeous trails we typically go on. And we couldn’t have open fires either. So, we were a little limited in what we could do. However, the cabin is situated a short boat’s drive from Fry Creek, which has a wonderful hike and views. Plus, the kids LOVE the sandy beach.
We played on the beach for a short bit and then headed up the hike to the Fry Creek bridge.
We even took photos with the four of us. What?!? Yep, we actually managed a family picture. Does anyone else have this problem? We are so bad at taking photos as a family. I must add this to my New Year’s Resolution this year …
Foster loved being the leader on the hike. This kid is actually super fast!
And this little girl, well, she knows how to work the system.
She didn’t hike much because Grandpa was wrapped around her little finger and carried her.
Look how huge these rocks are!
The Fry Creek hike goes for miles along the creek up into the mountain, but with the kiddos we just made it to the picturesque bridge.
Oh look … what is Grandpa doing?
Oh, he’s just manning the drone.
He’s played around with drones for a couple years now and has gotten really good at it! Here’s his amazing video of the waterfalls near the bottom of the creek. Can you spot us?
Isn’t he talented? Isn’t this tiny part of the world unbelievable? Every time we visit it helps me understand more clearly why Jarrod has a high standard of outdoor beauty. I love Austin, but it’s just in a completely different category!
By the time we got to the bridge, the kids were exhausted.
So much so, that we had to tickle Foster to wake him back up for the hike back down the hill.
Then it was time to head back to Texas. After leaving the cabin, we stopped at the Kokanee Creek Provincial Park to catch the salmon spawning.
They are so RED. And literally on the verge of dying. All of them. It’s a surreal experience to say the least.
We spent one night in my husband’s hometown visiting Nana again. And one more gorgeous sunset view …
We are very blessed to be able to experience this part of the world with our children regularly. Some of my favorite photos of our kids were taken here.
Look at his smile last year!
And our happy baby Parker. Sniff sniff …
Again, thank you Gigi and Grandpa (Jill and Randall) for our amazing family vacation.
And thank you wireless headphones and Amazon Fire Kids Edition for helping us get through the 20-plus hours of travel time without pulling our hair out. Seriously. I’m not joking.
Okay, that’s it. I hope you enjoyed our family vacation and my over-sharing. 😉
