The Color Run

 Also known as the most colorful Mother's Day Ever!

We started our day with roughly 7500 other people - and despite my lack of energy, they all had a ton! 

Today the kids and I were happy spectators at the Color Run. Hubby ran with a team from work and we watched, had a snack and took pictures.  

I am not sure who had the better end of deal, as he got to experience the crazy fun that is the Color Run. But then I got to enjoy a mocha while he was running... so maybe I got the better end ;)

the Finish Line before the race started - I figured it would be easier to take a picture of it beforehand. 

runner and walkers heading to the starting line  

queuing up to start

And they are off... car led the way. With young runners close behind

We have a birds eye view from the sky bridge that goes over the race road.

the guy in green is a photographer.... look for him in the next picture

Crazy dude!  He did this with each wave... it was soo fun to watch. 

watching and waiting 

Is Dad coming?!

Hi! 

While the area was practically empty we hit Starbucks and had a little snack. Then found a spot to watch the people come back... we landed down the path from the finish line and sat for a spell. 

watching..... and looking for the most colorful people 

found some!

Here comes our guy!

sporting just enough color to prove he was there

Playing with her own color pack! She waited forever to do this. 

We didn't stay for the crazy loud (and of course COLORFUL) after party. But we had fun. 

The color is made from cornstarch and coloring and colors are sprayed on runners along the route. Each runner gets a bag of color and they sell it. 

Because of all the kids we saw running and walking our sweet girl decided she wants to do this with Dad next year. So we may be back :)

P.S. We looked at the pictures posted from today's event on our local news website. Most of them being from the after party, which we didn't attend. It looks totally crazy. This wasn't our experience with the main run. Hubby says the photos from the actual run were what he experienced. But how colorful you get has a fair amount to do with how close you run by the people spraying the color.
We saw very few people finishing the race who were completely covered, but the after party is all about getting covered in color. Just in case you see pictures online and wonder how we managed to walk away looking mostly normal :) 

Comfortable Adventure

I just like those two words together.
Seems like a good thing to strive for in a vacation.
And I have learned that posting something on my blog means I am a lot less likely to forget it. So...... "Comfortable Adventure".

There, that should do it.

YAH Mugs.... Canada

I had a lovely free day today and ran up to visit our neighbor to the north.
It was by far my shortest trip to Canada ever. Just over two hours in the country.
But I was able to see some sights.... White Rock is cool and crazy beautiful.
Did a little shopping.....

That's right.... They had both the Vancouver and the Canada mug! 

And had some donuts.... seriously you have to try a Tim Horton's Honey Cruller...Yummmm.
And I was home in time to pick up the kiddos from school. The weather was wonderful, and all in all I enjoyed the time in the car to sing along to the music I wanted to listen to :)

My YAH mug collection is now at a respectable 6 mugs.
If the Denver airport has a Starbucks, I will grab a Colorado mug this summer, along with Florida :)

"You Are Here" mugs!

I have started a new collection.

It happened by accident... as all great collections do, I suppose. 

I picked up a new Starbucks mug about a month ago. I thought it was fun and it reminded me a bit of It's A Small World. Being a HUGE Disney fan, how could I walk away? 

You might need to see the whole thing to get the Small World vibe. 

Over the weeks that followed this purchase I discovered it was part of a new series of mugs. Starbucks has discontinued the Icon series - which includes icons and landmarks from all over the world, with well over 300 different mugs in the series. And this new "You Are Here" series was just launched this year.

This new information drew me into an internet hunt for what other cities, states, etc have the new series. I found a forum style website where members can post pictures of the mugs they have and found a current list of "YAH" mugs available. The number posted on the site has grown by almost 20 in the month I have been watching it. They have 52 mugs posted today! And I am not traveling nearly enough to keep up :)

But I am working on it.
Starbucks only sells mugs in the location listed on the mug.... i.e. the Pike Place Market is only sold at the Pike Place Market store.  Most are sold in more than one store, but only in that area - I got the Portland, OR one in Hillsboro, OR, and I saw the Seattle one in Kelso, WA. So you get the picture.

So are I have 4!

From L to R: Portland, Pike Place, Seattle, California

I have trips up to Vancouver and Victoria planned to get those and will get the Florida and Orlando ones in a few months. I have two more mug racks with 5 hooks each waiting.... and I know where to buy more :)

I hope the series sticks around long enough for me to really grow my collection. The Icon series went from 2008-2012.

This is going to make an easy souvenir for me! I will post as the collection grows - look for Canada in the next week. 

O Canada - Day 3

Our full day in Harrison

This morning we got up and walked down the street to get breakfast. After one failed attempt, we found a resturant and dove into breakfast. 

Once we ate, it was time to hit the pools. 

heading back to the resort from breakfast

Lake Harrison on a cloudy day

Do they look ready to swim, or what?

Ok, it really doesn't look like good swimming weather, but the pools are warm. 

The pools at the resort are all fed from the local hot springs. Each pool is a little different - lap pool (the coolest of the bunch), family pool (about 3 feet deep and great for families), the adult pool (warmer than the family pool and nice and quite), the inside pool (a bit deeper and.... inside) and the hot  pool (located inside and really like a big hot tub). 

We spent the bulk of our time in the family pool. 

Midday, hubby and I went to the Hidden Springs Spa on property for a couple's mineral soak. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for watching the kiddos. This short spa appointment was lovely. A quiet mineral pool all to ourselves - no splashing! it was bliss. 

After an active morning in the pools we headed out for a late lunch in town. We actually headed to the next town over - Agassiz,  and found a A&W to eat at. 

After we had our frosty mug and lunch, we wandered back to Harrison by way of a local cheese farm. The farm wasn't open for tours, but we sampled some cheese and had some gelati before returning to our temporary home. And yes, you have to wonder about the logic of eating gelati outside in Canada  in February... this wasn't lost on us. But we ate it all the same! 

What now? you ask....... back to the pools. Are you seeing the pattern here? You spend a lot of time in the pools when you go to the Hot Springs. 

An afternoon of splashing and floating helped up work up an appetite. We headed back to Agassiz for dinner and tried a local place called Jack's. It was a nice, quiet dinner and we enjoyed the short drive. 

Bed was calling. Tomorrow we head home.

O Canada - Day 2

Belugas and beyond

This morning we walked to breakfast - it was about 6 blocks and wan't the best way to start the day for everyone... but the yummy meal made it a little better. We tried a resturaunt called DeDutch, and it was a good find. They have huge kind of crepe-like pancakes with a large variety of topping choices. We ate our fill and walked back to our hotel, arriving just as the rain started... what good timing!
Next on our schedule was check out and back to Stanley Park. Today we explore the Aquarium!

I can't look at these guys and not think of Finding Nemo

After we had seen it all, we loaded back into the "chariot" and headed east, to Harrison Hot Springs. With a short stop for lunch, we arrived just a bit before check in. But Yay! our rooms were ready. With a light tea service being served in the upper lobby at 4, we had a few minutes to settle in before trying a little snack.

We followed tea and unpacking with a stroll though town and dinner at a local pizza place.
After dinner it was time to swim! We enjoyed the pools until bedtime.
More hot springs fun tomorrow!

Kids and Sasquatch

O Canada

Our President's Day weekend up north

We headed north today to spend a few days in British Columbia. Grandma and Grandpa are joining us on our three day adventure. As they have the largest vehicle, with plenty of legroom it is our chosen ride for the trip. After packing up the "chariot" we are off.

We arrived at the Peace Arch border and passed the 45 minute wait with homemade brownies, taking pictures and family conversation.

Grandpa getting "An Establishing Shot" 

Driver was in Canada, passengers in US

Once through, we drove into Vancouver and found our hotel. With not much on the schedule we had time to explore a bit and plan for tomorrow. And, of course, find dinner.
We drove the loop around Stanley Park, and stopped at Prospect Point to take in the view, which included admiring a horse.

Seaplane!

Grandparents checking out the view

the horse was getting as much attention as the view

Dinner was in North Vancouver at Eastside Mario's. We hadn't been to this location before. It's a lovely waterfront restaurant with view of downtown. Oooooo! Ahhhhhh!
Dinner was Yum and the roving magician was wonderful - great with the kids. She finished up our dinner with balloon animals to take home, what could be better?
Tim Horton's for dessert! Tim's was our last stop of the night and my undeniable love for the Honey Cruller was satisfied... at least for today ;)

Tomorrow to the Aquarium and drive to Harrison Hot Springs.