The Smith Family Adventures

Elias in the backpack...getting ready to walk up to the first walkway platform.

On Day Three of our trip to Canada, we decided to see the UBC Botanical Gardens. We had to transfer buses a couple times, but really the commute was pretty easy. We arrived just in time for the Canopy walkway tour. There is a special walkway suspended in the canopy of the forest which allows you to see the trees up high. The technology is quite interesting. Nothing is actually bolted to the tree. The guy called it a “tree hugging” system. Anyway, we put Elias in the back pack to keep him safe, and went on the way. The walkway was very unstable…especially with more than one person on it. Sometimes I felt like we were swinging around more than I was comfortable, but it was still very fun. We learned some interesting facts as well.

Elias exploring the gardens.

After the canopy walk way tour, we just let Elias run around the Asian garden a bit. He explored the soil and the flowers. The garden is just integrated in with the forest which made it very beautiful. There were some trees with flowers as big as my head!

We would have stayed longer, but it started sprinkling, and we also wanted to get back to the hotel for lunch and a nap. After his nap, we took Elias to the Red Robin in Robson street. It was on the second floor with great big windows. We got to do some people watching. There was a very interesting lady in roller blades “directing” traffic, and lots of people out shopping. Then, we went to explore a different part of the water front. We even found Elias a park. He loved going down all of the different slides. Another fun day in Canada!

A shot of one of the lower walkways.

Nathan and Elias on the walkway!

Nathan trying to instruct Elias to stay on the path.

The gardens were very beautiful.

Elias back in the back pack after it started raining.

Elias having fun at a park on the Vancouver water front. It was a park with a beautiful view....city and mountains!

The boys through a tunnel.

Elias ran up to this fish tank first to see what was inside!

On Friday, we woke up in Canada for the first time! Because he went to bed so late, Elias actually slept in until 8:40! That was a first…but it still was just under 7 hours of sleep for him. Poor guy! We got up, ate the yummy breakfast provided by our hotel, and headed out for the sky train again.

We decided not to rent a car during this trip. It saved a lot of money, and Vancouver has good public transportation. A day pass was only $18 for all of us rather than having to pay a lot for a car, gas, and the stress of driving. The sky train came very often, and we never had to wait very long for a bus either.

We decided to ride to Stanley Park on our first day, and check out the Vancouver Aquarium! This time at

Here we are at part of the amazon exhibit.

the aquarium was much different from the last time we visited one in Chicago. As soon as we were inside, Elias wanted to get out of the stroller. He ran up to a fish tank and looked inside with wonder! It was very fun. We saw some very large fish, and other interesting animals. I was most impressed with their amazon exhibit. It was also fun to see some beluga whales and dolphins as well as the sea otter, and some very large sea stars!

The boys at lunch.

The aquarium also had a fun area for toddlers to play. They could pretend to be vets or stack blocks. There was a big boat which Elias liked to “drive.” It was a good resting spot for Mommy and Daddy too. We ate lunch at the aquarium, then rushed back to the hotel for a nap. After the nap, we decided to go explore the down town water front area. We walked around and saw the sights. We ate dinner at the Spaghetti Factory, saw a really cool steam powered clock, and then headed back to the hotel. A very fun day indeed!

Elias driving the boat.

We enjoyed watching the jelly fish for a long time. Very peaceful.

A sleepy sea otter.

Nathan looking out at the water.

Mommy and Elias near the steam clock. It chimed every fifteen minutes, and we could even hear it from many many blocks away.

Just before bed time, we went to the top floor of our hotel to see the view. It was dark, so you can't really see any of the view in the picture. We were right across the street from the football stadium, and kiddy-corner with Rogers Arena. (Where the Canucks play) You can just make out the sign if you click on the picture and look to the left of Elias' head.

Elias in his seat when we first got on the train.

I had never been outside of the United States, and I’ve always wanted to visit Vancouver B.C. Many years ago, Nathan and I planned to visit during the Olympics, but that didn’t happen so we decided to plan a trip this year. We got Elias a passport, booked some train tickets through Amtrak, found a hotel, and headed off!

About a week or two before we left, it suddenly dawned on me that we had signed up for an eight hour train ride with a 19 month old. Although the train provides a bit more room than a plane, I was a bit worried about what we had taken on. Eight hours is a loooooong time. I even considered backing out briefly, but we decided to just go for it.

Here you can see Elias, who had wandered across the aisle when no one occupied those seats between Olympia and Seattle.

My dad dropped us off at the train station on Thursday afternoon. Our train left at 2:55. We were due to arrive in Vancouver at 10:50. The train ride was actually a lot of fun, and Elias was our little train rock star. He got many compliments from other passengers, and he only had one mini melt down around Seattle. (Nathan blamed Seattle….) The train was not full, so we had an entire four seater section to ourselves…and at times, as people got on and off the train, Elias could play in the four seater section across the aisle from us as well. We explored the dining car a few times, but Elias didn’t like walking on the train. It sways a lot and makes it difficult for even adults to walk.

Elias liked playing with some of his trucks, and he liked coloring. He enjoyed looking out the window.

Elias playing with his toy train on the train.

We thought for sure he would nap, but everything was just too exciting. He finally fell asleep around 10:20. Unfortunately, due to track work and a few other delays, we did not reach the station in Vancouver until after midnight! We were actually on the train for nine and a half hours. But luckily, customs was a breeze, and we quickly walked to the nearest skytrain station, and then walked to our hotel.

It was a long day, but full of fun and new experiences. And we were in Canada! Here are a few more pictures of our train adventure:

A view of Puget Sound from our train.

The last thing Elias did before falling asleep was draw. You can see his notebook on the floor. He organized his crayons on the seat.

Finally asleep. Nathan was happy because he misses the days when Elias was a baby and would nap on him. He got another chance!

Elias and Nathan as we waited at the sky train station. This was about 12:45 or so. Too late!

Gotcha! Elias and Daddy playing a game of chase on our way out to the car.

Nathan had a softball practice yesterday evening, so Elias and I decided we needed to soak up a little more sun outside while Daddy practiced. We all went to the ballpark, and Elias and I walked over the the play ground. Elias got to play on the slides, the swings, climbing structures, and more for about an hour and a half! He had a ton of fun, but got a bit overheated. His cheeks got so red even though I had him drink almost an entire bottle of water! Grandma Smith met us at the ballpark a little more than half way through, and then we came back to our house for dinner where Elias got to have some fun playing inside too! It was a perfect end to the weekend! Here are some more pictures:

Elias on the swings. Look at his red cheeks!

Elias setting up his snack/water/rest area in the shade.

Wheeeeeee!

Resting with Grandma Smith

Playing inside when we got home. Elias picked up his monkey that Grandpa Smith got him for his first Christmas, and kept hugging him close. He has been getting more and more attached to this monkey.

Elias playing catch with Grandma Smith!

Good Catch!

Every time I went to the Oregon Zoo, I’d see signs for the 4T Trail. One day, I finally asked Nathan what those were. He explained to me that the 4T Trail is a big loop around Portland. It consists of Trail (hiking), Tram, Trolley, and Train. The hike starts near the Oregon Zoo. It winds through the woods and some urban neighborhoods up to the OHSU campus. From there, we took the OHSU aerial tram down and caught the street car. The street car took us to the Yamhill stop on the MAX where we rode back to our car. It was a beautiful day for it. When we got up to Council Crest, it was still in a cloud and there was no view! But we stopped to give Elias a break from the back pack, and by the time we got back on the trail, almost all the clouds had burnt off. The trail was still a bit muddy, but not too difficult to navigate. We once again got to spend a few hours amongst God’s glorious creation. I was just amazed by how much biomass there is in the Pacific rainforests. There is just green everywhere! Here is the tale of our 4T Trail in pictures:

An experienced MAX passenger!

On the hike!

So much green! I thought this was an interesting tree trunk.

Almost up to the top! It was a bit eerie...all misty and cloudy.

At the top! Nathan was interested in this radio tower.

Elias taking a break from the backpack. He brought me some dandelions!

The view of St. Helens from the tram platform.

Elias' first aerial tram ride!

This week has been a bit different because Nathan was on a business/training trip in San Jose. I was left by myself with Elias for an extended period. Three nights is not very long, but we still missed him. Elias especially missed his Daddy around 5:00 when he normally gets home from work. He would say “Daddy home, Daddy home,” and point to the window where we normally watch for him walking up the street. Sometimes he went to try and open the front door. Luckily we were busy with classes and my parents graciously helped with dinner on two of the nights. I am so lucky!

On Friday morning we got to pick Nathan up from the airport. Elias and Daddy played lots on Friday afternoon. I love this picture of my two boys playing together.

Elias jumps into the water!

What else have we been up to? Swimming! We love signing Elias up for swimming classes…and he loves the water! The only drawback is that it is three nights a week for only three weeks. So when swimming is in session, we have so many nights taken up! Elias learned to jump into the pool this session, and he is also getting more comfortable going under water and floating on his back. He still does not like the kick board, and he can’t blow bubbles yet. (Although he does stick his mouth in the water!)

Elias practicing kicking.

One of the items on our spring family bucket list was to go garden viewing…specifically with tulips. After a few seconds of searching on the internet, I found the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn, OR. I’ve been wanting to go for the last couple of weekends, but I guess it was good that we were otherwise booked because the tulips weren’t yet in full bloom.

Today, however, we made sure we had a free morning, and we headed down to see the tulips. They were beautiful! No picture can really capture the same beauty you see with your own eyes….but I tried anyway. I was amazed how many different varieties there are, and how each flower is unique.

Elias got to ride the wooden shoe train and the cow train. He laughed and said, “bump bump” as we bumped along the muddy path. He liked walking in the mud a bit, but mostly wanted to ride in the backpack. It was a gorgeous morning, beautiful scenery, and an outing we’d like to make a yearly tradition! Here are just a few of our pics: