Summer Fun Passport: The Fun Run Train

Twelve weeks of walk / run interval training! Over 750 minutes of just running. Ending with a bang: the 5K Neon Run. It was a blast finding new and interesting places to run in our city. We also really proved something to ourselves. And we learned a lot:

1. We don't like running. We do not feel like we are "running people". But now that it's over, we are wondering if we should stick with it.

2. It was gruelling at times, especially those afternoon runs in the summer heat, but we did it anyway, with minimal complaints. Spud showed some serious grit. So proud of him.

3. The gradual approach to training works!

4. We really like glow-y, blinky things with loud pumping music. And we want to do it again.

We're not finished with summer yet so we are continuing with our summer bucket list. Check out our working Summer Bucket list here and all our past Summer Fun entries here.

Summer Fun Passport: Go Kayaking

Deep Cove is a beautiful place to rent a kayak. Aside from cute little islands to explore and beautiful scenery, the boys got right up close to some seals too!

Check out this year's Summer Bucket list here and all our past Summer Fun entries here.

Summer Fun Passport: Go to a Gelateria

EATS  |  VANCOUVER, BC

We have loads of gelaterias in our town. Loads. Good ones too. But we really wanted to take Spud to the crazy one boasting 218 flavours, aptly named La Casa Gelato. It has been so long since we've been he doesn't even remember it! One rule: when sampling the different flavours prior to making your decision ... try at least one out of your comfort zone. At least one. This is what happened:

Spud: Maple Bacon. Turned out to be a good choice. He liked it!

Me: Garlic. I'm not kidding. Very bad choice. I thought it might have a hint of garlic but oh no! It was full-on. I walked over to Hubs to tell him about my terrible mistake and he said "oh my, I can smell it". Be warned.

Hubs: Seaweed. And then vegemite. He didn't mind either but neither made the final cut.

But there was durian and wasabi and kimchi also ... to name a few. How brave would you be?

Final Gelato flavour decisions = very safe:
Spud: Ferrero Roche + Blood Orange
Me: Pear + Peanut Butter Chocolate (with an unwanted, slight hint of garlic)
Hubs: Passion Fruit Chocolate + Maple Walnut

Check out this year's Summer Bucket list here and all our past Summer Fun entries here.

Summer Fun Passport: Take the Pup on a Hike

BURNABY MOUNTAIN  |   NEAR VANCOUVER, BC

Check out this year's Summer Bucket list here and all our past Summer Fun entries here.

Summer Fun Passport: Watch the Sunset

This year's sunset viewing got paired up with seeing/hearing Stanley Park's 9 o'clock gun go off. Not only did we get to see the sunset and the cannon boom into the evening, but we also saw a blue heron (or 2) and a few harbour seals, including a babe with its mom. I love my city.

Check out this year's Summer Bucket list here and all our past Summer Fun entries here.

Summer Fun Passport: Reading Club

Summer Reading Club at our library is something we look forward to each year — this is our 5th year running. I love how each year a new illustrator is featured. And a new theme is explored with games and activities at the local branches. And weekly contests! Spud has won something every year. Lucky bum. 

At the end of the summer, when you've got 50 days of reading done, you have a little booklet with all the books you've read, as a keepsake ... then they present you with a medal (so cute!) AND you get to go "shopping" at a shelving truck stocked full of a wide range of new books.

I'm not sure what the future holds for libraries. I worry about them. It makes me particularly happy when I see them finding clever, well put together ways to connect with the community. I heart our library. 

I would love to know what sort of summer reading programs other libraries do!

Check out this year's Summer Bucket list here and all our past Summer Fun entries here.

Cherry Blossoms: Nitobe Gardens

Nitobe Memorial Gardens, UBC   |   Vancouver, BC

Every year is different, it's near impossible to predict exactly the best time and place for viewing the spring spectacular of cherry blossoms in full bloom. This year we thought we'd check them out at the Nitobe Gardens, a place we've been meaning to visit for some time anyway. While we may have been a smidge early for the full blooming glory, we were nonetheless treated with a gorgeous, peaceful place to stroll and appreciate a myriad of vistas.

Our Summer Day Camp Shortlist 2014

SUMMER DAY CAMP 2014 |  VANCOUVER, BC

• Bike Camp  —  Pedalheads
• Cooking Science and Urban Design  —  Pear Tree Education
• Dog Agility Training Camp  —  DogSmart
• Fencing  —  UBC Summer Camp
• Golf Camp  —  The First Tee, YMCA
• Minecraft Camp  —  MineCampKids

Others we've participated in the past with a thumbs up:
Arts Umbrella  —  Fine, Performing, and Media Arts
Christianne's Lyceum — Book Clubs, Writing Clubs, Creativity and Imagination
Dizzy Whisk  —  Cooking
Eliot Creative Arts Camp — Multi-generational Overnight Camp
MacSailing — Sailing, Kayaking and Stand-up Paddleboarding
Seymour Eco-Adventure Camp  — Hiking, Survival Skills, Wilderness Appreciation
Science World  —  Science
YMCA  —  Swimming, Group Games and Activities, Field Trips, Themes

Others that we want to check out next year:
Mozart School of Music
Archery! If we can find something close by ...

Summer Fun Passport: Go Geocaching!

We got another tick! Hubs found a clue to a geocache in one of our neighbourhood parks, it's called Urban Waterfall.


Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Summer Fun Passport: Poolside Afternoon

Keeping it cool with new pool toys, sun-warmed water, and cozy towels to dry off with. Happy.

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Summer Fun Passport: Summer Night Markets

Another tick ... Summer Night Markets! Love them. And we are blessed to have 3 of them! We hit the Richmond Night Market for the first time this year. Love the larger than life, loud, crazy-busy nature of it all. Food stalls stretch as far as the eye can see offering all sorts of tasty morsels. If you are ever in the area make sure you bring cash, an empty stomach, and a sense of adventure.

We also checked out the Vancouver Chinatown Night Market this year which we've done a few times in previous years. It's closer to home but a fraction of the size, making it less likely you'll get jostled in a crush of people yet still offering a modest array of yummy Asian street food and shopping stalls.

The third market, which we've been to several times, is the International Summer Market, also in Richmond and voted by the BBC: Travel as one of the world's top night markets!

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Summer Fun Passport: Berry Picking!

We had the best time picking berries on the weekend. The end of the raspberry but the beginning of the blueberry season meant we got the best of both worlds.

Our usual destination for u-pick berries is at Krause Berry Farm. Aside from the easy pickings they have an amazing bakery that does wonderful things with all those fresh berries. But with a recent recommendation we tried Emma-Lea Farm this year. The pickings were just as good and we really enjoyed the relative quiet and lack of hubbub. While picking, we split our attention to the flora and fauna around us; noting bird and insect behaviour and how they interact with the plants. It's nice to get out of the city. And the post-berry-picking strawberry sundae treat wasn't bad either.

Now what to do with all those berries? If we can find a free evening this week, we want to make this.

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Summer Fun Passport: Drive-In Movie

Yes, we still have a drive-in theatre in our midst! Granted, we had to drive an hour to get there but it was worth it! Despicable Me 2 me was on the bill. Love those minions.

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Opus: Spud's First Art Exhibition

A shout out to Opus Art Supplies who is hosting this kid art exhibition. They gave out free 10" x 10" art boards early in July to anyone under 16 who wanted enter and look at the response!

Here's Spud's entry: watercolour + Sharpie.

If you are in the area, you can go see it at the Granville Island location near Emily Carr College. Hopefully this is an annual event!

McGregor Test Run

SUMMER FUN PASSPORT ENTRY  |  TICK!

Impromptu day on a MacGregor, a 26 foot trailerable sailboat, that Hubs has been dreaming about for some time now. They don't call him SeaBoy for nothin'. We spent the day tooling around Deep Cove, Indian Arm, and Coal Harbour. It was bliss.

The best part: Going fast. And then drifting along the shore noting the cute cottages and pretty natural sights, not to mention the odd eerie, broken down electrical buildings from eras past.

The scariest part: Going under the Second Narrows Train Bridge. It involved using the radio to ask permission and then waiting for the train to pass while negotiating the incoming tide through the narrow.

We took the Summer Bucket List Challenge. Our working list is here.

Play Date: After Dinner Ocean Dip

SUMMER FUN PASSPORT ENTRY  |  TICK!

Good friends. Gut laughs. Facing fears ("I don't want crabs biting my toes!'). Making sand pies. And answering the call of the ice cream truck. It's summer time.

Another entry in our Summer Fun Passport

We took the Summer Bucket List Challenge. Our working list is here.

A New Hike — Capilano River

SUMMER FUN PASSPORT ENTRY  |  TICK!

It wasn't a long hike. Even though we knew we wouldn't make it all the way up to the Cleveland Dam we were cut a bit short when the trail came to an abrupt end ... into the Capilano River ... perhaps the trail got washed out this spring? Or we missed a turn off? Must investigate further next time. But for a good 3/4 of an hour we were breathing fresh cool air in the woods while listening to the rush of the river. All around good for the soul.

Note: we found the entry of the trail near the south east corner of Park Royal Mall.

Another entry in our Summer Fun Passport

We took the Summer Bucket List Challenge. Our working list is here.

Outdoor Pool Summer Fun

SUMMER FUN PASSPORT ENTRY  |  TICK!

The number of days hot enough to warrant a poolside afternoon in any given summer can vary wildly in our neck of the woods. Summer has finally arrived and we are taking full advantage. We can give this bucket list item two ticks (both times at Second Beach Pool).

Another entry in our Summer Fun Passport

We took the Summer Bucket List Challenge. Our working list is here.

Free Outdoor Movie!

SUMMER FUN PASSPORT ENTRY  |  TICK!

Have I mentioned that we love summer? Free outdoor movies is just one reason. These events are popping up all over town. Last year we saw Back to the Future in Stanley Park and Rio in some park on the North Shore. This year, so far, Old Yeller, a Nat Bailey Stadium (Yes, I cried. The kid didn't!).

It looks like a small screen and far, far away but it wasn't as bad as it looks. Well, you get used to it, anyway. And the sound is good. Also good is that because it's not a projection screen, rather a stadium-style screen that can hold its own even in bright sunlight, the start time is a nice kiddie friendly 7 pm. Much earlier than the 9 or 10 start time of the others that have to wait for dusk!

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be one really good place to find out where and when ALL the movies are happening. Part of the challenge is that it's not one organization putting it all together; different companies and different sponsors. Vancouver Magazine has a pretty good list going. Here are some listings for the 'burbs as well. There's even a rumour of "drive-in" style movies popping up in mall parking lots! But I haven't found those yet. When/if I do, sign us up!


Another entry in our Summer Fun Passport

We took the Summer Bucket List Challenge. Our working list is here.

Archery Club Open House

SUMMER FUN PASSPORT ENTRY  |  TICK!

The North Shore Archery Club not too far from our stomping grounds, had an open house yesterday. So we gave it whirl. Spud had a great time and wants to sign up for lessons!

Another entry in our Summer Fun Passport:

We took the Summer Bucket List Challenge. Our working list is here.