Sharing our life - all our adventures and bumpy rides. Family of four with two young boys - moved back home to allow them the similar experiences and opportunities we had living in North Carolina. Come explore with us!
My little brother Brian asked his girlfriend Nancy to marry him this past weekend.... and she said yes! We are so happy for the two of them!!
They were spending the weekend in the Virginia mountains with another couple at a cabin in Rileyville, aptly named "Appalachian Sunrise." They had scheduled to visit three wineries on Saturday around Luray. While visiting the first stop, Cave Ridge Vineyard in the Shenandoah Valley, Brian got down on one knee. Nancy says she was very surprised.
Have I mentioned how happy we all are for the two of them!! We love Nancy and know she will be a wonderful addition to our family as much as Brian will be a wonderful addition to hers. Congratulations you two!
First I'll start with today's live Zulily event called "Rockabye". To defend the little girl, it was her first time at Zulily and I don't think she quite understood. I was talking to her mother for quite some time in the changing room and she was really nice. Brock was right at home and loved the little owl! And those are our shoes from home in the shot!
Next, here are some adorable pictures of Brock playing with big cousin Evan and Kali!
How cute!! Brock had a really fun time with Evan and Kali! He was very curious of everything Evan did. Thank you again, you two, for babysitting for us!
Finally, the last bit of random was from yesterday's bath time. Brock loves anything that will help him walk and the bath stool is no exception!
Again, for those of you who receive the email.... if you travel over to the actual blog site (link at bottom of email "West Coast Eason's"), you'll see the movie below.
Brock and I have big plans today! Later this morning Brock will be going to his last dance class this session. I'm not sure I know of any "Valentine's Day songs", but I'm sure we'll do something heart related. Maybe he'll get a kiss from one of the little girls in his class. :)
Our cousin Evan Klein and his girlfriend Kali are in this weekend from Spokane and they have agreed to babysit tonight! So Brent and I are headed out for a lovely dinner to celebrate my birthday and Valentine's Day. (I will try to get pictures of Evan and Kali and Brock) Thank you guys!!!
And Brock's home modeling for Mommy turned out.... pretty good. As I attached the red suspenders to Brock's pants, I couldn't help but remember Aunt Beverly and Uncle Sam's wedding where all the groomsmen (and ring bearers) wore suspenders. :)
This past weekend the Eason Family (sans Diesel and Oscar) headed north to Canada!! We had a nice relaxing weekend in Vancouver. It worked out great to pick up Brent at his office in the city around lunchtime to try to make it to Vancouver before dinner.
Finally crossing the bridge to downtown Vancouver
FREEDOM!!!
The crossing and tunnel in to Vancouver took a little longer than we expected and our 2.5 hour trip turned in to 3.5 hours, but we did make it there before dinner. We grabbed some take out from a local restaurant and headed back to our hotel just to relax and get ready for the next day.
View from our hotel room
Our hotel had a nice location - southern part of downtown Vancouver. I had intentions of walking to the sites, but due to the cold weather (we were originally supposed to vacation here in October), we drove to most places.
After a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel, included in our stay, we packed the car to head to Gastown.
Gastown Steam Clock with Vancouver's Lookout Tower in the background
Brock has been fascinated by steam lately (pouring hot water in to the sink for pasta, etc) so I thought he would like this. This steam clock was built in 1977 to solve the issue of a steam vent in a popular sidewalk for the renovated Gastown district. It chimes every quarter hour and counts the hours in "steam whistles" every full hour.
Brent was so captivated by the steam clock as well; he walked in the Starbucks next door and ordered us all hot cocoa. :)
Next stop was the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park.
The museum was a little pricey as we stayed less than two hours, but Brock enjoyed it. He loves watching the fish. He's going to be a little fisherman like his Daddy and Grandpa Eason!
"Oooooh"
Hands down our favorite part of the aquarium was the Amazon section (tropical rainforest). It was WARM!! There were parrots and ducks and fish and supposedly butterflies, but we did not see any.
Here's a little movie with Brock watching the birds.
After this, Brock was ready for his nap, so after we bundled him all up and put a blanket over the stroller, he unfortunately missed the entire outdoor section with beluga whales, dolphins, sea lions and otters. He would have really enjoyed the otters - they were so close to the glass!
Taking a nap
Brent and I walked around a bit more to let Brock sleep and then it was time for lunch. We drove around Stanley Park and got some great views of the city! It was really too bad it was so cold and wintry. I do remember the park from the last time my family came here (especially the totem poles) and how everything was so colorful.
We probably were a little late with having lunch....why Brock is very upset at this moment. Brock's kid's meal was so cute, we had to take a picture. Macaroni and cheese with steamed broccoli in a pirate boat!
Then it was back to the hotel for a nap for all of us before dinner. Dinner was wonderful at Frankie's Italian Kitchen and even better that we were able to enjoy the city lights and people and walk there from the hotel.
Brock playing with the Gummi Bear package (only the package, no gummis for him yet!)
After a quick breakfast on Sunday, we were back on the road to return home to 2 inches of snow! It sounded like Diesel and Oscar had a great time playing with the other dogs in the snow! It was a lot of driving and sitting in traffic crossing the border, but it was a really nice weekend away as a family.
Brock was called in to Zulily to help save the day! This time he is all decked out in his Superbaby costume. The photo was tricky to spot - we only found it after you click on the event... and then it is on the top of the page - shown below.
Be on the lookout... the next event he modeled for will be live on February 18th, called "Rockabye".
We also got back some extra shots of his last time at Zulily. He's so serious now!
Whoohoo!!! The Seahawks beat the Broncos 43 - 8!! WE ARE THE SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS!!
So, to celebrate the awesomeness, we decided to go to the parade today..... we had good intentions.
Interesting to note you can see the outside temperature is 28 degrees at this time
Brock and I left the house at 8:05am and battled the traffic to arrive on the curb of 4th Avenue by 9:30am. (Typically takes 30 minutes to get to Seattle) We had a wonderful spot - second "row" behind a nice group of people. And then we were to wait. Parade was to start promptly at 11am and Brent was just getting out of a meeting at 10:45 to be able to rush over and stand with us. It was going to work out perfectly! Brent got there right at 11am and we were six blocks from the start of the parade (out of a two mile route).
And we waited.
And we waited.
And finally at 12:15pm, we heard signs that the parade had finally started. The police did a great job of keeping people on the sidewalk before the parade started, but all of a sudden people just pushed their way onto the street to get closer to the parade vehicles. It would have been fine if we didn't have the stroller, but now we had a worthless view, Brock was crying, and we were all cold (especially Brock and I who had been standing outside in 30 degree weather for two hours now).
We saw Marshawn Lynch standing on top of one of the Seattle Ducks (amphibious Seattle tour vehicle that goes on roads and in the water) throwing skittles and then we decided to head in.
Brent's office was only 4 blocks away, so we hurried over to get warm. Brock enjoyed seeing the fish in the lobby. We sat in Brent's cafeteria and had lunch while we waited for some of the crowds to leave. They estimated nearly 1 million people turned out for the parade and rally held at Century Link Field (and overflow at Safeco Field) for the Seahawks today. Wow! Good job Hawks.... but next time you win the Superbowl, we may watch you from the comfort of our home!
Here are some other snapshots from the parade (borrowed from others).
Russell Wilson and the Lombardi Trophy
View from 4th and Madison.... no crowd control like the New York Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!
