Visitors and Victoria!!

We have had such a busy, fun, and chaotic week with this group:

Garreth's brother and his family and their dad and his wife all came up to see us this week and we had such a fun time!  The weather cooperated and we were able to do lots of fun stuff together as a family.  First big adventure - going to Vancouver Island and staying overnight in Victoria.  Here are a few ferry pictures.

Grace and Leah: Horse Girls.  We found these "I'd Rather Be Horseback Riding" shirts on our school shopping trip and had to get them for these two horse lovers.

To entertain the boys on the hour and a half ferry ride, we played a new game made up on the spot called "Having a Baby."  How to play: zip a kid's head into your hoody for nine months (or one minute) and when you're ready to give birth, simply unzip.  If only it were really that easy.

IT'S A BOY!

When we booked our hotel in Victoria a few weeks ago, they were all full, but the guy said, "Well, there is one room that I could offer..."  Turns out they had converted a conference room into a suite with two bedrooms, and it was such a secret room that when we checked in, the girl at the desk had never heard of it!  It was so perfect for us - each family got our own bedroom and there was a door that opened directly out to the outdoor pool.  And Tom and Merrily lucked out by getting their own room on an entirely different floor from us, which I'm sure provided a much needed break from the madness!  Here's the kids eating pizza on our own personal pool deck.

The next day we walked all around Victoria and saw lots of cool things, like the Victoria Parliament Buildings:

We took a beautiful seaside walk to the Fisherman's Wharf for fish and chips...

...where we saw a seal and her baby come right up to the dock!  

Isn't she cute?