It doesn't get much better

After being away in Saskatoon last weekend, and with an upcoming trip to Edmonton next weekend, I wanted to spend this weekend having fun in my city with my family. As it turned out, I was not disappointed! From quality time with my husband, to art-filled time with my kids, plus a nice little surprise to start the weekend off, I have had a whirlwind of a time, and the fun we've had will be with me throughout my next trip.

The Southsiders arriving at Terry Fox Plaza before
the match

Saturday, after about five months of waiting, the Vancouver Whitecaps began their season with an emotional game against Canadian rivals Toronto FC. With the start of the season also returns a regular date night with my husband, and over 1200 other loyal Southsiders, one of the supporters groups for the club. After reconnecting with some of our football friends at Doolin's Pub, we marched en masse along Granville and Robson Streets, clapping and chanting in support of our team. It's a tradition held every game, rain or shine, and passersby are always entertained by our enthusiasm. In the stadium, we took to our new seats for the season...front row! We got acquainted with our new neighbours, all of whom are incredibly friendly and eager to share the season's excitement with us, and began to cheer on our team proudly. It seems all our cheering, both on the march and during the game, paid off with a 1-0 victory for the home team, and I left the stadium feeling elated and excited for another season with friends new and old.

Just a taste of the support we show to our home team

Our new pitch-side seats!

Leaving BC Place these skies were
waiting to great us!

Enjoying a sunny ride to the Art Gallery

Sunday's activities were all focused on time as a family. As a special treat, mother nature decided to clear up the rainy skies and give us a glorious day of sunshine. We set off just before lunch to meet some friends in Strathcona, and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the sun. After lunch, we set off for the Vancouver Art Gallery for their Family FUSE weekend. All weekend long there were a variety of activities geared towards children and all focused on different art styles from dance, to graphic novels creation and even mixed media. As we entered the gallery, the kids got to make a "CO-MIX button" using collage techniques. Coralie said it was definitely a highlight. From there, we headed into the main gallery, where the kids learned about how to build a comic book story, followed by some pretty neat shadow art and puppetry with the use of projectors in "Projectorland". Coralie had fun using the Wolf mask, reminiscing about learning about Peter and the Wolf in Kindergarten, and Etienne seemed a bit confused by what to do with his cat mask, standing still almost the whole time. We finished up on the 4th floor in "The Making Place", where Etienne was thrilled to be able to cut out and glue various items to a life-sized Etienne superhero. After nearly three hours of creativity, it was time to get our artistic, but exhausted, children home.

Cutting out images for his button

Coralie was amazed by the button making machine.
Possible gift in the future?

The finished product

Coralie creating her own comic at the KAPOW! station

Shadow puppet time!

Having fun with projectors

Coralie's RAW Magazine cover collage
in the Art Spiegelman collection area

A little something for the parents...anyone remember Garbage Pail Kids?! In the Art Spiegelman collection

Our sunny ride home on Sunday

With the sun still shining , we took the opportunity to ride South on the Hornby separated lane to the False Creek seawall. As always when we've had long spells of rain in Vancouver, the seawall was packed with people on foot and bikes enjoying a very high dose of Vitamin-D. Along the way I got to chat with my husband and daughter while our son snoozed in the trailer, getting some much deserved rest. It was truly a great end to a fabulous weekend, especially now that our faces are all a little bit sun-kissed!

Even after all the weekend's excitement, the highlight for me actually happened on Friday afternoon. If you recall, back in August the Velo Family took a bike vacation to Portland, Oregon. Before I left, I spoke to some people at Momentum Magazine about possibly writing a piece for their magazine about the successes and challenges about bike travel with children. Well, I am so pleased to report that it's official! My article about our trip and what it was like to travel with our kids and our bikes has been featured in the 60th issue of Momentum Magazine. I feel so grateful to have been given the opportunity to share my experiences with a broader audience, and am excited at the possibility of continued contributions if or when I am asked. It makes me eager to see what the future holds, hopeful that this will be just the start of a new adventure for me and the Velo Family!

See the full piece at momentummag.com