2nd birthday and 1st international trip

Saul got to celebrate his 2nd birthday in Vancouver, BC. We were there for dragonboat competition for Aaron and had a great time visiting the city. It turned out the weather was much better in BC than it was here in Portland!

Saul loves to cheer for Aaron's team. "Go Wasabi Burn!" he yells. Then, as we were watching Aaron's team getting ready at the start line for one race, Saul started getting more creative. "Go Wasabi Burn. Dadda's boat, please. Go dadda!" Not only is Saul enthusiastic, but he definitely gets others into the spirit.

Vancouver has so many parks along the waterfront of False Creek. Alot was rejuvenated for the Olympic Winter Games and then generally the city's just really park and outdoor friendly. Saul and I did a lot of walking between races, covering at least 4 miles on Saturday, including a short ferry ride. Every time he'd see a park, he'd say, "Another slide, Momma." After a few more trips to the area, we may need to write a book on the slides of Vancouver.

Trying out his new Elmo backpack. "It's my birthday. If I can't go out in just a diaper I'll 'take a little rest' for a while longer."

2-year-olds don't need their moms to go down the slide with them!

Saul's, "No, Mom!" this trip confirmed that he can tackle nearly any slide alone.

A "smile" while riding a horsey on his birthday.

Carefully scooping sand to place at the base of the yellow slide.

We later learned that this is one of the fastest slides ever! He loved it!
Hard at work. Notice his tongue. He spent a lot of time at this.

Getting lined up for a race. I think you can click in and get a closer view.

Aaron and his team are on boat 6 and Aaron's in the second to the last row.

"I don't need a back seat driver, Mom!" Playing at a park right in the midst of the race venue.

Yes, that's a Canadian military vehicle in the background.

They help with the event and then showcase some of their vehicles.

The kid slept this trip!

Three hours in the car both ways, even after not waking up until nearly 8:30!

Saul is two!

Yes, Saul turned two. We were in Vancouver, BC, on his birthday and will be having a small little family party this weekend. For now, here are his two-year stats. Recent pictures to come:

Weight: 28 lbs.
Height: 34.5 inches

This means he's only gained 2 pounds since December but has grown 2 inches. And, he's in the 65th percentile for both height and weight. He's a healthy little guy!

Day 8 to 10: Moab to home

Yes, we did ultimately make our way out of Ouray, on to Moab and eventually home. Moab and Arches National Park were fabulous! The scenery is so unique and beautiful and made me want to return to Bryce Canyon. Another trip.

Aaron was feeling better. So, on the last day and a half we actually got out and did some light hiking, which was just about the right pace for Saul. On Saturday morning, the last day of the trip, we woke up on Saul schedule, finished packing quickly, picked up breakfast at a great organic coffee shop/breakfast place and hit the road at 9 a.m. mountain time.

We stopped just north of Salt Lake City for a lunch/bathroom/run around break. And, we stopped again someplace in Oregon. Then, we had an unplanned stop to accommodate a very over-tired boy who should have been sleeping but wanted nothing more to do with car seats.

Rather than helping him fall asleep we apparently helped him find his third wind, which resuled in some of the funniest songs of the trip. The kid loves to sing. And, make up songs. Aaron and I love to be entertained. We sat up front trying so hard to not laugh too hard, but it was difficult. Let's see, we heard, "Cows...cows...hi, cows. Cows, cows, cows. Hi, cows....hi, cows.....Josie have a birthday. Josie have birthday. Hi, cows. Josie have a birthday and cows.....Josie have a birthday. And cows. Josie have cows. Josie have cows. Josie have a cow...." and we were in tears laughing so hard about here.

The next round of funny singing was about the shocking kiss I gave Aaron, literally. At the time, I nearly jumped back and definitely hollered, "Ow!" Aaron was driving and I'd simply leaned over for a kiss on his neck. The song was something like this, "Momma kiss Dadda. Ow. Ow. Ow." Good times!

First real hike of vacation. Resting on some red rocks.
The hike back to the car. I love watching these two walking together. "Momma, look. Saul funny! Pacifier on your head."
We heard this quite a bit beginning in Moab.
He could crack himself up and got some good laughs from me -
the first 20 or so were probably real. Tired, hungry boy looking at the camera. Because his mouth is closed I am fairly certain he wasn't screaming at this point. Unfortunately, the option of, "Saul, you need to stop screaming or we'll need to go outside," doesn't work when outside is more interesting. Motorcycles. Babies. Cars. After a "punishing"trip outside, Saul screamed again, quickly adding, "Outside?!" Wearing my bandana and playing while we were all getting ready.
He was pretending to paddle.
A hike! Yeah.
Playing at Sand Arch. A perfect place for kids, the arch area is eroding away and creating a sand hil that kids love. Lots of families obviously make it a destination. The good news is that Saul got to walk the big kids and figured out how much fun it is to run down a sand hill at full speed. And, sand is crunchy when you get it in your mouth.
More playing.
Taking a little break on the hike back to the car. He really didn't want to leave.
And neither did we.