1, 2, and 3

 A very, very long time ago...

...Ginny and I went to see Boyz II Men in concert...not once, but twice:)

It only makes sense to see them a 3rd time, right?!  

This time we brought Kathy along:)

And we were a whole lot closer!

Such a fun night at the PNE.  I forgot how much I love Boy II Men, and what great singers they are...maybe there will have to be a 4th concert;)

Everything in between

It had been 8 years since we visited Mike's family in eastern Canada...we were definitely overdue for a visit.  So, a week after getting home from Finland, we were back on a plane again...or at least waiting to get on a plane again.

The beginning

In order to save $200 a ticket (which is a lot when you are buying SEVEN), we opted to fly out of Vancouver.  So we drove the 2+ hours up to Abbotsford, then Ted drove us the 45 min. to the airport.  We actually waited in line to check in since none of us had seats together (another way to save money).  We managed to get Summer and I together since WestJet has a policy for a miner to sit with an adult, but they wouldn't switch anyone else's seat.

We managed to get there quite early (since I am always stressed about being late), but after waiting our 3 hours to board, our flight was delayed.  We were scheduled to take off at 11:15pm (another way to save money), but we didn't board until 1:30am.  The flight next to ours was cancelled, so we were sure we were going to be calling Ted in the wee hours of the morning asking for a ride home.  Luckily our plane still took off.  But we were all pretty grumpy...and mean...and upset...and uncomfortable...and tired.

Rough start.

Sleeping in between strangers--haha

The middle

We had a great few days visiting Niagra Falls (where we spent New Years Eve back in 1999 right after getting married) and hanging out with family.  

We had all been up all night, but we made it to the falls so we had to take pictures, right?!

The BEST ice cream!  Maybe even worth the $50+ we spent on it:)

We wanted to do the boats again because it was Clayton's first time and Summer was only a baby last time we did it.  We opted to go on the top floor, and it was crazy! We were all completely drenched from head to toe, but still, such a cool experience.

We had a BBQ at Mike's brother Jeff's house with all the siblings and their kids.  Everyone was so grown up since last time we were there!  Here's a picture of Grandma Cindy and most of her grandchildren (just missing Cheryl's 4 and Bradley, I think)

Now with Dan and the parents too

And then just the OG's...missing Cheryl (and of course Denny)

We had a wonderful visit with both Toby and Jackie and a few on their kids.  It was nice to go to their homes and visit with them in a smaller group, I don't think I've ever done that before.  I wish we lived closer, so we could spend more time with them.  

Here's Summer swimming at Aunt Toby's pool

We were planning on visiting Toronto last summer, but when we decided to take the family to Europe, we had to push the trip off a year.  Unfortunately during that time, Mike's Grandma Anderson passed away.  We are grateful our kids got to meat her during our last visit, but sad to not have one more visit with her when they are older, especially Summer who was just a baby last time. 

We also visited the grave of Mike's Grandma and Grandpa Emonts, his Dad, and his Uncle.

The end

Unfortunately the end of the trip was worse than the beginning, ugh.  During the last night Jordan got sick (we are pretty sure it was food poisoning...or something similar), so when it was time to check out, she was still so sick she could barely move.  But we had no choice.  We had to check out and return our rental car.  

We had planned to spend the last day in downtown Toronto and at the aquarium.  Since Jordan was in such rough shape, we skipped the aquarium.  We decided to drive downtown so everyone could at least walk around and Jordan could just rest at the park.  

On the way to return the rental car, Jordan started throwing up.  It was a rough few hours (I will leave out the gory details)...and we still had to get on a plane.  Luckily the throwing up subsided before that...maybe it helped that our plane was delayed again...and we had to switch gates...and then it was delayed again.

We didn't get home until about 3am.

Needless to say, it might be another 8 years before we head out to visit Mike's family again.  But at least everything in between the beginning and the end was wonderful;)

Engagement Day

Clayton asked Kya to marry him 8/17/2023 on Alki Beach. 

What a beautiful, magical, perfect day.  

I am so grateful Clayton invited us to be a part of it:)

(from the planning, to the hiding in the parking lot taking videos, it was so fun)

Afterwards, we all got ice cream on the beach...under pink lights apparently--haha.

I am so grateful for my little family...that is growing.  

I love it when we can all come together for each other.

City Girl

 Jordan is a true city girl now.  She and Mikel moved just a couple blocks from Pike Place in downtown Seattle.  It was so fun getting to see her cute apartment!

One wall is entirely windows...with a beautiful ocean view.

Summer teaching Mikel how to do the waltz

Their apartment building had an amazing rooftop!  

See the ocean?!

And the Space Needle on the other side!

As much as I would HATE to live in the city, I am so excited for this new phase of life for Jordan.  

No more homework or tuition to pay--yay!

Sweden {Bork, Bork, Bork}

Stockholm was an adventure!

New country, new relatives, 18 hour Ferry, and a whole lot of meatballs:)

I was a little nervous about the ferry, but with Dramamine around the clock, luckily I didn't feel motion sickness at all.  The ship was really cool.  It had rooms overlooking the main hallway with restaurants, shops, and even a night club with live music!

When we went to find our room, we soon realized...the entry level of the ship was floor 7 and our room was floor 2...under the cars...and under the water--yikes!  

Thank goodness we were able to upgrade!  Level 9, with an ocean view--much better!  Sleeping in one room was interesting...with a choir of snorers haha.  Showering was also interesting.  I was sure I was going to flood the bathroom with all the water spilling out while we swayed.

Dinner was delicious...4 meatball dinners please;)

The view off the front of the ship was beautiful, we couldn't stop watching (well except Mike who's eyes were burning from the brightness)

The views the next morning as we entered Sweden were just as beautiful as we passed all the small islands.  Just breathtaking.  Pictures don't do it justice, as always.

Our first day in Sweden, we thought we'd go to "old town".  I was surprised, after coming from Finland, how touristy and crowded it was.  So many cute shops and restaurants, with the beautiful buildings lining the cobblestone streets.  It felt like Harry Potter world haha.

We toured the royal palace (until Mike's knee gave out and we were all pooped)!

Ikea! Just a block or so away from our hotel (The Hobo)

So pretty (reminded me a little of Paris)

The first night was the BIG event--meeting our new Jewish relatives, The Borensteins!

Ariel had us over to his apartment, along with his wife Elizabeth, Rita, and Peter.  He made us a beautiful Swedish meal complete with sauerkraut and herrings:)

Meeting Rita, Ariel and Peter was better than we could have hoped for.  They were all so kind and genuinely interested in getting to know us and our families.  We had a wonderful visit.  

Walking back to our hotel after taking the subway home from Ariel's apartment.  This was a more modern party of Sweden with lots of shopping and restaurants.  We didn't get any time to explore, but I would love to go back and spend more time.  I loved the vibe of Stockholm.  And look at that blue sky!

The nexy day we spend exploring with our new relatives.  We went to the Vaasa museum, out to lunch and then strolled through the old town.  We had quite a bit of rain, but pushed through and had a great day exploring and getting to know each other better.

This was definitely a trip of a lifetime!  I am so glad we added Sweden to our trip.  I am grateful to these newly discovered relatives who have embraced us so lovingly.  They are such wonderful people.  I wish they could have known Dad and he them. 

And just like that, the trip was over.  It was the perfect length.  I think we were all ready to be home to snuggle our kids and sleep in our own beds!