Grandma & Grandpa Stapler Visit!

After visiting Vegas for a certain special Grandpa's birthday, Allison's parents came to visit us in Vancouver!  They arrived just before Halloween, and were able to share in all the fun with the kids.  We were so excited to have them visit, and the kids were especially looking forward to it.  Each morning in the week before, Owen and Molly would ask "how many days until Grandma & Grandpa get here?".  Finally our countdown was "Today!".

We carved pumpkins together.  Here's Owen and Grandpa tracing out the grim reaper!

 Molly and her Grandma busy scooping out the pumpkin guts.

Molly and I after finishing cutting out her special scary kitty.  :)  Ahhh the grimacing smile is back. 

Our final product in action!


We tried to get out to several local fun places that the kids enjoy with Grandma & Grandpa.  Here, we are at a favorite spot...the Vancouver Aquarium.   Molly & Owen love this tank because it has sharks and the big turtle.

The Beluga whale show!

Jumping up and touching his toy!

Molly watching the dolphins swim from the underwater viewing area.

With Grandma & Grandpa at the lookout in Stanley Park.  We tried a few times, but couldn't get Molly & Owen looking at the camera at the same time.  

Later in the week, Owen, Grandpa and I went to visit the Capilano bridge and tree top adventure walk.  Owen was super excited to show his Grandpa the bridge and the trees!

 

On the bridge.

Posing with the big trees....

 

New life growing out of the old.....

 

Owen in the treetop adventure!

 

Every time I see these trees, it's still a really awesome experience.  They are truly majestic.

 

 There were some massive leaves on the walking trail as we made our way around.  I managed to capture this picture holding one up before it folded back on itself.

Owen holding one of the leaves.... It's bigger than my head dad!

Looking through the totem pole!

Overlooking the canyon, there are many moss covered branches.  They are truly beautiful, but the detail and texture is lost in color pictures with all the green. I thought is was represented well in B&W.

Here is our little artist with her paint creation.  She was so proud of it, and I love the paint on her nose.  She really puts a lot of thought into her projects. When I get home from work, she proudly presents her work and tells me that I can take them to my office and hang them on my wall.  :)

Molly playing cards with her Grandma.... 

For trick or treating, Molly of course had to be a princess!  Cinderella was the choice and this picture just scratches the surface of the energy and excitement!

Owen was a bit trickier.  We started with wanting to be a pirate, but then he changed his mind and said that he wanted to be.... wait for it..... a cardboard box.  So we started to create a box with arm holes and such, and then he had the idea that he liked Oreo cookies and maybe we could make a box that looked like a glass of milk and his head could be an Oreo dipping into the milk...  So this little gem was the result of an afternoon with a roll of packaging tape, several boxes and a bunch of craft paint! He loved it and it was a great hit!

 The hoodlums ready to go out!


Molly giving her friend Roman some princess star love.... :)

Trick or treating was so much fun in our development.  Without a doubt there were hundreds of kids in the area.  Allison's parents manned the door while we took the kids around and they counted almost 70 kids that came to our door alone.... and we were somewhat removed from the high volume areas.  The pile of candy they brought back was HUGE!  It's December now as I'm writing this and we still have some around the house.


Our visit went too quickly of course, and it seems that we never take enough pictures to capture the moments.  We so enjoyed having family here visiting with us and it was sad to take them back to the airport, but we look forward to more visits in the future!