here comes the bride and then some sunshine

oh my word, january has been busy! (warning this may be a long post)

after the christmas holiday i went back to work for 4 days and then packed my bags and headed to BC! i was in BC as a little girl with the family, but don't remember much of anything so i was pretty excited about going as an adult and exploring vancouver... i wasn't just excited about going to vancouver though i was so looking forward to going to my cousin's wedding and seeing the rest of his family and of course meeting his bride! :)

it seems the more i travel, the more i have issues at the airport or with my luggage... i don't want that reputation, otherwise i'll be flying solo for the rest of my life! my flight to vancouver was delayed about 1 hour, i was trying not to be annoyed, but was frustrated because the last time i flew out west (to edmonton) my flight was also delayed. i think i get anxious when flights are delayed because they don't communicate WHY it's delayed! is it really hard to say what the problem is? if it's a technical problem, fine.. just tell us that - and then give us a voucher so we can get some dinner! on this particular flight, AC eventually acknowledged the inconvenience and offered free ear phones and a complimentary alcoholic beverage as their way to say 'sorry'... um, i would like food, please! hmm, i'm venting.. sorry!

so i make it to vancouver and go to pick up the rental car.. my night turns for the better because the guy at the desk says "i'm going to give you the mustang", i said "for real?", he said "yes!" internally i was giddy like a little kid, but externally i was mature and calm and said "cool, thanks!" i am 30 years old after all, and was about to drive away with their car so i had to be "grown up"! the novelty quickly wore off though because i discovered that a mustang sits rather low to the ground and has a long hood, so as a shorter person, it really wasn't that great of a car choice. as i pulled away from the airport i had no clue whether i was going east or west and my directions weren't helping. i ended up pulling into a semi-sketchy parking lot and turning on the trusty voice of "miss google" when i finally found my destination i may or may not have kissed my phone in appreciation for miss google and said a prayer thanking God for keeping me safe. 

i was greeted at the door by adam (my cousin steph's husband) - he was on baby duty while the girls were at the tea party/rehearsal/lingerie party. the house they rented was stunning! completely renovated and just plain lovely.  i was just heading to bed when they all returned... so we hugged our hellos and then went to bed. :)

saturday we did a bit of prep for the food for the rehearsal dinner and then my cousins and i squeezed into the mustang (yep, even 6.4 adam and a car seat for ava!) and made our way to granville island... a really cool place to tour around - i don't know how to describe it other than a market with tons of shops and restaurants and boats. i can only imagine it's an extremely busy place in the summer or when it's not raining. 

we were only there for a couple hours, partly because it was raining & cold and partly because i had to make my way back to the airport to pick up my parents! we unloaded everyone from the car and my aunt melody and i went to pick them up. my parents had to check into their hotel so we did that and then went for dinner at this delicious italian restaurant - "italian tomato restaurant" - it was so good!! i have never been to a restaurant where they served such huge portions. i could have had my leftovers for five days! yum!! :)  after dinner i dropped my parents off and immediately turned on miss google to guide me back to the house. 

sunday was the wedding day... kyle stewart and danielle winsor were getting married!!! i was so excited to be part of this day and share in the memory. it was such a fun day. lots of activity in the morning - setting up at the aberthau mansion then back at the house to get ready. the day was just lovely!!

cousins (heather, me, ruth, steph)

cake topper... it was unreal how much it looked like them!

ava was one of the flower girls

i really did drive it!

i love this kid!

we decided to take awkward/olden time family pictures...
where no one smiled (clearly i was struggling)

my awesome cousin kyle - the groom!

after vancouver, i headed to california to visit my sister, Paula, and her family.. again i encountered a slight travel mishap. i'm not exactly sure why it happened other than perhaps correcting the customs officer with my destination and possibly having a "tone" when asked if i visit the US once a month - which i don't. i will never know the official reason, but i had to go to secondary screening. i was scared and worried that i wouldn't be allowed to go into the country.

after a tour of the vancouver airport (from the outside) i arrived in santa ana (john wayne airport) and was greeted by a 5 year old girl who had the biggest smile on her face and gave me the best hug! such a great feeling!! :) i was slightly nervous because i was hoping that a special secret didn't get out prior to my arrival. when sophie was giving me a hug i told her that i had a surprise for her - she had to turn around to see it and tada.. it was grandma & grandpa! we pulled it off. shoubert was stunned. when we got to the house paula was stunned (i don't think luca really knew what was happening). i haven't pulled off a surprise like that before. it was awesome! :)

we did stuff as a family the entire week, we even celebrated sophie's birthday while we were there! such a fun week. i posted lots of pictures on facebook, here's the link: California 2012

i've been home for a couple weeks and i miss them so much. not sure when another visit is in store (whether here or there) but thank goodness for skype & facetime so i can see them virtually!

ps. my flight home had zero issues, so there is hope for traveling companion(s)! :)