I LOVE THESE PEOPLE!

My family gathered in Salt Lake for my grandmother's funeral right before Easter.  While the circumstances that brought us together were sad, and we all miss Grandma, the time we spent was terrific.

I'm not going to detail who all these people are, just know that I love every one of them--siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles--and I loved the time we had together to talk and play cards and eat and enjoy each other's company.

 I love this shot where my dad snuck in the back.  Ha ha, Dad!

These two are killer Hearts players.  We come from a long line of card players--in a good way.

The whole gang at Red Iguana in Salt Lake City.  If you like mole sauces, you have to go there.  It was featured by Guy Fieri on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" and they have his autographed picture on the wall.

My family is awesome!  I grew up with these people and we all gathered at Grandma and Grandpa's house regularly.  We have shared memories that will bind us together forever, and even though we are spread all over the country now, family still means everything to each of us.  That is my grandparents' greatest legacy.

My Mothers' Day Weekend

So, before I realized it was going to be Mothers' Day weekend, I booked a flight to Seattle to visit my sister.  It worked out to be an EXCELLENT weekend.  Who says you have to spend Mothers' Day actually with the people you mothered? 

After shopping in downtown Seattle, we met my brother and his little guy for dinner in West Seattle.  Isn't he a cutie?

The next day, we caught the ferry over to Kingston so we could drive up to Port Angeles to catch the ship over to Victoria, BC.  Typical NW weather--cold and overcast.  I had to use half my luggage to pack sweaters that I haven't worn since January.

In Port Angeles there was some sort of duck festival going on, so these guys were all over town.  Don't know why, but we thought it was funny.  (We'd been up since 4:30 am.)

 At Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, we heard and then saw these crazy peacocks.  My sister was chasing them, trying to get good pictures.  They are loud!

I love totem poles, and the Native American heritage is alive and well in BC.

The sun did come out quite a bit while we were in Victoria, but it was still cold.  And we couldn't figure out how to get the heat to work in our hotel room.  I never complained because I knew I was coming back to Texas to spend the summer in miserable heat.  I soaked up the cold to save for later.

The beautiful Parliament building in Victoria.

 Inner Harbor with the classic Empress Hotel in the background.

We decided to trek up the hill and visit this old castle built in the 1880's by a coal magnate (so he could tower over the rest of the city) but the $16 admission to actually tour the place discouraged us, so we only visited the outside.  Pretty, huh?

Our weekend was fabulous!  I am so blessed to have my sister.  We are the best of friends and love spending time together.  Since we are so far away from each other, we don't get very many adventures together, so I appreciate the time we do have.

  And thanks to my husband who made the whole thing possible, including working from home so he could take care of the kids.

Happy Mothers' Day to me!

Finally....

This is the second time I've been out on my bike since we moved to Texas.  For all the Lance Armstrong hype, this is not nearly as "cycling friendly" a place as East Vancouver and Camas are.  We're getting braver and plan on venturing out a little more every weekend.