Four On The Go: Family Dynamics

This past week, Henry was invited to join a friend's family on a vacation to San Juan Island. How could we say no? Fishing, crabbing, playing at the beach, swimming in a pond, pedal boats, bike riding, fort building, and being outside every day on an island with one of his best friends. We knew he would have a fantastic time - it was really only me that I was worried about. So far, I'm doing okay. A little sad, but I'm trying to focus on all the fun things he's experiencing and counting down the days til I get to jump on a ferry and see him again (3 days, 14 hours, 40 minutes).

In the meantime, our family dynamics have undergone a dramatic change with the absence of Henry. Things seem much more quiet. A little slower. And we have this unique opportunity for Dan and me to spend a special week with just Alice.

Today, we all went to Vancouver to try dim sum. Dan and I had a favorite dim sum restaurant in Denver and have been saying for six years now that we really should get up to Vancouver and find a great dim sum restaurant. Today, we made it happen! Alice was pleasantly surprised with her first dim sum experience. Yum.

With very full bellies, we took a ferry ride over to Granville Island where we explored the shops, checked out all the beautiful produce and flowers at the enormous Farmer's Market, and listened to the street musicians.

Then it was south to Point Roberts. The very odd thing about Point Roberts is that it's actually in the U.S., but you have to go through Canada to get there. Wikipedia describes it as "A geopolitical oddity, Point Roberts is a part of the United States that is not physically connected to it, making it an exclave of the U.S." It can be reached from the rest of the United States only by traveling through Canada or crossing Boundary Bay by sea or air. I've been wanting to go there for years, and today was our chance.