Canada vacation

Having lived away from Canada for well over 2 years has made me realize how important home, friends, and family are. We have now resided in 2 states and 3 different cities during that time which makes visiting my home country just that much more special. There are several exotic locations that one can think of to visit during vacation time so pardon the saying when I write "there's no place like home"

After a lengthy and successful flight Brooke was happy to take in the benefits of her new bed:

 

A good night's sleep is always refreshing:

With a nice bath to clean off all the travelling dirt.....

It was time to show everyone how much Brooke has grown in the past 8 months:

Canada seems to bring out the fitness side in everyone. Here are some videos of Brooke dancing and walking.

 

More pictures of us enjoying the London scenery.

 Of course all this exercise can tire a girl out.

We timed our visit to coincide with Brooke's first Halloween so here she is trying out her new costume.

And Brooke's big and fun night.

While visiting, my parents tried to find some interesting things for us to do. What better thing for a true Canadian than to visit Labatt's brewery, one of Canada's biggest.....

I thought we were being ambitious, but decided to take on a visit to Toronto for a day. The first stop was seeing our Aunt/Uncle.

Followed by some great friends and family downtown.

After that it was some former work friends for dinner. 

Brooke also met some new friends.

Back home in London after a long day it was time to let Grandpa work on his babysitting skills.

Another great thing to do while visiting London Ontario is going to the Arva Flour Mill...good times had by all of course!

More good food.

Including the biggest Panzerotti Brooke will probably ever see.

Followed by a nice cold one.

Because we wouldn't be around for the holidays, we decided to have an early Christmas celebration of sorts.

Here's Grandma and Grandpa with all the grandkids.

 Brooke and Auntie Susan.

Don't forget Uncle Mark.

We hope that these trips will help foster a strong bond for Brooke to recognize the importance of family. With our vacation over, it was time to head back.

Another great trip in the books for our little traveller.

















Chicago wedding

Brooke's adventures and travelling continue with our most recent family journey to Chicago. Having never been to Chicago myself, this was a great opportunity to not only see the city but partake in the wedding of Mark and Kaci as well as meet up with yet more of Brooke's extended family.

Here is Brooke meeting her Nana for the first time. We gave her some pearls to play with so she wouldn't break Nana's necklace.

This isn't a plug for Spirit airlines but at least Brooke and Nana travelled like champions!

After a successful flight from LAX we spent our first evening at a fantastic restaurant.

Before the wedding we were able to see some of the sights that make Chicago such a beautiful city.

I really wanted to visit the museum from Ferris Beuller's Day off which also coincided with the exact moment Brooke decided to take a nap.

Of course Brooke couldn't nap for long and was super excited to learn about Matthew Broderick.....or Tiffany Lamps....either way, she was thrilled.

More striking sites of Chicago.

The next morning we had a breakfast of delicious Red Velvet French Toast, a first for us all.

Chicago also marks Brooke's first time meeting grandpa, she was enthralled with his "stache".

Brooke was more than happy to be held by many others....

Oh yeah, the main reason for coming to Chicago....wedding time!!

Lets get right to it. Father of the groom and mother of the bride.

Mother and son.

Father and daughter.

 The beautiful bride and handsome groom on a perfect day and setting.

Brooke also had a special role as ring bearer (with mom's help)

Some after ceremony festivities.

A delicious meal. 

Heartfelt speech by the best man.

Dessert time.

A fantastic wedding was finished with some dancing.

After flying back home from Chicago we were able to take a trip to visit even more family and friends in Pleasanton.
Brooke was super happy to meet Jenny for the first time after she flew in for a visit from Hawaii.

Here is Brooke after a refreshing night at the hotel in her jail, I mean crib.

Finishing up our trip, Brooke was able to spend some quality time with her Mountain View relatives.
Uncle.

Auntie.

And Cousins.

Lots of travelling packed into a short time period left Mom and Dad pretty tired by the time we got back home. As usual Brooke was a trooper - happy to see everyone and everything.