Working Vacation

At the end of January this year we were lucky enough to take a working vacation. There was a farm tour and trade show happening in the Abbotsford/Chilliwack area that Michael wanted to attend. There was a couple old barns that had been renovated and made more efficient, even a few older barns that had been retrofitted for robots so he wanted to see how they were able to make things work in an older system. Of course there was also some amazing brand new facilities to check out as well. With the tours and the trade shows taking up a few days we decided it would be a good time to extend our stay and hit the aquarium and science world. It took us a bit to figure out a hotel to stay in, not the easiest thing when you have four children, and most places were booked due to the trade show. We actually ended up staying in Langley so that we could have adjoining rooms. The kids thought it was awesome! For me, I loved the fact that there was no house work, no meal planning, and no laundry! We had a ton of fun, it was the perfect way to break up the winter and put some fun into what seemed like an endlessly grey January!

This little vacation turned out to be extra special in our hearts as we also used it as a time to spend with family. Every evening we had an engagement with different family members. These are always special times for us and I always make it a priority to see as much family as possible when we are in the area. What made this time so special was that it ended up being our kids' last visit with great grandpa Haak, and the last time we all saw him before he got sick. At the time I never would have guessed that this would be our family's last visit with him. He was so great! Talked with all the kids, hugged each of them, joked about coming out to plant corn, and just loved on us. I am so glad that it worked out that we could spend time with him that evening. What a blessing to know that my kids were able to have that last visit with him while he was still healthy and able to engage with them. It seems incredibly unbelievable that just two short months later we are gathering in Abbotsford again to pay tribute to him and celebrate the legacy that he left. Once again reminded that life is short, make time to spend it with those you love, don't let yourself get too busy in the details that you don't appreciate the people in your life.

 Our first engagement of the trip was supper with Great Grandma and Grandpa Martins. It is a favourite stop for my kids.  The famous Apple Betty's. It's an all you can eat buffet, and well...the kids love it! This was the first time we have gathered with them and all the cousins at the restaurant. It was a lot of chaotic fun!

 

The next day we had the farm tour. This was a lot of fun, however a little colder then we expected. The kids did pretty good and we made it to four different farms before they got too tired and grumpy. One of the highlights was definitely watching the robotic milkers. Mason couldn't figure out where the robots head was though. I think he was expecting something more transformerish then what he saw, lol.

checking out the Lelay robot

can't be too careful, better make sure we don't cross contaminate so on go the boot covers!

yes the dolls came to each and every stop with us!

checking out the DeLaval robot.

We also managed to use the pool and take a bit of time just to chill out at the hotel in between plans. We were pretty busy this trip and didn't have a lot of time to enjoy just vegging out, but we did try and make the most of our time. The kids definitely enjoyed the fact that someone came in and cleaned up after them every day, and I enjoyed the fact that "that someone" wasn't me! :)

Day two was the Tradex. It was very busy in there, and it took forever to get Michael through the place. Every few steps there was either a farmer to chat with or a salesman vying for his attention. The kids had a blast, they kept saying they were trick or treating as each booth and display had some sort of candy or freebie to give them. We came home with a whole bag full of loot.

That's one giant tractor!

The kids enjoyed milking the fake cow!

The petting zoo was also a highlight!

Day 3, and my favourite day of the trip, was the Vancouver Aquarium! I love the aquarium and so did the kids. They loved seeing all the neat fish and running through the different displays. The beluga's are my favourite, I just can't get over how beautiful they look swimming around in the underground viewing area. The dolphin show was also really fun! Another highlight of the aquarium is the 4-D movie theater. It was so fun! Mason was a little freaked out when it felt like snakes were crawling by your feet. It was a really neat show we watched the planet earth oceans video while being sprayed in the face when the dolphins would jump or having your chair vibrated, etc. I would highly recommend taking the experience in if you are planning to attend the aquarium.

The jelly fish were another favourite. There were some really neat displays!

ready to take in the 4D movie experience.

The rainforest exhibit.

The penguins were pretty cute too!

...and of course you can't leave unless you go through the gift shop, lol, so one cute stuffie for all! We really did the tourist version, we even purchased the cheesie family photo! Oh well, I guess better to have a cheesie photo when they are still young and cute then when they are in the awkward teenage years haha.

Day 4 was an exciting  trip to Science World. If you are going to go I suggest getting a pass to your local science center (as long as it's more then 100kms away from Vancouver) as it gets you in free to Science World. Our pass to the Vernon Science center for the year was cheaper then it would have been to pay to attend Science World for the day. We decided to skytrain it to the Science center. Mason thought the trains would actually be flying so was a little disappointed that it was so easy to get on, haha. Small town kids! They were a little nuts and the trains were very busy, but we made it, and it was a fun experience for the kids. Science World was fun too. The Lego exhibit had just opened the day we got there so that was cool. The kids were able to participate in building the massive Lego mural which was kind of cool. They were given a little square and a pattern to follow and they would build their little square, a person would check it, and then it would get placed in the correct space on the wall. The other favourite part of the day was the Omnimax theater. It's such a neat screen. I love how it feels 3D because of the large scale of the screen.

hard at work building their squares

This was one of my favourite photos of the trip!

Science World meant some abandoned dolls, lol, good thing daddy was willing to carry the girly backpack and dolls while everyone else ran around!

It was a jampacked trip, full of lots of walking and late nights. Most nights by the time we got to the hotel the kids were zombies, and on a few, they were just outright passed out. We ended our trip with a superbowl party and another great day of visiting family. It was a pretty awesome trip and holds lots of great memories. I came home feeling very blessed to have gotten away. For Michael, it was the longest he'd left the farm in a looong time, and he was a bit antsy about it leading up to the trip, but once we got on the road he never looked back, and things went great on the farm.