Vancouvering it - minus Elle :(

Yep the big blogger herself has left, and i'm here to replace her with my charm and witty humour. We got to Vancouver on Saturday the 23rd. Amazed at a city overshadowed by these gorgeous mountains! Unfortunately it was foggy on the day we arrived so we didn't get a great view but every now and then through the clouds we could see the snow on the top. Very lush and green, big pine trees, rains a lot and many of the fields are flooded from all the rain. Danielle's Uncle Morris and Aunt Mary's place is out of the city after about an hour and half drive - in Abbotsford. It's a cute country area with lots of large farms nearby- we went and visited one with 2000 dairy cows. it uses a rotary to milk them- very interesting to see. The first SUnday here we went to the church in Yarrow and heard Rev Bouwman; bit of a blast from the past. After afternoon church we went to the Bouwman's for a lovely visit. Monday involved dropping off Elle at the airport and saying our soggy farewells. Lucky we could pop into Starbucks for an emotional last coffee together. After we'd successfully gotten rid of her (haha, jk elle ;)), we went to Ikea and had a looksy around and some cheap lunch. Came home with donuts for everyone from Tim Hortons as a peace offering for being gone the whole day. Then bit more sightseeing- we checked out these massive structures made out of stainless steel that some guy made- two big eagles and a huge Chinese snake as a symbol of yang. very cool. Tuesday we went skiing on Mt Baker!!! was heaps of fun- met up with Damo and Monica and the Bosvelds and went with them to the mountain which is just ove rthe US border. lucky we kept our green cards in our passports that enables us Australians quick access over the border! was heaps of fun but we were really unfit after all our lounging on holidays so got tired real quickly. Dani managed to successfully knee herself in the mouth resulting in a split lip and blood everywhere and all over the snow. She also managed to take down an entire fence at the bottom near the ski lifts (sorry mate, had to tell teh story). hilarious!
Had a good weekend hanging out with people- Friday we went to volleyball then a party. Saturday involved a lot of sleeping in, then cleaned the house for Aunt Mary and went tot he shop, and at night we went to someone's house and played a bit of cards. Sunday was busy- went to Marika's for her birthday, then after church went up the mountain as the day was clear and beautful! such a gorgeous view!!! made the mistake of touching the snow- have yet to have such a violent effect on my hands as this- they were entirely frozen and hurt soo bad. quickly went and jumped in a heated car while everyone else charged up the mountain as had to get the blood back into them. Hurt like crazy. Good fun four wheel driving up there though- massive ruts and dips in the roads so we got jostled around majorly. fun fun. stay cool and might fit in one more update before we leave for home on Wednesday!! :)
Lissa xx