First Baby Related Post

Admittedly it is not as exciting as a Spork, but at least our first baby purchase of a stroller (aka a buggy) will keep Anthony's mind entertained for a little while. I have to say the easiest part was buying the thing, putting it together was a major mind-bending task. Thanks to Nancy and a YouTube video it is now ready to go.

Nancy is at 34 weeks and counting!

Heading Back to Work

My weeks holiday is coming to an end and I head back to work on Wednesday, however, I thought I would share some positive news which makes my role a little better in 2011. Some of you are aware at the end of 2010 Mercedes-Benz Canada and BMW Canada were dueling for the sales lead in the premium car market and for most of the last decade BMW has prevailed every year. Not anymore... MB Canada became the country’s most popular luxury car company after edging perennial leader BMW Group Canada.

Mercedes-Benz sales jumped 15.6 per cent to a record 28,065 vehicles last year from 2009 while BMW volumes climbed 10 per cent to 27,202 in the same period. So working most of my birthday contributed in some small way to this success and we gained an extra day of vacation from the company.

Only problem now is that we start all over again now!

The Adventure Begins.....

Emily and Kris have announced plans for their 2011 adventure to travel the globe. Starting at the end of May, their plan is to travel across South East Asia for approximately 3 months, then a couple of months in Australia and New Zealand and then Vancouver to stay with us, before finally travelling across the states to Ross and Laura and co in time for Christmas. One last adventure in the New Year will be to travel up to Niagara Falls before heading back to the UK in February 2012!!

Inspired by our CodenameWFNS blog, Emily and Kris have created their own blog to keep everyone updated and informed of their trip. Check it out for all the details. http://jumpedupholiday.blogspot.com/

We are wishing them every success for the trip and are envious of all the fantastic experiences that lay ahead of them.

Whistler Winter Wonderland

We arrived in Whistler late yesterday for a few days of relaxation in the winter wonderland. As everyone probably knows Whistler was the location of the 2010 Winter Olympics. On my first day on the slopes I came across these Olympic rings on one of the ski runs.

Time now for a hot tub.

New Years Day on Cypress Mountain

For New Years Day this year we decided to head up to Cypress Mountain to do some snow-shoeing with a couple of friends. The conditions were perfect, snow everywhere, crisp fresh mountain air with clear blue skies. We wondered along the various snowshoe trails for a couple of hours, including a pit-stop for hot chocolate. This exercise was followed up by some brunch in Horseshoe Bay.

This was certainly a more sedate and enjoyable activity, compared with last years New Years Day which involved the Polar Bay swim in the pouring Vancouver rain. Although we did miss Anthony!

Mr Mean or Mr Stingy???

It turns out that Mr. Mean doesn't exist in Canada!

As the photo shows over here, there is some impostor called Mr Stingy.... not the same.

Merry Christmas to All

Just a quick blog post to wish everyone we know a Merry Christmas. Nancy and I finish work on Thursday 23rd December and head straight for the 7pm ferry to Vancouver Island. We will be spending the Christmas weekend with Wendy and Scott M.

We wish you and your family a happy festive season!

On a side note - good luck to the fantasy footy teams over the busy festive period. My team is only 2 points from the top of the league (come on Kris, you're lagging behind quite a bit now!)

A 'ickle Christmas Tree

Last weekend, we put up and decorated our Christmas tree, which is displayed in all its glory in the photo.

Let's just say that its not all about size! Small and beautiful.

First NFL Game in Seattle

I have been a bit slack when it comes to updating the blog recently as I was away in the UK having a great time and then a busy November month end with work, followed by preparations for Christmas and the baby training in early December. Anyway, no excuses I am back writing for the blog and just for Kris I thought I would write about my first experience of a live NFL game.

On Sunday 4th December, Scott Marks and I were up early and met at 7am to race across the border to get down to Seattle. The Seattle Seahawks were playing the Caroline Panthers and the Seahawks are having quite a good season with their new head coach - Pete Carroll. I am a big sports fan, but I've never really got into NFL football despite its huge popularity in North America and I was highly disappointed by CFL (the Canadian version), when we went to a BC Lions game last year. Back to the story, we crossed the border in good time and found a bar near the stadium, for a early beer and brunch. Half way through our meal the whole place was interrupted by the Seahawks own drum band, called the Blue Thunder. This was a fantastic noise that got all the fans and locals up for the game - great atmosphere. We then wandered down to the Stadium and tried to locate our seats, which turned out to be up with the pigeons in the rafters. I don't think we could have been any higher without requiring oxygen, despite this we did have a decent view of the pitch.

In terms of the game itself, I didn't fully understand everything that was going on but enough to know that Seahawks were rubbish in the first two quarters. The score at half time was 14 - 3 to the Panthers, then the third quarter happened and the Seahawks came out showing some fight. The turn around starting with an interception touch down and the points just kept coming with the final score being 31 - 14 to the Seahawks. The result was certainly what the fans wanted and it was first rate experience for myself.

Who Says Parenting is difficult?

I arrived safely in the UK on Friday afternoon, despite my flight being a hour delayed from Vancouver. On arrival I headed to Neil's house and was thrown in at the deep end as a make-shift babysitter, as Neil had to go to the airport with Lotta.

As you can see from the photo, everyone survived and nothing was broken. Who says that parenting is difficult?

The next couple of days have been great catching up with a variety of family members. More fun to follow....

England Home Coming. Wheels Up!

My trip to the UK is almost upon us..... my flight leaves Vancouver at 8.3opm and lands at 1.40pm on Friday. Currently I am sitting at the airport in anticipation.

Look out Friday Night Club, we are overdue a reunion!

See you all on the other side

Portland Road Trip

Over the past few days we completed a road trip to Portland, Oregon on the west coast of the USA. Nancy, Wendy, Scott M and myself crossed the USA border last Wednesday evening, after work and due to my British passport we had a forty minute wait to get my entry visa. We made our way down to a hotel Olympia for our first night. Next morning was when the real excitement started as we crossed into Oregon State and drove along the historic highway 30. The route took us along the Columbia gorge, river and we saw a number of waterfalls and view points. Lunch in a nearby town was followed by a drive on the mountain road of Mt. Hood, where we came into contact with snow.

One of the trip's highlights for me was a visit to the Nike Employee Store as the Nike HQ is based in the area. Huge discounts and great deals had by all, especially as there is zero sales discount in Oregon. After all the shopping we had a couple of enjoyable days in the city of Portland, seeing the sights, shops, riding the free tram system and visiting Powell's Books, which is the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world. This was my first visit to Oregon and proved to be a top trip with cheap shopping.

Portland, Oregon Road Trip Coming Up

On Thursday, 11 November is a public holiday for Remembrance Day in B.C. and so we are taking the opportunity to complete a four day road trip down the west coast to Portland, Oregon. This will be the first time that I have visited this part of the world and one of the trip highlights for me is the planned visit to the Nike Global Headquarters.

We leave on Wednesday evening to cross the USA border and so look out for a blog post and photos later in the week.

Canucks Hockey Games Galore

This week saw Nancy and myself both watch a Vancouver Canucks hockey game, but not the same one.... two different games on two different nights. Nancy saw her game in Vancouver with the Canucks playing against the Devils in a VIP box suite on Monday night. Whilst on Tuesday night, I saw the Canucks play the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton with seats right next to the ice. I was sat right next to the away team's box (i.e. Vancouver Canucks) and so close to all their subs.

Credit to the Canucks for playing two games in consecutive nights in two different towns and two different time zones. Furthermore, they were playing on Thursday evening as well. As the Canadians keep telling me hockey is a tough man's game - I suppose you don't get the English footy teams playing back to back games.

Also, as a side note today in Calgary I met Stephen Ames who is currently the highest ranked professional golfer in Canada and plays on the PGA Tour. He was the at the dealership arranging his new car, my boss was star struck to say the least.

First Snow of The Season

A heavy Pacific storm dumped 30 centimetres of snow on the top of the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort in the last few days, raising the hopes of local skiers that weather climate patterns will bring plenty of snow this coming winter. The freezing level is expected to remain steady with more periods of snow forecast for this week on that mountain.

On Monday morning Environment Canada issued a weather warning for Vancouver, forecasting 50 millimetres of rain by Tuesday, this week. The heavy rain has already forced officials to close the popular Grouse Grind hiking trail on Vancouver's North Shore.

For me, I returned from Kelowna yesterday over the mountain pass and experienced my first snow of the season, which you can see in the photo.

English Bread & Butter Pudding - NO Tiramislop, thanks!

Today was cultural pot luck day at the office.... Yes, I hear you cry "what is cultural pot luck?". Well, it is where a bunch of people at work were invited to cook or bake a homemade dish from their cultural background (or a signature dish of their choice). The idea being that everyone could taste different foods from a variety of nationalities, especially as the office has people from at least ten different countries.

This presented me with a major dilemma due to my limited culinary skills, so I ended up resorting to the classic English desert of Bread and Butter pudding. One of two dishes that I learned on a cooking course two years ago with Nancy, Emily and Mr P. Apart from initially putting the pudding in the wrong glass bowl for the oven which would have created a disaster, all went well with the cooking part (as the photo proves). I was slightly worried how it was going to taste, but it seemed to be a big hit with everyone in the office and most of it was eaten with a number of compliments from the team. No reports of food poisoning yet, so an overall success.