Time goes by so fast... Vancouver in Whirlwind-Vision

Certain things make you feel old.  Not just the general feeling of waking up a little bit more achy than you did yesterday, but things that put the exclamation point in your ailing knee, or the extra "slight gray" in your hair-  there are things that drive home that not only are you older than you were yesterday, but you are infinitely older than you ever pictured yourself in your teen years.  Viewing the pictures of all my kids in this Blog made me feel that old, but looking at the time progression of Jade and Forrest between the two pictures in front of the same fountain five years apart I think effected me deeply.  My children have gone from small, cute and slightly niave, to tall, confident and slightly sexy.  This really drives home the fact that I have aged just as much as they, in what seems such a short amount of time.

I must say, though I am taking it in stride, I can definitively say that I am not one to go "quietly into the night."  I will, in most certainty, fight the aging process with every tool I have.  It started in Canada during my daughters' cheer trip with a trip to Capilano Bridge.  I am incredibly afraid of heights in my "old age" and though I may have skipped across this bridge as a ten year old, I now faced it with fear and loathing.  I did walk across it (though in a very hurried fashion with no stops to take pictures) along with several other smaller suspended walkways and I am feeling younger for it already.  Just the first step of many... I hope.

Anyway - I hope you enjoy the pictures of our trip to Jade and Lily's cheer competition and the one adventure we had time for.  AND, if you have any tips for turning back the clock, please let me know.  :)

Love,

Shannon

Yep - we were definitely not in Kansas anymore...

Beautiful day in Vancouver BC.

Time Travel:  Jade and Forrest at the International Sea To Sky cheer competition 2007. 

Jade and Forrest, again in front of the same fountain, at the S2S Competition in 2012.  Not so little anymore...

All of my children in front of the fountain of lost youth...

I got it... I think... Talis - help me out man...

I'm just along for the ride - this cheer stuff is really boooorrring...

Oh!  I got it!  I got it!  Take the picture now!

Talis as a fountain...

Talis-Forrest Fountain

Forrest as a Fountain

I almost deleted this from the  blog, but Jade reminds me of that girl from The Ring here...

Success!!!

Sisterly love...

Talis:  What the h#ll are they doing??

I don't remember what the girls called this pose, but I call it "Dork by Design"

"Ok, I posed for some pictures, can we go home NOW?"

Jadey's team.  Third place finish - GoForce!

First time in Canada - TOURIST!!!

Justen thought the gas station in the middle of the bay was way cool...

Giant pile of sulfur.  Though I don't understand the significance I posted the pic for my honey.

City view from the Convention Center

KathyAnn, Jadey and Taylor - I love these girls!!!

Last Day in Vancouver:

Capilano Suspension Bridge, Vancouver, BC.  Beautiful  area, but heights are just not my thing...

Yep - this one is definitely going in the Christmas picture book...

Waiting on the boys...

My eldest children

The Girls

My youngest - He's so cute...

Have I told you that I'm deathly afraid of heights???

The kids and Hubby had no problem "sauntering" across the bridge.

Entrance to the tree linked suspension bridges - these weren't as high and I  managed to cross all without a pill or shot of whiskey...

Such cutie pies - now if only they didn't talk...

Entrance to the Cliff Walk - This picture was taken right as my children were telling me that if I didn't follow they would come back and push me across.

Yep - I crossed that!!  Yay me!

Jade and Forrest posing on the glass bottom view point...

I must say it took some coaxing to get me to do it, but I did walk out and pose for a picture.  I received applause from no less than 12 tourists after this pic was taken as I ran to the safety of the wooden walkway...

Pictures just don't do it justice...

Finally on our way home...

Lil and Jadey working off some pent up energy in the middle of the freeway while we were stuck on the pass for an hour... (no children were harmed in the taking of this picture - we all made it home safe and sound)