Back to the grind after an awesome weekend in Vancouver. Coral and I took Mads to Coquitlam to see my sister Andrea, Uncle Matt and Stuphie.
Saturday night, we teamed up with Coral’s sister Alyx and hit the Commodore Ballroom to see Jimmy Eat World.
The concert was my second chance to see JEW. The last time Coral and I went was 2007 when she was pregnant with Madelyn. I remember that show to this day being one of my favourite concert experiences.
This 2011, might go down as even better. Jimmy Eat World were playing songs heavy on classics and also from their album Invented. I love the hits as I do with any journeymen band… but seeing as my favourite JEW records tend to be the later ones, I was happy they leaned on Invented and Chase This Light for some great depth performances.
I loved that Jimmy Eat World brought Courtney Marie Andrews on tour with them to sing the female harmonies. It added a lot to the show and she sounded great on the Invented songs and the older JEW songs. Notably on the Bleed American slow-burn, “Hear You Me.”
All-in-all… such a beautiful concert. Too bad is took so bloody long to get home on the skytrain.
The rest of the weekend was filled with relaxing, hockey, eating and Bridesmaids.
Andrea and I took Madelyn to Dawes Hill Park which is a little playground and urban forest by my folk’s place.
As kids in the 80s… much of the neighbourhood where we grew up was forest. Now its houses. We’d spend hours patrolling our domain, making trails and exploring.
I was very happy that an old trail that we always trekked along in Dawes Hill was still there and that Madelyn was jazzed to wander it.
I wonder how she might take to walking on a trail? Maybe still a bit too young. Even this little adventure required me to pick her up and carry her for a bit when she got “too tired.”
But I was reading my Backpacker magazine and they were talking about kids as young as 5 getting out into the back country and even had some kids packs! O RLY? Kids Pack and a 4 person tent… then I’m gold!
Go with yourself.
Last year my girls hiked Seymour Basin and Lynn Canyon suspension bridge to the canyon headwaters … both about four/five hours round trip … and we were hauling pretty good. They also did the entire perimeter including rocks and in the rain at Lighthouse Park in West Van in the later part of ’10.
Age 5 really seems to be the sweet spot! You’re doing good things though … getting her ready for nature. I also find the kids peak in fitness and endurance in late summer after they’ve become used to temps/breathing warmer air/long days playing outside, at the beach, in the pool, etc.
Also, trail mix with the Smarties is also a HUGE motivator 🙂
Man, I was *thisclose* to being at JEW on Saturday, I had a ticket and everything, alas, the fates intervened at the last minute and I had to decline. Happy to hear it was excellent!
SWA? Huck! You had a ticket? that is too bad, you should have come with us. It was mighty fun times.
Go jungle trekking… can’t wait to take Madelyn somewhere even a little more challenging than a park forest. mmmm trail mix with smarties is a good motivator for me too.
I have tried to get my kids to be explorers in the woods (some of my fave memories were wandering for hours in Capilano Canyon) but they just won’t. They will play outside for extended periods and spend hours and hours at the lake in the summer. But, no way, would they go hiking.
We do love camping though. I can hardly wait for our first excursion to Port Renfrew next month.
yay… she doesn’t need to be into “hiking” per say… just getting outside. Hours at the lake works too 🙂
glad you guys had a great weekend!
you should take mads on the mundy park loop next time. takes about an hour for adults, so it would be a decent walk for her and it’s so beautiful and tree filled.
yay, I wanted to do Mundy Park with Mads sometime. Maybe next time.
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