First Glimpse of Calgary

I've been after my hubby to go with me to Calgary and see the Canadian Rockies that Banff is so famous for.

It was just hard to do a vacation that long with small kids and when my cousins and brother finally planned to come here all together. I decided to take that leap and go with them for a 3 days 2 night trip to Banff. (I agree, It is SHORT but I will take whatever I can just to get a bit of time to myself).

...and since we were restricted with time, we opted for going there by plane rather than driving all the way from Vancouver to Calgary and to Banff. It will just be too tiring and we wanted to maximize whatever time we can spare to enjoying the place.

I was really excited how we are going to be as a group as this was our first time to travel with each other... It was an hour and a half of flight and with an early flight, we had the whole day to enjoy Banff and explore the area...

* Our first view

* Almost there

* Goofing Around

* We almost lost one of us....Nah!

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CALGARY AIRPORT

Calgary, AB

To YVR Airport we go...

Stone's departure finally arrived and we went with Twinny to see our friend, Stone off.

* Kenzo falling in line

* Enjoying the ride at the cart

We had more time to spend waiting for the boarding...

* Twinny and Kimi

* Stone with Kimi

* Last prank from Uncle Stone to Kenzo...

...and finally it was time to say our goodbyes

* Sweet Moment- Papa Karl and Kimi

Till we meet again

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YVR International Airport

Richmond, B.C.

Afternoon Tea @ Fairmont YVR Tea

The kids had their fun already during the early part of our day with Take-Off Fridays 

It was mommy's turn to sit down and have some tea and pastries. I know it's a bit hard with 4 kids : 3 adults ratio but afternoon tea we did because of a coupon from our dear friend, Sarah. Thanks Sarah! 

* Tea Selections

* Adult's Tier of goodies

* Kid's Tier of goodies

* Cute Airplane sweet cookies for the kiddos

* Adult's Top Tier

* These were really good with the Danish Cream and Jam

* Love these ones as well...

...wasn't able to get a picture of Wilbert with us in my iphone but,

* Mommy G and Mel :)

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FAIRMONT YVR AIRPORT

Richmond, B.C.

Take-Off Fridays @ YVR Airport

Take-Off Fridays are back once again for the 3rd time. 

We took the skytrain from a nearby parking lot for a lower parking rate and a fun experience for the kids as well...

* Skytrain kiddos

* Take-Off Fridays Schedule of Events

The kids had fun running around the airport, oblivious to the fact that they were sharing the area with travelers and luggage/carts. They just loved the fact there was a lot of free samples, activities and even mascots (moving and not) to take pictures with.

* Loving Canada...

* Free Samples

...free activities

* Starchild Face Painter

* Shades of colors

* Three painted kiddos

...a nice play area

* Entertaining the kids with cartoons

* Soft play structure

* Starring Kenzo as Kingkong

* Cute Decor

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TAKE-OFF FRIDAYS

July 6th to August 31, 2012

@ YVR Airport

Richmond, B.C.

Goodbye, for now atleast...

See you soon :)

Las Vegas' Mc Carran Airport

Arriving in Las Vegas, the first structure that you'll be entering is the Mc Carran Airport.It should have been a warning to me right then and there just how big all the hotels would be just from looking at their airport.

To give you an idea just how huge it is,  we had to ride a train inside the airport to get to our baggage carousel... (WHAT!?).

....and since this is Vegas, there are slot machines all over the place. Almost every waiting area has a slot machine nearby....

* This was the arrival area

* Gate D Lobby

* This is the way to the train going to the other part of the airport

* Arrival and Departure Screens

As for the transportation going to the hotel? We tried the Shuttle bus which costs around $12 average for a around trip. Our hotel (MGM Grand) was really near the airport and we figured out that maybe a taxi would be the way to go if we decided to stay there again next time or maybe a shuttle going to the hotel then a taxi departing from the hotel , BUT if your hotel is in the Venetian area this shuttle service is really worth it.

Taxi rate:

Initial drop from taxi $3.30

Addt'l per mile $ 2.40

Mc CArran Airport Pickup fee $1.80

*Tip: You should probably allot ample time on the departure service of the shuttle bus in case they have delays. Remember, they stop at several hotels before dropping you at the final destination so it is better to be early :) 

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Mc Carran Intl Airport

(702) 261-5211

5757 Wayne Newton Blvd 

Las Vegas, NV 89119