Last week, I took Aiden up Grouse Mountain with his Argentinian second-cousins, Jonas and Matias, who were visiting for the wedding. It was Aiden’s first time up the mountain, and my first time in at least a dozen years. I don’t have any vivid memories of ever going up in the summer months, only the winter months, so it felt all new to me.

Aiden enjoyed the skyride up the mountain for the most part, though he kept calling it a boat. He balked a little on the way down, but not as much as I expected he would.

Once atop the mountain, we walked around, saw part of the Lumberjack show and most of the Birds in Motion show, checked out the two bears in the refuge, and stopped for many photos along the way. The weather didn’t co-operate for further adventures, but that was about as much fun as Aiden could handle. Since I didn’t want the annoyance of lugging around a stroller, once Aiden got tired and it started to rain, we called it a day and went for hot chocolates.

The activities in the summer were extremely family-friendly and we enjoyed our trip. Given the cost, it’s not a trip we’re likely to make more than once a year for now.

Aiden is head-over-heels for his cousins, Jonas and Matias, who had an abundance of patience for him and were always willing to carry him, chase him or bounce him along to make him giggle. The time he spent with them over the course of their visit to Vancouver was the best fun he’s had in his little life so far. He misses them already, as do we all!