Leanne and Michael in the Grand Canyon
We had some nice events locally this summer including an outdoor concert with Ben Harper at Malkin Bowl, Sarah McClachlan performing with the Vancouver Symphony at the Orpheum, and we met and chatted with famous travel photographer Art Wolfe following an inspiring presentation he gave in Vancouver. We watched the fireworks, had the usual drinks and food around town with friends, hiked the north shore mountains, had picnics at the beach, and bicycled all over.
Laura walking with her Uncle Michael
We spent time with our nieces visiting parks and the aquarium. It has been fun to see them and our nephew grow. My grandmother celebrated her 85th birthday, and my dad and I had an overdue motorcycle ride on the sea-to-sky highway.
Teagan McWilliams at the Aquarium
We also managed to sneak in a short get away to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon a few weeks ago. There was a concert there Leanne wanted to see and I wanted to buy an Android Tablet that wasn’t out in Canada yet. So we used some of our air-miles and flew down for a few nights. It made for a busy weekend.
Helicopter view of the Vegas Strip
On the Friday night before we left Vancouver we went for dinner with a group of nine people to il Giardino. Later that night we went to see Sia perform at the Commodore Ballroom. Early the next day we drove from Vancouver to Bellingham and flew to Vegas where we checked into a beautiful room at the trendy, new Cosmopolitan hotel. That afternoon I picked up my Tablet, and in the evening we watched Adele perform in the Chelsea room. We stood near the front of the stage as she bellowed out her songs.
Our Patio
During our time in Vegas we saw the Lion King, Blue Man Group, and had a phenomenal multi-course dinner with incredible views at the Mix restaurant on the top floor of the Hotel at Mandalay Bay. Our biggest highlight though was our sunset helicopter flight into the Grand Canyon. We flew over lake Mead, the Hoover Dam and landed in the Canyon for champagne and food. We flew into the setting sun on the way back and flew down the Vegas Strip as it came alive with all of its lights in the early evening.
At home we enjoyed the fantastic weather at the start of September and ended most evenings lying on our new patio furniture and taking in the city. Our big purchase though is a second parking spot that became available in our building. This should make life a bit easier for visitors. 
We are now looking forward to autumn.