Whistler Family Fun!

I’ve been working in hotels in the Vancouver area for years since I moved to Beautiful British Columbia. I always recommend our guests visit; Stanley Park, Granville Island, Capilano Suspension Bridge and to rent a vehicle and venture up to Whistler.

Whistler BC is a Internationally known Mountain Resort destination that has something to offer for everyone. While it’s known for its winter activities there is also plenty to do in the spring and summer.

A whistler trip can cost you a fortune especially if you are hitting the slopes but it is possible to do it on a budget.

We recently returned from a week away in Whistler, we had a blast and managed to keep the costs down.

We stayed at a timeshare called The Aspens Resort which is one of Whiski jack resort properties. It was the perfect layout for our family of 4, had a fully equipped kitchen, nice dining and living room space and had wonderful mountain views.

Situated at the base of Blackcomb mountain, we could enjoy a coffee or brew on the deck and watch the skiiers.

The property offered a ski valet to assist with storage of your gear. Being beside one of the runs, you could just grab your gear and ski out. This is a dream as lugging the gear with children in tow is most of the work.

We loved that we had a outdoor heated pool and a few hot tub options, the kids and I spent a lot of time enjoying those.

The kids rode their bikes everywhere which made for less whining and we were able to explore the village more. If you don’t have a bike, there are awesome walking trails everywhere, there is also a community bus which stops by most of the big hotels and public parking lots if you are feeling lazy. The big lot between Blackcomb and center village is less expensive.

I bought my groceries at home and we prepared most of our meals at the timeshare but there is a IGA marketplace in the village.

For the days you don’t want to cook, Whistler has some amazing dining options.

We really enjoyed having our coffee and scone at Purebread. The coffee, service and baked goods are amazing and so fresh. It is right beside the children’s playground so we spent lots of time there.

We enjoyed El Furniture warehouse for dinner as each plate on the menu is only $5.95, the food is tasty and the restaurant kid friendly.

We also really likeLa Brasserie for brunch on the heated patio, perfect for people watching and they make a delicious ceasar.

The kids loved going for ice cream several times at Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory. The faves were bubblegum, blood orange and Rocky road. If you don’t love ice cream try the delicious bear paws..drool!

If you can escape for a date night, my hubby and I had the best steak at Sidecut at the Four Seasons, while more pricey it was certainly worth the splurge.

My kids are still at the age where they are pretty content with biking in the village and around lost lake, spending lots of time in the pool is very exciting for them.

If you have little ones that like video games, try out the Nintendo gaming lounge which is located at the base of Blackcomb mountain in the Apres ski cafe beside Merlin’s Bar and Grill. My boys loved testing out the newest games.

Some things on my list for next time we visit is to try the Ziptrek adventure which is a epic zipline ecotour located in the valley between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains.

I would also love to escape for some quiet relax time and try out the hydrotherapy baths at the Scandinave Spaand possibly sneak in a massage.

Our drive back home was a fun one as we stopped along the way.

The Sea-to-Sky hwy is a beautiful one and there are so many great places to let the kids run. We can recommend having a little stretch and picnic at Shannon Falls in Squamish BC.

Also right beside it is the Sea-to-sky Gondolawhich we have done on previous trips and it is a great one, definitely worth the stop.

We then stopped at Porteau Cove Provincial Parkwhere the kids loved the beach. You can picnic, camp, scuba dive and makes for a perfect family photo opp!

We loved our getaway to Whistler and love exploring what our province has to offer!

Xo Jen

If you are planning a trip to Whistler or the surrounding area have a wonderful time and feel free to contact us with any questions you may have or visit Tourism Whistleror hellobc!

Put your body on the potty!

I have been changing diapers for 7 years. My oldest who is almost 7 was potty trained around the time his baby brother was born at age 3. For him all the rewards, praise, Elmo videos and books motivated him to “put his body on the potty” as Elmo said. https://youtu.be/u1DugrrAxIg

He didn’t need a singing potty seat or a chart, a few smarties and a high 5 worked just fine.

Skip to a few years later with baby #2 and we are still having trouble with putting the poo poo in the pottay..lalalalalala..you know the songs. Quite frankly i’m over the poo party.

Potty training baby #2 has been a long process. From about age 3 to 4 he was very resistant to even attempt to try. The smarties and high fives were not working this time and the thought of even putting on his new Paw Patrol underoos resulted in a full blown meltdown. We got the cute little white Baby Bjorn potty and variety of toilet training seats to make him comfortable.

We offered games and favorite videos to motivate him to sit on the potty. Tried the 3 day method, the run around naked method, only underwear method. All the methods you read and hear about. Nothing was working .

Everyone told us that with baby #2 potty training would be a breeze and that they would just watch their sibling and pretty much do it on their own. For us this was not the case.

I was embarrassed and we were trying, trying too hard, worrying too much as we do.

We realized all the resistance came down to personality and just not being ready yet. As parents it’s hard not to compare one child to the other, we are constantly told what our children should be doing and how they should get there.

Some babies sleep thru the night as newborns, some don’t. Some whip off the diaper and sit on the potty on their own at 18 months, others still s*** their pants at age 4. All comes down to the individual child and when they are ready.

So we took a few months off, tried again, relaxed a little bit, and with a little bit of love, patience and persistance it happened.

Its still a work in progress but little dude is now putting his body on the potty like a champ and we couldn’t be more proud.

Xo Jen

We would love to hear about your adventures in potty land. Comment or dm us!

Happy New Year Giveaway!

We are doing our very first Giveaway to start 2018 off right!  The City Sisters want to thank you all for stopping by the last few months since we started the blog.  We hope you are having as much fun as we are! 

What we are giving away is a gift card for Shoppers Drug Mart and some of our favorite products!

What you need to do is follow us on our Instagram page @citysisterscanada, tag 3 friends then leave a comment on @citysisterscanada and tell us your favorite lipstick brand or fragrance.

The winner will be chosen on Friday January 12 at 12pm pst.

Thank you all and good luck!

Xo The City Sisters

Welcome to The City Sisters!

Hello and Welcome to The City Sisters!

My sister Jen and I started this blog to write about all the things we talk about with each other and our girlfriends, from babies to beauty — and everything in between!

Follow us for some great conversation pieces, ideas and maybe a recipe or two.

Thank you for joining us. We hope you enjoy!

Xo Alli

Alli and Jen with our boys – Feb 2017.