My parents had their 50th anniversary in May, so we celebrated with a week in Whistler with all 15 of us: parents, siblings & spouses x3, and 7 cousins/grandchildren. My parents rented a house so sprawling that I still went the wrong way to my bedroom on the fifth day.

It took no time for me to fall hard for Whistler–I biked, walked and paddle-boarded my heart out.

And we saw bears.

The village had the remnants of the Olympic Games, the kids organized a To The Death UNO tournament, we did a few hikes, saw graffitied train cars abandoned a century ago, and tie-dyed shirts, in between enjoying each other’s company and meals together.

I hope we can celebrate again in less than 50 years!