"A family that laser tags together, stays together" | Kluctch Photography | Vancouver Family Photographer

Family Day in BC, for some it’s just another paid day off but to our family, we take our annual Lazer tag outing quite serious. We’re quite a competitive family (me being the best loser of the bunch, obviously because I'm usually the loser amongst us, duh). For the last three years, we headed to Planet laser, It's fairly close to home which makes things easy. Their battlefield is large and full great “hiding spaces” and blue lights, think white shiny teeth (which always reminds me of a bar, remember those days!)

If your competitive AF, where runners and a tank top. if you're not sweating you're not working hard enough, lol! Or maybe it’s my I’m middle-aged and I sweat at night and now I ‘m sweating all the dam time now…I don’t know but I’m sticking with the “you're not working hard enough” statement for now! Why not have fun and get a workout in at the same time.

PRO tip, pay attention to the guy in the beginning, he explains how your gear works, I forgot to “listen” and for the first half of the first game, I couldn’t get my gun to work! WHY, cus I fucking squirrelled and didn’t hear him say HOLD these buttons down while your shooting. Yeah, (insert head shake), also you're understanding why I’m the loser of the bunch, normally!)

You never know how the teams are going to work, some games it's a free-for-all every man for themselves, and others you’re organized in teams of colour…so basically you may never be with your family. Which makes for some pretty funny dynamics. There’s a lot of pregame hand shaking deals going down, “I won’t tag you if you don’t tag me” (AMARA ALWAYS DOES ANYWAY, f’n trader!). We usually do three rounds of tag and that seems to be about perfect for our crew.

In the end, there’s a lot of laughs, sweat and bragging rights. We wrap it up with some dinner out. A pretty much perfect “Family Day” in my books. Oh, and by the way, I pulled it together and beat the kids on the last two rounds!! #WINNING feels good!

I would highly recommend laser tag as a family sport, I mean activity!

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I had a GIN tasting and the results are in! | Klutch Photography | Vancouver Family Photographer

I’m not sure how or really when the actual transition happened, you know the day I left vodka to go steady with Gin, but it has been at least 6 blissful years!

My love affair has been primarily with Tanqueray, Hendricks and Bombay…and recently a new love affair with Hayman Sloe Gin. I’ve even brought people to the gin light, converted some and crossed over hardcore vodka drinkers but this night was for me, and 13 other ladies to have what I like to call a “swingers night” with Gin. Hahaha, did you expect anything less from me guys, come on!

My goal was to taste a lot of gins before committing, you know “see if the shoe fits” before “putting a ring on it”.

So let’s get down to deets, I invited ladies in my circle that I know enjoyed the taste of gin on their Saturday night palettes and the next part was for them to bring a gin that they either LOVED or have never sampled but made them curious!

Once confirmation of attendance was established we started a feed, people posted their gin purchases once that way we didn’t have doubles. Think modern-day grads posting their grad dresses, nobody wants to wear the same dress to the prom!

Tammy my amazingly talented graphic designer and friend was my co-host for the evening. She made the alphabet booze stations and the scorecards…most gin tastings you only gobble 4 gins down and in typical fashion were overdoing it with 15…so we needed to keep this shit simple.

If you were not aware Rivera Yogurt glass jars make the BEST sampling snifter, and yes I ate a lot of vegan Rivera Yoghurt to make this night possible. You’re welcome, ladies.

We tested all the gin bachelors on rocks first. Some candidates needed to be sampled further with tonic to make sure we were ranking it correctly and some with just soda. After 5 gins, we broke for a smoke. Totally kidding, it was actually the food break! We all didn’t want to get to shit faced within the first 5 gins, that would be embarrassing. We set the bar at 8 gins for an acceptable level of hammeredness. Thank god UBER is finally running in Surrey but back up was my spare bedroom and sectional sofa which holds 2 sleeping adults quite comfortably (this has been confirmed by Greg and myself during many a movie night!)

This was so fun, I loved doing this and would highly recommend doing this type of evening. After the official tasting was over, we chatted about our favs & disappointments and created our own custom cocktails with a massive amount of “fixings” with our favorite gins from the night. Here are a few in case you want to try this at home,

Lime

Lemon

Mint

Cucumber

Frozen berries

Dried blood oranges

Simple ginger syrup

Shrubs of all sorts

Club soda (high and low end)

Tonic (high and low end)

Our evening ended (for most) at 4 am, apparently Tammy says my house has a time warp feature and we played After dark (the board game), we ate drank and laughed. It was literally the perfect Saturday evening in February! This may have to be an annual event with other types of booze, just saying.

So here is our overall thoughts on the Gins we sampled!

Tanqueray and Gunpowder Irish Gin

These two were a pretty traditional gin, stronger in taste and begging to be mixed with whatever your heart desired. They're like the husband you come home to after 3 years of marriage, you’re still excited to see them and they still rub your shoulders and feet with their strong hand after a long day.

Reliable and refreshing.

Oh shit, guys, we didn’t see this coming! Two dark horses in the mix, local surrey boy and a New Jersey lad - Queensborough Dry Gin (Surrey) and Boodles (Jersey).

You’d think from their location brewing background they would be a tough swallow, incorrect!! Just the opposite folks. These stallions are the BEST naked. Lol, well, on the rocks I mean, no mix required…they were enjoyed best this way. Well, at least 14 ladies thought so! Both huge winners for us.

These guys below were your average achievers, they didn’t wow us in the “bedroom” shall I say! They were kinda meh. The only one that had “character’ was Roku Gin, it at least had some saki vides going on. Wild Roots smelled amazing but it smoke and mirrored us with its taste. Just like the “good looking” guy at the bar, till the lights come on! Eek. I was cheering for the Islanders as that is my old stomping grounds (Empress and Sheringham) but sadly they fell short (like my height) on standing out over the others.

Gordon’s Pink was a mix of likes and like nots. If you’re going to try this, do it with mix!

It reminds me of the guy at the bar who’s trying really hard to impress you but he’s really a 6 and he’s with his friends (Hendricks Midsummer Solstice, Tanqueray Malacca & Hayman’s Sloe Gin) who are LITERALLY ALL 10’s!!!

Not joking, don’t make these a summertime fling (Well, unfortunately, Hendricks is only visiting for a short time so make it count). These bottles are ripped with flavour and best NAKED. Are you seeing a new theme here? A mix might not be needed as we’ve thought in the past. Try them bare and see what you think! Malacca was like an exotic dancer (in my mouth!) I was so impressed, as were the rest of us! Now Hayman’s Sloe Gin has always been my “sloe jam” with the lights down low and a bubble bath going!!

“ICE, ICE, BABY, ICE, ICE, BABY” sing it with me. “THIS IS HOW WE DO IT”, “THIS IS HOW WE DO IT” Both 90’s R&B songs are working with this summertime bunch!

Guys, these are your ripped boys of summer, there the “eye candy” (or “mouth candy” if you will) of the bunch, think tanned volleyball players and surfers.

You can all start crying now.

As this is our “purple unicorn” of the crew, sadly you will probably NEVER get to touch this gin god to your lips unless you’re in the UK. Christine was so kind as to share her last drops of this rhubarb & ginger gin nectar (of the GODS) with us. HANDS DOWN, BEST GIN SIPPER (liquor) I HAVE EVER TASTED.

I feel like I had the best one night stand of my life and now I’m left picking up the pieces cus there’s nothing else that will ever compare to this gin here in Canada. Is it unreasonable to move across the country and find this gin of my dreams again?

Ok, this is where it gets AWKWARD guys….

Tempo Blue Berry was one of the least favorite of the bunch (decided by most). Tho I’ve been told to give Tempos twin, (not identical of course) a try, sadly I feel he’s guilty by association…but you never know!

Oh God, Ryan Reynolds cover your eyes and skip past this part cus it’s going to get really uncomfortable for ya…as I think your a decent male figure and all.

We were so cheering for this gin, a fellow Canadian etc. but to put it as bluntly as possible, It was like getting raped in a dark ally. Hard and not in a good way folks the worst way possible.

It probably could get a car to the gas station in a pinch if you needed it too.

So, if you like your gin rough and invasive in your mouth, Aviator is your winner.

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21 Things that will make your trip to KONA, HAWAII easier! | Klutch photography | Vancouver Photographer

Are you heading somewhere warm this winter/ spring break, lucky you! Well then, I want to share a few of my tips and suggestions to help make your packing more comfortable and your stay less consumed by unneeded purchases!

We travelled to Kona, Hawaii (The Big Island) as a family of 4, but a lot of these can apply to couples as well!

Check out my list below and make your upcoming trip more enjoyable (look for blue links for some buying suggestions btw).

NO.1

Your fourth luggage is the life saver…

If you’re travelling as a family of four and checking 4 pieces of luggage (like we do) make your kids use one suitcase for sharing. The other suitcase will hold all those (must have/needed) items. Which brings me to no.2...

NO.2

Packing cubes…

Purchase travel bags from ebags to organize your clothing! I have a bunch from them and found a bunch in Value village as well. THESE ARE AMAZING. Not just for big trips but weekend getaways, sleepovers, camping trips…I LOVE THESE THINGS.

You can organize by outfit or however the fuck you want to organize it! I pack by “category” (think shorts and pants together) What I love is that I don’t unpack when I get to the hotel, you just slide the whole unit into a hotel dresser drawer and tuck the top zipper flap around the bottom of the bag. Whalaa! Easy in and easy out!

I give my girls 4 each, in multiple sizes and tell them that this is all the room they get (kinda like a grab bag. It works perfectly, no fighting for space in the suitcase! If they want anything else, pop that shit in your carry-on girls, your on your own.

No.3

Foldable travel cooler…

Collapsible cooler bag (think slinky looking) this has upped our beach game day on vaca by 1000%! We can pack a lunch and have multiple drinks. The places we stay usually have a fridge/freezer, so we freeze a few bottles of water every night and we're good to go for everything stying cold for hours. Even if you don’t have a freezer, most hotels have ice…which leads me to No.4 ZIPLOCK BAGS! Grab ice in a large ziplock bag, its water proof and keeps things cool for a few hours.

No.4

Ziplocks are king…

As mentioned above, bring a large amount of various size Ziplock bags. THESE ARE SOOOO F'N HANDY, their travel gold in my opinion. Yes, yes of course you can buy them in Hawaii, but WHY? If have them at home take them, they weigh like NOTHING in your suitcase! I use them for packing snacks and lunches, wet clothing, ice, finding treasures, and for carrying your water safe item…the list goes on!

No.5

More then one beach bag…

Beach bags-we pack two, one water proof and one typical cloth/ straw beach bag (one is used for my camera gear and clothing (so dry stuff etc.). So you could probably get away with one but if your like us with 2 kids, you will need two. I recommend going to VV (value village) and purchasing one that you don’t care to leave behind if you don’t really use beach bags at home.

No.6

Water shoes…

You will need water shoes if your snorkelling, we used ours three times on this trip! Again another VV purchase, these guys should sponsor me! If you’ve planned your trip in advance, you can hunt them down there (usually about $4).

Trace your children or teens feet on a piece of paper and keep it in your wallet to measure accurately. Now, if “used shoes” creep you out (we may not be able to be friends, lol, joking, I get it), you can find VERY reasonably priced ones from Canadian Tire! We kept our shoes after our last trip to Mexico (kids swapped out, my youngest took my oldest and my oldest took mine, and I could fit into the their previous pair…lol that’s a tongue twister for reading). Kids feet grow fast, that’s why cheap used ones work for us and you can sell them or pass them to others after the trips over.

No.7

Wear your runners…

Bring your runners if you plan on hiking or just site seeing! I would recommend you wear them on the plan, that way they don’t need to get packed! Annnd if the plane crashes you have solid footwear to get out safely, yep I just said that!

No.8

Beach towels…

Pack thin towels! I know you're making a scrunched face at me but think about how much you're going to be in the ocean, or the pool! Towels in a hotel room after a long day don’t dry fast (Well, we had a dryer, but we used both sets on the regular!) Also, I don’t feel like losing the hotel towels at the beach, I have those kids! This is a personal preference, but for Hawaii, I was delighted we brought them. Even for the car rental seats, remember sunscreen leaves MARKS.

No.9

That sounds swell…

Swell bottles (or any other thermal beverage container). My god, how I love these bottles. Honestly, it keeps your mamma juice cold for hours! Then once you’re done, you pull one out of your cold cooler bag and pop it in for another few hours of tasty cold goodness! You can pack them in checked luggage or, carry them empty in your carry on! We checked ours in the spare 3 luggage, see how that extra luggage is making sense now! All of us had one for the trip, all of us were hydrated and either lightly buzzed (me) or just happy (kids). Beer cosies are also not a bad call for when your back at the hotel room and using the pool, just saying!

No.10

RENT WHAT?

If you own snorkel gear, pack it! This way you can use your own “personal germed”one whenever you want. I didn’t want to use the rentals on the daily. Yes, this is the Portuguese germaphobe speaking, lol! I also packed wipes to clean the handles and the remotes…I didn’t want anyone getting sick, judge me…I do not care!

BUT I will say this, rent your umbrella, boogie board and chairs for the week (if you need them)! We rented a boogie board and an umbrella (the heat was almost unmanageable without one). You can get bundle deals for the week and their so chill in Kona. We returned ours after dark and tossed it over the gate gently as per there instructions…no stress living over there clearly! lol.

No.11

Environmental bags…

Small pouched, material grocery bags! I would bring at least two of these. You will need them at the grocery store, you will need them for your In between times from your check out at the hotel till your late-night flight. We spent an entire day out and about after check out, left the large luggage at the hotel and packed some quick bags with food & clothing switches along with toiletries for the day. You'll need them for wet stuff that doesn’t fit in a ziplock. My preferred brand is the IKEA ones they fold up into a small pouch, and they're washable.

No.12

Portable foldable backpacks…

If you're planning to do any kind of hiking in Kona this is a must. I'm talking about those teeny tiny pouch backpacks. I bought both of mine from VV for 4 dollars each. One of those backpacks carried all of our snorkel gear, and the other carries all of our towels when we hit up Captain Cook for a hike and snorkel. Greg used his carry-on backpack for a large amount of water (that you need) and I used Amara carry-on backpack for my camera gear and some extra things. So 4 in total, we all had a backpack to lighten the load for all of us!

No.13

Always use protection…

An underwater case for your iPhone. I bought mine from Amazon for about 12.99. The brand is Mpow, and it works really well for the price. On sale for 9.99 with free shipping!! DEAL MUCH.

No.14

Be a walking Pharmasave…

Pack a Ziploc bag (shocker), with snack-size ziplock bags full of anything you, may require that you don't want to buy for $12 there (for use I had Advil, cold and flu, diarrhoea pills anti-nausea pills etc.). This is super handy if you get sunstroke, a bad burn or you happen to get sick. Also, I would recommend a few caffeine pills if you're addicted to coffee like I am, and you don't drink cows milk (which I don’t). Just in case you can't get your coffee in right away and don't want to have a headache the first day of your vacation.

Also bring some Band-Aids and ointment because it can be rough AF in the water some times.

No.15

Rent a kitchen…

Rent a place that has a full kitchen! When you were having those long days in the sun, the last thing we wanted to do was to shower, get ourselves ready and go out. It was awesome to pop a pizza in the oven, make a salad and just chill! Not to mention it’s way cheaper to do it this way. Ok, let's be honest, you know how I like to eat...I really wanted to make my own food for most of our trip! keep them bowels regular I say, lol!

No.16

Have a travel kitchen…

So let me be clear, yes you can and will buy food in Kona but it’s convenient to have granola bars, power bars, goldfish, Mr. noodle and crispers on hand for when you arrive and in those "need something fast moments".

Also, I love natural peanut butter, I have a TON of in on hand all the time at home. So I transferred some into a small jar for the trip, ate it and left the jar for recycling! I would recommend doing this with a few items that A) you don’t want to pay for a FULL JAR of it and B), you might not find it there!

I also brought drink size boxs soya milk that didn’t need to be refrigerated till you opened it. I brought just the right amount, and I got my first cup of coffee the next morning! WINNING. Well, everyones winning when mom gets her coffee, right!? This is not my first rodeo. My family likes me better after one cup of coffee.

Not to mention, once you’ve eaten your food you will have room in the forth suitcase for all those chocolate macadamia nuts that are coming home with you.

No.17

Save those takeout packets…

I almost forgot, collect those small condiment packs before your trip! We had ketchup. Mayo, hot sauce, relish, mustard, salt, pepper and a few other misc ones that totally come in handy! There’s nothing worse than buying a bottle of ketchup and using 4 tablespoons! There great with those packed lunches too!

No.18

Protect the coral…

If you're going to buy the reef-friendly sunscreen (which I recommend), do not buy the spray on wet stuff! You know what I'm talking about, it literally comes out wet, and you have to rub it in to dry before going in? It’s the shits.

The aerosol ones are great, and the cream ones work well too. You can buy both the aerosol and cream reef-friendly sunscreen at Costco in a two-pack, at a very sensible price of $15.99 US. Which is totally reasonable because back home it’s the same price, if not more for the reef safe sunscreen.

No.19

Sun/water shirts…

Yes, it’s a must bring. These came in really handy when we all got a little burned from the shitty wet sunscreen we brought! Let’s be honest, if you're a honky white Canadian, you're going to burn a little. #FACT  

It’s also nice not to have to apply sunscreen every hour when your boogie boarding or crashing around in the waves! Again VV is where I bought mine! I also bought the girls ones from there too. When you have time to hunt, you can find all of this stuff there! Not to mention, if you plan on surfing you're going to need a rash guard.

No.20

Sunglasses…

Bring shitty sunglasses. They get so worked over from the saltwater & sunscreen etc. Why trash your Ray-Bans, or Maui Jims, just saying!

No.21

Shopping…

So if you're going to go to Costco, which I recommend, you can buy literally EVERYTHING and more there. Now there is a Walmart you can visit for all of those smaller items, except it's not a SUPER Walmart! So they don't have a lot of produce, like the ones at home have! The Safeway tho right beside Walmart has all of the small stuff Walmarts missing.

BTW Walmart is cheaper and still has lots of fantastic options for assorted drinks (boozy and non-boozy), small snacks and other things.

We loved Kona, it was a perfect family Vaca for us…just enough exploring, with just the right amount of chill time!

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