Darwin turned 19 today, so we asked what they wanted to do to celebrate. Darwin chose to have a family outing at the Sakura Days Japanese Fair. So we made our way into Vancouver to The VanDusen Botanical Garden for the afternoon.

Unfortunately there was rain and it was rather chilly. But we kept warm by eating hot food from the food trucks and walking through the gardens. We also snuck back to the main entrance and hung out in the building periodically to rest and warm up.

Darwin had a lot of fun striking various poses throughout our walk. This day was all for them! Even in the rain, darwin was producing a smile and filling the day with joy.

Our day was spent catering to their amusement and I really appreciated the slow pace of looking at nature all day. It was very zen like and calming. Until the end. That’s when the real fun came out!

The main reason we came to the event was to see a live performance by a J-Pop group called “Non Sweet”. Darwin met them at a convention recently and wanted us as a family to share in the joy that Darwin has found from them.

First Darwin and I went to a meet and greet where Darwin got their picture with one of the members. Once the show began, Darwin and I sat front and center enjoying the performance! Our drive home also consisted of listening to the music of Non Sweet.

It was a good day and the rain could not dissuade us from enjoying the event. Happy 19th Birthday Darwin! I hope it was one of the most memorable ones you have had!