I was at the Bellevue store a couple weeks ago, its was everything I hoped for and more managed to pack 844 pieces into a large cup, got a keychain, salt and pepper shakers, minifigure headlamp, and the flashlight keychain,
I bought a creator set (the yellow cabin/cafe/apartment building) @ target in Bellevue as well for $28.99 (Lego store was $34.99)
The walmart in Bellingham has a pretty decent selection, and the prices are all msrp
I'm fully intending on going to BrickCon this yr, I had planned to go last yr but my cousins kids birthday party unfortunatly happened on the same day...
Bringing goods back into Canada really depends on the border guard and the value of the goods, I rarely bring home more than $50 worth of stuff @ a time, so its not worth their time to send you in for the few dollars they can tax/charge you duty for, and since 99% of the time I only bring back groceries they cant charge me tax or duty anyway,
I save about $15 a tank on gas, plus milk and cheese is less than 1/2 price and now with an even higher dollar I'll be able to save even more