saying goodbye

it was unanimous. the holiday was too short. we all had a tough time saying good-bye to the mountains.

somewhere in my pile of keepsakes i have a photo of myself sitting on this same bench. only 19 years old. never dreaming that i would come back and share this bench with my sweetheart. nor my little pumpkins.

the dreaming bench.

only the reality is better than the dreams.

so happy to capture these precious moments and have photos to help my memory.

{which reminds me of a conversation with Aidan today. after asking him why he took pictures of 3 different motorhomes, he replied that he wanted to be able to remember them one day.}

sky high

soooo one of those crazy days! we decided that it was IMPERATIVE for us to get some cups of really good coffee to start the day. our little sweethearts slept until almost 10am....so a bit of a delayed start. we let the kids nibble on some cereal and drink some orange juice. not sure if it was the orange juice on a nearly empty stomach....but Aidan was not doing well. ugh! changed our plans and came home for brunch while we waited for Aidan to feel better. at least Kristian and i got our coffee?!


when we eventually left again. with more coffee.


do you know where our first stop was?

every time i have come here, a photo gets taken in this pose. the tree is quite polished on that side too. Kiara added a new dimension to this photo pose!

always amazing scenery.

if you visit Banff or Lake Louise....then you must make sure you visit Johnston Canyon. with the kids, we only made it as far as the lower falls. mostly due to fear of a certain two year old who has a mind of their own.....and could possibly run or climb to where she could end up in danger. it might have been possible if we had brought our backpack carrier? the upper falls are also extraordinary. nearly twenty years ago some friends and i hiked to the ink pots. i haven't done it since. i suppose if you had the time...and wanted to visit with good company....the most crowded part of the trail is the first portion to the lower falls. there are fewer people on the second portion and nearly nobody on the trek to the ink pots.

beware of the wildlife...

a yummy {and far too pricey} cone as a reward for good behaviour! no exaggeration that we were a little fearful of not returning with both of their bodies intact. sigh.

yes....daddy had the best behaviour so he got 2 cones! mmmhmmm.

we were given advice to avoid the Banff Gondola during 10am until 3pm. we thought we would check it out at noon. yes. definitely way too busy! we came at 4pm. we still had to wait in line for twenty minutes. when we came down again at 5:30pm....there was no line. regardless of the line, it still wasn't too crazy at the top.

behind the picture: i had rested my arm behind Kiara. she did not like it, so she moved it. this happened a few times. then she surprised me by putting her arm around me!! love that girl!

i brought our point and shoot and let Aidan use it today. sooo happy about that! it was a bit worrisome at times...hoping he wouldn't drop it down the mountain. or into the creek. but he had fun. he demonstrated excellent responsibility. he also has a great eye, as some of his photos are very well composed. especially considering his age! he told me on our hike that he was very lucky. so true! he wanted to climb to the top of a "rocky mountain". he got his wish. with minimal effort. (and he still complained of sore feet!)

can you spot little girl and me?

amazing and breathtaking views. with minimal effort. perfect for us right now!

little mr. photographer.

postcard view.

the cosmic ray station. you have absolutely no idea how proud i am of my accomplishment here.

we found another tourist who had the same camera as we do....and had him snap this photo!

too bad that there is that "extra head" in the background...but not bad considering this was the most crowded platform.

but that makes two family photos in two consecutive days. oh wow!



this is one of those vacations that you wish never had an end.....that makes me very happy.

sweet

holiday time!!





the weather has not been the most cooperative, but we're still finding interesting activities to do despite the rain. i always kick myself for packing too much stuff for a trip....had those raincoats in my hand....decided not to bring them because rain was only forecast for a morning. this kind of experience is not helping convince me that i was doing something wrong!! {of course i glanced at the umbrella no less than ten times and thought about packing it too...hmmm....maybe i'm just too smart?}





sooo walking is still a bit of a challenge for us. Aidan seems to keep up fairly well...most of the time. Kiara is going through a dependent phase....and we never know how long she will last before she is wanting to be carried. Aidan has been wondering when we will "climb a mountain". hmmm....we do plan to do the gondola, so hopefully that will be a success in his expectations.



today we explored around the Bow Falls. went to hunt lunch...and discovered that BTFSPLKS closed three years ago. no way! apparently it was a sad day when the last meal was served.



there is a great candy store on the main street....so we got some candy that we hadn't seen for years!



then we took the kids on a boat tour on Lake Minnewanka. not too bad.





we got some awesome photos too!!









if only Aidan had turned his head a bit....it is tough to get "good" photos of him these days. he's at that stage where he either looks anywhere but the lens....or he's making silly faces. fun.

i think this is one of my top ten favourite photos of the year!

well. off to enjoy a relaxing evening!

how to

spend your paycheck in one day!


honestly.


where else can you spend $3 on an ice cold root beer?


$5 on a corn dog.....$10.95 on a hamburger.....


and that is after you have paid your admission. and your parking.



yes. we went to the EX today. it used to be Klondike Days....but it needed modernizing. gone are the days when "everyone" dressed in clothing reminiscent of those long gone days. there are a few die-hards out there....one lady in the complete outfit with parasol. at a temperature of 31 degrees Celsius, you knew she was fully persistent. and probably more cameras have her photo in them had she worn shorts and tank top like 99% of the crowd.



in order to help fund the day, you would think that panning for gold was a smart option. well, not really. but it sounds good.
and it looked really cool.

until you saw the size of the treasure you were seeking!

the ironic part is that they will have you pan for gold....then allow you to TRADE your "nuggets" for prizes. in our case, they found 2 nuggets. which amounted to them getting either a pencil or a ring. and they would not be able to keep the nuggets....even if they are under 4 feet tall and look cute and cry when you try to take away their treasure....yes, they had fun. we kept the nuggets and left the prizes. seriously. $4 to have the opportunity to take home a 50 cent prize?

however, there were better deals to be found....

at fun town farm. armed with their favourite colour of bucket and a series of chores....they were delighted. so were we. at no charge. and the reward of getting a juice box and treat.

the exhibits were fun. it was a "first" for our kids. this was different from anything they had experienced before.

we made sure that we dropped off more money at the butterfly exhibit. it was air conditioned. contained...so that neither of our kids could run very far. and the butterflies are still naive enough to think that people were okay.

yes. butterflies clinging to skin and hair and clothing. we paid for this. and we loved it. who ever could have guessed?! i would have paid double. know why? my macho husband seemed to attract all the butterflies. he was like our bait....we let them land on him, then we moved them to our hands and arms! we all wore green...except Kristian. dressed in grey....just like the tent walls. hmmm..... if you go....wear white. those butterflies followed anyone wearing white clothing.

we are not the carnival type people. but it is fun to get out and try something out of the ordinary. good times. good memories. {even if we were tired by the end of the day!!}

just another day?

not a chance!


yesterday i finally took the time to book appointments....why is it that the kids are completely happy and quiet until the moment i make these types of calls? no wonder they get delayed! i managed to get in to the dentist the next day {today} due to a cancellation. this changed our plans a bit. turned out they were for the better. in many, many ways! thankfully i really like our dentist...even after teaching two of his kids. {or should i say dream children....they were and still are amazing} it is not my favourite place to be, so it totally helps that i look forward to the visit and hearing how his excellent kids are doing. {they don't read my blog...nor know that i have one....no sucking up happening here!} how thrilled i was that one of these amazing kids was working in the office today!! and she is still amazing. in my teaching career this family was rare in the amount of time they invested into their kids. each year, they dedicated one Friday morning every week to volunteer in the classroom. 90 minutes per class. out of the entire year...they maybe missed 2 days. incredible. which reminds me, i wonder how long they continued that as the kids got older? sooooo.....good visit and i have sparkly clean teeth!



but there is even better news!!!

seriously.


Kristian didn't give Aidan any time to think before he announced that they were going to the park without TRAINING WHEELS. we had been telling him that this time was coming....so he wasn't completely caught off guard.

i'm taking my time, getting water, sunscreen, camera....when i saw this:

how long was i putting stuff together?

barely had time to focus the lens.....

he obviously had been ready for just two wheels for a long time. great balance from the start....and shocked everyone!

even his new friends came out to congratulate him. i'd show photos...but we're all new and i don't dare lose new friends for the sake of my internet audience of 3 people! (thank you for your dedication, by the way!)

Kiara was a little confused at all the excitement i think. it had been awhile since Aidan had received this amount of positive attention....no not really.....but all the yelling and such must have caught her off guard! despite her confusion, she maintained her joyful and happy attitude. as you can spot in the photo above. no confusion for Aidan, however, as he was most serious about maintaining his balance.

congratulations my boy!!

a really big first. a definite sign that you are leaving those preschool years behind. i'm thrilled....but hoping for some slow years to enjoy my little boy....

thankfully she is still puttering along on four wheels......even though she is anxious to get moving on her preschool years.....

sigh.

so ironic to want them to grow up.....but yet keep them small......

sweet

another great day.

kids slept in. i slept in. Kristian is on holidays, so he slept in too.

lazy morning.

lots of coffee! oh yes....caffeine and no grounds included. a bit of a luxury after camping.


an afternoon filled with playtime with new neighbors. i have to keep a bit of an eye out here. the kids will gravitate towards the walking path and play games or ride bikes together. i've learned that eventually they make their way into someones' yard. today was no exception! i got caught up with a few of them as i followed the kids journey.

they eventually settled in one yard, and three of us moms got to visit with a cold glass of wine while the kids played. for the first time since the move, i felt like i belonged. or maybe it was the wine?! Kristian didn't join "the wives"....but i'm sure he enjoyed a bit of a break from the noise the kids create. he did run some errands...so maybe it wasn't really a break....

none of the kids were happy about the afternoon of fun ending. Kris surprised them with chinese take-out and Star Wars. Aidan was glued to the screen. Kiara only cared about "princess yeya". robots....space fighters....light sabers...not exactly girl stuff. she did like the fortune cookie, however.

nobody complained about bedtime.

and i got to play around with some photos from the camping trip.

yes, mama is now in love with actions!

it was my goal to learn and play with actions (Photoshop) in March....well, can check that off the list. of course now i will be playing with others and choosing my favourites. my next goal is to figure out the best way to have large photos on my blog. some photos are more documentary and i don't do anything with them. but others i've played with and it seems pointless to see them the size of a large thumbnail....you can't tell i'm a firstborn can you?!

i really love the bottom photo. Kristian took it. i manipulated it with actions. straight out of the camera...it is awesome! for the record....he is an amazing photographer.

good times

as always, everyone was tired by the last day! but tired in a good way....


we had our first camping trip with my brother-in-laws' family. unbelieveable....since both of our families love to camp, we just had not had opportunity to do it together. finally it worked!!

my cousin and her boys joined us too. we're old time camping buddies with her and her husband. it was odd not to have him with us....he's in Costa Rica on a short missions trip. it reminded me of the old days, camping when we were dating and newlyweds....fun times.


anyways, we were tired. but everyone had a great time. a perfect mix! soooo happy that our kids are good campers and we all seem to equally enjoy the retreat.

the kids began the day very clean. ha!! can you guess how long this lasted?

sigh. lodgepole pine. clear sky.

toasting marshmallows.

can't explain this one....but i HAVE to have pancakes, bacon, eggs and camp coffee at least once on a camping trip. and it HAS to be together. thankfully no one in the family has complained!

{a good friend once told me that she has to have breakfast at McDonald's at least once during a road trip...again, no explaination...just how it is!}

this was the perfect hike for little legs. i think it took us an hour to hike. and little miss Kiara walked nearly the entire way. the waterfall at the end was a huge reward for everyone's efforts.

the kids had freedom to run, explore and have adventures together. i'm sure we'll all be hearing the stories of their time alone in the next few weeks. we were thankful for the amazing weather we had. and so thankful for a place to take our kids where they can be safe and we can relax and enjoy the good parts of life.

and, yes, i did take more than 5 photos.....i'll most likely share more in the next weeks as i go through them. can you believe that the ones above needed no editing?! woot!!

we're already thinking about the next family camping trip. if Aidan has his way, we leave again in two nights. i wonder if he's packing this time?

short trip

away from home.

i was trying to remember the last time we left home for fun. as a family. i think it would have been the summer before Kiara turned 2 years old? we took her camping for the first time that summer. we had planned to stay only 5 days, but we had so much fun that we added on 3 more days! with the weather in Alberta being the way it is, you definitely want to take advantage of good days. ha! we drove to the nearest Wal-Mart and loaded up on more food and clothes and diapers. and had a sort of real cup of coffee while we were there. good times.


this trip was work related for Kristian. but we all joined him, and drove down a day earlier. the first day we all went to the Calgary zoo. it was one of the first nice days in a long while....and it was a weekend....which meant it was literally a "zoo"!


a fun place for photos....

the kids saw other children climbing all over these structures...and you could tell that they were anxious to give it a try too. not dangerous at all! yikers!!

they had to be satisfied with this.

the best money spent that day. it was a tiring day. and would have been a grumpy day if we had to drag the kids or carry them through the park. we both had memories of another large zoo when Aidan was only 22 months old....he insisted walking. slowly. and it was a HOT day. it took every ounce of our parent creativity to keep him happy and moving along from one exhibit to the next, in the shade. all of their wagons had been rented out. but this time we were lucky! how cute is this little zoo-wagon?! no arguments from them over riding in it too.

my darlings....


i was disappointed that i did not bring the camera out for the prairie dogs. these are a different animal from the prairie pest known as gophers or Richardson Ground Squirrel. we had the opportunity to chat with one of the zoo keepers, and happily learned the differences. they are full of personality and photogenic creatures! my loss.

happy that i did not miss this one.....

they were wandering around the zoo. i was so happy to see this one, and that the kids got to see the peacock in "full dress". i remember hearing once that the "eyes" in the feathers were to ward off predators....giving the impression that they were facing an army of birds...not just one. wonder if that is actually true?

anyways a fun day!

more to post about our little trip. but we are off on another one!!! love it. so i'll have to share more next week.

i came across this older post of Becky Oehlers' a few days ago....this looks like it would be fun to take the kids.... and watch the movie "Cars" repeatedly on the trip too.

grow and bloom

amazing how closely tied flowers are to my soul! when we moved in, there were no blossoms to be seen from any of our windows. even the green was minimal.

the plan is to not do much yard work this year, but to observe the yard....sunny and shady areas....and contemplate potential plans.

we had a HUGE blue spruce in front of our old house. it was beautiful. and very old. a few years ago we noticed that it had sprouted some seedlings beneath it's boughs.

i unearthed four of them to take to this new house. for now i have them planted in a sheltered spot. we still have a few years before we can decide where they should be moved permanently. and as i was planting i had a great surprise. some of our reno projects included removing old sidewalk blocks. most of the blocks from the front yard were broken down into smaller blocks and bordered the flowerbed in the back. some of the smaller broken pieces were used in my flower pots to improve drainage. they were handy. i was impatient. yes, i can already sense your surprise! in years since, i did less flower pot planting. many of these broken sidewalk chunks had found their way to the garbage. except this one. i thought it was fitting that it be centred between the seedlings. it makes me smile.

the peonies have pleasant blooms. a few were planted amid the grass in the backyard. they won't be staying there! in the meantime i think i want to do a mass planting of this perennial. i just need to decide where....

for some reason, this rosebush was left behind. the crazy family who used to live here "stole" one of two rosebushes. i'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that it died, so she dug it up to save me the trouble. but that is questionable given their other antics. thankfully this is one of my favourite colours of roses. i have never been able to keep a rosebush alive. i figure i've got a head start with this one since it survived the crazy people and one winter already. i have no clue how large this bush will grow and what kind of pruning i'll need to do. i guess we are compatible?

still

unpacking.

it really does seem to go on forever!

BUT i was ECSTATIC to have been able to unpack my scrapbook supplies and prepare an area for me to use. i'm still in the basement. boo! however, i also put together a space for the kids to do some crafting too. we'll have a spot and space to work on our projects with little worry of glue falling on hardwood or markers adding unwanted detail to furniture.

i have taken tons of photos since we moved. i realize that i am more of a people and landscape photographer. rooms are a little tough. here are some photos i took a while back. before we added more furniture. and the mess has not changed much! i LOVE that i have more space than i know what to do with. i'm still trying to figure out which area i want stuff to go. we have the upstairs bonus room to complete now. the sofa should be here in a few weeks, and we'll have decided on the arrangement of all the furniture.

i think i will take photos of the rooms as they get completed. well, completed as in unpacked. usable. somewhat can see what the room will be used for!

and here are some photos to compare those before/after details.

blogger is mixing up my photos and not letting me move them lately. argh!
anyways....this is the view from our upstairs window in the "bonus room". i love that we don't look directly at another house, but can see just over the tops of all the backyards. and straight across into farmland. university farmland! we now have an awesome view of sunsets. and storms.
for some reason i don't have a photo of the back view. we have a walking path directly behind our house. wrought iron fencing. all the neighbours have chain link. needless to say we really don't have privacy. we expected that this would be tough for us. and it was the first week or so. now the kids ride their bikes along the trail, knowing their boundaries. they can see other kids outside and play dates have begun that way. in turn, we have begun to be thankful for the open-ness. since all the yards are new, most of the owners are working hard on flowerbeds, planting trees, and taking care of newly sodded lawns.

this is the view of our front door. i'm standing in the "great room", looking towards the entry.
the room on the left (turn right, after you walk in) is a dedicated play room for the kids. perhaps it may become a computer/office area when we don't need a playroom. upstairs (no photo) we have a "bonus room". it is set up for tv and computer. eventually i plan to add books to this room as well. it will also be an area for the kids to build lego and trains.
there is also a small washroom by the front door.
and another door leads you to the mudroom off the garage entry.
we now have TWO coat closets. which is funny. i'll tell you why....for nearly the past 11 years, we have not had a coat closet. we have had hooks by the door. yup, apparently closets were a novelty in 1949? we had 3 hooks and then we added some smaller hooks lower once Aidan was old enough to hang up his coat. if we ever put a coat on a hanger it was because we hardly wore the coat, and it was going to an extra rack downstairs....far from the door! it did keep things simple. the funny part is that all of us need to adjust to opening a door and hanging our coats on hangers. yes, all four of us each have a light summer coat laying on the floor beside the closet. how long does it take to make a habit?


the day we got the keys was the first day Aidan and Kiara had been inside. they had seen photos, but that was it. whenever we went into a house to view it, we always asked them where their bedrooms were. usually the "pink" room became Kiara's, and the "blue" room was Aidan's. these rooms were all the same colour. this is the rooom that Aidan picked. he loves light and prefers to sleep with some light nearby. this room gets the afternoon sun and also a view of the sunsets. when he was a baby i bought a "space" mobile at Ikea. i hung it up on the curtain rod, and we all learned that it had the properties to reflect light in the form of rainbows! we've had it for nearly 5 years, and never knew! it was cute when he walked in to his room and saw the rainbows for the first time....we thought the floor had fallen through by this loud reaction! he was so surprised and in awe that he screamed the only words that came to him...."my room!!!!" there were rainbows everywhere.
the kids love to use the new vacuum. and it is light enough for them to use too! they are actually very proficient at this chore. mommy is happy. {we went with the Dynovac.....Alberta made....thanks Kathryn!}
this is the master bedroom. it has more space than we need. perhaps it will be a great retreat when the kids are older and having friends over for movie parties? definitely room to add a few chairs and a table to enjoy coffee together in peace. it is close to the size of our old living and dining area in the old house. and the ensuite is larger than my former kitchen. even the kids tub...yes they have their own bathroom to share too!!!!....is larger than the only tub we had in the old house. and the tub in the ensuite is huge. "holy moly!" as Kiara would say. the space is a dream. so lucky!

we have talked about getting a headboard and bedroom furniture for years. we held off because we knew that we would eventually move and felt it might be best to wait and buy something at that time. our old bedroom was the size of the kids bedrooms in this house. just big enough for a queen bed, tiny night tables and barely large enough to fit one small dresser. we've been looking at bedroom stuff for awhile. nothing we've loved in our price range. the search continues.

Kiara loves her new room. she adapted very quickly to the change. sadly she is too old for the baby crib. of all the baby things we've bought....that item is far too attached to me emotionally. there is nothing unique about it....other than our babies both slept in it. i may keep that crib forever.....sigh.

we bought a very good crib mattress and think it's a shame to not try to get more use out of it. i have been searching for a few months now for a bed that will fit a crib mattress. if i can't find one by the end of summer, i'll have to cave and pick up one at full price. yes, i have a particular style in mind! in this photo, she is making her bed.

i am thinking of getting our painter in during the winter and having a theme wall painted in the kids rooms. i took them to a paint store and asked them to choose paint chips. Kiara picked out all the pink and purple ones. that will be easy! Aidan chose several....apparently he wants a life size robot! this should be interesting.

we knew our little loveseat would look miniature in this house. one of our favourite details about this house is the open layout and large space in this area. i'm looking forward to seeing this room complete. can't you picture cozy chairs by the fire, with hot chocolate and a good book on a cold day? Aidan is excited that we now have a fireplace for Santa. he even has made plans for the position of the Christmas tree....a spot where Santa can see it when he comes down the chimney and looks into the room. oh the mind of a four year old!

it is beginning to feel more like home. we feel so blessed to have had so many prayers answered with this move. it was a little bitter in the beginning, having the former owners complicate simple matters. now we are thankful that we are not living next to them. instead being surrounded with easy-going and friendly people. tons of playmates for the kids to hang out with. it's actually amazing how quiet it is with so many children in the vicinity! we can go on a million walks and rarely cross a street. one direction leads us to a duck pond, while the other takes us into a "forest". kind of feels like our own version of heaven! so fun!!

phew! we made the right decision!!