This is the first of a few catch-up blogs. My babies are growing up so fast I can hardly keep up and find a few moments to get it all done and I think I will forever be working under the better-late-than-never policy!
After a busy July we were very ready for some family vacation time in August and our first stop was Alberta. As Kolton was still quite a newbie we stayed pretty close to Grama & Papa’s so unfortunately we didn’t make it to Calgary to see some friends there but hopefully we’ll make up for that on our next trip. We were so happy that most of the family was able to make it out for some period of time to Grama & Papa’s and we had such a great visit. Since our trip last August the number of Grandbabies has doubled - and just to be clear, we will have no part in helping to double up the numbers again by next August!! We had a great mix of older cousins and new babies for everyone to ohhh and awww over. The pictures really tell it best:)
Note that Kolton and I had a lovely visit with Grammie Kim too, but Mummy did not have her camera . . . I think Grammie has some pic's that she should send me!
Auntie Keli & Sweet Little Maya - the oldest of the new babes!
All 6 Grandbabies!
Not the greatest of all of us - but the best of what we got!
4 Generations - love this one!
Papa & Kailie (and one of Grama's Bears?!) working hard in the garden.
Little Diva's :)
Mummy & Kolton headed out a bit ahead of Kailie & Daddy - so we were able to steal some quiet cuddles before everyone else arrived:)
Papa was a great sitter for Kolton while I would go for runs / walks, they had some great bonding time!
Papa made this amazing swing for the kids - I have no doubt it will be well used over the years. Joel & Stefan were 'contracted' to make it all happen, it was all very impressive!
This may look like Dad has put Joel to work - but in reality Joel probably wrestled Dad off so he could have a turn!!
Our last night in Alberta we finally had a wiener roast. It was such a beautiful night, perfect for a camp fire.
Kolton even got to enjoy the fire as well:)
Next we hit the road headed East for Manitoba. We weren't sure if we were incredibly brilliant or incredibly crazy taking on a 2-day road trip with a newborn and a 2 year old. As it turns out I don’t think it was our brilliance that saved us but the brilliance of whoever put the DVD player into the van we rented! The kids were really amazing, Kailie was either asleep or watching Dora / Veggie Tales/ Cookie Monster (all of which I’d be quite happy to never see again!) and Kolton slept and slept and slept – he only ever woke up at our scheduled stops (one per day for lunch). With one exception at the US border where we ended up in a long line, there was no whining, crying or fussing (the exception was on a little side trip into the US where we ended up in a long line border where Kolton screamed so much I'm surprised we weren't hauled out of line and locked away - however as soon as we were on the move again he went right back to sleep!!) We were so impressed and amazed and really enjoyed our trip including an overnight stop in Saskatoon – which always takes us down memory lane a bit as this is where it all started for Joel & I:)
New York Is Big, But This Is Biggar ! This pic was just for you Dad ;-)
A picture on the Saskatoon River trail . . . how times have changed since last time Joel and I spent time here!! Who knew that 8 years later we'd be back with our two angels:)
Our first stop in Manitoba was Birtle to stay with the Fultons for a few days. Kailie just loved her time with Mae & Evan and we had the added bonus of seeing Henry & Anna for a couple days as well - so much fun! Kailie got to experience a few farm adventures including riding a Cutter with Uncle Tyler and riding a horse - kind of! Part way through our stay with the Fultons we decided to head south for a couple of days in Minot. Here we got to enjoy some great shopping and swimming as well as just more family visiting time. After Minot we then made our way to Winnipeg to see some more family and friends. From there is was back to Bermuda - it was just a fantastic trip that left us very much looking forward to our next trip home. Here are our Manitoba pics . . .
The pictures we missed here were our visit with Grampa John - again we were not carrying our camera with us but still had a great visit and really enjoyed a new park in Winnipeg!
Mae & Evan taught Kailie lots of fun stuff on the Trampoline.
Hanging out with Gram:)
Baking cookies with Auntie Dorelle . . . I think I see some chocolate on those faces;-)
Little Farm Girl . . . ?!
This was the best pic we got of the 3 kids on Sweat-Pea because Kailie rode her for about 5 seconds . . . maybe next time!
Joel however would have let Uncle Tyler lead him around all day ;-)
Auntie Dorelle was such a great help with Kolton - she was always looking for her cuddles:)
The Grandbabies from the Matthews side of the family:)
Bedtime in Minot:)
Great Buds!
The kids spent a lot of time in the pool, while Kolton and I spent a lot of time shopping - everyone was happy!
We had a great afternoon at Assinaboine Park with GrampaJohn - it was Sept long weekend which was a great family day for everyone there!
The playground was pretty new and Kailie loved all the interesting fun equipment she got to play on.
Riding the Cutter with Uncle Tyler - she still talks a lot about this!
First stop - Character Breakfast at Lake Bueana Vista. Minnie was the first character Kailie saw and we knew this was going to 'make or break' our trip - fortunately Kailie was very quick to give out big hugs and we knew then she was past her fear of the characters and we were in for some good times!
Pluto was next and got the same friendly reception from Kailie:)
Daddy did some research and found Monkey Joe's - it was this massive warehouse filled with bouncy castles and inflatable slides. Kailie LOVED it!!
We got here pretty early and pretty much had the place to ourselves . . . no lines, super cheap ($8/day!), and tons of fun - who needs Disney?!
This was our one day at Disney - it was hot, overcrowded and other than the characters, Kailie (and her prego Mummy) just weren't all that into it - but we tried to make the best of it!
We spent the day scouting out the various characters as we couldn't be bothered to wait in ride line-ups!
After waiting in one MAJOR line up - Kailie got to visit with 3 of her favorite princesses . . . . Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora) 
Cinderella - I would say Kailie's favorite:)
Princess Belle
Wilderness Lodge - always one of our favorite stops:)
We were hoping to dodge some of the crowds by heading to Tampa Busch Gardens - we got there when the park opened and headed straight for Sesame Park - this was a hit for Kailie!
Kailie just loved the live shows - we were only a couple rows back!
Lots of photo ops with the Sesame Gang:)
Splashin' in Oscar's Swamp!
This was Kailie's very first solo ride - she did great and wanted to go again and again! The Sesame Park is really just perfect for her and we all had lots of fun here!
Another solo ride!
We spent a bit of time at SeaWorld but the heat and crowds kept our day there pretty short.
When it came to feeding the stingray's Kailie was much more brave than Mummy & Daddy!
This was one of Kailie's favorite stops! We just stumbled upon this fountain while walking around the neighbourhood of Celebration. It was such a hot day and this was the perfect cool down for her. The fountain would radomly start and stop and spray at various intervals - I think it's some of the most fun I've ever seen her have:)
We really didn't have to go much further than our back yard for lots of fun with Daddy in the pool:)
Character Breakfast at one of the Disney Hotels - lots of fun here:)
Kailie loved our 'holiday house' and all the fun stuff that came with it!
Last Stop - 'roadside potty' at the Bermuda airport while Mum & Dad load up the car ;)
Auntie Keli & Sweet Little Maya - the oldest of the new babes!
All 6 Grandbabies!
Not the greatest of all of us - but the best of what we got!
4 Generations - love this one!
Papa & Kailie (and one of Grama's Bears?!) working hard in the garden.
Little Diva's :)
Mummy & Kolton headed out a bit ahead of Kailie & Daddy - so we were able to steal some quiet cuddles before everyone else arrived:)
Papa was a great sitter for Kolton while I would go for runs / walks, they had some great bonding time!
Papa made this amazing swing for the kids - I have no doubt it will be well used over the years. Joel & Stefan were 'contracted' to make it all happen, it was all very impressive!
This may look like Dad has put Joel to work - but in reality Joel probably wrestled Dad off so he could have a turn!!
Our last night in Alberta we finally had a wiener roast. It was such a beautiful night, perfect for a camp fire.
Kolton even got to enjoy the fire as well:)
New York Is Big, But This Is Biggar ! This pic was just for you Dad ;-)
A picture on the Saskatoon River trail . . . how times have changed since last time Joel and I spent time here!! Who knew that 8 years later we'd be back with our two angels:) 
Mae & Evan taught Kailie lots of fun stuff on the Trampoline.
Hanging out with Gram:)
Baking cookies with Auntie Dorelle . . . I think I see some chocolate on those faces;-)
Little Farm Girl . . . ?!
This was the best pic we got of the 3 kids on Sweat-Pea because Kailie rode her for about 5 seconds . . . maybe next time!
Joel however would have let Uncle Tyler lead him around all day ;-)
Auntie Dorelle was such a great help with Kolton - she was always looking for her cuddles:)
The Grandbabies from the Matthews side of the family:)
Bedtime in Minot:)
Great Buds!
The kids spent a lot of time in the pool, while Kolton and I spent a lot of time shopping - everyone was happy! 
