Adventures of Kailie and Kolton Matthews: August 2011

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!