The fun we had this summer really was endless - I could easily blog about each outing but I have enough trouble keeping up as it is, so we'll combine some of the fun into one blog:)
One of the weeks we were staying at Grama & Papa's I decided to put Kailie in a group swimming lesson. In Bermuda she always gets 1:1 lessons so she was very excited about being in a group. After some initial hesitation when she first got there she settled in great and by her account she had fun. I, on the other hand, thought it was a complete waste of time!! First of all as a result of the 1:1 lessons Kailie has had in Bermuda she is a really great swimmer and easily exceeds the maximum class they would allow her until she was 6 years old! So I then asked about private lessons and they said as soon as she was 6 it would be no problem! Are you kidding me - so hopefully these kids don't do to well under Red Cross or else they won't be able to progress until they are 6 - what a joke!! Once I managed to get over that I then had to watch her be taught by a prissy teacher who was afraid to get her hair or make-up wet! It was painful to watch her teach these kids who wanted to splash around and actually needed her to get within two feet of them so that they could get some assistance with their learning. Anyway - I still was very impressed with Kailie for having some fun and not losing her patience like her Mommy was on the verge of doing!!!
While staying at 'Chateau Cyr' in Calgary we decided to check out Heritage Park. After all the time I spent in Calgary and despite all I've heard about Heritage Park over the years (especially from my dear friend Christy!!) I had never been and I was a bit worried that the kids would get bored - turned out not to be the case at all, it was definitely one of our funnest days (except for maybe Keli, but that's just part of having a young babe - next year Kel)! The kids (Grama included!!) had so much fun!! We were lucky enough to be there on a relatively slow day and they went on the rides over and over and over and over . . . . it really was just a lot of fun watching them have so much fun. I'm not so great on rides, so Grama was quite happy to
push me aside step in as Kailie's ride partner and I can't really say who had more fun, Grama or the kids ;)
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| This ferriswheel and the spinning (dark!) caterpillar were the fav's! |
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| The big kids had some fun going on rides just by themselves, they went on this one sooooo many times - it was a nice break for all of us ;-) |
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| Kolton tried out the kiddie ferriswheel and he was pretty happy with it, but Kailie needed another turn to go all by herself! |
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| We were the last in line but were able to cap off the hot day with a refreshing ice cream cone:) |
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| It's been so many years but I was finally able to make it to Family Camp at Foothills - the camp where I spent a couple summers working as a counsellor (ok mostly office manager, let's be honest kids weren't my thing back then!!) but some very fond wonderful memories here and I was so excited to be able to share it with my kids. It was as amazing as I remembered and I was able to re-connect with some great old friends which was really the best part. I can't wait until next year when the kids and I will try and camp for the whole week. The picture above is Kailie in Sabbath School . . . I was worried that she would be nervous going on her own so I asked Dad & MA to take her (while I took Kolton to his class), but as it turns out she sent them away as she didn't need anyone there to make her feel comfortable - she loved it! |
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| My babes enjoying the nice AB summer at Foothills! |
On another not-so-warm and rather rainy day we went to Calaway Park. We certainly could have picked a better day but despite the rain and cold the kids loved it. Auntie Keli came a bit later bearing Starbucks so it turned out the adults were ok with it too:) Over the summer I learned that my little girl is a ride junkie - there were rides she made me go on that I wouldn't usually have gone on by myself . . . I was worried I'd be that parent screaming for the ride to stop because my kid was terrified but Kailie was never nearly as scared as I was!! Her little side-kick Asia has the same rush addiction so the two of them were quite a pair . . . Mommy & Auntie just tried to keep up:) I of course was quite happy Joel was here on this day as I was very quick to bow out of anything remotely spinny, much to Joel's dismay;-) If we lived in Calgary I know we'd be here a lot - there is something fun for everyone. The upside of our rainy day was no line-ups so the kids could do as many rides as they wanted.
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| Not quite the ride-junkie that his sister is - this was the first ride we could finally convince him to go on . . . notice the two handed grip!! |
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Ahhhhhhhhhh - a blissful Sisters day. Shopping, Spa, Wine, Eating - need I say more?!?!
One of the weeks that Joel was in Alberta we spent a week in Canmore - so grateful to my super gracious friend Kristi who let us stay in her gorgeous condo for the week. We really had so much fun and it reminded me why Canmore really is one of my most favorite spots in the world! |
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| Kolton trying out his new bike in Banff - he was actually a bit too short for it so he just walked a long which was crazy painfully slow - but seeing that smile was totally worth crawling along beside him while he 'rode' his bike! |
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| This was dinner out at one of the hotels in Canmore one evening with the Mahon's. Can't remember the name of it but it had a little play area on their outside dining area - pretty much the most brilliant thing I've ever seen. They played, we ate and visited in peace!! |
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| Best little buds this summer! |
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| The craziness (and cuteness) that ensued at the kids table! |
On our way back from Canmore to Ponoka we veered a bit offtrack to visit the Calgary Cornmaze. So. Much. Fun.!!! No we didn't go in the corn maze - we were actually a bit early in the year so the corn was a bit short but I don't think we would have gone anyway, there was just too much else to do. As it did on too many of our other outings it poured - I mean majorly poured - which out in the middle of a cornfield means major mud!! Fortunately we were about ready to head home anyway, so once there was a bit of a break we made a run for it, but not after getting very wet and muddy:)
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| The bumpy train - I can't believe how much I look like Keli in this picture, I actually thought it was Keli riding with Kolton! I was actually wishing it was Keli when I was in it, those things are not made for adults!! |
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| My big girl:) |
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| Big smiles from both of my lugs - not a care in the world about the big black clouds looming behind them!! |
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| This was the last bit of fun before the heavens opened - such a fun slide but they got absolutely filthy which just increased the amount that the loved it! You can see Kolton at the top of the hill, this was one 'ride' he never wanted to leave! |
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We weren't going to let a 'little' rain spoil our fun:)
We also got to spend some time with Grammie Kim and the West side of the family. We don't get to see this side of the family nearly enough so our time with them is always extra special:) One afternoon Grammie Kim was gracious enough to watch the kids at a mall while Mommy got in some super-speed shopping and while I was gone she wasted no time spoiling the kids! We also were lucky enough to attend my cousin Michelle's wedding where all six West Sisters and Grama Ella (Nann) all came up for the weekend. This happens so infrequently and is not an event to be missed!! Michelle's wedding was so beautiful and the time with family was amazing. It was in Edson so Kailie and I made it a girls trip for us while Kolton stayed back with Grama & Papa (maybe if Grama knew in advance of the broken ribs she would end up with after an unfortunate dismount from the trampoline she might not have been so quick to agree to keep our Kolton)?!?!
I don't always know the technical connections of the little kids (my kids, my cousins kids, my Aunts granddaughter etc etc) but for the sake of simplicity they were all 'cousins' for the weekend and they had a blast!! Staying at a hotel with all these cousins where there was an awesome spinny waterside and very bouncy beds, combined with a fancy wedding followed with amazing food and dancing - pretty much my little girls dream weekend!
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| Kailie and Grammie Kim . . . I did try and get one with Kolton in there too but that's not always going to end well! |
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| Kailie and Taylor just before the wedding. Taylor is Auntie Susan's granddaughter and despite being 6 years older than Kailie she was AMAZING with Kailie! Of course Kailie just adored her and these two had a blast together - notice they both have very wet hair as we head off to the wedding . . . the result of dragging them out of the pool at the last possible moment just in time for us to get ready:) |
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| 5 of the 6 sisters with Grama . . . Mom came just moments after this picture was taken and I know there are pictures that have all 6 of them together but unfortunately I didn't get any of these as I think I was chasing kids when those pic's were taken ;) |
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| One of my favorite pictures of the weekend . . . Nann, Kailie, Jacob, Issac, Taylor |
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| The beautiful Bride with her Dad:) This was Kailie's first wedding that she really understood - and given that she asks a lot of questions on a normal day, I had a lot of questions to answer!! Since this wedding she has 'decided' that she will be marrying Kanon (her bff from Aeries Adventures) when she grows up . . . I hope his Mom is ok with this!! |
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| The day of the wedding was super-hot and directly across the road from the church was the super-awesome spray park. It only seemed fair that after the kiddo's sat so good through the ceremony (thanks in large part to Jenn's candies!!) that they got a run around in the spray park - so underwear it was . . . just for the kids of course as jealous as us adults may have been ;) |
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| The real fun started once the dance floor was cleared - Kailie LOVED the dancing and could really kick up her heels!! We all took turns just trying to keep up with her. The above pic was the little flower girl and Kailie showing off their moves:) |
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| So much family fun:) |
