Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Happy Canada Day and 4th of July!!

Yes, I haven't blogged for that long! Since Canada Day (July 1) fell on a Thursday this week I was blessed by my boss to find out that I would be able to have Friday off as well and make it into and EXTRA long weekend.  Time to plan a family trip!

We decided what better way to spend the national holiday than by going to the majestic Rocky Mountains and to Banff National Park for Canada Day.  Admission to the park was free which would have normally cost us about $26 for our family and that was great! Traffic was a bit of a nightmare, but that was to be expected with free admission.

On our way into Banff we drove around the Lake Minnewanka loop which is where I'll be doing my triathlon in September.  Mike was able to catch his first glimpse of a live big horn sheep and elk up close (see photo below).  Harrison and I were brave enough to dip our toes into the mountain lake... CHILLY!!  We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the Banff town site, being entertained by musicians and street entertainers, etc.  They had tons for kids to do, bounce houses and face painting, but we skipped those activities because the lines were about an hour long (too long for a 2 year old!)  We stopped to snap a pic with the Mounties (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) in their dress uniform, too.

Harrison & Mommy with the Mounties


Two elk with gorgeous velvet antlers

Friday we packed up our bags and our tent trailer and headed to Jill's ranch to camp out for a few days.  Let's just say we had a fantastic time with Jill but Mike and I may need to rethink camping with the kiddos for a few years to come!  Harrison loved the idea of camping and being outside running around like a wild man, but when it came time to sleep he was very adamant that we were "all done" and he wanted to "go home, bed".  He did NOT want to sleep in the trailer!  The first night he was awake until 11 pm, even after I laid down with him for an hour.  Saturday night Jill (who is going through cancer treatment) had a party to shave her head, in prep for chemo.  Again, we all had a wonderful time but I came down with a stomach bug and did not want to wait for my fever to break, so we headed home early.  Needless to say we all slept better in our own beds that night!  Sunday we spent relaxing and catching up on stuff around the house.  It was a fun weekend all around, so glad we gave camping a try!



Harrison and Heidi

Heidi Jo

Heidi with my old Strawberry Shortcake


This picture really makes me laugh!! I love how they are both
leaning over and their eyes are identical! Too cute!

1 comment: