Camping in Waterton

We finally made it to Waterton Tuesday afternoon.  But I have to say that we had lots of fun Monday just hanging out as a family, Spence took us to Five Guys Burger and Fries.... and I LOVED it.  We spent the evening with the Wallaces at the library playing Jungle Jeopardy and had some DQ.  Fun times.
Waterton was beautiful, I love the mountains, but the idea of camping in the townsite was a drawback at first.  I did feel safer with so many camper around, and the showers were nice and clean.  We were really close to my sister's campsite which made it easier for our kids to run back and forth between the trailers.  I think I have a few highlights of the week:
1.  Kayaking for the first time in Cameron Lake, I attempted to cross the lake, made it about 7/8 of the way then turned back.  I felt bad for using up so much time on the kayak.  My abs were pretty sore the next day, but it was worth it.

2.  Spencer pulled Kali and my nephew down from Cameron Lake on the bike trailer, 16 km (almost 10 miles)  I drove behind them with my hazards on.  They loved it, the trailer has them facing out the back so I could watch them the whole way, they snacked, sang, talked and laughed.
3. Wieners of Waterton a great place for a good wiener, smokie, and sweet potato fries.  I had a smokie with the special sauce, cheese sauce, crushed chips and a pickle, it was awesome, although I think I enjoyed the fries the best with the southwest dipping sauce.
4. Hanging out with my sister and her husband.  We had fun staying up and talking, they have some pretty crazy stories.

 This is Spencer Kayaking down the Cameron falls creek.  People were lining the creek to watch him, it did look kinda crazy to see him put the kayak over the fence and into the water.

Friday morning was our planned departure, but I've now noticed a trend in our departures.  Spencer noticed a slow leak, then found a wire sticking in or out, not sure, of one of the wheels in the tent trailer.  He decided to change it to the spare, which actually didn't look much better.  After an hour, at least, we got on our way, saw a mother bear and her cubs and made it to Raymond, AB for the next hiccup in our trip.  Things happen in threes??  You betcha.  We were driving through some construction and over and bump in the road when our "good" tire fell off.  It could have been worse I suppose.  Throughout all my complaining Spencer found a parts store, bought new nuts and dust cap, and fixed the problem and had us on our way.  I won't mention that he had an impression a couple hours before to check that tire.  We were actually on our way to Elkwater for our ward campout, it's about 50 minutes SE of Medicine Hat.  We had fun at the ward camp, we visited with friends, got to know some people better, ate more hotdogs, hiked, geocached, it was great!! I hope it can happen every year.

I'm so glad to be home in my own bed.  I love summer and having lazy days.  I'm looking forward to some sweet times with Kali before she starts grade one.

Camping departure

I shouldn't be telling a story about our camping departure, I should be departed and on my way.  We're supposed to be in Waterton National Park camping with my sister and her family.  Although being home writing about it is better than being out on the road stranded somewhere. 
I woke up in the 6th hour this morning getting everything ready for camping, we planned to leave around 11 AM.  We cleaned, and organized and hauled everything out to the tent trailer, put our bikes in the truck and canoe on the tent trailer.  Spencer had me help check the lights just before we got in the truck to leave.  Left signal... good, right signal... good, brakes... ppppfffff.  The brake line to the passenger side tire blew up.  Let that sink in... 
Now, I could have been upset, but all I feel is gratitude.  Could this have happened in a better place?  No.  Better here than out on the highway.  We were so thankful that someone is looking out for our family, Kali told us that she said a prayer, she is so faithful.  The brake line should be in tomorrow morning, Spence should be able to fix it.  Life is good.

I Love Summer Vacations

Kali and I went to Utah this past week to visit family.  I drove my sister in laws old van to her sister in Logan, we caravaned, and I went back with her and her 4 kids.  We had lots of fun visiting with family and friends.  I took Kali and her cousin to Lagoon, we went swimming at the aquatic center, hung out with the Turpins and Garbinatis and did a little shopping.  Kali loved Lagoon and the rides, I think it was the highlight of the trip, I can't wait till she gets a little taller so we can go on the huge rides.  It was a little tricky for her to patiently wait in line, she climbed the little rails, whined, sat, laid on the ground and talked to people around her.   Kali liked the bumper cars, I remember putting her on them a few years ago and she hated them; I couldn't believe how great of a bumper car driver she is now.  Bumper cars are not the easiest thing to drive, and I was so impressed, she could drive straight and back up when she got stuck, I was completely amazed and proud.  A weird experience, I took the girls to the bathroom, we walked past an open stall and this very large girl was using the facilities, Kali just stood there and started at her, I had to pull her away.  I figure the girl was so fat that she couldn't close the door, and it was a marvel to Kali, she is such a "funny" little girl.  I'm not sure if the girl was embarrassed, she must have been, but she kinda rushed out and didn't even wash her hands, GROSS!! Sorry to have to scare you but here are some good pictures of our day.

Kali's favorite ride, Jumping Dragon, she went on it 4 times.

This is the Dinosaur Drop, it bobbed, dropped and slowly rotated. They went on this one 3 times.

This was a huge granite ball that spun on this rock, it has water flowing around it.  Each time the girls walked by it they wanted to try and stop the ball from spinning.

The end of the day, we were all tired, but the girls had lots of fun.

We got to do some of our favorite things, like go to Lagoon, Costa Vida, Target, and Maceys, it sure is a nice place to visit and sometimes I think, I'd want to live there.  Then I remember that I love Canada, I love the mentality, not having to pay for heath insurance like some of my friends who pay over $600 per month and only get 80/20 coverage, plus the heat is a little more than I can handle.  I've learned that I am content with where I'm at in life, and that we are very blessed to have what we do.  We have the best friends and family, and we're happy, I couldn't ask for anything else (I just need to remind myself of that).

Oh, and the wall that I needed to remove in the kitchen was done for me while I was gone.  I was not looking forward to it, as it's super messy and hard to do, but not for my superman husband.  He rocks, I can't wait to go ahead with the rest of the kitchen now, I've kinda been at a stand still since we haven't had a weekend where we were free in many weeks.  We have some electrical changes and additions, and plumbing to do before we drywall and install cabinets, I'm looking forward to all of it now.

Had to add Kali's last day of kindergarten.  She had a great teacher, we just loved her.

Home again

I got home last night after volunteering as a support person in an adventure race, it was 36 hours long and started at midnight on Friday.  It was a beautiful place, throughout West Castle,  I didn't realize how close we are to the mountains, I think my family would love to camp there. While I wasn't trekking, biking, kayaking or climbing like my team was, there was enough stress to completely wear me out.  Erin and I were the support team, we had to set up and move camp 4 times, feed our team, disassemble and assemble bikes, drive for hours and get lost on dusty, bumpy, narrow, sometimes wet dirt roads, and it all happened at random times during the night or day.  We did have a great experience when we were lost, it involved some prayer and some random people who knew the area really well, I was pretty grateful for that experience.
The drive home was especially difficult, I had the hardest time staying awake while driving.  It was all worth it to see my family, they were so happy, I think Kali was the most excited to eat the rest of my treats. 
We have lots of summer left, and enough to keep us busy.  I hope to go visit some family and take Kali to Lagoon, in UT next week.  We have a camping trip planned with my sister and her family in Waterton and we may go to Montana to visit with some friends for a few days.  Kali and I are going to plan some fun things that we can to do together, if anyone has any ideas, comment, I'd love to hear it.

Kali's birthday

Kali turned 6 yesterday, and I just love her.  She is such a great little girl and fun to be around.  We made some cupcakes for her class and she was so happy to share them, she loved the whole day being about her.  She was excited to get a birthday ribbon from the office, help with the calendar, snack and choose 3 things from the treasure box.  After school she went to Erin's, I had to work till 5, poor Kali said a boy in her class was so mean to her all day and she was sad and crying.  Erin is like another mother to Kali, I'm glad she can talk to her.  We had a weenie roast in the backyard, due to the flooding in the parks, with the Wallaces; we had cake and presents then we went to Toy Story 3.  What a great day!!  Kali loved it. 

I made this cake for Kali.  It's a Hello Kitty cake made into her stuffy cat, Caramel.  She loved it.

This is our friend Scotia, she had super static hair on the trampoline.

Kali opening her Barbie SeaWorld set from the Wallaces, she loves it too.  She really is so easy to please, she loves everything.

Kali and her kitty cake, she loved it... so did I.  We love chocolate cake around here.

This is my 6 year old, just before school.

What a wonderful little girl I have.  She is the perfect child for me, I just love her so much.

Ode to my Little Girl

A couple weeks ago Kali had a sports day at school, it was great to see how good she was at some of the events. She's never shown much interest in anything athletic, but she did very well at the events I saw. She's quite competitive but doesn't like sports which I have had a hard time with. I shouldn't rule out her becoming an athlete, I can always dream, right?

Kindergarten is almost over, so we went to the end of year celebration this week; it was in the evening so it was a family event. The kids had 3 different half hour sessions: music time in the cafeteria with cookies and juice, K-graduation in the Library and play time in the gym. The K-grad was my favorite part, the children sang the cutest song (see video below). Kali sang so well, she just got right into it, one parent came up to me and complimented her so well. She said she joins them in their music class and loves to listen to Kali sing. After the song, their teacher, who is amazing, gave a tribute to each child about their strengths and they received their certificates. She said how big of a heart Kali has and how she likes to make people happy, and talked about her artistic abilities, and her love for music. I was so proud of her.


I have had a great year getting to know some of the other parents at the school. I was the room rep and was also in the parent council. I love the school community, so many parents are involved and the school staff is so friendly, it's really the greatest school.

Weekend in Edmonton

We're driving back from Edmonton so I thought I would pass time writing in my blog. We had a nice weekend, Spencer had a conference in Edmonton. APEGGA, the engineering association put us up in a fancy hotel downtown and fed us way too much good food, we actually ate Salmon 3 times this weekend. All the fanciness is almost wasted on me but I think many of the other people at the conference just expect that type of treatment, I'm not sure I'll ever fit in and I hope I never do. I spent my time eating, shopping by myself, which I love, and hanging out with my sister. When I went to the mall I shopped for what I wanted, I didn't have to tell anyone to stay close to me, or wait for anyone to try anything on, I loved it. I noticed that Emily Osment was going to be doing an autograph session at the mall so I stuck around for it and talked to another nice mother from Quebec. Emily Osment acted in Hannah Montana as Lily and is a recording artist now.