Changing Seasons

Western King Bird

This being our first summer in Purple Springs we were a bit reserved in what our expectations should be regarding spring and summer.  In Ontario the rhyme holds true that April showers bring May flowers, but here, May had arrived and I still hadn't seen the rain or the flowers!  We weren't sure how to react or what to say when people asked us about what we thought...

But June was rainy, and there are flowers are here, just not on our property.  I guess it wasn't a priority.  I don't actually remember having a spring in my life where I did not watch daffodils and tulips peek their beautiful heads out of the ground, giving the brown earth some much needed colour after a cold winter!
That's all behind us now, July has come with it's heat, and we are loving it.  It's such a different heat then Ontario has, and unless you've experienced both you can't even understand that there could be such a difference! It's dry here - no humidex to watch for on The Weather Network!  When the thermometer says it's 33 degrees, it actually is! I know, takes a bit of getting used to;)
Some things we do miss are the blooming trees and many shades of green that cover the ground this time of year in Ontario. It's all green here too. don't get me wrong, it's just not as wide on the colour wheel.  And as much as we are enjoying farm life and new friends sometimes a coffee on a front porch with my friendly neighbours would be a beautiful respite.  Another thing that hit me the other day was how out of shape I am must be.  Our family walks on paved roads the evenings Andy was home early are a faint memory.  Good thing there's still ice cream and cones all across the country. :)

Still... the days of shorts and t-shirts, bubble blowing, bike riding, freezies and just plain old baskin'-in-the-rays are upon us!  And we couldn't be more ready!  

Love and laughter

I had a couple pictures from June that I wanted to post yet before I head onto the next month.  

The first one is that I got to celebrate my birthday with very loving family. I was spoiled! I've been blessed with 29 years of health and happiness! Having little people (and the best ever hubby) in my life to share in these things make it all the more fun.  God is good in every way.

Rowan also had an announcement to make, and we are thrilled.  It looks like he is too:) 

Praying for continued care and good health as we wait for the new addition! (December 29th d.v.).

Dinosaur Provincial Park - Brooks

One of the things we've had to get used to quickly here is the copius amount of kilometers you can put on a vehicle if you want to do and see {big and wonderful} things.  The driving is easy since it's usually on straight, empty highways so the time spent driving is not really that bad.  Even the boys don't complain, but rather jump in and enjoy the ride.
The week Andy's mom was here was our special little holiday week since the birds were shipped, the barns were clean and there was a bit of time to relax before filling with chicks again. 
We made the best of it and decided to make the drive to Books yet to see the Dinosaur Park. Seth and Tristan love Paleontology, Rowan loves going out, Beppe loves hiking, Andy loves exploring and I love packing lunches... so all in all it made for a happy group.
The weather was not so promising when we left in the morning but it turned out to be perfect. Not to cold, not too hot, and just windy enough to remind us that we were in Southern Alberta.  ;)

This picture makes me laugh every time... gotta love being a mom of boys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 There was a little museum by the entrance to the Park which was interesting and fun.  It had bones set up as well as a little camp mimicking the early paleontologists camps.  600-700 dinosaur skeletons have been recovered from this part of Alberta!  It also dove into the early settlers of the area as well as the Blackfoot Indians who originally lived there.  All of it right up the little boys alley. I had purchased them cowboy hats (I know I know, I still can't believe I did that, but it's allowed now right? We've lived here for 7 months??!! - oh and they were super cheap... directly from China...)   

Lethbridge Viaduct

One of the many great things about having people over is that it gives us the push to do extra sightseeing. 
Tuesday June 10th we packed another lunch and went to see the Lethbridge Viaduct - the longest and highest railway bridge in North America - located along the Crowsnest Pass route. We had driven by many times admiring it from the car but had never been walking down there yet (in the Old Man River valley basin) and had heard it a worth while park to check out.  

 At the same location there is an old Indian Trading Post called Fort Whoop-Up.  From the outside it didn't look like much (obviously I didn't even think it worth a photo!!)  but we made the decision to go inside anyways and see what it had to offer.  I was pleasantly surprised by the wealth of interesting information and displays set up!  The kids loved it too - lots of real Indian artifacts, a taxidermy buffalo, goats and chickens to admire.

A Visit and Waterton Park

Andy's Mem came over to visit us for a week from June 6th till the 13th.
And we had a really great time.  It was exciting for Seth and Tristan to have Beppe over and to sleep with her in the little apartment, as well as for us to catch up on news over cups of coffee.
It was also fun for us to show her our Little Farm on the Prairie, all the things we've done, and the dreams we have, the excitement of being on our own place and all the work it entails.
It was the week between cycles (which was planned, yes) so we had some extra time off to do some sightseeing and day trips.
First on the list was Waterton Park. Andy figured out exactly what he (we) wanted to do and away we went. It was a fabulous day - weather was not too hot and not too cold, the sun was bright and God's creation stunning.  We saw only a small fraction of the park and we can't wait to go back again to explore some more.

Getting ready for our first hike, the Bears Hump starting from the visitors center.

This trail in Waterton Lakes National Park is the most popular short hike in probably all of the mountain parks. It's also the steepest, climbing 240m in just over 1km.

From a third of the way up we could get a nice view of the Prince of Wales hotel built in 1927, the largest wooden structure in Alberta.

View from the Bear Hump towards Upper Waterton Lake.  (views over the mountains towards Glacier Park in Montana)

From another angle, we could see how the prairies meet the mountains.

Waterton Village

The climb was quite strenuous making us ready for a break and snacks!

Seth and Tristan couldn't get enough of rock climbing.

"Hang on to Rowan!!"

 

After a picnic lunch we drove to the Red Rock Canyon for the next hike.

This was an easier hike to the Blakiston Falls, and Rowan wanted to walk too:)

We were there at the right time of year, there was lots of water flowing.

Third and final hike for the day was the Red Rock Canyon loop - lots of bright little wildflowers in the crevices.

Enjoying the view

Ready to head home. One last snack before heading two hours home.