Calgary Zoo

We stopped in Calgary on the way home... purposely :)  We had a suite at a hotel booked for overnight and the zoo was on our hit list, after reading about the Illuminasia happening there.  We arrived at the zoo too late on Monday to walk around there so we opted instead for a view of the city and a bit of walking in the gorgeous weather. 

 The last time we had slept at a hotel it was a bit of a disaster so Andy insisted this experience was to be much better, in other words, no cheaping out on a room. :D  :D :))  I laugh only because this is so hard for us to do.. when push comes to shove who likes to pay for a sleep?  Me? No.  ;)  But we found this suite which was just to our liking and came with a pool/waterslide/hottub, breakfast, and supper!  We were thinking of heading to Bass Pro Shop after supper but we were all enjoying the hotel so much we decided to spend the rest of the day/evening there swimming, watching the presidential debate and eating complimentary popcorn.  It was a wonderful experience.

Tuesday was a much more blustery day then Monday but we still went to the zoo, we had to, the kids were so terribly excited.  Not all the animals were on display anymore (I'd imagine due to fall cleaning etc.) but it was a great time to go as the zoo was very empty of the human species.  Talking about the human species there, there was an area closed up with fences and construction workers were digging behind the fence. Andy being the joker in the family walked up to the fence and peeked behind, saying loudly enough for the workers to hear "What kind of species is this? Oh the human kind!".   Needless to say Seth and Tristan were in stitches from this joke that absolutely tickled their funny bone, and the rest of the day we heard it countless times when we saw a human peeking thru a fence or looking over a bush.  Pretty soon we were convinced that somehow we were walking around with the monkeys that should have been behind bars.

The zoo keeper was doing checkups on the tiger and we could watch the demonstration.  At one point he asked for a volunteer and Rowan, being anything but shy, volunteered and was picked to help out!  He got to wear this cute little tiger hat and play a game with the man.  Rowan was thrilled.  

Yes, the zoo grounds were quite empty or you would have never found me posing with this big guy.  We look quite similar, yes?  I feel oh so elegant, I mean - oh so much like an elephant.

And of course they ALL wanted a picture with the bear.  Do NOT leave Abby out. :)  

 Time to go home!  The kids were so tired from the wind and fresh air they slept peacefully most of the way home. It was a perfect ending to a great long weekend.
'till next time.

Family time in Farr-Landia

That's what the kids call it. Neerlandia is not near-by, so we call is Farr-Landia.

Everything lined up perfectly for a weekend trip up north between the last broiler cycles. We decided to take advantage of the nice weather and time off to see my sis and her family as well as get some R&R - although who were we kidding, that doesn't really happen with energetic and excitable kids around.  What a lot of fun we had!

First stop was only 25 minutes away, in Vauxhall, for gas and to take pictures at the local landmark.  Andy's new goal is to get pictures at all the local landmarks, every town seems to have some sort of symbol or "famous" marking with its name, so I guess from now on we will try stop at most of them when we can!  First one off the list: Vauxhall with its potato men.

Next stop was a small old (German) Lutheran church just off the beaten path, past Hanna.  Its was very well taken care of and we could even go inside.  There was an old graveyard off to the side to intrigue me, and send our conversation into all the "I wonder how, what and when..." of the local history.

We also stopped at an interpretive site by the Diplomat Mines, which celebrates Canada's surface coal mining. It was a very interesting place to stop and the kids did not want to leave again!  The coal surface mines are still being mined around the site, but this park showed some of the machinery they used to use and also how the landscape used to look, displaying an enormous fossilized tree trunk.

Here are slices of the fossilized tree trunk. 

Once at Ben and Ruth-Ann's place we got the fifth wheel ready for our little "camping" trip. The kids thought we were really camping and were on cloud nine about sleeping here.  Yay for small excitements! 

Saturday took us to West Edmonton Mall where Ruth-Ann and I could stock our childrens fall wardrobes and have some much needed retail therapy :) As much as I love the farm life sometimes I crave nothing more then city life, people, big buildings, beautiful designs all around and a change of scenery. This was a good reprieve.  Andy and Ben took the kids first to the aquarium (a dream come true - according to Seth) and then to Galaxyland where they were spoiled with rides on the bumper cars and a roller coaster. 

By supper time we had some pretty ravenous people!  :) :D  :)

...Annnnd, bump pictures of course.  Cousin friends in utero.  Ruth-Ann due middle of December, myself due end of January.

These two charmers kept us smiling all weekend.  Everyone should have a toddler around, just to keep the smiles on a persons face.

 
And before we left we stopped by Pake and Beppe for a coffee Monday morning.  It was a last minutes stop on our part but Pake and Beppe were so gracious and more then willing to make time for us even though they were packing for their own holiday. I can only hope to ever be such a gracious and good host.  I left with a big bag of sweet fresh carrots right out of the garden and the kids all had a little bag of candy. What a blessing to see grandparents so well and busy. 

Of Summer, Swimming, Smiles, Sun and Sand.

Looking back at our summer... here are some highlights.
We did a lot of swimming in the pool, Seth and Tristan have gained so much confidence in the water and are regular little fish, eels, whales, submarines, whatever you want to call them.  Rowan refused to go in without his "jacket" which made him safe in the water and Abby refused to even wear a jacket so she was not allowed in, resulting in an entire summer of her just lazing on the side.   

There's always work when you have a good size property, and the whole family had to pitch in to help with things like watering and mowing.  On a hot day playing with water was fun.

This summer we had strange weather, we had a super long spring but not a very hot summer resulting in less then perfect growing conditions.  Even so we gathered in alot of food from the garden and had fun watching everything grow and produce fruit.  Abby sat by the raspberry bushes and picked fruit at every opportunity while Rowan hacked around with a hoe.  Such good helpers.  Seth and Tristan grew their own gardens and tended to them daily.  Its satisfying to see the kids digging and tending to their own little plots faithfully, they even made me "soep groente" packages for the freezer from their own gardens.  Showers in the evening are that much more satisfying when feet are muddy and necks grubby from the days work.

At the very end of August we finally made it the a beach with friends!  Thankful for friends who also like to quickly "up and go" with our grills and beach toys. 

Abby frequently picked me flowers which was very sweet of her, never mind they were too short to ever do anything with. It's the thought that counts:)

Flash flooding!  A four year olds dream.

And some days... you just need to hit up the library for some R&R.   

Abby and Rowan {unofficial photoshoot}

 These two children can be such incredible monkeys and keep us on our toes but they also bring us so much joy.  I'm so grateful for the developing bond between them and Rowans patience with showing his little sister how to do things and play games.  Abby's almost always willing to go along with Rowans escapades, tent building ideas, blanket sharing snuggles and he also humours her with countless rounds of duplo zoo building events and lets-name-the-animals. 

These precious moments taken unofficially on August 18, 2016, by me while checking on the bunnies and kittens in the intense August heat.