Waterton Lineham Falls

Waterton is on my mind after the horrible forest fires there two weeks ago.  We managed to go once this year in early July and we hiked the Lineham Falls trail.  It turned out to be a bit traumatic especially for this mama as we had a bear encounter and so it killed any desire to go back this summer, and now the devastating fires.  This trail we went on and the greenery around it is all gone, so I'm now thankful we could do this yet!  Who knows how many years it will be before that park is back to its former glory.

Something interesting we learned after we were home and looking at the pictures is that these beautiful and large white plume grasses are called Beargrass Blooms.  They are from a plant that is tied to the lily family and are found in subalpine and coastal meadows. Supposedly they only bloom one every 5 to 10 years and the conditions must be ideal.  They grow up to 5 feet in height.  The conditions must have been great this year as I've never seen anything like it.  We walked thru meadow after meadow filled with these gorgeous plumes.  There you go, your education for the day:)

All in all we had a fun little hike with the kids, I had Marla on my back and Andy had Abby. It was steep uphill on the way there so obviously downhill on the way back. We ran out of water and filled our bottles from the clear streams. Rowans shoes were too small but he loves the shoes so much he bravely hobbled around like a little old cowboy. :)  We were tired by the end and only had about 500 metres left when Tristan and Rowan (who were merrily tramping on a bit a head of us) stopped and turned and loudly whispered "BEAR!"  And there on the path in front of them about 15 feet away was a huge bear (after much discussion and analyzing we are sure it was a grizzly) making his way up the path. We turned and booked it back up the path, all seven of us. I know now you should not run from bears but we were fear struck.  We booked it at far as our strength would allow and turned back to look and, yes there was the bear, still coming up the path. Everytime we turned a corner to catch a breath we looked behind and sure enough, he was still coming. Not aggressively or anything, he just had a place to go and he wanted to use the narrow hiking path to get there so we had to get out of the way as he wasn't planning on it.  It was honestly so frightful, the kids were champs - quiet and calm although I know a few of them thought it was the end of our lives.  Even Abby had been whining about a buckle on her carrier that was annoying her and she was as quiet as a mouse thru out the ordeal. We ran up about 500 metres. At the end Andy had to pull me as I was done. 😟Totally done - no more energy at all.  We finally climbed about 50 feet up the side of the mountain to get off the path and we hid behind a boulder and prayed and waited for others to come down the path. After approx. 20 minutes another couple came, Andy flagged them down and  they were willing to walk back with us as the man had bear spray and a knife in his belt.  They were also christians and had earlier heard the boys singing "Jesus loves me" while hiking so we all were convinced of the providence of God.  The lady even carried Marla on her back for me as I had no energy to do that.  Mama bear can only handle so much when the littles are in danger ;)
We made it to the van safely with no other signs of wildlife and celebrated by having icecream in town. After filing the reports we heard that Lineham Falls trail was going to be closed to the public due to more bear sightings.  I'm glad I heard that afterwards.  In the meantime we have purchased bear spray and have done alot of reading up about black bears, grizzly bears, their behavior and self defense.
Even Abby says things about it frequently as it was close up enough to get a good look. The other day she was walking along in our driveway and said, "Mom, I have bare feet!"  I said "yes, yes you do", as there were no shoes present.  She laughed and said "No I don't! Bears have claws! I saw them!". 
It was a cute play on words.  

Sunday best

Have you ever had those kinds of Sundays that all the world seems bright and blue?
No cloud in the whole wide sky and no tear to dampen the eye?
When the lawn is mowed and tidy, the flowers grow and the sun falls brightly?

Occasionally they happen here. It's calm and peaceful, we've had beautiful sermons and we are rejoicing in the life God has given.
Living in the moment.
Savoring health and contentment and not taking it for granted.

It is well with my soul.

Edmonton - March for Life 2017

In May we went to Edmonton overnight for the annual March for Life.  Although going away for one night isn't ideal by any stretch for a mother as far as packing and preparations go, we made it into a very good time.  Having a big van sure took the stress out of strategic packing and the luxurious seats made the five hour trip fun. 
Before we went we talked to the kids about abortion and Seth and Tristan were aware of what we were "marching" for and were pretty excited to stand up for the unborn.  In Seth's words "I was once that little too! Would someone kill me now? How terrible!"  We hope to instill in them activism to stand up for the vulnerable and to be a light in this world where God's word is more and more put under a bushel. 
We left Wednesday afternoon at 3pm and stopped for supper in the grass in Strathmore.  Pizza Hut for everyone!

We slept in Red Deer and had a big breakfast at the hotel bright and early before heading to Edmonton. We parked at the most south LRT station and caught the train into the center of the city.  To say it was fun was an understatement. It was thrilling for these farm kids and although Andy and I were a bit nervous to travel on public transit with the kids it went far better than we thought it would go, the LRT was close to empty when we used it.

We started in Churchill square at noon for speeches and opening words. The march took us to the Parliament buildings downtown. That was neat to see.  Andy took Tristan right up to the front doors and he was pretty pleased he got to touch the buildings. :)

While we were waiting for the march to start we could play Chess.  

Rowan is 5!

 On May 4th we celebrated Rowan for the day.  He turned a whopping FIVE years old.  What an excitement it was, the weather was perfect and so we had a fun party outdoors.
Rowan is a very energetic and smiley boy.  He loves to belly laugh and pull pranks on people. When Rowan is in the room you will know as he tends to be loud ;)  He has grown alot this past year in knowledge and stature and when he grows up he wants to be a "taste tester at Tim Hortons".  Xox.

Rowan had a birthday with all he could ask for!  Lego, lego and more lego!

One more picture from the day before.... this is how we bake a cake.  I hope no one is offended and refuses to eat here again ;)  It's team work at it's best! And personally, I love the good intentions and the energy that goes into helping me cook and bake.  Messes happen, but nothing that can't be cleaned up again and actually, I'm trying to work myself out of a job;)

All in a days work

Welcome to our life:)
Where the days are long and the years are short.
Where we run all day long after rambunctious toddlers and disciple high energy children.
Where we plan meals that take 30 minutes to make and 5 minutes to devour.
Where we change diapers, feed pets, weed gardens and read books like they are all going out of style.
Where we laugh and cry over life and the crazy turns it takes.
Where we learn and discover everything we can about the world we are in and Who made it.
Where we go to bed exhausted but we know that exhausted is a good thing, for we've worked hard.
And where we gaze in wonder at the beautiful little faces in this house and pray for strong growth in bodies and souls.
This is our life.  It's intense and full. Good and blessed.
  

 Marla at 2 months.  Such a sweetheart. 

The boys all want to hold her daily. She is cherished.

The best load of laundry :)

Dad and his girls!

I have to make time to do some sewing.  

Of course. 

Because who can resist matching leggings?

Andy bought a BIG van!  He says its for me, but he can't stop grinning when he drives it or sees me driving it.  Now we can throw in kids, strollers, water bottles, a potty and still all go to Costco for the largest pack of toilet paper. 

This van is fun, it's a  Nissan NV3500 so has some power (about the only things making me feel cool while driving it around haha). So far it drives like a Cadillac, and the best part: we can separate the kids on long trips ;) 

We finished up school last week in May. I got feverish yet to get some fun projects in, so we did a Charlotte Mason Picture study on Rembrandt van Rijn in the last weeks as well as a unit on astronomy.   All of it was enjoyed by Mom and kids.

Cousins Asher and Charlotte came for a visit during Easter and of course we had to make matching leggings.  ;) Such little sweeties these babes are.