(Like the new blog look? I think I might switch things up every once in a while now. I should also warn you that I've been thinking of privatizing the blog, so wierdos can't copy pictures of my family, but I'll let you all know...)
Ah yes. A road trip with 3-1/2 and 1-1/2 year old boys - Wohoo! No really, we did have a good 2-week trip to Alberta with the plan to meet up with Jeff's parents from Ontario and with my Calgary siblings.
We left July 25th at 2:30am so the boys could sleep a few hours in the car and I have to say that they were pretty darn good - until we hit construction between Golden and Canmore. Oh well. We spent a night with my sister Krista and then the next day we headed to Waterton where Jeff's parents would meet us. The next few days were spent in awe of such a gorgeous place.
On the drive to Waterton:
The town is over-run with deer, as you can see here in front of our motel:
Picturesque Prince of Wales Hotel:
The whole Skinner clan at the hotel:
We explored a lot of areas with rocks and water, like Red Rock Canyon area - let the rock-throwing begin!
It was a funny surprise to meet up with a friend of ours from Vancouver who now lives in Ontario, Julianne Cunningham and her 3 boys, as her extensive extended family owns a few cabins in Waterton. Callum and Max were in toy and bike heaven!
Our last day in Waterton, we hiked the Bears Hump (kind of a mini Grouse Grind), which Callum did all by himself.
Then we drove back to Calgary to spend 3 nights at my brother Todd's place before heading to Canmore for a week... but I'll have to finish later! Tune in next post for the excitement of: the Calgary Zoo, hikes in Canmore, swimming at the hotel pool, and since we've been back home, some interesting developments in the White Rock House-hunt...
I really don't like store-bought jam and I complain about it a lot, so this year I decided to stop whining and just make my own. Mmmmm... homemade strawberry jam... I am not disappointed.
For Canada Day, we went down to Mt.Baker and did a hike and an overnight camping trip to see how the boys would do, hiking and tenting. It was a great success, actually! We couldn't do the hike I planned since the road up there was closed,
so we did a mild one that kept Jeff and I trying to keep up with Callum most of the way (he probably hiked over 3km). But the boys especially loved exploring the camp. Max is just about the perfect age not to take camping, since he was most intrigued by the raging river next to us and the campfire - but we managed to keep him alive.
Oh ya. Jeff introduced me to "Spider Dogs", which he is appalled that I hadn't heard of them before. That is what I am roasting in my left hand.
Jeff is also the best marshmallow roaster I have ever met, hands down! Evenly golden on all sides and gooey in the center, so he made perfect Smores that actually melted the chocolate. Impressive.
It did end up being a little colder than we hoped, so we drove back and found Vancouver to be warm and sunny, so we went to the beach and had a BBQ, including corn on the cob for Callum and Max.
The boys crashed early tonight so I thought it would be a good opportunity to post some of the many awesome things we've been doing and the accompanying photos, but then my far-away friend gave me a call, so you get one day at Granville Island instead.
It was another one of those weird weather days that miraculously worked in our favour, as it started out just O.K. out, but then the sun perked right up to allow the boys to get wet at the waterpark without going completely numb.
Waiting for the Ferry.
The arcade upstairs at Kids Only Market (I love this photo, though, don't worry, I don't actually let my 3 and 1 year olds play arcade games).
Callum obviously doesn't mind that I refuse to put money in the car in order for him to have fun.
The waterpark.
And, of course, some frozen treats before heading back home.
When I'm not feeling guilty about not getting to bed, I will update you on my amazing jam-making abilities, about our decision to go house-hunting in White Rock, about our fun Canada Day camping trip to Mt.Baker and about Max's skill at eating corn-on-the-cob with only 7 teeth.
I guess the photo above demonstrates that we spent way too much time indoors yesterday. That, and the fact that we also went swimming (which is something I usually do on crummy weather days), goes to show my disappointment in summer thus far. Oh well.
The town is over-run with deer, as you can see here in front of our motel: 
Picturesque Prince of Wales Hotel:
The whole Skinner clan at the hotel:
We explored a lot of areas with rocks and water, like Red Rock Canyon area - let the rock-throwing begin!
It was a funny surprise to meet up with a friend of ours from Vancouver who now lives in Ontario, Julianne Cunningham and her 3 boys, as her extensive extended family owns a few cabins in Waterton. Callum and Max were in toy and bike heaven!
Our last day in Waterton, we hiked the Bears Hump (kind of a mini Grouse Grind), which Callum did all by himself.
Then we drove back to Calgary to spend 3 nights at my brother Todd's place before heading to Canmore for a week... but I'll have to finish later! Tune in next post for the excitement of: the Calgary Zoo, hikes in Canmore, swimming at the hotel pool, and since we've been back home, some interesting developments in the White Rock House-hunt...
