Happy Canada Day! We headed to Airdrie for their parade.
After much squeezing and nudging, the kids got to the front of the crowd and were ready for candy. It was great and very busy for the Canada 150 celebration.
Later that day, we headed to Vivo since they had an open house. One of the rinks had ice for a free skate.
Most other people were in the pool and didn't get the memo about skating. We had the place mostly to ourselves the whole time. It was great!
Then we hit the climbing wall where the kids have been taking classes. There wasn't much of a crowd here either so the kids had a blast.
We had a silly picture taken before heading home for some BBQ.
After a crazy thunderstorm and a movie night, we put the kids to bed. Then Mom discovered there were fireworks not too far away so we got them right back up and headed out. They were great! And the mosquitoes were well fed!
After many cancellations because of rain, we had our last soccer session. Gwen did great and by the end was getting pretty good. She was happy to get a medal!
When it was Cara's turn, they didn't have enough kids to have even teams. So they asked for volunteers and Dad stepped up. It was fun, except when they played against the coaches! Cara's team was especially good.
Cara showing off her medal. Dad got one too!
Stampede Week! Mary and the girls headed to a breakfast. It was rainy so they took a break inside. They really do love Canada!
Lining up for pancakes in the rain.
Posing with Balzac Billy, who gives us our Groundhog Day forecast every year!
The party was great, despite the weather.
We ate in the car to keep dry.
And they had some pony rides!
Cara rode a real pony too, but they also rode on a haybale!
Milking cows like a farmhand.
Yahoo!
Nana was in town so we headed to Edworthy Park. Nana showed the girls her rock skipping skills.
And then we had some ice cream at Angel's.
The Stampede Lunch at Dad's work was rained out, but they moved everything inside. No pictures allowed inside though, so we posed on our way out! It was pretty fun!
The girls got their faces painted. Cara got a fire cat.
Gwen got this cool butterfly.
The next day, we hit the Stampede Breakfast in Dalhousie.
The weather was better, but the crowd was bigger. We had to settle for pancakes on the pavement.
Finally it is Stampede Day. The weather was beautiful. We got the kids bracelets this year so they could go in the funhouses without "wasting" tickets.
Cara was too big for some of the kiddie rides, but not all of them!
Including the whip race cars!
We went on the Ferris Wheel and got a great view of Stampede Park.
It wasn't very busy during the day, so we got to go on a lot of rides.
Ferris Wheel selfie!
The girls really loved the Super Slide.
They had a blast!
The Dragon Rollercoaster was broken last year, but this year it was back! It's a bit intense for a kid ride, but these girls are pros.
Posing with Harry the Horse.
Corn dogs for lunch!
The kids realized there was an even BIGGER slide and had to try it. Dad and Gwen had to ride together and it was great!
We got some Deep Fried Oreos. They were delicious.
We caught the end of a reptile show.
This frog was having a good time.
Mary entered a blanket in the Stampede Creative Arts Competition. Hers in the blanket in front. It looked great!
We checked out some tipis in the Indian Village.
Back to the rides!
We went on the Skyride over the park for some more views.
The kids had a blast on our 11+ hour adventure!
The next day we went to Calaway Park. They had some superheroes there. We met Superman, Supergirl and Iron Man!
We got some more rides in since the kids didn't get enough in the day before!
There were some princesses too: here they are with Belle, Elsa and Anna.
We got a couple of comics at the comic book store. Here's Gwen reading an issue of Cyborg.
We hit the egg ride before heading home.
It's always a hit!
The day before his birthday, Dad did a 5k. His cheering squad was there, of course.
He did pretty well! It must have been the cheering!
Later that day we went to the park with the girls' friend Freya and her mom.
The zipline was a big hit.
At the end it swung hard so the girls got flung pretty high. It was very cool.
The next day, we went back up to where we saw the fireworks on Canada Day. We took in a few races.
But spent most of the time in line for face painting. It was worth it!
Kitty sisters!
The girls were very happy with the results.
Of course, the best part of that day was that it was Dad's birthday! The girls made him a cake and played Dominion with him. It was a good day!
Later that week we hit Calaway Park with the girls' friends Leah and Sidney.
The carousel is always a must-ride.
Mary and the younger girls hit some rides while the big girls went on the rollercoaster.
Being too small for the rollercoaster has its perks, like being able to go on the little swings.
We capped the day off with some ice cream.
See you next time, Calaway!
Gwen had been asking to get her hair cut, so Dad took her and got it chopped. It looks great and what a difference!
The next day, we headed out on our BC vacation. We stopped at Marble Canyon for a picnic.
Definitely worth the hike.
The girls only vaguely remembered being here a few years ago on a slightly rainy day.
Today the weather was hot and sunny and just a bit smoky.
The sun let us see some rainbows in the mist.
The waterfall is slowly cutting through the mountain side. Next time it will be slightly further in.
On the way down, we took a break on a log.
A nice view of the canyon.
There were some red chairs at the top so we had to snap a pic.
Gwen was exhausted, so we soaked our feet in the river.
They had some Juicy Drop Pops at the bottom.
We stopped at Olive Pond next.
The water is very green.
It is very serene.
We arrived at Akiskinook and checked out the beach. The girls built a sand castle and took a dip.
The next day we went to Invermere and hit the beach. The waterslides in the background are in deep water. Cara can swim fine but Gwen still needs a bit of help, so Dad waited at the bottom for them! It was great!
The next day we headed to Radium Hot Springs. This kindly big horn showed us the way.
More sliding!
And a diving board!
Nice tan!
We relaxed in the hot pool.
Saved some dragonflies who had fallen in.
And let the springs work their magic.
We had a picnic in the town of Radium Hot Springs afterwards and revisited a playground we played at last time we were here. The kids remembered it, even Gwen.
This enormous woodpecker swooped by and paid us a visit.
We went and played some minigolf.
It was very hot but some Gellato afterwards helped us all cool off.
After supper, we hit the beach again.
We mostly had the place to ourselves.
The girls played hide and seek sometimes outside our condo.
I see you!
The rest of our BC adventure and the rest of summer vacation is coming up. Stay tuned!
