Summer Camping Trip

Well we are back from our annual summer camping trip.  A good time was had by all.  This year was a little different for us as it was just our immediate family.  Usually some of my siblings and other relatives join us.  So I had plenty of food packed as my girls don't eat nearly as much as my brothers. 

The first day of our trip we drove to Little Bow Provincial Park in Alberta.  We spent the next day at the beach there.  It was a nice beach area and the weather was hot.  We spent the whole day at the beach as it was much to hot to do anything else.

Daddy throws Sky into the water.

Star and Sky play in the sand.

Daddy takes LK for a ride in our inflatable kayak.

LK has a snack on the beach.

The next day we headed off to Kananaskis Country where we were staying at Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.  One nice thing about travelling by yourselves is that you can stop where ever and whenever you want.  We made a number of stops along the way, including a stop at a cool looking playground we saw with this climbing apparatus.

The first full day we were in Kananaskis it was cool and rainy (quite a contrast from the heat we had at Little Bow).  We didn't do all that much.  The girls and Dad had their bikes so they went for some bike rides.  (This was an excellent place for bike riding as there are lot's of bike paths and many of them are paved.)  We don't usually have room to bring bikes along on our camping trips so the girls were really excited to have them.  We also attended a family event on being Bear Aware which the girls really enjoyed and at night they went to a talk given by someone from the Windriver Bear Institute.  The next night they went to another interpretive program put on by the park which they really enjoyed.  The programs put on by this park are excellent.  Really entertaining and informative.

Being over seventh months pregnant and having a 17 month old I wasn't able to do quite as much as I would have liked but I still had a lot of fun and felt pretty good most of the time.  LK wasn't  much for sitting around the campfire but he did love to hike and explore.

LK hiking along a trail.

Daddy was there to carry him when he got tired.

LK loved throwing rocks in the water.

The next day at Kananaskis the weather was slightly warmer and not so rainy so we were able to do a number of different hikes.  Including one that was over 5km and had an elevation gain of over 700 ft.  I wasn't sure about hiking up that steep of a trail but I made it and it was worth the effort as we ended up in a beautiful alpine meadow with rocks and waterfalls.

On our hike.

The wildflowers were spectacular.

Star on our hike.  What beautiful scenery!

Daddy and LK on the hike.





As you can see I was usually trailing the pack as I mostly got pictures of peoples backs.

The next morning we packed up camp as the forecast was for rain all day that day.  We were lucky that it wasn't raining in the morning when we packed up but a lot of stuff was still wet from the rain we did have.  We headed in to Calgary and got a hotel room with a small pool and water slide.  (This is treat we usually allow ourselves after camping for a week in a tent.)  We spent the afternoon at the Calgary Zoo.  We saw lot's of animals.  Of course it was raining which made it not quite as nice but there were a number of buildings to duck into and view the animals.  Near the end of the day we just braved the rain and wandered outside.  We ending up getting some great close up views of the bears and cougars.  All the kids enjoyed the zoo, especially LK.  We saw giraffes, hippos, lions, tigers, and more.  How ever I think LK's favourites were the fish.  He kept pointing out all the fish and saying "dsh" (fish) to anyone who would listen.

LK looking at the fish.



A giraffe at the zoo.

We drove home the next day. And that was our trip.  Camping is great family time and the girls really love it.  I wonder where we will go next year.

Weekly Update: Kitchen Cupboards, Swimming, Reading

Last weekend my parents and two of my brother's were out for the long weekend.  We had decided we were going to paint our kitchen including the cupboards.  It was a lot of work but we got it done and even had time to go to the beach one afternoon.  We didn't really change the colour in the kitchen so it doesn't look that different but it definitely looks fresh and clean.

LK enjoyed climbing and hiding in the empty cupboards.

Since the weather was nice and warm the Uncles kept the kids cool with some water play.

Old dish soap bottles (well-rinsed) make excellent squirt bottles for water fights.

LK enjoyed pouring water into a pail.



The girls started swimming lessons this week and they are enjoying them.  The weather was nice and warm and we also spent two afternoons at the pool.  LK is not crazy about being in the water but he is okay with it.  Being pregnant in this heat I enjoyed the water almost as much as the girls.

As far as other activities on our Summer List the girls have been keeping up their summer journals so far, and been doing quite a bit of reading.  For an end of the school year present I gave them a set of four adapted classic books for girls.  It included Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, The Secret Garden, and A Little Princess (all books I read as a child/teen).  I told them we could watch the movies after they had read the books.  So far Sky has read all four and Star has read three and is working on the fourth.  They have enjoyed them all.  When they are little older I will have to make sure they read the originals. 

Hmm, what else have we done from our list?  We did a little weeding in the garden and Sky was excited to be able to pick some radishes.  She does not like to eat them though.  Star wanted to work on her rug-hooking but when we went to open and work on her kit (that she got at Christmas) we could not find the instructions or chart the supposedly came with it.  I will have to do some looking online to see if I can figure out what we are suppose to do. 

Well that's all for now.  We are going on our camping trip next week. So this coming week will be busy with preparations for that. 

Enjoy your summer!

Summer Activities

It is here.  Today is the girls last day of school.  The other day we made a list of the activities that we want to do this summer.  Here it is in no particular order:

-swimming lessons
-swim at the pool
-reading club at the library
-family camping trip
-the girls are going to a 3 day sleep over camp
-keep a summer journal
-read lot's of books
-Star wants to work on her rug hooking craft and sewing
-leaf collecting, press flowers
-Sky wants to do bubble art
-rock painting
-gardening (we only have a little garden because of the flooding this spring)
-pick raspberries
-go for lot's of walks/bike rides
-horseback riding
-visit our cousins (3.5 hr drive away)
-go to the beach
-and start to think about getting stuff ready for our new arrival in September

Also my parents are coming to visit this weekend and they volunteered to help us paint our kitchen.  So that is our big project to kick off the summer.

What activities do you have planned this summer?

Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... it is a warm sunny day (finally).  It is a little breezy though but everything looks nice and green from all the rain we have been having.

I am thinking... that the girls only have three more days of school left.  I can hardly believe it is almost time for summer holidays. 

I am thankful... for so many things family, warm summer days, plenty of food to eat.

In the kitchen... not much is happening in there at the moment.  I have some dishes to do.  Sky was supposed to be making supper tonight but she never did decide what she was going to make.

I am wearing... green shorts and a white T-shirt.

I am creating... I am still working on LK's 1st year scrapbook.  Hoping to have it complete before the new baby arrives.  I have a few crochet projects on the go but haven't really spent much time crocheting lately.

I am going... to two barbeque's tomorrow.  One at the girls school for lunch and then they have playday in the afternoon.  For supper Hubby's work is having a BBQ during the towns Summer Funfest to raise money for a local park.  It will be a fun but busy day.  Hopefully we have another nice, sunny day.

I am wondering... where we will end up going on our family camping trip this summer.  We were planning on going Yellowstone.  However, I will be just about 32 weeks pregnant at that time and am unable to get travel health insurance.  So I would have no health coverage if we went down there.  We are thinking of heading to Kananaskis Country instead.

I am reading... The Brides of Culdee Creek series by Kathleen Morgan

I am hoping... for more nice weather.

I am looking forward to... the girls being home for summer.

I am hearing... all is quiet right now as LK is taking a nap.  All I hear is the hum of the computer and the ticking of a clock.

Around the house... a cleaning definitely is in order but I am not tackling any big projects right now as (a) I don't have the energy and (b) I want to spend as much time outside as I can while the weather is nice.

One of my favorite things... warm sunny days! (in case you haven't guessed by now)

A few plans for the rest of the week:  There is the two barbeque's to go to tomorrow but other than that I have no plans.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Canoeing on the slough

It continues to be a very wet spring here.  The slough ((in the prairies) a large hole where water collects or the water in such a hole) near our yard is fuller than it has ever been.  Some years this area is completely dry but such is not the case this year.  The other night we decided to take the canoe out on the slough.  It was a nice evening and we enjoyed the ride.  As we were canoeing we saw some snails in the water and we tried to grab them (nearly tipping the canoe in the process).  The girls enjoyed looking at the snails but LK just crushed them in his hand.  When we arrived back at shore the girls were delighted to find that there were hundreds of snails in the shallows and quickly started collecting them.  LK of course has to be where they are and ended getting all wet (good thing it was a fairly warm night).  The girls enjoyed finding all these snails and a jar of them made its way to school the next day for show and tell.

Star collecting snails.

Sky with a handful of snails. 

Yes, LK got all wet.

Weekly Update: A Wet Spring, LK Outside, A Night Away

It has been a very wet spring here and this past week was no different.  I have not got any garden planted yet and this is what my garden looked like last week.

As you can see it is very muddy and full of standing water.  As it has been raining all day today I don't think it is getting any drier.  As it is already pretty late in the season I think I may not have a garden this year.  It is a little disappointing.  However with being pregnant and having a busy little guy who keeps me hopping it may be for the best.  I am already feeling quite large, sore, and tired with this pregnancy.  It's hard to believe with my first at this time I was barely showing and with this fourth pregnancy I am already starting to waddle when I am tired. 

LK is getting to be very active.  He loves being outside and cries when we have to go in.  One of his favorite places to go to is the chicken coop.  He likes watching the chickens and feeding them some grass.  There is also a kitten that hangs out their that he likes to visit.

I have to be on my toes when outside as he does wander off on me frequently.  However in most cases when I can't find him I go look by the chicken coop and there he is chasing the kitten around or watching the chickens.

In other news this past weekend Hubby and I went away for a night.  Grandma graciously volunteered to watch the kiddos.  It was our first time being apart from LK and I was a little worried about leaving him as he is a bit of a mama's boy.  However, he was fine and everyone was happy because he would let them hold him since I wasn't around to cling to.  Hubby and I spent the night at the Manitou Springs Resort Hotel and Mineral Spa.  It was a nice, relaxing time.  The water there is really interesting and you float with no effort.  With this pregnant belly I could literally be straight up in down in the deep water and I would just float there.  Hubby wasn't quite as buoyant but he definitely could easily float on his back with no effort.

We also spent the day in the city yesterday getting our applications in for our passports.  We are thinking of going to Yellowstone this year for our camping trip.  LK was not happy about getting his picture taken but we were able to get an acceptable one after giving him the keys to play with.

Here I am with my pregnant belly in front of Manitou Lake.



A Weekly Update : New Chicks, Dandylions, and Doll Houses

Well it's been awhile again since I posted anything here on this blog.  Time seems to fly by these days.  I am going to try and do a weekly update so as to record some of the activities that happen each week.  Hopefully it will motivate me to spend some time with the kiddos and take some pictures.

This week we got some chicks that my father-in-law and his wife hatched for us.  New chicks are always so cute and fun.  The girls as always enjoyed holding them.  LK was very excited to see them but it was a challenge to keep him from too rough with them.

Sky holding a chick. 

Star with a chick.

Chicks

It has been really rainy here is Sask. My garden is just a huge puddle.  We did have one nice day this week though so we bought some flowers and were able to plant them in our flower bed by the house.

The girls planting flowers.

Of course LK has to help too!

We also did some dandelion picking on that nice day.  As you can see we have no shortage of them.

And what did we do on all the rainy days?  Well, I will admit that some TV watching did happen.  But then Star asked Dad to bring home some boxes from work so that they could make doll houses in the basement.

Sky with her dolls and doll house.



Star going into her doll house.

So that is a few things that we did this past week.  We also managed to brand the calves this weekend as it was too wet for seeding.  It was a little mucky in the corrals but luckily we didn't get rained on too much.  How was your week?