1st Trip

Our first camping/RVing trip with Chase was when he was 7 weeks old. We camped in Kikoman Creek Provincial Park.

He's a pro. The fresh air caused him to sleep ... and sleep ... and perhaps grow a little during this process. He's thinking this camping adventure is a 'piece of cake'.I love sleeping beach babes.

All sites we look for are located near water. If there's water ... I will LOVE it. This was an amazing site, mainly for the view.

Wide open spaces. LoVe It!

And so begins our days at the beach. Swimming, floating, bobbing and boating. Here's a pic of two partners in crime.

Logan found his friend. We couldn't plan and execute it so well. Instead, we don't discuss potential dates for traveling AND somehow we connect with Logan's friend Jared, year after year.

Little inflatable cars need a workout too.

Will can navigate with the kyack paddles like a pro. Here's a fun family to meet up with along the way. This little babe is named Trey and he's exactly 3 months older than Chase.

Here's some of their lounging family members.

I think this is a really great picture of Avery

An no day at the beach is complete without a bag of cheesies.

Boat Crew. Or crew in a boat. None the less, here they are.

So these two little venturerers were happy as can be until Colby navigated into a corner where he got stuck. Quinten kept telling Colby how to paddle out but Colby wasn't responding in an expected manner. The longer Colby took, the louder Quinten got until he worked himself into an absolute freak out. I warned him over and over to calm down. He wouldn't stop jumping, yelling and carrying on. So, I grabbed hime and gave him a toss into the deep water. THAT got his attention and he was mellow and quiet for the remainder of that floating time.

And this is why I love having little kids around. I could have easily been labeled as Quinten's enemy. Instead he brought home this beautiful variety arrangement.

Special Day

For a special someone. He won't appreciate me writing this but he is so cute and little. Even though he took a big step and was baptised. Thank you to all family and friends for your support in this momentous day. Katie from Cakery Bakery made a delicious cookie dough cake with a unique design :) Scrumptious.

This is a small clip from a day full of details he will never forget.

Catching Up On Sleep

The Diaper Change Bandit! swept in started a diaper change and then abandoned this poor little guy to expose all to the world for a few short minutes (it felt very long at the time). A crime of humanity ...

"Do NOT leave me alone with these people! Look at what they do to me when you're not around!"

I do wonder what goes through this babe's head as he takes in all the activities of the household. I hope he's comfortable with the home full of life, that he's been brought to. But then again he's a little quirky himself. He prefers to sleep in the most peculiar positions. See for yourself! He was fussy until Will held him in an awkward way.
Then he was ASLEEP!One day, I fed Chase, cuddled him, carried him to his bed and 5 minutes later he awoke.
I repeated this process 4 times until I tried something new.
I fed Chase, cuddled him, layed him awake in his car seat and a few minutes later he fell asleep. He slept for 5 hours. I guess his carseat is where he feels most comfortable:) I'm afraid to say we earned that fact together.


And one more, just for the record. No great story. Just his first time sleeping in his swing.

Yee Haw 2011

It's 5:30 am and we're all suited up in our best duds for a great kick off to Stampede.
I, Jenn, was due to be delivered in the first week of July. My Mom was sure it would be Parade Day just because she would have to travel through downtown Calgary to deliver and the Grace Hospital. Sure enough, I was born on Friday July 8th just as Mom had predicted. It's fun to celebrate a birthday during Stampede week. It kinda feels like the whole city is celebrating with me. Now, it's not every year that my birthday falls on Parade Day (obviously) SO it was a special year because Parade Day was my BiRtHdAy!!

What could possibly have made it more momenteous than the above mentioned AND the fact that the Prince and Princess were due to appear. I'm not one to get into hype of parades or visits by Royals, or even needing to make special plans for my Birthday. BUT this year, seemed like the year to step out of my normal realm of operation.

Chase, Amanda, Stacey (our friend) and I drove down early to get good seats. Even arriving at 7am was not early enough to even get close to the start of the parade route. So while walking back to where we began (the end of the parade route) we ran into our Mayor!! Of course, inside I was thinking of doing the tourist thing and asking for a picture ... just to have fun ... but only Stacey would have the courage to step outside my comfort zone and stop the Mayor for a picture.

Good job Stacey. You know how to have a good time.
Still waiting for Stacey to deliver it.

I will also never forget the story of Ryan traveling to meet u as he transported the kids to the parade a little later that morning. He forgot his cell phone in the car and realized it when walking to meet us. He left our 5 kids in a park downtown to run and grab his cell phone out of the car. When I called him wondering what was taking so long he was running back to the kids. I'm sure my mind will come up with some nightmares from this scenerio.

Waiting for the Royals

We had the best position!! The Royals drove right past us and then flipped a U turn and drove by again. We got a view of both sides of the car. But I was still disappointed with the speed at which they passed and the reduced visibility of them. None the less, here is the first shot I took. Of course I zoomed in for you ease of viewing Prince William.

Here's Kate.

And a second view.

Here's a picture I grabbed from my friend E.B. A good view of both of them.

Then the floats began.
We LOVE the sun.

The Air Force. Super Cool.

The Flames (if you couldn't tell :).

I love planes. Not all that excited about Air Canada though. Sorry Joy (the Air Canada employee who sat behind us at the Parade).

Sadie Yells: Legoland!!It's a great day to be a Cowpoke.Perhaps a little too great for her. She was a little overboard on her enthusiasm.See I told you! And again!

Need I say more?

It's not difficult to love a Cowboy.

Westjet above Amanda and the Baby Cowpoke. Surely he wins the award for youngest at the parade.

Another fun float. Front side.

Back side

Historical Tractors

The best seats on the street. The Calgary Stampede 2011. Yee Haw.