Baby Cuddles and Margaret Falls

We got to meet this sweet little thing this morning. She arrived in the morning with her parents, Megan and Tom and stayed for a short visit on their way back to the coast before flying home. She is a little sweetheart and we were really glad for the chance to meet her, even if just for a couple of hours.

Today’s adventure involved a trip to Margaret Falls near Salmon Arm. It was a short and pretty easy walk, but it was sure beautiful. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

walking up to the falls

Margaret Falls

Margaret Falls

Matthew, Danica, Bella and Rachel on the rocks by the falls

a view from the path

Later in the day, we went for a ride in the boat while some of the others did some watersports. Tracy was up first to show everyone how it was done. And show them, she sure did!

Tracy wakesurfing

Calgary to Sorrento

This is the day we have been waiting for. After several months of talking about mountains, planning for this trip and worrying about falling off the mountain while camping (mostly that was Matthew) we are finally here. In Calgary, we could see them off in the distance and so we knew which direction we were headed that day.  There had been a big thunderstorm the night before, but this morning the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day to see those big ol’ rockies.

The kids were pretty excited to see the mountains and were craning their necks to look out all the windows. We stopped for a little stretch and view at Johnston Canyon and got this lovely little family road trip shot…

Then we continued on up the highway to Lake Louise to stop for a little picnic lunch and a look at the lake. Being Canada Day, the traffic into Lake Louise was crazy and we inched our way along the road and managed to find a parking space. Down at the lake there were hordes of people along the shore and tons of little red canoes out in the middle. We managed to find a good spot for a family shot…

After Lake Louise it was time to get to Sorrento. I really couldn’t say how long it took because there was some confusion in our car about what time it actually was as we had both played with the car clock at some point and there was no service for our phones, so we couldn’t use the cell tower to tell us.  So in the end, we arrived at Uncle Gaynor’s cabin just in time for supper, which worked out just fine.

Tracy was there with her family and our kids have never met each other. It didn’t take long though and they were all playing together nicely. There is a little playground just down from the cabin and all the kids in the area congregate there and were soon good friends.  Matthew was helping Avery and another little boy build a snail village, complete with snail hot tub for their large collection of snails from the gardens. Later they would do snail races. Avery’s snail, Rainbow Dash, was in the lead, blowing Logan’s snail, Turbo, out of the water.  Unfortunately for him, his other snail, Super Sonic, wasn’t a whole lot faster.

Rachel was having fun with some other little girls on the swings and teeter totters.  That is until she got a little bit too much air on one of her bumps and landed on her diaphragm on the handle.  She didn’t fall hard and I watched the whole thing so I didn’t think she was hurt too bad.  I went to pick her up and she cried on my shoulder for a second, taking an exceptionally long inhale and then as she turned to face me, her eyes were wild and she fell backward like she had passed out.  I called Adam and by the time he got to her, she was finally getting her breath back.  She had knocked the wind out of herself and also scared the crap out of me. Luckily there was an ER nurse in the cabin nearby and she was able to reassure us that she had just been winded and would be fine.

And so, we were officially initiated into the friendly little community at Uncle Gaynor’s cabin on Shuswap Lake.

Day in Calgary

This was a day to spend in Calgary. Adam spent the day in the Calgary office and the rest of us went and found something fun to do.  As members at the Manitoba Museum, we were able to get free entry into the Calgary Science Centre and so that is what we did. It is a fantastic place! Here are some pictures of our day and the things we did...

Rachel climbed to the top of this structure and then down the slide...twice!

A climbing wall

Cousins in matching outfits

The girls designing outfits for Anna and Elsa

This one is for Anna, I believe

Matthew and Uncle David building a...something.

Ah.  A box.

We also saw a movie in the Dome theatre about the Milky Way. Now Matthew is worried about falling into a black hole.

Tomorrow is another big driving day. We caught a glimpse of the mountains from Calgary but tomorrow we get to see them up close!

Regina to Calgary

Today was a long day of driving. After a short visit at the new RANA office that opened in Regina last year, we were on the road just after 9:00. We got to Gull Lake and stopped for a picnic lunch and to run the kids for awhile. When that ended in tears, it was time to get back in the car. The only other stop we made was at Tillebrook Provinical Park for a bathroom break.  Our timing was perfect because there was a horse trailer in the parking lot with a couple of park horses. Their handler - a conservation officer brought Charlie out for us to get to know a little better.  Check it out...

With two days of long drives under our belts, the kids have been doing really well. The sit in the back and they draw pictures, colour or play with Lego. We even played a game of I Spy in that stretch after Medicine Hat where the only thing to see is brown grass and brown fence posts: "I spy with my little eye something that is brown"; "the grass!": "right! first guess". Not a lot of variety, but the kids thought it was great fun!

We arrived in Calgary with enough time for a short swim and some dinner before bed. A bit late going to bed, but it sure didn't take long for the little Gerhards to fall asleep. Dreaming of more adventures to come.

Day In Regina

We spent the day in Regina with the Regina Gerhards today. The day began with church at Sunset United where Auntie Tricia was preaching. A nice surprise was to see some Winnipeg friends walk in. Eli and Greer are visiting their grandparents here in Regina this week.

It was a hot day today and so in the afternoon we opted to spend some time at at spray pad. There is a little spray pad at the nearby school that was built in 1984. It is made of wood and is showing its 31 years but it sprayed water and we were hot and so it was all good. All that water draining away eventually led to the building of a dam, which is the best fun ever, especially for a particular little boy we know. We have some great pictures of this, but they are on the big camera and we don't have any way to download the pictures right now because the cable we need was left in Winnipeg.  So either I will edit this when we get home (probably not) or just tell you that lots of fun was had.  

Family Road Trip to the Mountains

This is the year of the first big family road trip. The kids had been talking about seeing some mountains and so that is where we are headed.  In a weak moment sometime in the winter, Adam agreed that he would sleep in a tent and so Kristine began a busy few months planning, making lists and shopping to ensure a successful family camping adventure. After a crazy week of organizing and a frantic morning of packing everything we need to travel and camp for two weeks into the car,(we hope and discovering that Adam's bike had been stolen from our garage (a story for another day), we were finally off.

It was a mostly uneventful first day (other than discovering Adam's bike had been stolen). The goal of the day was to make it to Regina. We did and so the trip is off to a roaring success (except for discovering that Adam's bike had been stolen). The Regina Gerhards were there to greet us and feed us and all the cousins were ecstatically happy.  All is good (except for...never mind)

The car all loaded up

Car entertainment

A quick stop in Brandon to stretch the legs

Dance party 2

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