Our first stop was in Calgary at Dustin and Rebekah's. We got to meet their newest family member Zach and of course got well fed and had some good conversations. Our stay was brief but it was nice to split up the trip and feel well rested when we got to Herbert. One of the first things we did was met our nephew Cole for the first time. He was there to greet us with his "I Love my Auntie" shirt that I bought him when he was born. We stayed the night at Kevin and Alysha's and then checked out Sask Landing Park the next day. The boys played around in the water for a bit while Alysha, Cole and I hung out under a tree by the water. Then we played some intense bocce balle while Cole napped, got some ice cream and headed back to the farm for supper.
Friday we headed up early to Saskatoon for Jaylin's wedding. We stayed with Ryan and Randi for a night, the boys played Super Nintendo and tennis and us girls were very domestic and made two delicious Saskatoon berry pies after going to the farmer's market. Saturday we headed out to Blackstrap Lake with the Willms' and had a great time riding around on the boat and having a weenie roast. We spent the next couple nights at Andrew and Janette's and it was great to catch up with them again. Jaylin's wedding was on the Sunday, which I took pictures for. It ended up being a great day, it wasn't too hot and I think we got some good shots (which you'll have to wait a little while to see).
The next big event was going to Cypress Hills for three days with the whole fam. We've never had a trip with all of us like that before so it was definitely a highlight to get away with everyone. We mostly relaxed at our cabins, walked by the lake and ate a lot of good food. The boys got to go golfing twice, the girls got to relax and read, Molly was entertained by squirrels and Cole got to dress up like a turtle in his towel so all in all I'd say everyone had a good trip. Chris and I even saw a moose and it's babe from about 30 feet away (it was my first moose sighting).
When we got back to Herbert it was the big stampede weekend so of course we had to check out the ever amazing 7 minute parade. We mingled a bit in the park after with people and then went to G and G Braun's for delicious cake and a quick catch up. That night Randi and I braved it out and went to the Riders game with 8 Falk/Braun boys. It was a beautiful evening to watch the game, I don't think I put on a jacket until the last 15 minutes. The Riders lost but it was still a great atmosphere and fun to be at the game with everyone.
The next morning we went for lunch at G and G Falk's assisted living home and then went to a park in Swift Current to update our family photo. It was such a hot day that we couldn't pass up going to the lake. So we went and paddled around on the Unger's boat, took a dip in the lake and relaxed for a bit at the Unger's trailer. Molly even went in the lake a couple times, once with a life jacket, once without. She's not the biggest fan of either.
The next day the boys did lots of farm work, cutting branches, moving cattle, putting a weather vane on the very top of the barn. The also gave Molly a bath because she got covered in bacon grease that dad threw into the corral, which she of course probably ran and rolled in as much as she could. She was definitely becoming a farm dog by the end of our trip, she would stand right in the middle of a mud puddle and start drinking, she chased any cat she saw up a tree and ran around the farm sniffing everything she could. We were really happy that we could let her loose knowing she would actually come back.
Monday night we went to Clint and Nikki's and Chris had a 10 year high school reunion. Now Herbert is small but there were more than these 8 people in his class. Lot's of people couldn't come and it was planned not very far in advance. It was good to meet his childhood friend Charles who I've heard many stories about and he had a good time catching up with him and the others too. The next day was our last so Chris of course did some more farm work to get his fix for a while. Then we went to Swift to stay at Kevin and Alysha's and had supper with them and the 'rents at BP's. When we got home we found Molly had somehow got out of their backyard into the ally behind their house. We were surprised that she had not sniffed her way down the alley but were glad she knew where to wait for us. We had a quick breakfast the next day, got a few Cole cuddles and left for Kananaskis.
We had reserved a spot at a campground that Rebekah had recommended and planned on just shopping for snacks for lunch and buying our breakfasts and suppers when we needed them since we didn't have any cooking supplies or a big cooler. Little did we know once we got to our campground and set up that the village of Kanasaskis had no restaurants within our budget so we had to drive 45 minutes farther west to Canmore just to get supper and drive back to our campsite for the night. Even though it was beautiful, Kananaskis did not make a very good impression on me, maybe next time.
Then we went to Banff, saw some sheep on the road to our great site at Two Jack Lake and were very happy to know that there was food close by. We walked around Banff, walked along the river, hiked up Tunnel Mountain and then went back to our site for the night. We spent the evening walking by the lake and enjoying a fire with endless wood. The next morning Chris took a dip in the lake a few steps from our site and cleaned everything up while I went to take a shower. Then we were off for home, but only after meeting a few more sheep along the way.
Now summer feels like it's winding down even though we still have a good month left. Chris is starting to plan for school and I'm editing pictures. We still have a few adventures coming up and are looking forward to them so I won't say it's over until it's over.
