Heading East ...

June 2,2017

Mike and I headed to Alberta ... I was spending the weekend with the grandchildren ...

and Mike was heading to the town of Mossleigh ...

for a weekend Trap Shooting Tournament ...

Nathan and Alana were at work ... so I gathered up the gang ... 

and before we left the ... the kids received a little gift from my friend Dagmar ... a special clip for their iPad cords ...

We drove into Okotoks to take Craig to his Art Classes ...

then James ... Ella and I ... went to go shopping at Costco ...

The two of them were a big help ... part of the time ... until we were in the toy and outdoor sections ...

They could not resist sitting in the huge chair ... 

Two hours of shopping and playing ... it was time to pick up Craig ...

We ended up going to the park ... to wait for Nathan & Alana ...

as we were going to a birthday party ...

The kids had a blast ... almost making me sick ... with all the spinning ...!!!

We decided to go for a walk along the river ...

and of course stopping to pose ...

so grandma could take a few pictures ...

 

The Long Wait ...

July 29, 2016

We left our place ... to go meet Nathan in the Crowsnest Pass ...

the timing would be around 4:00pm ...

We were there in plenty of time ...

so we decided to go to the park and let the kids run around ...

after our drive ...

It was a great little park with the swimming pool next door ...

We stayed for a while ... waiting ... we finally heard from Nathan ...

he was stuck in traffic on #22 Hwy ....

quite a distance from the turnoff and did not understand why ...

We then had heard that there had been an accident on the #3 Hwy ...

a semi had overturned and was in the ditch by the weigh scales ...

We contacted Nathan and told him what had happened ...

we then decided to go for dinner and wait for him there ...

Over 2 hours had passed and finally Nathan arrived ... we did not visit very long ...

he had to get back home as he was heading out of town ...

After saying our goodbyes ... Mike and I were on our way home ...

 

Robert's Family Arrive ...

July 23, 2016

Mike and I drove to Alberta for the weekend ...

Jake and his family arrived this night ...

to spend the weekend visiting Nathan and his family ...

It's a good thing I made a batch of spaghetti sauce for dinner ...

these girls were starving ...

Craig ... James ... Ella and a friend ...

were having their dessert on the deck ...

while Jake and Maren were tucking the girls into bed ...

 

July 24, 2016

Sunday morning and it was decided that we would take the children to the zoo ...

The first stop was seeing the penguins ...

So many animals to see ...

We took a break and listened to the talk about tigers ...

and watched the trainer work with this tiger ...

Then off once again touring the grounds ...

By now the little legs were getting tired ...

and the bellies were growling ...

It was lunch time ...

stopping at the picnic area ... enjoying our meals ...

The girls decided it was the perfect place to practise doing their cartwheels ...

Craig and James were trying to help Ellie ...

After lunch ...

we went to the Butterfly Conservatory ...

The butterflies gently float between the flowers ...

landing on them ...

absorbing the warmth and energy from the sunlight ... to give them flight ...

It was a thrill for the kids when some of the butterflies landed on them ...

It was a truly beautiful peaceful place ...

Ella relaxing by the garden beds ...

waiting for all of us to head to the next area ...

Checking out the monkeys ... reptiles and lions ...

Ellie had enough of sitting in the stroller ... so ...

Craig decided to take a break and sit in the stroller ...

Ellie thought it was great and started to push the stroller ...

with a little help from daddy ...

We were headed to the ice cream shop ...

for another break ...

All these little (and big) legs could use a rest ...

Ice cream is always a delicious treat ... !!!

It was time to get up and get going ...

the sugar-high had kicked in ...

We still had about another hour of walking thru ...

the forested pathways of the Canadian Wilds exhibit ...

We were fortunate to see the grizzly and black bears ... cougars ...

bison ... bighorn sheep and mountain goats ... wolves ... eagles ... owls ...

These are all animals that reside in the beautiful ... unspoiled wilderness ...

which includes the prairies ... sub-alpine forests ...

and Rocky Mountains ...

We then arrived at the starting point ...

stopping to make sure everyone used the washroom facilities before

heading back to the house ...

Ellie spending this time with daddy ... and the giant Penguin ...

The kids were gathered ... on the couch ...

taking a few minutes to play on the iPad ...

before dinner was served ...

Jake and Maren had tucked the girls into bed ...

then came out on the deck to kick back and relax ...

Jake fooling around with the boys ...

not quite sure why he was tossing Craig around ...

(perhaps needing to do a few arm curls) ...

It looked like they were having fun anyways ...

It was getting late ...

Maren figured she should get a good night's sleep ...

as they were heading out early in the morning ...

on to their next adventure ... camping in the parks ...

The guys were still visiting ... all the kids had gone to bed ...

I heard the guys mention that they needed a snack ...

so I figured the one sure way that they would eat and then go to sleep ...

was to make the traditional "Grillers" ...

Jake had mentioned not to let Maren know ...

that I had made "Grillers" ...

This would not make her very happy ...

as she loves them as much as the guys do ...

We had so much fun this weekend ... !!!!

The next morning ... at breakfast ...

Jake couldn't keep it from Maren ... he had to tell her ...

(it was a mean thing to do) ...

I wish I could have gotten a picture ...

with the look of disappointment on her face ...

I'm so sorry Maren ...

I promise to make "Grillers" ...

when you come to our house in a couple weeks for a few days ...

after Jake returns home to go to work ...

 

CNP Interpretive Centre ...

July 11, 2016

We had travelled to Alberta to pick up Grandpa ...

he was helping Nathan out ...

We stayed overnight then headed back home ... but ...

as we approached the Crowsnest Pass ... once again on their many trips ...

passing thru ...

the kids had asked about the Frank Slide ...

We decided to stop and go to the Interpretive Centre ...

Their dad and Uncle Ian did this tour ... when they were in grade school ...

while we were living in Blairmore ...

We toured the centre and watched a couple of movies ...

explaining what had happened on that scary morning in 1903 ...

We then went outside ... to hike along the trail ...

Everyone was so good to wait for Grandma ...

as it took me a little longer to walk with my injured foot ...

The kids were amazed at the size of the boulders ...

and how much area it consumed ...

They loved climbing and exploring along the rocks ...

Nearing the end of the trail ...

one last photo opportunity among these boulders ...

It was time to venture on for home ...

 

 

Picnic Stop ...

July 10, 2016

We were on our way back to Alberta ...

stopping in Sparwood ...

to have pitstop and picnic ...

by the Largest Truck in the World ...

The kids love to climb all over this massive truck ...

Having another little break ... before heading back to do some more climbing ...

We toured the grounds and the museum ...

then continued on our way ...

 

A World of Crystals ...

May 26, 2016

We arrived at a magical place ...

Swarovski Crystal World ...

Entering into the treasure chambers of the Giant of Wattens ...

Inside there was contemporary art ... ancient history ...

It is a venue where you can experience beauty, inspiration and energy from the crystals ...

So many things to see ... and touch ...

We toured thru the shop of all the Crystal jewelry... artwork ... figurines ... and so much more ...

Klaus and Mike had enough of the browsing and ended up at the Crystal Bar ...

enjoying a cold beer while waiting for us ...

The garden of the Giant lets you be enchanted by its radiant beauty ...

The Crystal Clouds hold over 600,000 crystals ...

and in 3 different sizes so that they sparkle even more .... each one set in place by hand ...

The Mirror pool reflects the light of the crystals like stars at night ... even during the day ...

There was a play tower with a climbing wall ...

It was an amazing place ...!!!!

As we were heading back to our vehicle ... we heard music being played ...

A young group of musicians were getting ready to perform inside ...

putting on a small concert playing their Clarinets ...

Loved seeing them in their Traditional outfits ...

Along our way to Eva's for dinner ...

we saw many castles ... old structures ... churches ...

traveling thru Germany crossing the Danube River back into Austria ...

 

 

Family from Vienna ...

May 21, 2016

Doris and Ernst were heading back to Vienna later in the afternoon ...

So we decided to go for a walk on the path along the Traun River ... for some exercise ...

We were also on the lookout for the good pools for fishing ...

We saw a fisherman out in the river ... and he did catch a Rainbow Trout ...

We did see a Pike in one of the pools ...

After our walk ...

we went to Bader for lunch ...

Klaus was not able to stay as he had to go to work ...

Ida and Paul had gone to the play area ... playing while waiting for their food ...

When we arrived back at Resi's ... she was busy making little braided breads ...

I was so excited to help her and learn how to form these breads ...

Each one was placed on a cookie sheet and sprinkled with rock salt and poppyseeds ...

Ida also wanted to learn how to make them ... sooooo ... I was delighted to show her how ...

We had fun making their little braided breads ....

Resi shared her diagram of how to shape the dough ...

Perfectly baked and taken out of the oven ...

Ready to take to Regina's house for dinner this evening ...

A lovely picture of the family ...

taken before they traveled back to Vienna ...

 

 

The Traun Adventure ...

May 18, 2016

Today Klaus, Mike and I ... headed out on mission to check out the waters ...

along the Traun River ...

Our gift from Klaus and Resi ...

was a day of Fly-fishing on the Traun ...

Our trip started with checking out the old power plant from the bridge ...

Then making our way to the riverside ...

We were amazed by the very old fish ladder ...

with the pools that were carved into the rock ...

for the fish to travel above the dam ...

Next we drove to the park area by the power plant ... making our way along the path ...

The scenery was so beautiful ...

Oh my ... there has to be fish in those pools ... !!!

We stopped at the lookout for a perfect photo opportunity ...

The water was crystal clear ...

we could see the fish swimming in the water ...

Mike and I are so excited ... can hardly wait ...

Continued on our adventure ... with more on the Traun ... !!!

 

 

Enjoying Our Holidays ...

January 12, 2016

The guys spent some time in the hot tub ...

after a busy day of school and work ...

Kendall and I enjoyed our drinks by the poolside ...

as we were too chilled to hop in ...

 

January 13, 2016

It was a beautiful morning ... Kendall, Nixon and I ...

thought the conditions were perfect to have a soak in the hot tub ...

While Kendall went to pick Daigen up from school ...

we decided to go for a walk to the park with Nixon ...

he was adamant that he did not want to go with mommy in the car ...

With grandma and grandpa visiting ...

he was able to have a break in picking Daigen up ...

Mike and I were invited to spend the morning with Daigen at his school ...

for Grandparents' Day ...

We couldn't have planned it any better with booking our trip ...

 

I received a special gift from the boys ... (my birthday gift) ...

a beautiful leather bracelet with a special message that ...

"All things are possible"

along with the Autism symbol and the boys first initials ...

I was brought to tears ...

something I will cherish forever ...

Thank you so much Ian, Kendall, Daigen and Nixon ... !!!

So excited to spend the morning with Daigen at school ...