july ~ august update

**there is a lot of photos in the album below. i had nearly 800 with all of our cameras combined, and somehow ended up without some of my own photos - they must still be on my mom's mac**

anyhoo...here is how our canadian trip shaped up.

calgary summer 2008

july 17 -
we enjoyed a near perfect travel day from charlotte (good kids, decent food, on demand TVs in every seat, all luggage arrived - i know, a first!) and landed in calgary just before dinner time. we arrived at mom and dad's to a delicious meal of chinese food - ginger beef JUST the way i like it!

philip and i departed the next day for lake louise, where phil had booked a room at the chateau as an early anniversary present. calgary is notorious for some wicked summer storms and we endured a hail pounding on our way up to the mountains but it was pleasant and cool when we arrived. the chateau was amazing. i could not have asked for a better gift. it was so relaxing and beautiful. we took a canoe ride across the lake (even though it was almost snowing on us at one point) and enjoyed a casual, yummy dinner at one of the restaurants.

we stopped in canmore and banff and enjoyed each earthy, mountain village. there is just something about being in the mountains. i so enjoyed every minute of it.

july 25 -
fortunately for me, my sister had not had her baby yet when we arrived. i know she was so ready to have that baby! but i was so thankful to have made it in time that when the contractions were 2 minutes apart at dinnertime on july 24th, i went with tanya and mat to the hospital where i was able to see the birth of baby bruno at nearly 4am the next morning.

watching my sister go through childbirth was the most helpless feeling. i tried to be of help, without being annoying. it was truly one of the coolest, most special experiences. tanya was a champ and i will never forget being a part of that. i also need to say thanks to my brother in law, mat, for allowing me to be there. he's a great guy and despite his need to watch baseball on tv, i think he's pretty nifty.

july 26 -
shopping with tanya and her new baby at the mall. no, i'm not joking. the girl was home from the hospital by lunchtime on the 25th and the next night we hit the mall for some much needed nursing bras and other sweet baby stuff. seriously, tanya, you're amazing! and thank you canadian health care for actually letting new moms go home and recover in their own beds. *ugh* hospital gowns...

july 28 -
we piled the kids in the car and went to heritage park. it's been quite a few years since i had been there. they do an amazing live nativity at christmastime, but we were able to enjoy the 'old towne', including a train, boat and ferris wheel rides. the weather was awesome, the kids mostly well behaved and i think we enjoyed it. i especially enjoyed spending the day with my mom. she was a good sport and i so enjoyed her company.

july 31 -
this was a day of firsts for my kids. we went to the leisure center - an indoor wave pool complete with waterslides. neither of my kids had been on waterslides before and once they got the hang of it, we were up and down the whole time. marissa met a little friend and together they went down the slide for nearly 2 hours. dylan, mateo (much to his displeasure) and i had a few trips down and by the end of the day i was wiped!

i think it was later that night that we threw a mini reunion with some of my aunts, uncles and cousins. we gathered at bowness park and enjoyed cake, cupcakes, more cupcakes, watermelon and good conversation. it was fun to reunite again.

august 1 -
a highlight of any trip to calgary is the calgary zoo. i have so many great memories of the zoo as a kid and to be able to share the zoo with my own kids is so much fun. we got lucky and were able to see the new baby elephant and baby giraffe. it was a bit of an ordeal with all the kids, but we sure had a great time.

august 3 -
another one of the main reasons i wanted to go home this summer was to be a part of the blessing of my two nephews - Ira Harris and Bruno Tavo. mom and dad hosted the gathering at the house and with the advice of phil's mom, i was able to take some photos of tanya getting bruno ready for his special day. i didn't get any dressing photos of ira but he was so handsome in his little hat and vest. the blessings were both so amazing and it was so enjoyable to have family and friends gathered at mom and dad's house. and of course a delicious meal followed.

august 4 -
heritage day is a civic holiday so we packed up a picnic and headed to a park close to tanya and mat's house. we thought it would be insanely busy, since the weather was so nice, but it wasn't crowded at all. we lounged for hours, playing phase ten, watching grandad play tennis with dylan and teo, and marissa met a new friend (big surprise!) and they enjoyed the playground. it was probably my favorite day. so carefree and just the perfect summer day in calgary.

august 6 -
our last days at home were spent visiting with friends, going to uncle mat's baseball games, enjoying a late night dinner at peter's drive in (mmmm...onion rings), a quick visit to see grandma ruth, and an evening in the sprinkler. it was the perfect holiday and i was sad to see it come to an end, but 3 weeks away from home...i was ready to get back to NC.

***a few other highlights***

i'd been meaning to call an old friend with whom i've reconnected through the blogging world. she's actually an old friend of my brother thomas, and i just tagged along most of the time - but she was someone who made a big impact on my life and overtime we became friends and penpals during her mission. our whole gang ran into her at the mall on our last night. i was just so thankful for that! jess, it was amazing to see you and your sweet guy, eli. eli and marissa decided to try and be pen pals. what a fun thing that will be for each of them.

my dear friend from grade school brought her boys over to play for a morning and have lunch. krista and i have been friends since the middle of 7th grade. we played basketball, volleyball and did track & field together. she is a far more stellar athlete and i was lucky to have played with her. but she's been an amazing friend and i always love seeing her again.

my nephew mateo. one thing i've found from being so close to my sister is how much i've let her little guys into my heart. i can truly say that i love teo like he's one of my own. until this trip, he'd always acted a little distant towards me. i'm not sure if it was just circumstance or the fact that he's nearly 3 and just a ball of personality, but we spent a lot of time together and i loved every minute of being with that kid. i definitely miss him the most (sorry nan!). it makes me sad that he and his pal dylan live so far apart.

love ya teo!

***

i'm always sad when i think of home and i'm so far away. but i'm so thankful for so many fun memories! thanks again mom and dad - and thanks phil for putting up with my need to escape the USA every summer. it means more than you'll ever know.