Thursday morning the kids and I loaded up the van and hit the road!!! Our destination - Tisdale, SK and most importantly, Grandma Marg and Grandpa Art's condo :)
I wasn't too nervous about the trip with the kids all by myself but I have a tendency to not worry or think things through and then when the day comes realize I may just be in over my head ;) But that was not the case this time around!! They were so good, I was very impressed! 8 1/2 hours in a vehicle is tough on anyone, never mind a 6, 4 and 2 yr old! I have what I guess you could call a 'road trip strategy' ... as far as watching DVD's, playing on the iPad's, playing road trip games, taking breaks, etc!! It worked really well this trip and I think the kids knew (thanks to my warnings ;)) that they'd better behave ;)
We had a fabulous time in Tisdale. I was SO glad we went. The only thing that would have been better, would have been if Cal could have joined us but with all the holiday time we had planned this year and him covering for his manager, he stayed behind.
My Aunt took us to visit our old Smith family cabin at Marean lake on Friday morning. It was great to visit there, I have so many great memories from spending time at Marean during summer holidays but it was a little bit sad to think that, that chapter is over. I am thankful for all those wonderful years in which we were blessed with that little piece of heaven on earth!! It truly is a gem and hard to describe unless you've been there yourself. I only wish we could find something similar, close to us but the cost of something like that near Edmonton would be extremely expensive!! On our way home from the cabin we stopped in a tiny town for lunch and to browse their new gift shop. It was fun, the kids each found a little toy :)
Friday night we had a BBQ at my Aunt's house. A few of my cousin's and another Aunt came, it was great to visit with everyone and the kids had a blast playing with the Labelle's (my cousins kids)!
The kids loved spending time with the Labelle's, they were pretty upset when I had to drag them back to the condo after spending the afternoon playing at their house! We took Grandma and Grandpa for supper on Saturday night, in the condo dining room. Their condo is so nice and the amenities are fantastic. They can go downstairs for coffee, snacks, meals, card games, etc almost any time of day. It's wonderful! And the fact that we can rent a room there is even better! We've rented the same 2 bedroom suite for November when we return for my cousin's wedding.
We spent lots of time with my Grandma and Grandpa, which was the main goal of our visit. Their suite is small but spacious at the same time if that makes sense?! Their furniture fits well and it works with the space! We loved having breakfast their and visiting each morning. The kids played cards with Great Grandma, which brought back a ton of memories of my sister, cousins and I playing cards with Grandma when we were young :) One of my favorite memories of all time is playing golf and nickles with Grandma Marg and Grandpa Art :) We're looking forward to visiting again. It's nice it won't be too long between visits, I miss everyone so much but have found it really difficult to make the drive these past few years. I'm also glad the kids will remember everyone, with the 2 visits closer together.
It was a tiring few days with the long drives and solo bedtimes but I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Thanks to everyone in Tisdale for your help and hospitality, we will see you in November!!!!
xo
Tracy
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