Summer Vacation: Family edition - camping!! (2 of 4)

Our next destination on our summer vacation was Dinosaur Provincial Park. Up until this year I had never heard of Dinosaur Provincial Park.  It was while reading a blog post from Frugal Edmonton Momma that I discovered this southern AB gem!

The kids enjoyed climbing the hoodoos on the day use trail near our campground.  Cal, the kids and Heidi climbed alllll the way to the top, while I stayed at the campground to capture some photo's:

There they are - almost to the top!!

The sunset over the hoodoo's is gorgeous and had I brought my good camera, I'm sure I would have captured some great photo's (yes, I regret not bringing my Nikon on this trip :( )

We spent a good portion of one of our days at the Visitor's Centre.  It was definitely worth the small entry fee.  This was a great place for the kids to learn, play and explore.

And of course, the gift shop was hit!  Blake chose a new book about dinosaurs and Emerson and Reese chose 'gems'.  I bought a postcard to add to my pile of post cards ... which reminds me, I really should get them all organized one day ...  

The weather was off and on - some rain, some wind, some sun!  But it seemed to be either one or the other - pouring or +25! On one of the hot days, we decided to go for a little hike on the day use trail.  We were pretty excited to learn that there was a geocache hidden along the trail!  We also enjoyed checking out the cacti and pretty wildflowers.  We did not enjoy the thought of crossing paths with a rattlesnake or a scorpion and thankfully we didn't encounter either ;)

Checking out the geocache!

The kids also enjoyed bike rides to the playground and for ice cream (a camping vacay must! :)  Cal and I spent the evenings reading and surfing the Internet!  I was grateful to discover the campground offered free Wifi!

Stay tuned for part 3 of our camping vacay!

~Tracy

Ladies Night Out!

I had so much fun last night!!  A group of friends and I had a date-night :)  Drinks and dinner on the patio at Moxie's followed by the Bad Moms movie!  We had SO much fun!  It was a gorgeous evening and the patio drinks were flowing (if you haven't tried the GT at Moxie's, you have to!!) ;)  We gave ourselves a few hours on the patio before we had to walk across the parking lot to the movie (smart planning, Sharla!) and besides dinner and drinks, we enjoyed many, many laughs!  The movie was hilarious and totally on point!!  Although I wish we had that much fun at our PTA meetings ...!  Ladies night out is always a nice break and laughing with your girlfriends, sometimes the best therapy :)  If you have a great sense of humor, I highly recommend seeing the movie! Check out the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKCw-kqo3cs

Summer Vacation: Family edition - camping!! (1 of 4)

From Vancouver, I flew to Calgary where I took a taxi to Cross Iron Mills and met Cal and the kids!  It was so good to see them and very exciting, being that we were beginning our 2 week AB tour a.k.a camping vacay ;)

Our first stop was the Crows Nest Pass for the Sinister 7 Ultra Race.  Cal was on a team of 7 and ran the 2nd leg.  It was an awesome experience for Cal and his teammates and myself as well!  Considering how many races the kids and I have cheered for Cal in, this was one of my favorites.  The vibe and the sheer number of people involved, was nothing short of amazing.  The volunteers were fabulous and everything was so well ran.  Friday evening began with registration, a catered dinner (delicious!!) and a pre-race meeting for all runners.  We also visited the vendors and Cal picked out a commemorative t-shirt.  Saturday morning, Cal was up early to see the first runner off and to catch a bus to leg 1/2 transition point.  Once the kids and I woke up, we headed to the transition point to see Cal come in and the 3rd runner in the team head out.  Each leg had a transition point and at each transition point there was 100's of people cheering on the teams and the soloists and individuals and teams supporting the soloist's in their needs - food, water, change of clothes, medical aid, etc.  Each transition point had snacks and drinks for the runners - everything from soup, chili, muffins, and sandwiches to fruit and protein bars!!

Here is a description of the course (from the website):

All distances and elevations have been verified by GPS, foot, mountain bike and quad. Difficulty is based on how hard the leg is in comparison to the other legs of the race (ie: Leg 6 is 7/7 meaning it is the hardest) in our opinions. Every leg of the race is hard.

Distance: 161km - 100mi
Stages: 7 stages ranging from 10.7km to 36.2km (6.65 to 22.49mi)
Elevation: Gain: 5,687m (18,658') / Loss: 5,676m (18,622')
Duration: 30 hours to complete the course 

Cal ran the 2nd leg.  Here are the details (again, from the website):

Leg 2 - Hastings Ridge

Distance: 16km (9.94mi)

Gain: 937m (3,074')

Loss: 1,110m (3,642')

CPs*: CP2 – 10km

Difficulty: 4/7

Trail Type: Single track, double track, dirt road

Est. Time: 1.5 to 3 hours

Must start: 10:00 hrs (Saturday)

Cutoff: 13:00 hrs (Saturday)


Beginning at the base of Hastings Ridge, runners begin a grueling climb to a rewarding view. Once atop the ridge, you get a view of the entire valley, including Crowsnest Mountain and the Seven Sisters; certainly worth the punishing climb to the top! There is no time for rest as runners drop down the other side and head towards Blairmore to the finish of leg two.

Although Cal has ran numerous 1/2 marathon's and a full marathon, he says nothing compares to the challenge of trail running in the mountains!  The track and the elevation gains and losses can make a 'short' run feel like a marathon!!  He rocked his leg and we were so excited to see him come down the hill at the end of leg 2 and pass the timing anklet and bear kit onto the next man on the team!  Cal and his teammates were at each and every transition point, sleeping a few hours here and there throughout the night and early morning.  I stayed in the trailer with the kids, as I didn't think they'd do so well being woke up and then told to go back to sleep and then woken up again ;)  As we were packing up on Sunday afternoon (after the brunch), the last of the runner's were coming through (the field that we were camped in was very close to the finish line).  We all stood on the side of the road, cheering the last 2 runner's on.  I had tears in my eyes, I can not even imagine the emotions of these runners - they were soloist's and had just ran 100 miles in just under 30 hours (if a team or a soloist does not make it in, in 30 hrs or under they are officially disqualified and do not receive a time).  Unbelievable.  This race was like none I had ever attended and it really made me wish I was a trail runner ... maybe one day?!

Once we were packed up, we headed off to Frank Slide for some sightseeing!  The kids were really interested in the history of the Frank Slide.  

Stay tuned for part 2 of 4 in our summer vacation :)
~Tracy

There's Cal, so close to the finish line of leg 2!!

Super, super proud wife and kids :)

Frank Slide

Summer Vacation: Girls edition - Van city!!

Mother/Daughter trip ~ 2016 ~ #yeg to #yvr

 July was jam-packed with goodness!!!  My summer vacation began with a mother/daughter trip to Vancouver :)  My mom, sister and I had an awesome time!  We've been waiting for awhile to be able to get away together.  Between babies and feeding babies, we've been a little busy over the last 9 or so years ;)  I didn't take very many pictures but we had a wonderful time.  We walked a ton, at times I felt like we were in San Francisco with all the up and down hill walking!!  We shopped (mostly window shopped!), ate (omg, the delicious sushi and I think we tried no less than 4 versions of tuna tartare), my Mom treated us all to a blowout at the Blo Blowout Bar at the Four Seasons (we really need this service in Edmonton!!) and we sang our hearts out at the Dixie Chicks concert!!  Such an amazing concert.  I had goosebumps during "I'm Not Ready to Make Nice."  One of the top 3 concerts I've attended!  Thank you Mom and Lindsay for a fabulous trip, I can't wait to do it again!!!

Year-end teacher's gifts

I'm always browsing Pinterest, looking for new ideas for teacher gifts!  But this time around, my mom's friend and Stella and Dot 'dealer' posted a great idea on her Facebook page and I snagged up the deal ;)  How cute are these?!

Mme. Elizabeth already had them on when I picked Blake up on the last day of school and the girls teachers all made a point of saying thank you and gushing over how much they loved them :) Thanks for the GREAT idea, Anais!!

Audrey's soccer!

The girls are really enjoying playing soccer in St. Albert with our friend Audrey, her husband Craig and their 3 children!  Audrey started this little weekly game last year, after a not so successful experience with organized soccer.  We are so glad she decided to start this 'league', as the girls love it!  It has grown so much and sometimes there is upwards of 25 little soccer players participating!!  Each week we take turns bringing a snack, which is often a highlight ;)  The kids do drills for the first 10-15 minutes, play a 40 minute game and finish off with the snack!  Usually after snack time, the kids hit the park for awhile.  It's a very lovely evening with many of our Church friends and a few new friends!  The Anderson's have also been joining us this year, which is great as Max and Blake and Ava and the girls can not get enough of eachother ;)  We have had to miss very few games this year but due to summer vacation, tomorrow will be our last game of 2016.  Reese has probably enjoyed this experience the most out of the 3 kids and has mentioned that she'd like to play indoor soccer this winter, so we will be looking into that!  Both her and Emerson have scored quite a few goals, which has really boosted their confidence!  

 

School year-end celebration!

Today we gathered with some of our school besties at the St. Albert spray park!  We couldn't have asked for better weather or a better time :)  The kids ran in and out of the water, having water gun fights and splashing around.  They played on the playground and played soccer and what spray park day would be complete without icecream!  We were feeling almost ready to leave when we were told to leave ... lightning was spotted and apparently they close the park down during thunderstorms.  We just made it to the van when the skies opened up!  As we drove home, we were pelted with hail.  Eek!  We're so grateful for our wonderful school friends and families.  The kids really miss eachother during the summer so hopefully we'll be able to all gather together again!  It's tough to plan playdates in the summer, with everyone taking vacation at different times.  We capped off our first day of summer break fun with a family dinner out at Soda Jerks.  In hindsight, this may not have been the best of choices as the kids (namely Emerson!) were quite tired and slightly grumpy but it all turned out in the end ;) We're now officially on vacation and can't wait for Cal's holidays and our many summer adventures as a family :) Stay tuned!!

xo

Tracy

Such great kids + friends!! #schoolpeeps