Mike’s little sister and her husband (Diana & Conway) had a new little baby boy in May. They decided to bless him in Canada (Conway grew up in Magrath, Alberta and spent a lot of time in Waterton Lakes National Park – the Canada side of the U.S.’s Glacier National Park). They invited the family to the blessing, and we were very fortunate to be able to attend.
On our way up, we stopped and spent the night in Helena, Montana. The kids loved spending the night in a hotel. The drive from Helena to Magrath was BEAUTIFUL! As we drove through the mountains, we passed a couple of glorious little mountain towns that I determined to someday visit (Craig and Dearborn – both in MT). Then, we took our children out of the country for the first time (but certainly not the last). Hello, Canada!!
It was fun to see all the speed limit signs in kph instead of mph. Ha ha! It made us realize again how funny it is that the U.S. doesn’t use the metric system – we’re so weird.
Once in Alberta, we began to see vast expanses of canola and alfalfa fields. I definitely felt like I was at home, and it made me wish yet again that I lived in a place like that. (I couldn’t handle living in the Midwest U.S. because I’m terrified of tornados – we’re talking one of my top 5 fears, here – but apparently tornados are very rare in Southern Alberta because of the way the storm systems build. Hmmm … perhaps we’ll be moving to Canada – or, at least, I’ll be dreaming about it.)
Our first day there, we spent time in Lethbridge, which is about 35 minutes northeast of Magrath. We experienced our first Canadian coulee – we had so much fun hiking around, getting muddy, playing on the playground, watching the beavers in the nearby pond, and keeping the kids away from the little porcupine who wandered out onto the grass next to the playground.
The next day in Magrath – an ADORABLE little town, by the way – we experienced the Magrath Days parade (the kids loved catching candy that was thrown by people in the parade) and the fireworks later that night. I’ll never forget that fireworks experience. All five of us sat on the school’s playground (up on the top by the slides) and watched – the fireworks were launched from only about 150 yards away, so we had an incredible view. None of the kids were scared – in fact, they all got so excited every time one went off. For being a small town, they sure know how to put on a good fireworks display.
Most of the rest of our time was spent in Waterton. Sure, we live right by mountains – which are beautiful, and we love them – but, we were overwhelmed by how beautiful Waterton is. We saw a whole bunch of deer, several bears, and a bald eagle. How cool is that?
We also got a chance to stop at the Cardston, Alberta Temple.
For more pics and tidbits (i.e. footnotes on the pics), check out facebook in the next couple of days. :)
On our way up, we stopped and spent the night in Helena, Montana. The kids loved spending the night in a hotel. The drive from Helena to Magrath was BEAUTIFUL! As we drove through the mountains, we passed a couple of glorious little mountain towns that I determined to someday visit (Craig and Dearborn – both in MT). Then, we took our children out of the country for the first time (but certainly not the last). Hello, Canada!!
It was fun to see all the speed limit signs in kph instead of mph. Ha ha! It made us realize again how funny it is that the U.S. doesn’t use the metric system – we’re so weird.
Once in Alberta, we began to see vast expanses of canola and alfalfa fields. I definitely felt like I was at home, and it made me wish yet again that I lived in a place like that. (I couldn’t handle living in the Midwest U.S. because I’m terrified of tornados – we’re talking one of my top 5 fears, here – but apparently tornados are very rare in Southern Alberta because of the way the storm systems build. Hmmm … perhaps we’ll be moving to Canada – or, at least, I’ll be dreaming about it.)Our first day there, we spent time in Lethbridge, which is about 35 minutes northeast of Magrath. We experienced our first Canadian coulee – we had so much fun hiking around, getting muddy, playing on the playground, watching the beavers in the nearby pond, and keeping the kids away from the little porcupine who wandered out onto the grass next to the playground.
The next day in Magrath – an ADORABLE little town, by the way – we experienced the Magrath Days parade (the kids loved catching candy that was thrown by people in the parade) and the fireworks later that night. I’ll never forget that fireworks experience. All five of us sat on the school’s playground (up on the top by the slides) and watched – the fireworks were launched from only about 150 yards away, so we had an incredible view. None of the kids were scared – in fact, they all got so excited every time one went off. For being a small town, they sure know how to put on a good fireworks display.
Most of the rest of our time was spent in Waterton. Sure, we live right by mountains – which are beautiful, and we love them – but, we were overwhelmed by how beautiful Waterton is. We saw a whole bunch of deer, several bears, and a bald eagle. How cool is that?
The blessing took place in Waterton. It was really cool. I remember that Conway’s sister mentioned how the mountains are like God’s first temple, and how appropriate it was to have the blessing there. It truly was.
After the blessing, we spent more time in Waterton. We got ice cream (I LOVED the Tiger, Tiger flavor – orange ice cream with black licorice streaks … sounds weird, tastes AWESOME!). Mike jumped into Cameron Lake – a glacier lake. When he saw daddy jump in, Travis decided to go, too, even thought we warned him about how cold it was (I was utterly shocked, and very proud!). After Travis went, Mikey decided to go as well (thus my second wave of shock and pride!!). Mikey almost decided not to go, but he got brave again and jumped in. Mikey’s comment about the water and wanting to get right out? Nothing about it being FREEZING (!!!) cold – no, no. He simply cried out, “It’s too deep!!”
After the blessing, we spent more time in Waterton. We got ice cream (I LOVED the Tiger, Tiger flavor – orange ice cream with black licorice streaks … sounds weird, tastes AWESOME!). Mike jumped into Cameron Lake – a glacier lake. When he saw daddy jump in, Travis decided to go, too, even thought we warned him about how cold it was (I was utterly shocked, and very proud!). After Travis went, Mikey decided to go as well (thus my second wave of shock and pride!!). Mikey almost decided not to go, but he got brave again and jumped in. Mikey’s comment about the water and wanting to get right out? Nothing about it being FREEZING (!!!) cold – no, no. He simply cried out, “It’s too deep!!”
We left in awe of everything we experienced – the beauty of the scenery, the hospitality of the people of Magrath, and the incredible, sweet, and amazing members of Conway’s family. We cannot wait to go back. And, rest assured, we will be going back someday in the not-too-distant future. (I am looking forward to my next Wunderbar and Mr. Big, too.)
It only took us 12 hours to get home (and that includes stopping twice – in Helena and then in Idaho Falls). I was (and still am) completely amazed at how well the kids did in the car. Nobody even cried or complained! WooHoo!!!! We can’t wait for our next road trip (Des Moines? Seattle? We have been dying to go to both places)!!
Here are the kids at the Idaho Falls Temple:
It only took us 12 hours to get home (and that includes stopping twice – in Helena and then in Idaho Falls). I was (and still am) completely amazed at how well the kids did in the car. Nobody even cried or complained! WooHoo!!!! We can’t wait for our next road trip (Des Moines? Seattle? We have been dying to go to both places)!!
Here are the kids at the Idaho Falls Temple:
For more pics and tidbits (i.e. footnotes on the pics), check out facebook in the next couple of days. :)
4 comments:
I'm so glad you guys had such a great time! I love all your photos. We had so much fun with you and your kids. I am looking forward to the next trip! Thanks again for coming. We love you!
Wow, looks like a fun trip and very beautiful. I also love that you went to hawaii for your anniverary and were going to surprise Mike, how fun.
Oh, Amy, two amazing vacations for you this summer. I am so happy you were able to go on these trips. I have vowed that we will take our kids to Hawaii for our fifteenth (we just celebrated our twelfth) and over the next year we will all be getting our passports, because you never know . . .
What an awesome trip! So glad you had a great time. Thank you for sharing!
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