Aug 7, 8, 9

We spent some time on Sunday with a cousin of mine who was passing through town. Neat to meet up after many years and get a quick chance to catch up!

The next day or so Grandma and Grandpa showed us to a kid friendly spot to go wading, so a crew of us went there to enjoy the refreshing water.

My newest nephew was there, but he didn't even try out the water.

Another load of kids came to join in the fun.

They brought tubes to go floating down with!

At some point we went to Julie's place, some of us went for a walk down a trail Grandpa and Grandma had been working on.

Nathan spend a number of hours during our stay in the shop with Grandpa. They had a good time working together!

Grandma offered for her and Grandpa to watch the kids while Philip and I went on our annual dinner date. 12 years married goes by very quickly!

And mixed up in there, Sis's goin' for a walk together. I can't say I was very good at rugged trail stroller pushing -- but I did my best to keep up.

Aug 6

 To make up for so few pictures earlier, now the opposite extreme is the case. I snitched my mom's pics, so I had way too many to delete...so I didn't get rid of nearly enough. And to make things messier, they are not in order.

 Mom and Dad joined us by quad a bit later in the day. Their trail was a bit questionable.

 Chris and Ed invited us to join them at a cottage on Babine Lake. We had to wait at the boat launch at a dedicated time 'til they found us and boated us in.

 Pretty nice digs. Note the height of the balcony. I'll refer to it later. Think of the spot just to the side of Philip.

 I got to meet my nephew for the first time! :)

 We got cotton candy! First time for all my deprived kiddoes. :o

 I ate my fair share too. ;)

 Uncle Ed treated us to boat rides. First tube rides each!

 Matthew was brave enough to try first time with Bradley! He tried very hard to convince Bradley to come a second time...but did not succeed.

I am skeptical of Philip's homemade  handle.

 Look! Evelyn makes sure cousin Mark doesn't miss the moment.

 He actually did it!!

 Cousin time.

 Chillin' at dinner time.

Our boat ride in was the first motorboat ride ever for all of our kids.

Evelyn and Jennifer weren't too sure about it.

Evelyn tried to convince Mark to jump off the deck (the spot shown earlier). He didn't try, but Evelyn did. She didn't break anything, but she gave us all quite the scare! Hurt her too, so hopefully that deters her in the future! 

Aug 4 and 5

 We made ourselves comfortable and settled right in at our new home. I didn't take any pictures for a few days...but borrowed some from Grandma!

Wild blueberries were ripe! The effort of some was rewarded with fresh blueberry tarts. Yum! With Grandma and Grandpa in the cabin beside us, and a family of cousins (and their Mom and Dad of course ;) a couple minutes walk away, we had company without having to drive! 

I did pop into town to say hi to some family members, but everyone else were happy to stay put!

Road Trip Aug 3

 Oh the kids were sooo tired in the morning after partying, some of them, 'til 10pm local time! We roused them at 6AM and hit the road. Final destination is our goal today!

 It was a bit rainy at first, and we passed under a rainbow as we came to the edge of the prairies.

 Melanie has to keep looking out the window at times (especially in the morning) to keep her stomach in check.

 Evelyn offers comfort to a tired Daniel.

Mountains! Check them out guys! There's snow on some of them. 

 Daniel is not sure it's snow...he thinks we're pulling his leg. ;)

 What stunning views! The rockies are so bold and beautiful.

 Watching the train go through reminds me of "The Last Spike" by Pierre Burton. What a tonne of work to pave a path through these colossal mountains!

 We stopped at Maligne Canyon for a leg stretcher. I wasn't in the mood for slowing down...but the kids appreciated Philip's idea.

 Yikes! Don't fall!

 Evelyn wants to stand up higher on the bridge to get a better view.

 Being in a bad mood I didn't let her.

 Peaceful water nestled in the mountains.

 Such sights to see.

 Almost there troops!

We're getting so close we can almost smell it! The mountains are now tame and cute, having lost some of their impressiveness.

And thanks to technology on the road, and a very helpful mother, we had a hot meal waiting for us when arrived around 7pm. Oh to be done with the driving! No one can drag us into the car for at least 24 hours!