1. We went to visit our friends, Sheri and Eric, who live just outside Calgary. We lived in Palo Alto at the same time, at the same apartment complex, and had girls about the same age. We have only seen each other one other time, which was about 5 years ago. It's a little tricky trying to see someone who lives so far away who also has four kids.
2. Their house sits on two acres and has a phenomenal view of the Rockies. Their lot also overlooks a river, and has a tennis court, trampoline, playset, and the most perfect place to play soccer. The kids played all week long with their new best friends and had a blast.
3. Our kids together were ages 10, 9, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, and (almost)1. It sounds a little crazy but it worked. They have all girls, but Bo quickly made a friend in Gwen (5), whom he called "Ken."
Bo and Ken getting dirty
4. We went to a Pow-wow on Saturday. It was very entertaining. The costumes were gorgeous.
I felt very white there, and also a little bit ignorant. When we first got there we all headed into the ceremony and watched the dancing. After a while we looked around and realized that we were standing in the middle of everything (with our 8 children) and everybody else was sitting on bleachers watching. That was embarrassing.
5. Banff is my new favorite place. I'm pretty sure there is nothing more beautiful. We went for a hike and motivated Bo with Twizzlers. Actually he did great. Tucker got best hiker award, but everybody else was runner-up.
After the hike we had brunch at the Banff Springs Hotel. If there's anyway I can get back there I will stay there. It's amazing.
The other thing Banff has to offer is the candy store with every imaginable candy. My kids think Banff is just the candy store.
In fact, when we drove to Lake Louise later in the week, we stopped in Banff on the way back and only went to the candy store. They worked on their jawbreakers all week.
6. We ate in every meal (they are both phenomenal cooks. And they make their own salsa, tortillas, and jam.) except one, when we went to a pizza place. It was always a race to get Bo in bed by 7, at which time he turns into a dragon. Nobody wants to be around him when that happens. We accomplished that all but a handful of nights.
7. We went to Lake Louise one day. It was beautiful, but we just looked at it and left. Some kids have a hard time being interested in something just because it's beautiful. Plus, there was no candy store. We did, however, take a gondola up to the top to see some great views. It was freezing (in late July) and I had to buy a jacket. But, once again, gorgeous views.
8. It stays light until about 10 or 10:30. Jason and I got to go for some fun runs after we put the girls down. Last night when we got in at 8 and it was dark it felt bizarre.
9. We went for a hike along the Elbow River that offered some pretty awesome views. Later in the week Jason went fly fishing and got to enjoy it close up (along with the 16 inch Rainbow trout he caught).
10. The last night we were there we ate dinner over the fire. Reminiscent of my girl scout camp days, we enjoyed a tin foil dinner. We put ground beef, onion, carrots, and potatoes in tin foil. We put ears of corn with butter and ice cubes in tin foil too. It turned out great. And of course, we had my all-time favorite dessert, s'mores. I may or may not have eaten three. Or four. The kids played on the tree swing and we swatted Canadian mosquitos.
11. Because having the most fabulous house with a view of the Rockies isn't enough, they live a few miles from an amusement park. We visited Calaway Park one day and had the best time. They have every type of spinny, turning, motion-sickness-inducing ride that exists, which means the kids had a blast and the parents spent their time deciding who had to take them on the ride. I lucked out because I had Tucker, so I only had to ride the pirate ship.
12. In between Lake Louise and Banff is Johnston Canyon, which is home to a couple beautiful waterfalls. We stopped and hiked the canyon and had lunch at the top. There are a couple catwalks that hug the cliff on the side of the stream that offer some great views.
13. One afternoon I took the older three girls horseback riding. We went through the most gorgeous meadow with a view of the mountains and into a dense forest overlooking a river. Again, amazing views.
14. In the downtime we would go play in the river. It was very cold water, but they didn't even notice.
15. We spent all week looking for bears. We found none, but did spot a mountain goat or bighorn sheep or something in that family on the side of the road.
Wow, that was a long one. I'm sure I forgot something. But it was a really great, perfect trip. We contemplated buying the house that's for sale next to Sheri and Eric, but decided that it would be a little difficult to pull that off. Plus, it's good to be back home.
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