Canada is beautiful, eh!

Oh Canada, how I miss you! I honestly never would have thought I would feel that way after this trip. Before Levi started dating Shelby, my knowledge of Canada consisted of the fact that it was above the US, and the flag had a leaf on it. That's about it. Little did I know that it would be one of the most beautiful places I had ever visited! My only complaint is that I wanted to stay longer (and it took a little bit of time to get used to everything being in Celsius and meters)! So let's start at the beginning... My parents were kind enough to watch the older 4 kiddies so that left Jake, the babe, and I alone on our international adventure. Eli was a little trooper- by nature he is a pretty easygoing baby- and overall did really well, all things considered. We definitely did not let his schedule drive ours for the most part, leaving him to just catch a nap here or there and eat whenever and whatever he could, meaning he was a little more fussy than normal. And unfortunately he was sick the whole trip, bringing home a double ear infection as a souvenir, but as I said, all things considered, he really did pretty well. And going from 5 down to 1 is a real wonderful treat as a mom!

Jake and I flew straight to Calgary, meeting up with his brother Paul at the airport in Canada. The four of us then rented a car, hit up Costco, and headed up on a beautiful scenic drive to Banff. We stayed in the Banff Park Lodge, nothing spectacular, but right by a river with a trail and walking distance to all the shops, restaurants, etc. that you could need. That night we walked around the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel- a huge, beautiful, castle-like building.

We hiked down to Bow Falls, which looked much more spectacular in real life than it does in these pictures. That can be said for most things we saw- cameras just didn't do it justice. Everything was so beautiful!

That night we decided to trust the advice we got from Jake's boss and ate at the Elk & Oarsmen, sitting up on the roof, enjoying the view of the mountains around us. It was a little chilly, but Eli loved his fries and Jake ate an elk burger.

Even though it was cold, we decided ice cream at Cow's was a must...

And it did not disappoint! Jake and I love us some good ice cream!

The next morning, after we jogged in the cold weather, thankfully avoiding any wildlife, I shopped a little more and admired the cute little downtown of Banff and the surrounding mountains and the fresh mountain air.

We then drove up to Lake Louise, admiring the scenery along the way. The water color was amazing! Turquoise, blue, and beautiful! Have I mentioned yet that Canada was beautiful? Just checking...

Oh Lake Louise, so, so pretty...

The Fairmont at Lake Louise above, a little canoeing below...

Safe to say Eli was not a fan of the life vest...

So he just shut down and went to sleep...

What I like to call Eli, unimpressed...

After the minty green waters of Lake Louise, we then drove over to Moraine Lake...

The water color was amazing...

After the lakes, we had a very underwhelming lunch in Canmore, and then drove a long way to meet up with the rest of Jake's family at Waterton National Park. We definitely spent a lot of time driving on this trip, and luckily for Jake, cops on the highway were almost non-existent. Maybe Canadians just self-monitor better than us. Who knows. Definitely worked in Jake's favor. Good times on the road- finding out Tim Hortons actually specialized in donuts and flies (which seemed to be very prevalent in Canada), instead of burgers and fries, and seeing a moose from the car on our way into Waterton.

Lake Cameron at Waterton. Again, just beautiful...

Canoeing on some amazingly clear water...

Eli on the lookout for some bears...

Oh wait... I see one...

After the bear sighting, we checked out the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton, and admired the awesome view around back.

So fun to have these baby cousins together, and fun for Jake and I to be pretend like we were in the same stage as Luke and Liza with our one baby (although I do love my four other munchkins)! Lunch at the Prince of Wales...

After lunch, we had to leave the beauty of Waterton and head across farm country to the tiny town of Raymond, Alberta to check out the church where the reception was being held. Then it was off to Wal-Mart where I discovered that they unfortunately do not carry the same type of baby food as here in the US. Then we rushed to the hotel and got ready for our dinner that night...

 

Cutting the cake! There was a waterslide at our hotel that Jake and the boys put to good use on Levi's last night as a bachelor.

The weather was warm and sunny for wedding day at the pretty Cardston, Alberta Temple.

Loved this idea... broaches from a grandma or great grandma (or both) I believe were used in the bouquets...

Tyler drove all night to be there. So fun to be with so much family!

Jessica and I were kind of matching, mint shirts, tan skirts, and animal/snake print shoes...

Catching a nap...

After the temple, we had lunch and then Eli and I went back to the hotel to pack up. He loved the freedom to crawl around. Our room was huge- must have been the handicap room. He loved it and I, on this trip, had to get over the fact that my baby was going to crawl around on hotel floors. At least this one seemed really clean.

Such a cute boy!

The reception was cute and really pretty perfect!

Eli looks like a giant compared to these little girlies!

 

After the reception, we stayed and helped clean up and then Jake, Paul, Eli, and I hit the road again and headed back to Calgary. Four different hotels over four nights. Lots of driving, but oh so worth it. So beautiful. So wonderful to see family. Such a special event to be gathered for. So happy to have Shelby in the family. Such an amazing trip! Ended kind of eventfully when we stopped to help a lost French lady find her way and got to tour Calgary in the late night, all while my bladder was about to explode. Good times, good times! Another interesting fact from the trip- we learned that Canadians use the term racist to refer to the way people speak, rather than referencing skin color. Like when Jake was told by a worker somewhere, "Not to be racist, but I thought people from Texas would have a big southern accent." So hopefully no one is offended by my use of the term "eh" in the title! Interesting things you learn when you travel!

 

The kids survived with us gone, and more importantly my parents seemed to have survived too. They were a little tired and caught the cold that Cole and Jada and Eli had and went home remembering why they had children when they were young. We brought home some cute shirts from Cow's for the kids featuring the Amoozing Spider-Cow and Hello Cowy, as well as some Canadian candy bars for the family to try. We ended our first night home with a little Taste of Canada, candy bar style.

It was really hard to come home, which I guess is the sign of a good trip. We were a little exhausted from all the travel, but took away such great memories from the beautiful place that is Canada!

Shifting gears completely to a non-international focus... the baby is all over the place lately, leaving messes in his wake!

Jada and I got our traditional pre-kindergarten pedicures before our trip, with matching toes sporting her new favorite color- teal...

And now we wait for school! Tomorrow is meet the teacher and Monday is the big day! Combine that with Summer of SEALS and a trip to New Orleans for the wedding open house and we've got some busy fun activities on the horizon!