Banff!

My parents were here two weekends ago and we had the best time. They flew in Thursday afternoon, so Ivy and I picked them up at the airport and then we went and got M & M when they were done with school! The kids were elated to see them...it had been almost 5 months since we had seen them. I remember a time when Max was little and we lived 1.5 hours away from my parents and my mom had a hard time making it three weeks without seeing him! It stinks that we live so far away, but we're thankful for any time we can get.



On Saturday we took off early in the morning with our Tim Horton's coffee and our Cobb's bread goodies for the mountains. All 7 of us squished in the Acadia and it made for a semi-long ride, but we all managed okay and it was worth it to all be in one car together. We pulled into Banff right at lunch time and had a great lunch and then headed for some sight seeing! The first place we went was Bow Falls. We checked out the falls and hiked around a little bit to see the views!




After the falls, we headed to the Banff Gondola on Sunshine mountain. After seeing that the prices were $40/adult, my mom and I decided to hang back and drink some coffee at the highest Starbucks in Canada:) My dad and Chris took the kids up and saw some amazing views.




Next we headed to Lake Louise. It was about a 30 minute drive to Lake Louise, but it was well worth it. The lake was still frozen (and will be until June) but it was still breathtaking. We walked around a bit and then went inside the Fairmont Hotel. It is a historic hotel that overlooks the lake. I would love to stay there sometime!


Chris had to take a pic of the John Deere gator at Lake Louise


We spent the night in a really nice condo. Ate dinner, had some wine and played 500. Perfect end to the day!

Sunday we woke up and headed to Mount Norquay. Since my mom and I didn't take the gondola ride, Chris thought we needed to get her to the top of a mountain! We found some wildlife up there...some deer, mountain goats and a prairie dog! The views were awesome once again. Afterwards, we headed downtown Banff for brunch. We did some shopping, got ice cream and hit the road! It was a long drive home, but at least it wasn't snowing like it was on our way there! My mom and dad had to leave Monday:( My dad took the kids to school Monday morning. A friend of mine said her heart was breaking when Mya ran out into the hall after my dad for her 3rd hug to say bye:) The next time we see them will only be 3 months instead of 5 so that's what we're looking forward to!

You can see the goats in the background of this picture below


Until next time...