Friends, Snow Dogs and Fun!

Last week our friends from Dubuque, the Arlings, came to Edmonton for a visit! It was so so good to see familiar faces and spend 6 days with them! They flew in on Wednesday afternoon. Max couldn't wait to see the boys so he packed up his backpack after the afternoon recess so all he had to do was grab his coat, bag and run out the door! He came sprinting to the car and was pretty pumped to see Henry waiting for him. The kids picked up right where they left off almost 2 years ago when we moved here.

Thursday was Max's birthday so the kids went to school for the morning and I picked them up at lunch. We spent the morning at the Italian grocery store and driving around the city a little bit. In the afternoon we went swimming and skating at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park and that night Max requested Peter's famous pizza for his birthday celebration! Chris and I took Max and Mya to their conferences while Peter and Kate made us pizza back at home.



Friday morning we got up bright and early, had donuts for Harrison's birthday and then hit the road to Banff! It was super foggy the first 2 hours of the trip and I was so bummed because I wanted them to be able to see the mountains. Then, at exactly the time you can see the mountains, the skies opened up and it was a gorgeous, sunny day in Southern Alberta!

We drove to Canmore, had a quick lunch and then headed to our first adventure. Peter and Kate treated us to a Dog Sledding adventure! It was honestly one of the coolest things I've ever done. The guides were amazing, the dogs were amazing, the weather was amazing, the views were amazing...just everything. The kids all go to "drive" the dog sleds, knew all the names of the dogs on their line, and got to feed them all treats at the end. My kids were so sad to leave...they wanted to take the dogs with them! Very very cool thing and we're so thankful that we got to do it!




We spent Friday night at our condo enjoying the view and cooking dinner together. Saturday morning we got up and hit the ski hill..Sunshine Village in Banff. It was again a cloudy day, but around 3:30, the skies opened up and it was gorgeous! The kids all had a fantastic day skiing. With the temperatures we've been having, I wasn't sure there would be enough snow, but it was great.



Sunday we did some shopping, ate lunch and drove home. The drive home is so long from Banff. On the way there at least you can see the mountains for the last hour and a half, but the way home is sooooo boring! We just unpacked, the Arlings packed back up and went to bed! They left Monday back to Dubuque. It was an awesome week!

Birthday party and gymnastics meet

Yesterday afternoon was a little crazy at our house! I accidentally double booked so we were going in all directions. Mya had a gymnastics competition and I missed the e-mail with the time of her age group and it ended up being at the exact same time as Max's birthday party! We went back and forth about rescheduling the party, but we ended up keeping it the same and it all went off without a hitch.

Chris took Mya to her meet in Sherwood Park (30 minutes from our house). He missed the last meet because of swimming lessons so he got to see this one. She did great! She competed in all 4 events and did very well. She wasn't able to complete the mill circle so that's why her bar routine was a little lower, but overall she ended 2nd and was so happy!



I went rock climbing with Max and 4 of his buddies from school. They climbed for 2 hours and then we came back to our house for pizza, gifts and cake! He had a lot of fun and it was good to get to know his friends a little bit better.


And if this card doesn't scream 9 year old boy, I don't know what does!

Maui

We got back 2 weeks ago from a glorious trip to Maui! Neither Chris or I had been to Hawaii and when we knew people who had gone from Edmonton more than once since we've lived her, we began to look into it. Turns out, it's actually an affordable vacation when you leave from this side of the continent! I'll try to give the condensed version of the trip, but it may be difficult. We did a little bit of Hawaii 101 with the kids before we left, but we definitely learned TONS more while we were there.



We flew out Saturday the 20th and went through Vancouver. No issues on the way there...got in at midnight Hawaii time which was 3am for our bodies! We got our rental and headed to our condo that I rented off of VRBO. We stayed at The Kamaole Sands in Kihei. It had a full kitchen complete with everything we could ever want. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a deck overlooking the ocean where we could watch sunsets and a closet full of everything beach related we could ever want! Beach chairs, boogie boards, umbrellas, sand toys, beach towels, mats, etc. We ate out for one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner. Otherwise we cooked at the condo and grilled out at the resort.



Sunday morning we woke up, Chris got me the most delicious hazelnut coffee made in Hawaii and we headed off to do our first adventure...whale watching! The humpback whales all migrate to the Maui shores every year from December through March to have their young. We headed off on a big raft and it ended up being a super windy day so you can guess what happened next?? We all got sick (minus Chris). It was still a really cool experience..even if I had to look up from puking to see whales breaching! We saw lots of whales, but I'm not sure I'll be able to convince the kids to ever get on a boat again. (we were getting soaked so no pictures on this whale watch!) The rest of the day Sunday we spent chilling out, going on our Costco run and swimming at the resort pool.

Monday we headed across the street from our condo to Kamaole Sands Beach. The kids had a great day boogie boarding, building a giant sandcastle, and playing on the beach!



Tuesday we drove down to Wailea and went to Ulua Beach. Every beach was fantastic. I read beforehand that no one can pick the best beach in Maui because they are all amazing! We did some snorkeling and the kids did more playing in the ocean and building sand castles.



Wednesday we drove North to Ka'anapali and hit up Black Rock Beach. It wasn't easy to find, but we eventually found it and only had to pay $40 for 3 hours to park there! Luckily, we bought the girls a Hawaiian dress for their dolls and were able to get our parking validated. It was at this beach that Ivy declared she no longer liked "salted water". She's a pool girl at heart for sure:) Max and Mya enjoyed the waves and I was able to do some snorkeling here as well. At one point I felt a touch claustrophobic because I was surrounded by so many fish! Another gorgeous day at the beach. On our way home we spotted some whales off shore so Chris pulled over and we got a show! We saw lots of whales at various points in the trip...definitely a hightlight! We made it back to our hotel for the 3pm pool party. Ivy, of course, was in true Ivy form and knew all the kids' names at the pool in the first hour. (when you get to the whale pictures if you click on it, you may be able to see it a little bigger on your screen)





Thursday we drove south to Big Beach in Makena State Park. This was a pretty cool place to go and we saw a few enormous turtles swim by, but I don't think I'd go here again. The waves were enormous and the undertow was harsh. The lifeguard was warning people constantly about being out too far and it felt uncomfortable being in the water! Grandma Pat would have been a wreck!



Friday we went to the pool for most of the day because by this point the kids were all pretty much over the sand! Friday night we went to Wailea to the Grand Wailea Resort and went to a Luau. It was an amazing show. We did the traditional pig roast, had a great buffet, and an awesome show. The kids were all on stage learning the hula!



Saturday was our last full day in Maui. We flew out at 11:20pm. We did a little swimming in the morning, ate a bunch of leftovers and headed to Lahaina for some shopping. It was neat to walk around the old town, see the famous Banyan Tree and buy some souvenirs. After shopping we packed up the condo, cleaned a bit and headed to the airport. Chris and I spent our time on the flight making sure the kids were comfortable so neither of us slept all night. The kids did as well as could be expected, but it was not easy. All in all, an awesome trip!