Every summer Calgary has a 3 day, outdoor, country music festival and every summer I tell Brad I want to go, but for some reason, we never make it. So this year when Jess told me she was thinking of getting Adam tickets for his birthday, I was on it like white on rice haha since it falls on the weekend after MY birthday every year, I used it as an excuse to finally convince Brad into going. We realized all 3 days was going to be far too expensive and nobody wanted the 2 hour drive home Sunday night so we opted to get passes for just Saturday, spend the night, and then drive home Sunday. Country Thunder did not disappoint.

We drove up early Saturday morning (with a quick stop for McDonald’s breakfast) and were super excited to check out all the vendors and promoters. First stop was our hotel. We checked in, dropped our bags in our room and called an Uber to take us to the park. We got through security and were surprised to see how empty the park was. There was a little stage and a whole lot of food trucks but the people seemed to be missing. We stopped at the drink tent, where our ID had to be verified on a wrist band before we could even get in line for drink tickets, then finally after 2 lines of waiting, we got in a third so we could actually get some drinks. They really make ya work for those beverages haha We walked a little farther up a hill and BAM, people everywhere! We had found the main stage and the huge crowds.

We claimed a space on the hill with some blankets to save our spots for the day and then we were off to roam the grounds. We hit up a tent that had us do shots, post a picture on Instagram, and tag the company for a chance to win a meet and greet with Toby Keith, we didn’t win but had fun entering!

We wasted no time in finding the Fireball tent that Jess had been excited to look for and they supplied us with some more shots and pictures and even some free paraphernalia.

Next was a tent with, you guessed it, more free shots, and a magnetic dartboard that you could win another Toby Keith meet and greet but all we got from that one was a free shirt. And by “we” I mean Brad won the shirt and I took it haha we also tried our hand at ladderball. Brad and I failed miserably but Jess and Adam won drink cozies. By this time we decided it was time to eat. We hit a couple of the overpriced food trucks (I paid $10 for a hot dog!) and tried to gather ourselves. This is when we noticed the mechanical bull. No way were the guys passing that up and before I knew it Jess and paid my $2 entry free, giving me no choice. This turned out to be absolutely hysterical! Not to brag or anything, but out of the 4 of us, I lasted the longest. You can call me Lane now haha

We slowly started making our way back to our spot on the hill, stopping for some photo ops and a couple more tents and of course, free samples!

Back in our spot we enjoyed watching Madelyn Merlot and Restless Heart. Brad found it hilarious that I knew every song by Restless Heart and teased me the whole time about being old. What can I say, the band got together the same year I was born and I have an old country music soul.

Adam and I had been eyeing up these buckets of mini donuts that we saw everyone walking around with all day. Someone in front of us sat down with and overflowing bucket and it was our breaking point, we HAD to have them so off me and Jess went to find them. They were soooo worth the hunt and after overindulging in them we decided to try and get a little closer to the stage for when Dean Brody came on. It was a good plan in theory, but in life, it was terrible. People were pushy and rude, it was hard to see over the people standing in front of us and Jess got hit in the head with a flying red solo cup. We lasted one song before we hiked back up the hill to our blankets haha

Finally it was time for the main event….TOBY KEITH!! I was so excited, I love his music. We spent the next couple hours cheering, singing, and dancing in our seats. Oh and freezing. The sun had gone down and it got cold, I was very thankful for Jessica’s blankets.

When it was all said and done we ubered it back to our hotel, ordered some Boston Pizza through “skip the dishes” and hit the hay, totally exhausted.

It was soooo fun but I’m not sure how people do it for 3 days. My liver and bank account would never survive haha I will however, do my best to get back next year for Jason Aldean!

C

After our week in Yellowstone, we spent one whole day at home before Brad and I (kid free) turned around and headed to Brad’s cousin’s lake house in Sandpoint, Idaho to celebrate my birthday.

We headed out Friday afternoon after work and spent the 5 hour drive DYING of heat. The air conditioning in our car isn’t great to begin with and it was having a hard time keeping up with the record breaking +40 temperatures. To make it worse, it only seemed to work at its full potential if the car was driving, and guess what? We had a 45 minute wait at the BC/US boarder. By the time we arrived at Mike’s I was a sweaty, overheated mess haha luckily for us, Mike and his boys greeted us with open arms and cold beverages. We spent the rest of the evening bbqing and catching up until way past my bed time.

Saturday (my birthday) was our only full day so we crammed as many activities in as we could. After our morning coffee me and Brad hit the lake for a morning paddle board. I love paddle boarding but don’t own one so I never get to do it. I thought it was a great way to kick off my birthday.

After this, Brad was eager to get on the boat, so we loaded up a cooler and hit the lake. Brad and Mike’s boys did some surfing and a lot of hassling me to give it a try but they had no luck. We eventually had to pull into the marina for gas and decided to also have some lunch before heading back out on the water.

The boys were relentless about getting me to surf so finally on the way back, I caved! I could only be heckled by teenage boys for so long haha With Mike’s help and coaching I did pretty good! I’d never admit it to any of them, but I was happy I did it haha

We took a short break so Mike could run to town for a car part so Brad took the opportunity to fish and I payed out on the dock and got my tan on. When Mike got back we switched over to the pontoon boat and went cliff jumping and rope swinging. Brad and Mike’s boy Maccoy worked really hard and both mastered a back flip off the rope swing!

By this time it was getting later in the day and we were ready to head back to the house. Mikes neighbors stopped over and Brad was more than happy to make them a homemade drink he had concocted while Mike prepared dinner.

While dinner cooked the group took the guns out and shot some tannerite off the lake. I couldn’t believe how loud it was and we actually could feel the heat and the blow back. It was so cool!

After dinner, which was fantastic, Mike and Brad surprised me with a birthday cake and we spent the rest of the night visiting around a campfire. It was a perfect end to the day.

Sunday morning we tidied up and hit the road for the long drive home. The one day there was totally worth the ten hours of driving, it was one of my best birthdays yet! Thanks for having us Mike!

C

The last 3 days of our trip were filled with…you guessed it, more driving!

Monday we decided to head to Jackson Hole Wyoming, it looked like a shorter distance on the park map and google maps said it was only 2 hours which we didn’t think was so bad, so we made a plan to hit a geyser Robyn was dying to see, and old Faithful on the way.

They first stop was more of a lake than a geyser but it’s a big attraction in the park and it probably took us longer to find somewhere to park than to actually look at it. It was quite the sight!

There was a lookout across the way where you could get a Birdseye view of it but it was a pretty big hike and none of us were interested, so we settled for Brad hoisting Robyn on his shoulders and her taking pictures with everyone’s phones haha better than nothing.

Back into the vehicle and off to finally see Old Faithful. We made it right on time! We found pretty decent spots and only had to wait for about 15 minutes before the world famous geyser started spewing

We were pretty pleased with the sight but the kids were eager to get going to Jackson.

The short drive we thought it was, wasn’t. It was easily just as long, if not longer than the day before and we were all STARVING by the time we finally pulled in. Our first stop was somewhere to eat. We tried going into an old saloon looking restaurant, complete with wenches, but were told we needed reservations so down the street we went.

We decided on a pizza place a few streets over. It wasn’t your normal pepperoni kind of pizza place, we ended up ordering some unique flavours but it was delicious and the kitchen was wide open so you could watch them make it from scratch and cook it in the wood burning ovens. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite filling enough and we were still on the hungry side when we left. Dylan however, thought the pizza was worth the hours of driving haha

Our next stop was the town square to see the archways made of antlers. We’ve seen so many pictures of them and couldn’t wait to see them ourselves. They did not disappoint! There was four, one on every corner of the park.

We spent the next little while browsing through the stores and buying hoodies and other souvenirs. We couldn’t believe how expensive the town was and started referring to it as “the Beverly Hills of Wyoming”. We had a long drive ahead of us so we didn’t get to stay as long as I would’ve liked. I found Jackson Hole really cool, everything looks like an old western. Totally my jam.

We headed home on a different route that took us around the park that shaved a little time off our drive, but it was still close to midnight when we got back to camp and we couldn’t wait to get to bed. Brad and I swapped beds with his parents because Bob woke up that morning with lung issues from sleeping in the cold tent. So we froze in the tent, listening to wolves howl all night, while the kids had a sleepover with grandma and grandpa in the heated camper.

Tuesday was our last full day and we decided on a camp day. The furthest we drove was 10 minutes into West Yellowstone to the wildlife sanctuary. We got to see some pretty cool stuff including wolves and big grizzlies.

A quick stop for some ice cream and we headed back to camp for a peaceful day of swimming, playing dice, lawn darts and dinner. A day with no driving was exactly what we all needed. Brad and I settled into the tent for a second night and were very thankful it was a warmer night and the wolves kept quiet haha

Wednsday was leaving day. There were people lining up for our spot so we got packed up as quick as we could and hit the road for our 7 hour drive. We made a stop about an hour or so in to the drive for some gas station food to tide us over until we hit great falls for an early supper. We promised the kids the wonders of Golden Corral and I’m pretty sure it was the highlight of their trip, they were hilarious! I’ve never seen them eat so much or be so excited about a restaurant, Bob made a comment about how we could’ve just camped in the parking lot for a week and the kids would’ve been just as happy haha We left over full and ready for our own beds. We bee lined for the border and made it home at a pretty decent time. We were soooo happy to have showers and relax the night away.

Nothing makes you appreciate your own house and space like 8 people being crammed in close quarters for 6 days haha

C

 

If you like lots of driving, Yellowstone is the place for you! Our first day on the road we loggged almost 8 hours of driving, and didn’t even make it to Yellowstone haha our first destination was the Lewis and Clark Caverns about 2 hours from the park. It was only supposed to be a 6 hour drive but with food, gas and pee breaks, it was longer. We found a crappy little campground on the side of the highway for the night and were totally outraged when it turned out to be a $50 fee for one night. This campground had absolutely NOTHING to offer, not even fire pits. Oh and any children under 16 had to be constantly supervised. Needless to say, I threw a bit of a fit and let them know what I thought of their prices, lack of amenities and ridiculous rules. No way was I escorting my 15 and 13 year old boys around an open field they called a campground. Word of advice, don’t ever camp behind the gas station in Cardwell, Montana. Unfortunately we were in a hurry to catch the last cave tour of the day so we had no time to find another place to sleep.

The caves were a quick drive down the road and we made it just in time for the last time slot of the day. It was quite the hike from the parking lot to the cave entrance but the view on the way was beautiful.

After a little history lesson from our guide, we headed down into the huge caves. It was so totally worth the hike to get there. We spent the next few hours heading deeper and deeper into caves and learning about stalegmites and stalecites until we came out the bottom about 300 ft lower than we went in. It was easily one of my favourite parts of the trip.

The next morning we were on the road bright and early so we could find a camp spot for the rest of the week. We found available spots in the park but decided to stay at the Bakers Hole campground just outside of the West Yellowstone town. We loved it there! We found a prime spot by the river and set up camp. And guess what! It was only $60 for 4 nights! We couldn’t resist comparing it to the last place for the rest of the trip haha After a quick lunch we loaded in the vehicle and headed into the park to see what we could find, wild animals were at the top of our list. The park is beautiful but I couldn’t believe how spread out all the main attractions were.

We drove for over an hour before finally seeing smoke from a geyser and decided to pull over and check it out. Turned out to be a little boardwalk tour around a few geysers and pools, the kids thought it was pretty awesome but the smell, oh the smell! The sulphur made our stomachs churn.

We continued on until we found the legendary Old Faithful. Just our luck, it had just gone off and wouldn’t be going off again for another 90 minutes. We did some browsing in the gift shops but decided we didn’t want to wait so we headed back to camp to play lawn darts and swim in the river before eating dinner and calling it a night.

We woke up Sunday morning to cloudy skies but decided to stick with our plan to head to Cody, Wyoming to see the ghost town. We weren’t on the road long when it started to pour. It made it hard to see and since we only have one windshield wiper, it was even worse. A couple hours into the drive we finally saw a buffalo! We pulled off the road and Brad, Dylan and I braved the cold rain to run down the road and get some pictures. Once back in the vehicle, we weren’t far up the road when we saw a sign for a mud volcano, the rain had stopped so we pulled in. While admiring the bubbling mud we heard there were a ton of buffalo just up the hill a bit and it was totally worth the hike!

Back on the road we finally exited the east entrance of the park and headed for Cody. I spent the whole next hour gawking at the red mountainous hoodoo looking landscapes. It was like something out of an old western. I loved it. By the time we hit the Old Trail Town the kids were more than happy to get out of the vehicle and check out the old houses and buildings.

I grew up on Loise Lamar books and old westerns so this town was right up my alley but the highlight was seeing the grave of the legendary Buffalo Bill!

We also strolled through a house that was once a hide out for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, seriously so cool.

We finished up just as a tour bus full of kids pulled up and I figured it was perfect timing. We hit a traffic jam on the way back thanks to a couple buffalo that thought they owned the road.

We made it to camp about 9:30pm for a late dinner and then off to bed as everyone was exhausted from a long day in the car.

More of our Yellowstone adventures to come!

C

 

 

My dad has been wanting to do a bike trip of some kind with us for about the last 3 summers and it never seems to work out, so finally we found a couple free days and we made a plan. Bright and early Saturday morning we headed off on the bikes for an over night adventure.

My step mom Kelly had never been over Logan’s Pass and I was super excited to take her to one of our favourite places. We made sure we pulled over at our favourite stops on “Going to the sun road” so she could take in the total beauty of it. She loved it, but really, how could you not?

By the time we got to the other side and through West Glacier, we were starving. Luckily the town we were staying in was also home of our favourite biker pub/bar so we headed straight there for some grub. If you’re ever going through Coram, you need to stop at Packers Roost, the food is to die for!

After lunch, and a good ten minute search for Kelly’s sunglasses that we couldn’t find, we went to check in to the little, one bedroom cabins we had rented for the night. Speaking of to die for, these cabins were the cutest! I could’ve stayed for a week. The only problem they were located next to a highway instead of a lake.

We went to our separate cabins, dropped our luggage off and then met up in my parents cabin to decide what to do next. As I was sitting on the couch I looked over and there was Kelly’s sunglasses! Turns out I had put them on in the restaurant thinking they were mine, and the whole time we were searching for them, they were on my face! Haha I felt pretty silly about that one. There was a little outdoor family fun center right around the corner so we decided to spend our afternoon there and were pleasantly surprised at how much fun we had. We raced go carts, almost died of heat stroke playing mini golf, and laughed until we cried on the bumper boats.

Kelley and I left completely soaked from getting caught in the fountain at the bumper boats and had to change as soon as we got back to the cabins, but it was sure refreshing. We spent the evening sitting on our front deck, visiting, enjoying some drinks and ordering pizza from the restaurant across the road. It was an awesome end to a fun day

Sunday morning we stopped at a gas station restaurant for breakfast and were blown away at the portion sizes. We almost couldn’t finish them!

We headed home over Mariah’s pass this time, which is flatter than Logan’s, but equally gorgeous. One quick stop at the “Snow Slip” pub and then it was straight to the boarder.

I was 100 percent exhausted by the time we got home but it was totally worth it!

C

 

A couple weeks ago we headed over the boarder to Two Medicine Campground in East Glacier Montana for a weekend camping trip with the kids and Adam and Jess and their kids. Because it’s a national park we knew it would be busy and fill up fast so we woke the kids up at the crack of dawn and were on the road by 6:30am. The kids were not impressed but we were sure grateful we did because we barely found two spots together and the rest of the spots were full by 10am! I’ve never been to this Campground before and I was immediately in love. We were directly across from the lake, it was a 30 second walk through some trees and it was beautiful.

After we got unloaded and set up the boys headed off to fish and Reegan, Robyn and Paislee were antsy to get their kayaks on the lake but first had to take them to the boat inspection site to be checked over.

They passed inspection and were off to the water. Jess and I blew up dingys and headed to the lake ourselves. This is how our entire day went. I mean our whole ENTIRE day, Jess had a beautiful sunburn to show for it haha After dinner we lit a fire and made camp fire treats and the kids played games that turned into a terribly horrific wedgie game. The things kids do for fun these days haha

The next day was a little over cast and as the boys did more fishing, us girls took a nice little hike to a waterfall.

I think the girls were expecting some majestical, tropical, raging waterfall so they were a little disappointed when they had to view it from afar. I loved it anyway.

The guys had heard about a little hike that apparently led to a honey hole of a fishing spot so after lunch the ten of us gathered lawn chairs and snacks and started hiking. I should clarify, when I say hike, I mean a couple km walk through the woods where the path slightly inclines. Nothing an actual hiker would bat an eye at, but beautiful nonetheless. It was a lovely couple hours of fresh air and conversation. Adam even caught a fish!

Our last evening consisted of more fishing and of course a campfire, the games were a lot tamer, fortunately.

Our last morning we woke up just in time to pack up and hit the road before the parks noon check out time. Adam told us about a restaurant down the road that served deep fried stuffed French toast so obviously we had to stop. Sadley we were too late for breakfast and French toast so we ended up just ordering regular lunch items which were still totally delicious.

Because it was a national park, the kids weren’t overly thrilled about rules like having to ride their bikes on the paved paths or the 11pm noise curfew but I spent the whole weekend in awe of how beautiful it was and I’ll definitely be going back the first chance I get.

 

 

Oh how I love summer!! I don’t know if its because I was born in August or what, but I adore this time of year. I’m a total sun worshiper and there’s nothing I love more than finding some water and basking in the sun on a hot summer day. My days off this year have been spent in our soft sided pool, getting my tan on.

What’s not to love about summer though? Other than the mosquitoes haha it’s possibly the most relaxing time of year, everyone seems to hit a “summer mode” where it’s like constant holidays, around here anyway. Bed times go out the window for my kids, they’ve been sleeping in until almost noon, my house is for sure messier with kids home every day and who wants to stay inside and clean? Not me! Weekdays are filled with friends and swimming

And weekends are packed full of fun activities like camping, days/evenings at the lake, and one of our favourites, motorbike rides. The boys usually do a lot of dirt biking, but Brad and Briggs had their dirt bikes stolen out of our shed a few weeks back so now the boys have been spending a lot of time at the local golf course, working in their swing.

What would summer be without some soft ball action?? Every Monday evening me, Brad and our boys play on a team with friends and family, in our towns rec league. It’s a sport we all love and it’s so fun to get out and be active in the community.And of course summer always, always brings fireworks! Our kids love packing up blankets and treats and watching a late night firework show.

I don’t know about anyone else, but our summers book up sooooo fast! We only have one weekend this entire summer that doesn’t already have something planned. I’m really excited about the activities we’ve planned but unfortunately it makes the summers fly by and we often miss out on things because it’s too hard to do everything. I could easily use another month of summer around here.

Anyone else have favourite summer activities? Let’s hear them!

C

As I mentioned in a previous post, Explore Park deserves its own blog, so here it is!

It was the only excursion we did on our trip and it was well worth the nearly $400 (Canadian) that we paid for the 2 of us. At first I thought that was pretty pricey but it was an all day excursion and included our ride to and from our resort, a buffet lunch and a photo package. Our group of 6 booked all together and then split the cost so that everyone could take advantage of the photo package. It was sooo worth it! Prepare yourself for a post of mostly pictures because they’re all so great and I had a hard time choosing just a couple. There’s cameras set up everywhere in this park and all you have to do is scan your wristbands barcode and strike a pose. We turned into the biggest posers around haha Xplore is one of many eco parks in the Mayan Riviera which means it’s very earth friendly and they check your sunscreen and bug spray upon arrival to make sure it’s environmentally friendly. Even the dishes they use are all glass and real silverware as opposed to plastic so they can be washed and reused.

As soon as we got checked in and given our helmets we were off to the “heart” of the park. This is the very Center and every path in the park eventually crosses here. It was also our first photo op

It took us a few tries to figure out where we were supposed to be looking for the cameras and there’s more than one picture of us looking in the wrong direction hahaThere’s handy boards telling you which activities are open, full or just moderately busy. We decided on the amphibious vehicles first and had to wait in a little bit of a line up before we were loaded into a glorified golf cart made to look like an ATV. Ours seemed to be the slow one of the pack but we still had a blast driving through the jungly paths and through the watery underground caves.

The trail ended sooner than we wanted but we were excited for the next activity. We quickly decided on the zip lining. It was pretty much the whole reason we chose this park. We got a quick lesson in how to hold on, which way to lean safely and how to land on the other side and then we were off! Unfortunately it required a lot of walking and hiking and stair climbing which we were not prepared for. Let me just point out, I am TERRIFIED of heights so I did my best not to freak out or look down until I was safely at the top. The views and the adrenaline rush were one hundred percent worth the heart palpitations!

Even scarier than the zip lines, was the suspension bridge, for me anyway. I did not like it one bit. I waited for everyone but Bradley to cross before I would step foot on it. I stopped long enough to take a couple pictures and then I had to hurry off. I’m a huge chicken, I know haha

The last zip line of the circuit was my favourite. We sat in little hammocks and zipped into some incredibly refreshing water. After hours in the hot Mexican sun, this was sweet relief.

By this time we had worked up an appetite so we went to the buffet for some of the best food I have ever had! Oh. My. Goodness. We ate ourselves silly. We also had started overheating again so we were totally ready for the last 2 activities that were water based. We walked and walked for what seemed like an hour, and finally made it to the under ground paddle rafts. We could choose double rafts or single rafts and we each chose single. We strapped little paddles to our hands and off we went. It quickly turned into a little race between Adam and I. I made sure to gloat as I pulled in the lead. We spent the next 20 minutes or so paddling through the caves and hitting all the camera spots. Every single one of us had sore arms by the end of it and I happily pointed out that I arrived to the ending point ahead of every one else. I may or may not have gently nudged the raft of an unknown couple out of the way to get this title haha

Last but not least was the cave swimming. I loved every minute of it and was so excited for it that I belly flopped right into the water. Some parts were lit up by underwater lights which made the water look really cool. We also saw quite a few bats on the ceilings! We took our time splashing around, drowning each other and of course, posing haha at the end of the caves we swam through a water fall into a huge opening that looks waaaay up to the zipliners, then another waterfall and we were out. This might have been my favourite part of the day

By the end of the day we were exhausted! We still had a few hours to kill so we did the hammock zipline again, hit up the all day smoothie bar (included in the price) and took a nap in some hammocks. I couldn’t wait to see the photos from the day. There were so many different places with cameras set up, I knew they were going to be hilarious

Overall, this excursion was well, well worth the money. The price included everything we needed (except water shoes, we brought our own) and there was so much to do! I probably could’ve done without the rafts but still a fun experience. The zip lining was totally different than the ones Brad and I did in Peurta Vallarta a few years before and I found myself constantly comparing Xplore to those ones. Xplore is very touristy and commercialized with crowds everywhere. The ones we did in PV  were literally on an island, in a jungle, with about 10 other people. It was more authentic where Xplore was more amusement park.  However, don’t let that discourage you, I still had a fantastic day and would totally recommend it to anyone!

C

Camping is Brad’s very favourite summer activity, mine, not so much. Unless it’s 30 above and there’s a lake. This past weekend had a lake and a lot of rain. Needless to say, it was not my ideal weekend getaway.

We arrived about lunchtime on Friday with Brad’s parents and our friends Cody and Cara. It wasn’t terrible weather but it wasn’t as warm as I like. We set up camp quickly and headed out fishing. Mostly just the men fished and ya woman sat around gabbing.

After a while of nobody catching anything we went back to camp for some bbq burgers and a fire. As the weather got colder, we went into my in laws camper to spend the night playing dice and card games.

Saturday morning we woke up to clouds and rain. My worst camping nightmare. Cara and the boys headed out for more fishing and Viv and I hunkered down in our campers where we spent most of the day reading and napping. Eventually everyone else came back with a couple fish in hand! Just as we were cooking up fresh fish and smokies, Ryan and Rachel arrived with a new nephew Tynan.  We ate lunch (I finally tried fish!) and we loaded up for a drive to castle falls. My father in law tried some fly fishing but the falls were going way too fast for any fishing to be done. Instead we started a debate of who should jump into the freezing rapids first. Before we knew it, Cody just took a leap! That started it. In went Brad. Rachel and I had been debating it but neither of us had swim suits. Next, Cara went with Cody (his second time) so we decided we better go too. We both took off our bras and pants and took the blind leap in just shirts and underwear.

As soon as I hit the water I regretted it haha I don’t know what we were thinking jumping in fresh mountain water on a cold rainy day haha I almost couldn’t catch my breath enough to get out of the water it was just that cold. Despite the probable hypothermia, it was totally worth it, we had so much fun! We tried and tried to convince Ryan but he wasn’t having it so back to camp we went for bbq steak and potatoes and an evening of visiting around the fire.

Sunday morning was my day! It was sunny and hot! Ryan and Rachel had vanished in the night, which we found out later was due to sleeping issues, but Cara and the boys were up early to try their hand at fishing again. Unfortunately they once again had no luck. Brad’s Dad came back not feeling well so while he napped, Brad, me and Cody and Cara set off on a walk to take in the gorgeous mountain views.

Cody and Cara had to leave soon for Cody’s work and my in laws left so Bob could be sick in the comfort of his own home, so that left Brad and I a few hours to ourselves which we filled with fishing and floating on the lake. This was what I had been waiting for all weekend! I was so sad when it was time for us to leave.

The rain sucked but the company mixed with the fresh air and breathtaking scenery made up for it. I never get tired of the mountains.

C

The ending of vacation is always so bittersweet. By the last couple days I was ready to head home, I missed the kids and I was pretty exhausted, yet at the same time I did not want to leave paradise. Who really ever does though?

Sunday was our last actual day there and it was pretty much the same as the last 2. Brad, Paula and I headed to the beach after breakfast for one last ocean swim.

Then it was back to the pool for an afternoon at the swim up bar and floating around.

We did switch it up a bit by going to the buffet for lunch instead of the snack bar by the pool haha

Adam had been dying all week to participate in the 4:00 crazy games at one of the other pools and he finally got his chance! He was totally hilarious to watch in the dance competition and he even won the belly flop contest haha the rest of us had a great time hootin, hollerin and cheering him on.

That night we had our last a la carte dinner booked at the Mediterranean restaurant, but it wasn’t until 9:30 so we decided to go to the hacienda one last time to finish our souvenir shopping.

Then it was off to dinner! I’ve never been to a Mediterranean restaurant before and it was pretty interesting how they come to every table and cut your meat right off the skewer. I tried just about every kind of meat there was including lamb, which was surprisingly delicious!

We all called it an early night after dinner because we were beat and had a long day ahead of us.

Monday morning we grabbed breakfast on the buffet and boarded our bus to Cancún at 9am. I was a little sad to be heading home but enjoyed the scenery on the hour long drive.

By the time we checked our bags and got through security it was lunch time and Paula and I realized we had spent a week in Mexico and had not eaten one taco! So we sought out a burrito bar for us 2 and Brad and the rest ate ate a burger joint next door. We thouroughly enjoyed the biggest burritos of our lives! I had seen a sign for a margaritaville and vowed I was not leaving until I found it. It took a little searching but Jess and I eventually found it and my husband was not entirely thrilled I spent $40 Canadian on a beach towel. In my defence, it was $26 American haha

Soon after we wee on our plane heading home (a Disney “Frozen” plane actually) and around 6pm we were back in Calgary. I’d like to say safely but because it was so windy, we had the scariest landing! I definitely swore and panicked to which the couple next to me thought was hilarious, but we managed to land without injury so I was happy. Jess called for our shuttle while we were still on the plane and they said they’d be out front waiting in 30 minuets. It took us about that long to get through customs and pick up our baggage and just as we were walking out, our shuttle drove away with someone else it it! We were ticked. We ended up calling 2 more times and waiting for an hour for the guy to come back. By the way, when you leave plus 40 temperatures in shorts and then land in cold windy Canada, it’s a bit of a shock haha. By the time we made it to our vehicle at the hotel, we had to turn the heat on.  We hit the first McDonald’s we saw and then high tailed it for home. We pulled in our driveway at about 11:45 Monday night. With the time change this made for about 15 hours of travelling, I was totally over it.

We had a great time away and made amazing memories, we’ve been home almost a week and I’m ready to start planning another getaway haha it’s true what they say, once you catch the travel bug, good luck getting rid of it!

C