Canada Continued

warning: long post!

Here are a few more pictures and fun things we did in Canada + the aftermath.  We were lucky enough to have Mark's parents and sister Marilyn and kids come stay at my parents for about a week.  It was super fun and the kids were in heaven to have their cousins there.  These pictures aren't in the greatest order.

He never ceases to be adorable. :)

The cousins having fun. 

Bike rides with Grandma

Grandma's Stair slide.  If you are between the ages 1 and 7 this is the. most. fun. EVER!!

If you are older and trying to get up and down the stairs this is the. most. annoying. thing. ever.

Waterton

We headed up to Waterton for a little hiking and picnicking.  Sam kept throwing rocks into the water and lost his balance.  He went in face first and when I pulled him out he just started blinking his big eyes.  He couldn't figure out what just happened.  It was pretty cute.  No crying or anything.

The Mighty Warriors!  So funny. Somehow on the drive up Wade and Wilson found a marker.  When they go out of the van their faces were covered in warrior paint. :) 

Contemplating about something.  So nice to have someone else taking pictures for once!

the trip photographer. taking a nap. :)

Love my little warrior!

I love this picture!

Uncle Johnny and Sam.

Listening intently to....his undying expressions of love?

or maybe an argument... :)

We love Waterton!

We conned Marilyn and kids into going on a hike with us.  We told them it was just a little hike.  Not to steep or hard.  Just up to Lineham cliffs and back.  Well it's been probably 10yrs since I've been up there and even longer for my mom.  It was a little rough for 6 kids 7 and under.  But still gorgeous.  And our legacy of hauling our kids up and down mountains continues. :)

This is me and Wilson having a talk about turning around because he refused to walk another step up the mountain.

Uncle Johnny came to the rescue.

We could only make it so far because of an avalanche. But we could see the falls which is what I wanted because of all the snow pack and moisture.  It would have been cool to get closer though.  And for some reason there are no pictures of said falls.  Probably because I fell jumping over a stream and in my attempt to not fall on Zina and save Sam who was on my back I whacked my head pretty good on the trail.  Like I said. Fun hike. :)

And then we made it down.  Barely.  

But it was all worth it because on the way home we stopped to observe a momma bear with two of the cutest little bear cubs I have ever seen. 

And then everyone slept.

For a very long time. :)

Parade Day

We love the 1st of July!

We watched the 1st half of the parade at Uncle Denny's and Aunty Kay's then I jumped on my 10yr reunion float and the kids and Mark finished off the parade with my family at the old Allen home.  It was fun to see everyone at my 10 yr reunion.  Not too many showed but it was still fun to visit and read our year book and hear what our "10yr plan" was back then. :)

Mark and I got up and ran the 10k together.  I've been trying to figure out ever since why I lived in Raymond for 18yrs and this year was the first time I ever ran the Raymond 10k!

After the 10k we headed up to Waterton again. This time for things like ice cream and surreys. :)

And then we were all off again. Mark headed back to Utah with Marilyn and his parents while me, my mom, Michelle, Brigham and my 3 kids piled into our van and trekked it out to Vancouver to see the VanKeelers!

My mom had a 2 week conference for work.  She was attending Gordon Neufeld's 2 week intensive course on attachement parenting.  Love it.  Seriously we all learned so much just from visiting with her in the evenings and hearing what she learned.   And since she was going we went with and got to spend two whole weeks with our cousins that we only see once a year.  I was worried that two weeks would be too long. But I would seriously do it again in a heart beat.  It was so great to spend time with family and build relationships and just have fun.  I know my kids would agree. ;)  Mark missed us.  He might not agree. :)

Zina, surrounded by all those boys!  She is my parents ONLY granddaughter!

Walking through Mundy Park.  Seriously Vancouver is such a beautiful place. The ocean, the mountains, the trees, the beach, the forest.  It's all right there!

Lauri made us a delicious fruit pizza on the fourth.  It is still weird for me to think that my kids are the "American" cousins.

Liz was also there the first weekend and it was a great reunion of the "older" half. :)

Todd, Liz, Me, Matt. and co.

We hit up Barnet beach twice because we had so much fun the first time.  Love the beach!

The 3 babies.  

Sam, Nate, Brigham

Camden and Wilson were really adorable this trip.  Most of their conversations consisted of analyzing their "Best Friend" ship.  Even cuter in real life because Camden's voice is extra deep and Wilson's voice is extra high.  So funny.

Grandma and a helper babysat one morning so we could go to the Vancouver temple.  It was so nice to be there with my family.  I was just missing my Mark!  The Vancouver temple is really small and personal.  I loved it.  

Another day we headed up to Bunson Lake.  This was a great day because it was on a weekend so the dads and Grandma could come with!

On your mark, get set...

GO!

This was my attempt at getting Wilson, Brigham and Sam in their matching Canada ties I made them last year.  

Our second day at Barnet beach we went at low tide and the kids had a GREAT time beach combing. 

Even Sam got into the fun.

Love this picture of Liam and Zina. At this point, all covered in sand, they were discussing how they were also "best friends." :)

We made it down to the Space center where Grandma's conference was and she treated us all to a day pass at the museum.  The kids had fun watching a space show and exploring. 

But best of all was having a picnic lunch with Grandma and hanging out at Kitsilano beach!

This Grandma rocks my world! 

Can you tell Brigham isn't overly fond of the sand... :)

I love this picture with Vancouver in the background!

The kids had a blast running from the waves.

Michelle and Brigham

Sweet little Nate (or sweet big Nate..)

:)

Sunday Dinner at Uncle Matt and Aunt Michelle's!

Zina was a little upset because Uncle Matt wouldn't let her climb the tree with a skirt on. :)  I told her to put her tights on before we left but she is a stubborn little soul.  She worked it all out in her little head right on that bench and then came back to have fun without climbing the tree.  Kids adapt and change. 

Thank you Mr. Neufeld.

Uncle Matt played and played and played and played and played and played with all the kids. 

Some things never change. :)

Michelle, Brigham, Lauri, Nate, Me, Sam!

These two are so great! I wish we lived closer so we could get together all the time. They are some of the most amazing women I know and it was so great to spend time with them on this trip 

Oh how I wish we lived closer!!   

Burnaby Village Museum

This little museum was one of my favorites.  It was an outdoor village of what Burnaby would have been like in the 1920's.  So cool.  I found my dream home in this village.  It was yellow.  Need I say more?

We had a picnic lunch by this hill.  It was so great to just watch the kids be carefree and.. Kids!  All they need is a hill and cousins.  :)

This lady was telling them how they had to cook the flour before they used it and then sift the cooked bugs out and then make their waffles.... YUM!

Jacob and the pharmacy.

Just enjoyed a little leg wrestling (probably to divert from real wrestling)

And dancing

and or waltzing?

Dancing with Uncle Todd is always an adventure. :)

Meditating with Lauri. :)

and lets throw a little kung fu in there as well. :)

The last night we put all the kids to bed at Todd and Lauri's and ordered sushi and played games.  It was fun to have an adult night...minus the babies that kept waking up.  We ended up just sitting around and talking.  It was great.  Really great.  We really aught to make living beside each other a very high priority.

And then it was goodbye.  

Goodbye VanKeeler's, until next year!

And this is just a funny picture of Sam in our hotel on the drive home.  Such a skinny little man fresh out of the bath!

Lest you think Mark didn't have any fun while we were gone here is 

 Dudes Reunion 2011

Do you think the past five years has changed anything?  Wives, kids, etc. 

Mark came home from this and said, "Nah, we're all just the same.  We just have to act more responsible."

:)

Other than food poisoning himself (and missing his little family he hadn't seen in 2wks) Mark had a great time at his dudes reunion. Cruis'n through WA in a motor home, camping, 3am showings of Harry Potter,  giant bonfires on the beach etc.   If he were awake I'd make him blog about it.  But he just finished a 10pm-4pm shift in the ER. The pictures will have to suffice.

Yes, they really went to Forks

Here's to the next Dudes reunion. Couples cruise. We are in!

After our 17hr drive from Vancouver we stopped in SLC where Liz had dinner for us.  We played at her park and relaxed until we picked Mark up from the airport.

And then the moving in began!  I was SO grateful to have my mom there.  Seriously she is super woman.  We accomplished in 1week what would have taken me months. Thank you Mom!

Mark had the trampoline set up and all the beds made and the fridge stocked before he left so when we go there we fell into bed and when we woke up the kids headed outside.  I love our little house!

This is snaily.  While in Vancouver we went snail hunting and found 10 or 11 snails. When we got home Zina and Wilson were SO excited to find Snaily right in our own backyard!  

My mom tended for us so Mark and I could go on a date.  It had been a long two weeks!  We hiked up mt. Loafer but didn't make it to the top since it was kind of a spontaneous decision and we didn't start until 3: 30 in the afternoon.  It was still gorgeous and fun.  We hit up Cafe Rio after and got all caught up on our long separation. :)  Love this man of mine. ;)

This is what the real top of Mt. Loafer looks like.  Later after Johnny and Mark arrived Mark (my hubby) took them all the way up.  It took them 7hrs start to finish but they said it was worth it.  Mark hasn't stopped talking about it since.  Mt. Loafer is becoming his 2nd love I think. :)

And a few more of Snaily. 

And Grandma's babysitting tactics. :)

Lov'n Aunty Tena

The way to Sammy's heart. 

Watering our new little flowers in our new little flower beds. :)

Love them!

Grandma let Zina get her face painted at Spanish Fork Fiesta days.

Our front Porch

Uncle Marky reading under the apple tree.  

Summer fun!

Playing a little water ball.

And then we said goodbye to the Alberta Keelers.  They left early in the morning and Zina didn't get to say goodbye.  When she woke up she sobbed and sobbed. It nearly broke my heart.  But we live only 12hrs away now instead of 22hrs so hopefully it won't be long! hint hint. :)

The day after they left was the Spanish Fork parade SO let the party continue.  All the Thomas' came to our house to watch the parade and have lunch afterwords.  It was fun and hot!  We walked down to the booths after and had some fair food for dinner.  It was fun to be part of small town America. 

And that's all for now folks.  if you made it this far you should get a trophy that was a lot of pictures. :)

next up.

Wilson's 4th birthday!