Sunny Arizona

On Christmas Day we said goodbye to my family in a very very rainy Halifax, and flew to Arizona to catch up Eric's family. We were sad to go, but really looking forward to a break from Canadian winter.
Here are some snapshots from Arizona.

My Favourite Spot in Calgary

The Calgary Corn Maze is currently my favourite place to play with Cecelia - which is really sad because it closes tomorrow for the season. The very first time I went with Lena and Lucy I decided to get a season pass because it was the price of only a couple of visits. Tonight I got my money worth with our 3rd visit to this lovely outdoor play place.
We finally found a time between work and school that would work for both our husbands (and daddies) and were able to bring them with us. It was fun to watch the girls play with their dads, and to just sit back and take the photos. Bonus: the sky and evening light were beautiful out there, and it was really quite an enjoyable evening.

I love these girls. It's been really fun to watch Lucy grow because she's only 3 months ahead of Cecelia. We were remembering the first time this little one came to meet Cecelia - she seemed so much bigger than her. It seemed like Cecelia would never be that big, but now she is. The visible age difference is slimming down, and they finally seem like they will be able to enjoy playing together and someday be doing the same things.

A Sum Up Photo Dump

I have been really bad at blogging lately. I've gotten all caught up on major events and excited adventures, but there were a couple of really great everyday moments that merit mention as well.

1. Hot air balloons above our backyard. I love hot air balloons. Someday I will ride in one.  

2. Cecelia went in Grandma and Grandpa's hot tub. She's been taking swimming lessons and had tons of fun in a pool of water that was not freezing cold. 

3. I learned how to can peaches with my mother-in-law.

  4. We got Cecelia her very first toothbrush. She was a champ letting us use it.

 5. I finally got Cecelia's wall collage up off the planning stage on the floor, and on to the wall. I love it!

 6. Cecelia enjoyed the last of her swimming classes. We are registered for another round starting in November.

 7. Her cousin Max came to visit at our house for a morning. He loves to hold "Baby Celia".

 8. Max is beyond excited for Halloween, and it's basically all he talks about. He started getting Cecelia in the spirit as well.

 9. Cecelia finally sat comfortably in a shopping cart seat. The new carts at Superstore have really nice belts in them, and she felt so big and so important being mommy's little helper.

10. General Conference weekend came around again and we were enriched with the words of living prophets and company of a great big wonderful family.

 11. I got my free Shutterfly photo book in the mail. I received a coupon code from my Huggies Rewards emails to create a free Shutterfly 8"x8" hardcover photo book. I couldn't decide what to do with it, so I ended up just printing a book of the photos that Rhonda took for us back in the summer. It looks so good, and I am so excited about it. I paid to upgrade it to a matte cover, and I think it was well worth it. I also paid for shipping. Not bad!

Good Bye Summer - in Canmore

Yesterday I decided I wanted to do something fun with Eric and Cecelia when Eric was home from work today. There are plenty of things we could spend time doing around the house, but I really wanted to get out and enjoy what looks to be one of the last really gorgeous days of this summer. One place Eric and I have always enjoyed is Canmore. We've had a lot of fun times there, including our honeymoon and a family cross country ski trip. It's not far from Calgary, and there is no park entry fee which are also pluses in my books.
We decided to go out a do the Grassi Lakes hike. We went for lunch at a little spot called the Belle Potate that we found in a book of restaurants we have. It was nothing really special, and a pretty disappointing start to the day. That, combined with running late, made us almost miss the chance to hike. I'm so glad we did it though, it was such a good time. It made the whole day wonderful.
Grassi Lakes is a really nice trail if you're looking for something quick and easy - the lakes at the end are well worth the short hike. We just took the short route for today. There is an extension of the trail that makes it longer and a little tougher, but we were ready to quick at the first turn around.
It was a great day spent with my lovely family, and a wonderful way to kiss goodbye the beautiful temperatures of summer.