Stampede, Cabins and Parties....oh my

This year Austin and I got to go to Calgary for the Stampede. It was soooooo much fun. The Stampede happens every year in July and lasts for 10 days. There is an exciting feeling in the city and there are so many things to do eg. Stampede breakfasts, runs, rides, games, exhibits ect. You must have a cowboy hat and boots to truly experience the Stampede!
Kira and I took the boys during the day and they had a great time looking at all the animals. This is my sweet little nephew showing me his "cheesey face". Notice he is sporting a cowboy shirt :-)

My wonderful "bestie" Melanie took Austin for the night so I could go and do the adult Stampede things. Here we are trying all the yummy fair food. I really dont think I have ever eaten so much junk in my life! My brother is eating pizza on a stick. haha


Mark (aka Sparticus) was the master gamer. He won so many stuffed animals. He won the big horse during the shooting game. I guess he has been practicing out at the ranch...

Aunt Jackie and I in the Agricultural Exhibit. Dont we look cute in our hats??

This is us at the Grandstand show/Chuckwagon races which was amazing. I know this isn't a very good picture but I wanted to show off our ponchos. It started to sprinkle so Sparticus bought us all ponchos. What a smart guy. We all stayed dry and warm and they also made us really silly. As soon as I put my poncho on I started giggling. Thank you Justin for the great tickets! This was the first year I actually saw the show from a good location.

I also went to the Millarville Farmer's Market where Mom and Mark sell their soups. I know I am biased but their soups are the best!! My mom, grandma, Aunt Jackie and I would always go to this market together when I was younger. It holds some very good memories for me.

My favorite place on Earth is Waterton. This is where I have spent all the summers of my childhood. I really wanted Austin to go there for the first summer of his life. It was just as beautiful as I had rememered. As you enter the park, you have to open your window because the smell is amazing. You have to go there to know what I am talking about. This picture is Jared on Waterton Lake with his new boat.

This is a view of the lake in Waterton. Amazing!

Austin playing in the cabin. Can you tell it was decorated in the 70s?

This is my nephews sporting the cabin jackets that have been here forever. No one claims them but everyone wears them.

Having a bath with cousin Carter in the big clawfoot tub. We love Waterton!

We had a joint birthday party for Austin and Evan while I was in Calgary. Austin's birthday is not unitl August but we thought it would be fun to celebrate with the family. Here is my mum and Austin at Auburn Bay lake. Austin found a gummy bear in the car and dove for it.

Kira got this cake from the lovely Costco and she got matching cupcakes. Thank you Kira for putting in all the time for the party!

This is Austin first discovering his birthday cupcake.

Diving in......

He ate the whole thing! After this picture he tried to eat the wrapper. Silly boy!

Papa and the birthday boy.

Chicago is my new love

We just got back from a wonderful last minute trip to Chicago. My cousin Teresa and her husband Cameron live there and so Hans and I decided to mapquest Chicago. I did not realize it was only 5 hours away! I called Angie and let her know I was going to visit her "old stompin' grounds" and she booked a quick flight. I love last minute trips because you dont really have any expectations. We had such a great time. This first picture is Angie and I in front of Mario's Italian Ice. It is a local favorite and we had to go back everyday because it was sooo good. Angie and I have a habit of acting really silly when we are together. I usually spend the whole time laughing.
On our way to Mario's I looked down at little Austin to see him sporting a nose ring...or a puff..

When Austin went to bed our wonderful cousin Cameron took us on a night tour of Chicago. We had to go and see the Oprah studios of course!

This is a picture of the skyline from the Planetarium. So pretty!

We lucked out because the weekend we went was the start of Taste of Chicago. It was a dream come true for me. You buy tickets and get to sample the best of Chicago's 70 local restaurants. My favorite was the Vietnamese noodles.

After "Taste" Teresa picked us up and we drove to the Museum of Science and Industry. It was a really interesting and interactive museum. My dad told me I "had to" go there because they have a German submarine. It was pretty awesome. This is a picture of Austin and Hans checking out the chick hatchery.

This picture is from the farming exhibit as you would have guessed. The sign above the cow said "Say Cheese" Ha ha

Austin loved the big John Deere tractor wheels. Already such a boy!

That night we met up with some other cousins, Tanya, Jim and Harper at Giordanos. It is THE place to go for Chicago deep dish pizza. It was delicious.

Now that is what I call Deep Dish :-)

The next day was mostly spent at the Shedd Aquarium. It was really worth every penny. We spent alot of time there. They had things to do for kids of every age. This is Austin playing with the fake sea creatures.

I thought my trip could not get any better until Teresa told me we were having Cafe Rio for dinner. Bliss! Thank you to Cameron and Teresa for such a great weekend!

Water Boy

Austin really loves the water. His favorite time of the day is bath time. I think we are really lucky that our zoo has a waterpark in it because Austin loves it! He does not like feeling the gound on his knees though so he crab crawls. I have a feeling he will be walking soon :-)

After the zoo he gets SUPER tired and usually falls asleep in his stroller on the way to the car. Then he takes 3 hour naps. Love it!

9 Month Update

I can't believe my baby is nine months already! Wow time really flies. I thought I would give a little update about our cute little man. Austin is a very curious little thing. He crawls around and explores everything and definitely keeps us on our toes. There are things I never thought were dangerous until he came into our lives. For instance, the door stoppers have a little white cap on them that he has figured out how to pull off.....then it promptly goes into his mouth. He is really so much fun and has a great personality. I am so thankful that I am able to stay home with him :-)

This is Austin getting his first haircut from daddy. He wasn't too sure about all the vibrating going on.
Soooo cute in his little vest.

He loves to help mommy empty the dishwasher. Well really he throws all the silverware around and then looks up and smiles at me.

He loves animals. There is this really neat park that Papa Johns owns that is near our house and we love to go there and feed the ducks.

This is Austin and the duck sizing eachother up. Austin holds his own.

Austin and I love to go to the zoo together. We look at all the animals, splash in the waterpark and play at the playground.

Austin and his friend Brock at the splash park. Austin has to wear a rash guard because he is pasty white like his mother :-)

Austin has always had a healthy appetite. Recently he has decided that he does not like baby food anymore. Nope...it is gross. We have moved on to finger foods and he will eat almost anything.....even broccoli stems

When I go into another room, Austin likes to follow me...well actually chase me and he laughs the whole time. He cracks me up

Awesome trip to Calgary

I just came back from an awesome trip to Calgary. I think I spent half my time eating and I probably gained a few pounds but man was it ever delicious! When I first got there after a long and exhausting plane ride I drove out to my mums place to stay the night. All the things they tell you about flying with babies is true (aka it is awful)and Austin is at a very mobile age. He wants to be moving constantly. Thank goodness this very nice lady on the plane asked to hold him for awhile. She ended up holding him for an hour and a half! Thank you Susan...whoever you are! Anyway the next day we went to the Okotoks swimming pool to swim with my very adorable nephew Evan and Aunt Kira. This was Austin's first time in a pool and he loved it! He spent most of his time spashing everyone and trying to drink the pool water. He definitly does not have any fears about the water. He wanted to dunk his head under. Then we went to my mums restaurant (Route 40 Soup Co) and ate the best food ever. I am not kidding about this. My mom lives on a ranch and it is so nice to be in the country and enjoy nature.
My dad had all the kids over for steak night (I am not joking about all the eating I did) and it was so nice to see everyone. Here is Austin and Carter having a bath together. We are determined that they will be the best of friends :-)

We decided to take a walk even though it was cold for me. Yes I have become used to nice weather sorry to say. It was freezing the first couple days I was in Calgary. Why do I want to move back? Anyway here is Evan and Austin going double dutch in the swing. Aren't they cute?

Evan was so nice to let Austin borrow his little car. Yes it is April and I am wearing a hoodie!

I had the awesome opportunity to go to Time Out for Women with my mom and my sister's in law in Edmonton. It was just amazing! I laughed...I cried and I was spiritually uplifted. They asked us throughout the whole thing to think about one thing we absolutley knew for sure. This is what I know: I am a daughter of God and I am truly loved and blessed. If any of you have the chance to go I would highly reccomend it.

Austin with his Papa.

Austin with Granny Lanny

Besties posing in front of Jared's fireplace. Thank you Mel for watching Austin when I went to Time out for Women. You are a great Auntie!!

I made my brothers take this picture with me. I always see sisters have this pic and I wanted one too!

Mel's mom had us over for a Lebanese feast. She made 12 different Lebanese dishes and it was delicious. My fav was the Lentils and Baba Ganoush. Yum!

It was our 6 year anniversary while we were in Calgary so my parents watched Austin while we went to the Keg. I am so grateful to have a wonderful husband like Hans! He truly is my soulmate.

This is on my dad's back deck. It was so nice to spend time with my family. I miss them so much! It was worth flying with my wiggly baby.

I can't believe how fast Austin is growing. He was riding on this pony and he looks so old. What happened to my little baby?? He is now crawling and cruising!

Spring Fun and Spring Projects

We had a wonderful Easter! We painted eggs at the Dickson's house and this is silly Hans showing Austin his very "interesting" egg that would spew out the yolk.
Austin loved looking at the eggs. He really wanted to eat them though. I had to pull a piece out of his mouth. This kid will eat anything!!

Austin is very close to crawling here and getting very proud of himself.

For the Kentucky Derby festival they have an awesome airshow. We braved the crowds and partied with all 800,000 people who showed up. Austin loved to watch the jets pass by overhead. It really was quite amazing. We plan to go back again next year.

Family shot at Waterfront Park

Austin and Hans watching the jets go by.

Hans has been doing alot of projects lately. This is one I really love.

Hans decided one day that he "needed" stepping stones outside so off we went to Home Depot but he was not satisfied with the quality of stones there. What to do?? Well of course he concocted a way to make his own! He made the stone mold out of roof flashing we had lying around and a piece of plywood. I was a bit skeptical at first but I think they turned out really well. What do you think?

The final product.

The things we do....

The things we do to make our kids laugh.