Fun in Southern Alberta

While all the kids and grand kids were home, except Haeli who was on a mission trip in California, we went to Medicine Hat to go swimming. What a fantastic pool. There was so much to do. The wave pool was be best. When the waves were on, it was a rough ride in the lazy river. Here is Curtis showing us some moves on the rope.
The 70 year old birthday boy coming down the slide. Swimming is not his favorite thing but I'm glad he finds pleasure in watching his family have fun.
Even I had a few tries at the rope.
Curtis with the kids in the lazy river.
Carter loved this floaty. He could kick his legs and move. He squealed with excitement.
Here is the crew.
Chloe just had to be in the picture. After swimming we went to Tony Roma's for supper. Grandpa's 70th birthday celebrations just keep going. When all is said and done he had 2 weeks where there were dinners and visiting. This he will remember.
Little Carter and Uncle Curtis. Carter is 7 months old and a very happy baby.
Look at the smiles.


While in Southern Alberta we took a drive to see the The Forks. We made it most of the way by truck. The last bit we had to take by foot because the truck got stuck. The ground was so soft and on the back trail there is no hard base because there is not much traffic.Curtis texting Wes to see when he's going to be there with the other truck. We were over the hill by this time and could not see the road.

I think Curtis knew he would get stuck because be brought the rope and chain with him. Crystal, Alvin and Reid came too.
Here they go.
Needless to say Grandpa's white truck was no longer white. Their yard is very muddy too so he was not bothered!


We went over to see some cousins, Logan, Taylor and Mitch, and their parents of course. We were there for chores. The kids wanted to see some baby calves. In this picture, Logan is missing.Mitch and Chloe
Taylor and Chloe. Chloe loved the attention she received from Taylor. They had fun together.
This baby calf is a twin. Her mom does not have enough milk for both.
Russell had a hard time holding the bottle. She wanted her milk!
Chloe is wanting Russell to hold on and help too. She thinks he's not helping enough.
Mitch and Russell cleaning the stall. Work never killed anyone. Russell loved it!

More of Our Fun in Seattle

We walked most everywhere while in Seattle. On our way to Elliott Harbor, we walked through a year round farmers market. My favorite part was the fish market. When a customer wanted to purchase fish, the workers would sing song and throw the fish across the market. This lady here is catching the fish she wants. We stood and watched for a while, it was pretty cool!!
This is one long set of stairs. We put on at least 2 miles a day. There are lots of hills in the city, similar to San Fransisco, and now realize why the city shuts down when snow arrives. The hills are steep!!
Russell using my camera to take some pictures while waiting for Curtis.
We took the kids to the Museum of Flight. I think Curtis and I were more interested in it then the kids. There was lots of history and some planes for them sit in. Russell loves all the buttons.


The famous Space Needle.
The weather was beautiful while we where there. Chloe was very excited to wear some capris.
Another highlight was the Pacific Science Center. There were these tide pools with fish in them we could touch. I was the only one interested in feeling all the animals in there. Curtis only quick had his hand in there. I'm surprised I got the picture. The sea anennomie was my favorite. I have no idea how to spell that work and neither does spell check!
This demonstration was fun as well. I thought their teacher would be happy they were educated on a holiday.



The butterfly garden was spectacular. Curtis took some really good shots of the butterflies.


We saw Legends of Flight in the IMAX theater. Russell and Chloe have never been to a theater before let alone an IMAX in 3D. They were giggling in their seats with excitement. That's what a parent likes to see and hear!



This is part of an engine. Curtis is telling Russell how it works. Chloe and I bypassed this one.
Russell and Curtis couldn't wait to get their hands on the controls. This was lots of fun moving marbles around. Chloe liked this one too. It's good for their eye/hand coordination.
Here are all the products from China ready to get unloaded. The crane operators can only work for 2 hours before they need to get off the crane and take a break. There is no room for error and they are looking down through glass in the floor of the crane and have eye strain.
Seattle skyline. They say Seattle has 220 totally cloudy days a year. We had a few of those days. I don't think I could handle all the cloud. At least when there is snow on the ground there is sun.
A grain ship loading to head across the pond. When the ship is full, all the red on the boat will be below the water.
Vehicle and passenger ferries.
This is the US Coast Guard ice breaker boat. It is built to handle ice. To break through the ice the fuel in the hull is moved around from one end to the other to maneuver it up on to the ice.
Fish feeding time. We were in a dome where we could watch the fish all around us. The diver also talked a bit about some of the fish.




We had tons of fun in Seattle. We got lots of exercise every day and were always on the go. By the time night came, we were all ready for bed. I'm sure Russell and Chloe will remember this one for a while. They still talk about going to the Shushwaps and that was 2 1/2 years ago. It's fun to take them on holiday. I am so glad Curtis took the time off work to just relax and have fun. There will be another post coming.

Days 1,2, and 3 of our Trip

We left lots of snow at home and did not really want to see much more. The roads were quite snowy till Jasper. After that they were clear and wet. Valemont is at a high elevation. There was lots of snow. We stopped to take some pictures because there is beauty in winter.

We arrived in Abbotsford, BC at 8 pm. The kids were so excited to see their cousins. Rob and Lisa live on a quiet street and dead end. They had so much fun on the bikes and roller blades.

Russell Riley, only 2 months apart in age, racing down the hill. All the kids played so well together.
After breakfast we headed out the door to go for a walk in the forest by a small river. There Riley and Chloe found some ice cream pails. The water was fun to wade in and throw rocks in. There was a drizzle of rain but rain doesn't kill, the fun must go on!!
Lisa's husband Rob was at work. He is a ALS (advanced life support) Technician. In this picture here from left to right is Lisa, Payton (3), Conner (4), Russell (7), Riley (7), Chloe (6), and Curtis. The greenery is so nice to look at and touch.
Payton needed a little ride. I love this picture.
After lunch at some other cousins house, we headed to White Rock to show the kids (the prairie chicken kids) the ocean. The tide was out while we were there so there was lots of sand to walk on and shells to find. The wind was calm which is unusual so we were not cold. It was beautiful there.
Lifting kids over some water.
Laughing and having fun.

Trying to build a sand castle but they did not have the right tools and their hands were getting cold.
Sweet little Payton.
Lisa found a clam shell with a clam in it. There was yucky jelly coming out and she is asking Conner is he wants to open it. It was gross and he declined!
Curtis and Lisa were trying to pry it open but it was too tough.
Payton was in charge of carrying the bag of shells.
Conner
Little mother hen Riley.
Heading back to the van. Payton bringing up the rear.
After a busy day, a soak in the hot tub was very much needed and appreciated.
Here is the complete Remple family. Rob was going on to nights so he was up for a bit during the day. While putting the kids to bed on Monday night, Russell and Chloe were ready to give up the rest of their holiday, just to stay there and have more fun. There were tears from the other kids too because we had to leave so soon and they wanted us to stay. So nice to have such great cousins to play with. We had a fantastic time visiting. Thanks for opening up your home and having such nice kids. Your family is a pleasure to be around.

I am typing this from our hotel in Seattle, WA. Tomorrow we will go to the Science Center. Will be fun. The weather this week is turning out to be fantastic. We have the sunroof open while driving. Capris are in the wardrobe plan for the morning! I will post more later. If I wait till we get home I'll forget some things.