Our first full day in Banff was a full one! We visited Cave and Basin Historic Site, Bow Falls, Fairmont Hotel overlook, Johnston Canyon Trail for a waterfall hike, took a walk around Bow Lake, hiked to an overlook of Peyto Lake, and finally hiked a short ways to Mistaya Canyon before heading back to our hotel (we also saw a black bear on our return drive). This was all made possible by Todd who organized each and every day! 🙂
We met up with my parents in Salmon Arm and from there caravanned to Lake Louise and then on to Banff for two nights. Beautiful mountains and scenery through Glacier and Banff.
Our second day consisted of driving a few hours to Salmon Arm. Along the way we stopped at DeMille’s Farm Market that had a fun petting zoo and then an afternoon at Shuswap Lake visiting with old college friends. That evening all of us enjoyed swimming in the hotel pool with multiple sections and water fountains.
At the end of summer we embarked on an epic two week road trip through British Columbia and Alberta Canada. My parents met us for part of the trip which was a lot of fun. We caravanned and/or carpooled for several days together seeing beautiful country.
Our first full day (just the four of us) was spent exploring the BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops. We enjoyed the animals, bird show, and riding on the miniature train.
Another fun day at the fair with the special addition of my parents. It is so nice having them close! The girls mostly love the rides, so we try to see the animals and booths in the morning and during snack breaks. The chickens and bunnies are always a favorite and the 4-H/agriculture exhibits were well done this year.
This summer we all got bikes. I have not had one since middle school, Ada was growing out of hers, and Todd needed one too. We are also borrowing a trailer-bike for Ruby to go long distances with us (5-11 miles is too much for her). We have enjoyed being able to explore our town and country roads as well as taking them to Bellingham. One of our documented adventures was the trail along Lake Whatcom. The girls swam and explored the creek after our warm ride 🙂
Todd and I recently had the opportunity to get away for three nights. Tom and Cindy graciously took the girls so we could explore the Olympic National Park and surrounding areas. We enjoyed hiking around Hurricane Ridge, riding bikes along the Lake Crescent Spruce Trail, touring a lavender farm, and hiking along Rialto Beach. It was rainy and cloudy most of the weekend, but we had a few breaks to enjoy God’s beautiful creation.
Another summer of swim lessons completed. Ada LOVES the water and could swim all day. She did well in her class and enjoyed doing flips from the diving board. Ruby had a bit more difficult time (a few tears and screams) but started to enjoy her class towards the end of the 2 week session. She was not a fan of putting her face in the water, but did great! She was also very nervous jumping off the diving board and so needed a little extra help 🙂
This year was extra special with Mom & Dad living so close we could celebrate together. We enjoyed fireworks throughout the day at home, a country-side bike ride, BBQ, and ending the night with the fireworks display in downtown Bellingham.
Ada had fun lighting some easy smoke bombs this year. Ruby started to enjoy the noisier fireworks after putting on her ear protection 🙂
For my birthday this year we spent the day in Vancouver, Canada. We enjoyed the sights of the city, eating poke for lunch, and exploring the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park.
The sea lion show at the aquarium was really good! t was fun to see these large creatures jump, dive, wave, bark and catch fish. One of the males acted just like a big dog, barking and begging for his treats. The spitting walrus was also very entertaining, Ada and Ruby got a little wet 🙂
We ended the day by heading back to Langley for dinner at White Spot. It’s a burger joint in the gas station near the university we attended and frequented with old friends. We also found a good gelato shop in Fort Langley, another place that brings back so many fond memories of our college years.
La Casa Blanca 
