Excellent Advice

"Beware of fainting fits.....Though at the time they may be refreshing and agreeable, yet believe me, they will, in the end, if too often repeated and at improper seasons, prove destructive to your constitution......Run mad as often as you choose; but do not faint."
Jane Austen, in Love and Friendship

Canadian Adventure

We have just returned from our first ever big road trip as a family. Whew!!!! We drove over 2000 miles there and back. We went directly north, through Utah, Idaho, Montana and then across the border into Alberta. It was a great drive - we took it very easy. On the first night we stayed in Butte, Montana. I had booked us into a fascinating bed and breakfast place called the Copper King Mansion. It was very historical, built in the early 1800s at the height of a copper boom. The town sits on the richest copper deposit in the world. The man who built the mansion was earning 17 million dollars a month at the height of his career. It was a wonderful place, but really, what was I thinking?!
As soon as we walked in our blood pressure went through the roof. There were knick knacks and heirlooms crammed into every square inch of that place. And we had four kids who had been sitting in a car all day! It was truly amazing - even the closets held vintage dresses and shoes and the ceilings were painted with beautiful artwork. The lady who owned the place was very kind. She immediately directed us to an excellent place for dinner. It was a pizza parlour containing a carousel and rides for the kids, air hockey, etc. When we returned I noticed that several items of furniture and certain display items had been judiciously removed from our room. Thank goodness!
The kids had a great time soaking in the ancient bath tub, It was so deep that Josie couldn't see out of it standing up. Then we tucked them in to bed as fast as we could.
The whole time we were there we were so tense that something would get broken that we barely took one photo. Never mind!
The next night we walked into the Holiday Inn Express in Lethbridge, Alberta and breathed a sigh of relief. Very plain. Nothing breakable.
The scenery was wonderful along the way. Lots of mountains, lots of prairie. The thing that is so amazing though, is that this land is just so BIG. Everyone we met was friendly and helpful.
The following day we drove up to Calgary to meet our friend, Vicky, and then went on to Banff. Below are a few snaps from our weekend.
On the way home we took someone's advice and drove through the night. They said it would be easier for the kids. Boy, were they way off! But let's not record that experience here. We'll put it behind us and just never do it again!

Canadian Weekend

We met up with our dear friend Vicky in Calgary, and drove through a nasty snow storm to Banff. It is an absolutely stunning place, with mountains towering all around. The view was great once the cloud lifted, but even better was being with Vicky again! We have missed her so much! The kids were absolutely delighted to see her. Jane ran across the bus terminal when we arrived to meet her shrieking, "Vicky! Vicky!" I was so amazed that she would remember, as Jane was only 21 months old when we last saw Vicky. She definitely knew her. Within 2 minutes she was snuggled up on Vicky's lap telling her all about how she doesn't like floating on her back at swimming lessons. Charlie and Grace were just as happy to see her, picking up right where they left off. I was sure that Josephine would not be very friendly, as she is very wary of strangers, to put it mildly. I should have known that they would be friends in 15 minutes. Vicky has such a gift with children. So we had a very happy weekend, catching up on the year since we saw each other. Vicky is enjoying life in Canada, and hopes to be able to visit us here in Utah in a year or so. We hope she makes it!

Banff Museums

The weather drove us inside for most of the weekend. We found some really cool museums, which the kids loved. Josephine was especially fascinated and solemnly examined every exhibit. Her Uncle Richard was exactly the same when he was a boy. Runs in the family!

We also found a rock and gem shop, and checked out some amazing fossils and geodes. Charlie and Laura gazed longingly at them, but they were way to expensive. We satisfied ouselves by pawing through piles of stones for $1 and picking out two each. We came away with some great agate and quartz samples, perfect for Charlie's rock collection.

We had hoped for a little hiking, but it was just too freezing!!! It didn't really matter, though, as hanging out with Vicky was what we were there for and we all had a lovely time.