Edmonton, Storms, and Parties, oh my!

Our time in Edmonton passed quickly, and we’ve now moved on to Drayton Valley. We just returned from a splash pad and park where we celebrated my niece Peyton’s third birthday.

Playing at the park with Peyton.

In the past few days much has happened.

First, there was the very quick journey back to Ontario for the funeral of my grandfather. While I was glad to have been able to support my Dad, I did not enjoy the heat or the nuisance of wearing a suit in the heat. I might post again about my visit home, so I will refrain from saying any more at this point.

While I was gone, Leia kept busy, visiting with friends and entertaining the kids. On Wednesday she went to an indoor pool twice on Wednesday, returning in the evening so the kids could enjoy the wave pool.

Marley getting dunked!

The girls at Leva - Evelyn ensuring we don't wast a drop of gelato.

With a truncated visit, Thursday and Friday were whirlwinds of activity. Thursday morning we didn’t do much, but we did grab lunch at Leva – which was our favourite coffee shop while in Edmonton. We left pizza and gelato and met Becky and Judith at a fabulous bakery. We visited with them for several hours, playing with Ned Brown and catching up. Becky and Judith also discovered the entertainment value of balloons for kids – as the remaining decorations from a baby shower Becky hosted earlier in the week provided some serious fun! We went directly from there to Kim and Rob’s for dinner and a visit. Following bison burgers, we sat around until 11pm chatting, when we finally realized that the very tired kids needed to get to bed. Bright and early the next morning we were off to have brunch with Ruth and the kids. This was followed by lunch with Janis at High Level Diner. After packing up the trailer, we went to Brenda and Phil’s for dinner. It was great, and very satiating, to spend time with our friends. It was two days of solid eating. Not surprising, this morning’s run was a bit sluggish and overdue.

Enjoying croissants and other baked goods with Judith and Becky.

Water fights with the King kids.

Marley holding King #5!

 Dinner with the Welwoods.

The girls watching Peyton open her gifts.

 

Last night I learned that the camp where our cottage is located in Paris (Braeside) was slammed pretty hard by the storms that ripped through Ontario. Thankfully, no one was hurt and, despite numerous trees being damaged, my understanding is that not too many cottages were damaged. We’ve seemed to miss some storms as we’ve travelled – so it will be interesting to see if the severe thunderstorms forecasted for later today materialize or not.

Tomorrow we head to Jasper, one of my favourite places in the world, where we will camp with Seth, Kayla and kids as well as Dan and Sharline. It is nice to know that when it comes time to pack up the kids and the trailer in the morning that I’ll have an extra set of hands. Glad to have Leia as a co-pilot!