Oh, Canada!

I'm going to back post this to June to keep dates straight.  I worked on a few photo books over the summer and it was SO much nicer when I had a blog post to use for pictures and details.  Makes it worth it for me to go back and do old posts.

We made a trip up to Ben's hometown in Alberta over Memorial Day.  We had planned to visit his home sometime in the summer, but Ben was asked to be the guest of honor/speaker at his high school's graduation.

Ben did a great job!  It was so neat to see the quaint and intimate graduation ceremony.  The graduation ceremony is so different when your graduating class is 24 kids!  I certainly did not grow up in a booming metropolis but my high school had more students than there are people in his town. 

Because every other person in town was at the graduation, we solicited my nephew's babysitting services so I could go hear Ben's speech.

I think things went pretty well, don't you? 

Ok, so maybe this wasn't while he was babysitting.  I ran over to watch Ben speak and was only gone for about 30 minutes.  Lizzie was asleep and he called me 4 times to ask questions and didn't let Samara leave his side.  I think he will make a fine babysitter. :)

Our friend, Jody, who introduced Ben and I, lives in Stirling.  We were able to spend time with her darling family.  The home lots in Stirling are huge.   I think Samara had heard Ben talking about wanting a bigger lot and how much land costs because she was amazed at their yard.  Their lot is over an acre and is awesome.  Samara exclaimed, "You have an actual meadow for your backyard.  I can't believe it.  How do you have enough money for a meadow?"

Her kids are wonderful and my girls had the best time with them.  

Jody even babysat for us so we could attend the Cardston Temple.  I have never been and loved this temple.  It's very unique and beautiful.

 Of course, we had to visit Grandma Sheila who works at the town library.  We loved spending time in the children's section named after Ben's mom.

 

We spent a day at Waterton--the Canadian side of Glacier National Park.  Waterton is stunning.  You go from totally flat farmland to pairies to rolling hills to towering peaks.   The drive there shows nature at its finest.

It was so strange to go on a holiday and be COLD!  We haven't had that for a while and were a bit underprepared...err FREEZING! 

 But we are never too cold for ice cream! 

We were able to spend time with Ben's grandparents.  We haven't seen them for years and it was wonderful to visit with them.

We also took the opportunity to have family photos done by my uber talented sister-in-law, Shanna.  She is the master of posing.  We started at 6 PM, Lizzie's bedtime.  You do what you gotta do but bedtime is not the optimal time for a photo shoot.

Lizzie was crazy!  In fact, they both were.  See Lizzie trying to eat Samara.  Clark (the baby-sitter) was trying to earn money for a new video game so he took some candids with the iPad.  He's very affordable--$0.50 per image.

Edited ones are $1.

 He also does videos ($1.50), which are so fun to have.  Sometimes when you look at all the nice finished images you forgot how NOT FUN having your photos taken was.  But these help us remember not to do family pictures too often. 

Here are the favorites from the shoot: 

 This nose crinkle is my favorite expression!

Maybe baby brother will look like this in a few years.  Isn't Ben's mop of red hair darling?  

A Big Map and a Book

I loved majoring in Geography and when I'd tell someone that I was majoring in Geography, I'd typically get one of two responses.  First, "Oh, you study rocks.  How interesting."  Geography.  Geology.  They sort of sound the same, I guess.  Or "So you study maps?  You must know where every country on the map is."  Geography is more than just maps!  Geography is ecology, anthropology, and history all bundled in one discipline.  There are many sub-disciplines too: cultural, physical, environmental, political, economic, demographics, etc.  That map question got pretty old when I'd hear it over and over again.  But I do actually love maps.  And I wish I knew where every country was and that I could visit them all too!  While we were building, I decided I wanted a big map wall and it's finally up.  I may be a "geography nerd" but I feel gleefully happy every time I look at my map. :)

I saw a tutorial for these mini-polaroid magnets.  Tiny pictures are ridiculously cute, aren't they?  My map isn't magnetic so my plan is to mount the pictures on foamboard and use a paper tape to attach them to the places we've been.   First, I want to get caught up on photobooks though.  *sigh*  Why do they take me so long to finish?  Lizzie's first year book (click on lower right corner of book below to flip the pages) probably took me 2,033 hours.  And now she's almost two and Samara needs one for last year and I want to make several of our time and travel oversees.  Because why take so many millions of photos if they just sit on my hard drive?  Anyone want to help me get caught up?

Spring

Spring is so splendid!  I forgot about all the trees magically turning green and the flowers blooming.  The weather is perfection.  And Easter is a favorite holiday of mine too.  Christ's resurrection truly is a blessing and miracle.

Easter Morning

 Someone would not sit still so I asked her to fold her arms.

But she crinkles her darling little nose all on her own.  

Thank you Shanna for the family photo!

Then on to round two.  Someone was very hungry and that is a state you NEVER want her to be in.  And don't ever take the bag of crackers away from her.  Ever.

And thanks to Aunt Shanna for this darling one as well.

 My pretty paper umbrellas got ripped.  If anyone wants to bring me some more from Singapore, I'll pay you back AND love you forever.  :)

I would have posted these when it actually was springtime but I don't like the new "blogger".  It doesn't support my browser.  There are new buttons and a different layout.  I'm slow adapting to change!

Skiing

 

After six seasons away from winter, it's been wonderful to be back on the slopes.   Getting up there every week required a lot of effort, but was well worth it. We didn't get much snow this season but teaching Samara how to ski has been a tremendously rewarding experience.  When Samara turned two-ish she became very strong willed and contrary.  As a parent, you are supposed to teach your child (right?) but I often don't feel like I've taught her much.  I simply don't have the patience/gusto to force most things.   Skiing is the one thing I have ample experience teaching and a good bag of tricks.  Teaching Samara and watching her overcome fears, stubbornness, and attitude has been very gratifying.  Plus, we've had so much fun this winter.   Our new motto is "I can do hard things!"

 

Little Lizzie started coming with us in the Bjorn the last month and she LOVES it.  As soon as we pull in the parking lot, she says, "more.  more.  no (snow), gaves (gloves), hat, boots." She is a girl who loves to be on the move.  The moment you stop she starts signing/saying "more".  Her little chubby gloved hands signing "more" are adorable.  When you ask her if she had fun or likes skiing she answers "Yes" with a lisp and smile.  I'm thrilled she already likes being up there so much.  Though the boots slide right off her feet, we still needed a photo and I wanted her to at least get a feel for actually skiing.  Lizzie has got to be the cutest thing on two skis!

I didn't get great video footage.  Here is the best we have from the season.  Notice how Samara tells me I'm going to crash and, at the end, that she will teach Lizzie how to ski. :)

 

Last Friday, we had our final ski day for the season and Ben got to join us.  We went to Deer Valley (where I worked for a gazillion seasons) and loved having papa along.  Ironically, it was the most wintry day of the season.  After lunch, Ben went ahead and stopped to wait for us, Lizzie started insisting, "more. more."   Two minutes later she was out cold.  He turned her around and got a rare snuggle.

 

Taking Samara to all the fun little runs that I took my cute students on in the past was so neat.  My last couple seasons as a ski instructor occurred while we were trying to have kids.  I felt so blessed and grateful, on our ski day last week, to be enjoying it with my girls.

I wish I'd written down more of the funny/cute things Samara said throughout the season.  At Sundance, we often had to take the shuttle from an upper parking lot to the base.  The other people, on the shuttle, were always cracking up at her jabbering and observations.  Here are a few things I remember:

While carrying her skis on her shoulder, "Look mom I'm carrying my skis like a teenager.  Can you believe I'm a teenager at the age of four?"

While riding on the ski lift you can occasionally see underclothes and beads that people have thrown into the high branches of certain trees (something to do with mardi gras).  Samara would ask "why" almost every time we passed the tree.  One day she said, "I just don't get why people throw their breasts (bras) in the tree.  It's so weird."

"I love the lift so much better than the tow rope.  The scenes (views) are so much nicer."

(photos courtesy of Jeanne and her awesome Holga camera)

After seeing me ski down, Samara said, "Wow, mom.  I want to ski side-to-side just like you."  Probably the best compliment she's ever given me!  :)

 

A little cookie tug-of-war.   We may or may not have finished most days with a little cookie. :)

I am one proud mama and look forward to many more seasons with my cute little snow bunnies.

Boy vs. Girl

Our awesome nephew and his parents spent Easter with us.  We all adore them and Samara idolizes her cousin. 

 

Contrary to the somber looks in this photo, they actually DID like their Easter baskets.

Decorating eggs was mutually enjoyed.

  

They both know how to fake a photo for their 'snap-happy' moms.

 

Smashing the eggs afterward was a hit with him.

 

Not so much for her!