Baby Ryan

Callie is very excited to present her new baby cousin Ryan Kilden. He was born on Saturday August 27th which seems fitting since Callie and Kristen were both born on the 7th and Carter was born on the 17th. We went for a visit on Sunday and baby and family are doing fine. He was a couple weeks early but this works out well for us since we leave for our cruise on Tuesday.

As soon as Callie found out he was born she was obsessed with all things Ryan. After dutifully teaching Carter the babies name she got right to work making a friendship bracelet for him. I don't think she was quite prepared for just how small babies are though since when we got to the hospital to visit the first thing said was "I think I made it too big". Callie will also have to start teaching her cousin Kristen the ins and outs of being a big sister. So far the best quote we've heard from Kristen was "Put it away." to her mom when she was holding the new baby. (Carter may wish to teach Ryan a few self defense techniques as well.)

Ryan's Mom and Dad are also still looking for help with the middle name. 'Oilers' is apparently not an option.

Callie's Birthday Party

This year we had Callie's Birthday party on a Tuesday evening. Since she's a summer baby we try to avoid the weekends as people often have plans to go away and it's difficult to find dates where everyone can come. Callie had decided she only wanted to invite 5 kids which suits me fine. Even with only 4 kids showing up you still have parents and siblings and the house fills up fast. Callie had decided she wanted to have a constellation themed party. This is not your typically party theme so Kerry and I were left scrambling to figure out what to do. In the end we decided star related items were the easiest to find.

Since constellations were the theme Callie had decided she wanted everyone to wear their pajamas. (I'm really not sure where she gets these ideas.) We included many of the typical party events including a craft where the kids got to decorate wooden door hangers. It almost didn't happen as Kerry painted them black and Callie wanted them to be blue. In the end Callie decided it was okay because the colour was Blackberry and she felt they smelled like Blackberries. They really just smelled like paint but who were we to argue. We also had our annual scavenger hunt. This year the kids had to find constellations and match them up to the animal they represented. The party was capped off with a water bottle rocket that uses baking soda and vinegar. I only filled it half way as I had no idea what would happen and I just barely managed to get my hand away before it launched. Another successful birthday party complete.

Callie's Real Birthday

August 7th is becoming quite an important day in our family. Not only is it Callie's birthday but it's also my cousin Yvonne's birthday, Callie's cousin Kristen's birthday and Captain's birthday. (My in-laws dog) We're starting to get quite a routine going for this date as there is often a lot to fit in. We start the day with Callie's request for breakfast, this year was eggs and toast, and then proceed with presents. Callie was quite good at giving us hints. (Well actually she just flat out told us what she was expecting.) It included a scooter, a star map and a garden ornament to be a companion for the rabbit she got from her Grandma. At 9:00a there is also a phone call from a special bear. Disney does character calls and Pooh Bear hasn't missed one since she was four.

At some point in the day we typically head over to cousin Kristen's. This year we were invited over for lunch where both girls get to wear their birthday girl crowns and exchange gifts. We got Kristen a Roo doll. The Winnie the Pooh franchise does very well in our family. After lunch we quickly headed home to decorate Callie's cake. She flip flopped a few times deciding which party would get the cake. In the end her real birthday party ended up with the "Constellation Cake". The constellation was Leo which is her birth sign.

For dinner we headed to White Spot with her Uncle Ronnie, Uncle Corey, Auntie Carmen and Kristen. There was more flip flopping here as we were originally going to go to Olive Garden but Callie decided she wanted to get a chocolate coin. After dinner we headed home for cake before going to sleep after a very long day.

The Big Trip - The Journey Home via Oliver

It's been a long trip so far so it was good to start our journey home. Our total trip was over 4000 km and we still had over 1500 km to go. We left the farm in the rain and within the first few kilometers you almost couldn't tell what colour our car was anymore. We were headed to Calgary for the evening but we decided to make a short stop in Drumheller to give Carter a chance to see the dinosaurs. As much as he's a huge fan, as soon as they get larger than him he doesn't want to have anything to do with them. There were statues like the one on the right everwhere as well as the largest T-Rex in the world. It's several stories high and you can climb the inside to an observation post.

Our trip went smoothly and we arrived in Calgary in time for dinner. Kerry had arranged to meet her Aunt and Cousin at Jack Astors where we were promised the best chicken fingers ever. We weren't disappointed which was a good thing since we all ordered them. The kids meals had as many chicken fingers as the adult meals so we should have employed our money saving techniques of ordering three meals and sharing it between the four of us. We were on day 11 of our trip and the kids finally decided to break down. We eventually had to leave early and head to the hotel for Kerry to finish her visit.

We awoke early on Thursday and headed to Oliver where we planned on staying a day with Kerry's parents. We didn't expect this particular leg to be very difficult but with torrential rain, traffic and construction it took us almost 11 hours for 711 km. We arrived in time for dinner and went about our typical Oliver events.

1) A couple of trips to Tu El Nuit Lake where Callie tried out her new floatie.
2) Hester's Creek Winery for a picnic and wine tasting.
3) We checked out the Home Hardware Street Dance in Osoyoos. This is apparently the number one Home  Hardware in the world with great local ownership.
4) We hit the Penticton Street Market on Saturday which has some very high quality food and merchandise.
5) We had delicious Surf and Turf for dinner.

Finally on Saturday morning we headed home. We've done this leg several times now so it was pretty routine. We did come a cross a very friendly bear who was grazing on the side of the road.

After two weeks and 4000 km we arrived home. It was a great trip though it was very tiring. As the kids grow older all future trips will seem routine in comparison. Next up is a trip of a different sort. A Disney Alaska cruise just before school. Thankfully we don't have to do the driving.

The Big Trip - The Farm

When people in my family refer to 'The Farm' they typically talking about my Auntie Bernie's and Uncle Bob's. They've been there for my as long as I have memories and my understanding is that they've been there for 53 years now. It's a nice sized farm house with another house across the street with not much else for miles. My cousin Alan lives across the street and the family currently farms over 7000 acres. My biggest worry about this portion of the trip was getting there. Being a farm there aren't exactly nice street addresses that you follow. My directions were to take the Smiley turn off, travel 6 miles till I saw the farm a mile to the right. Luckily I've been there so many times I had no trouble.

We arrived in time for dinner and were treated to ham and garden fresh vegetables. Kerry and I were amazed by the simple salad dressings my Aunt was able to create from scratch. I believe one included salt, pepper, sugar and olive oil. For dessert we had frozen raspberries from the garden. This time I was at fault for creating false expectations with the kids. Auntie Bernie has a huge raspberry patch and I was hoping it would be ready by the time we arrived but there were only a few lone berries that had turned red. Luckily the frozen ones on ice cream are just as good. The weather was very warm so we spent the evenings on the deck with the terracotta warrior playing crib and drinking wine.

After breakfast I took the kids out to explore the farm. When I was young we would use the quadrunner to get around but they've expanded their fleet to include a couple of golf carts and a Rhino. It took a bit of convincing but I eventually got Callie to steer the golf cart with me pushing the gas. She was very cute in the driver's seat. We also headed to the 'Tractor Place' as Carter referred to it. He was initially very excited about seeing the tractors but with the wheels being taller than me he was a tad frightened.

We were only at the farm for 48 hours but there was quite a lot of activity including;
1) Auntie Bernie is a great swing pusher and Callie even let her do a couple of under ducks.
2) Carter got attached to a Teletubby from the toy box that made incredibly stange sounds. I think we've set his language back by at least 6 months.
3) While exploring a pile of rocks with the golf cart we discovered a fox den and had to high tail it out of there before the owner woke up or came home.
4) On the second night there was an incredible storm with lightning and high winds. That was probably the best sleep we had all trip.
5) The kids spent much of the trip playing with Jenny the cat who had a gimped leg. It would attempt to hobble away but Callie and Carter would pick it up and haul it around like a sack of potatoes.
6) The toy box still included a great tractor that I played with as a kid.
7) Callie picked some wheat but rather than taking it home decided to leave it behind so Uncle Bob could make cereal from it.
We had a great peaceful time at the farm and I hope it stays in the family for years to come.

The Big Trip - Saskatoon

Our second destination in Saskatchewan was Saskatoon. My brother Jordan and his wife Karla moved out here to go to school and have ended up staying there. It's a great city with a lot of culture. We arrived around lunch time and due to our tight schedule we'd only be staying for a day so after lunch we headed to Kinsmen park. The park was really great for the kids with a train, merry-go-round and a water park. Grandpa Leo even went on the merry-go-round with Callie who insisted on getting on the dog. Carter was initially excited about trying out the Zebra but as he and Uncle Jordan got to the front of the line he chickened out. Kerry eventually got him to sit on one of the benches on the ride.

After some time in the water park we headed off to the hotel to check in. We didn't get a chance to see my brother's exhibit at the Mendel but I'd already seen most of the pictures. You can check it out here. It was a print exhibit and they'd used some interesting techniques to create the prints including tall buildings and a steam roller. (Not sure what to call that machine anymore considering it doesn't use steam.)

We had steak and corn for dinner at Jordan and Karlas and headed back there in the morning for breakfast. They took us to the Caswell Cafe near there house where we got a lot of food for a very reasonable price. We also hit them up for some laundry before heading to 'The Farm' in the afternoon.

The Big Trip - Kindersley

From the time I was born through most of high school my family spent many of our summers in Saskatchewan. My Dad was born in Broadacres and two of my Aunts remained in the area. Dad and Mom had decided to take a side trip to Auntie Bernies on 'The Farm' since Dad might have to fly back early for work. Our first destination in Saskatchewan was Auntie Rose's in Kindersley. We arrived in time for dinner and were treated to an amazing meal of beef on a bun as well as a number of after dinner treats. The kids got right to work trying out the 'new' toys. The Fisher Price house was over 40 years old and I have fond memories of ringing the manual doorbell. (No batteries here.)

After dinner Carter and I headed to the park followed by a second trip with Callie. Much of the park remained the same as when I was a kid. The slide on the left is probably not exactly kid safe anymore as it's over 10 feet tall and you pick up some pretty good speed by the time you get to the bottom.
Breakfast the next day was broken up into two parts. A simple breakfast of cereal and delicious cinnamon buns follwed by a brunch later in the morning. The kids were surprised to be treated to Turkey bacon which they often have at home. (They even have a song. "Turkey bacon, I love you, I love you. I love you. Turkey bacon I love you, so let's eat you.)

In the afternoon we went to the local pool. I follow the Town of Kindersley on Facebook so I knew that the boiler was broken but with 30+ degree weather that wasn't a bad thing. It was previously an indoor pool but they building had a few issue so they've torn down the outer structure and made it into an outdoor pool. There are plans to replace it in the next few years.

My parents had left on day two but we left on the morning of day three after getting a few books read to the kids by Auntie Rose. It would have been good to stay longer as we didn't have a chance to go to the local museum where there is apparently an exhibit for my Uncle Lloyd who died several years ago. He was the town barber and his clients insisted that his memory live on. My Aunt Rose has since remarried and Simon was an amazing host. For some reason my Dad had mentioned to Carter that there would be watermelon and when we arrived there wasn't any so he was very disappointed. Simon went to three grocery stores to find some. (Thankfully Carter actually ate it. Sometimes he 'wants' something and that doesn't actually eat it.) Our next destination was Saskatoon to see my brother and his wife.