Starting Early

We all piled in the van following church today. I asked my typical question, "How was primary today?" and received a non-typical response from The Boy.

"I kissed a girl."

(Um...what?) "Who was it?"

"What?"

"What was her name?"

"I don't know."

And that was that. As we tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle the laughter we tried to tell him that it might not be a great idea to kiss girls in Primary.

According to him, however, "boys kiss girls". 

So, what's he gonna do?

Wow! That Family Picture is OLD!

You know, that one over there on the sidebar!

But, since I can't seem to get another one where a) all 5 of us are in it, b) all 3 of them are looking in the same direction, and c) the boy is actually in the mood for a picture...

you're stuck with a 3 year-old version of our family.

A Laugh Before Dying

He has a fever. And a slight cough. So he lays, pathetic, on the couch.

He beckons to me to come closer and whispers, "I'm dying...I'm trying to hang on, though."

As I stifle my laughter he continues to explain, "When you're super, super sick...you die."

I tried, to no avail, to explain that he is not "super, super sick". 

We've agreed to disagree.

The Canadians Are Melting!

Seriously?

I took this shot right before it bumped up to 101˚. Then 102˚.

Ridiculous.

So Long, Farewell

We said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa in Canada...

and hit the open road. (Meanwhile every insect in the state of Montana seemed intent on hitting our window.)

Somewhere in the middle of Montana, Curtis decided he wanted to share his lunch with all of us. Unfortunately, it was the lunch he had eaten an hour or so earlier. Up it came. Horrified, I dove into the back to try to...I don't know...do something. There was nothing to be done. Driving through a teeny town we spied a hose on the ground next to cafe. The owners graciously let us soak down our son, his clothes, and his carseat and sympathized with us...while a perfectly healthy boy ran around gleefully, like this sort of thing happened every day. (Heaven forbid!)

We finally made it to Blackfoot. Though we were tired, we figured we would stop at the local hot spot and snap a photo.

We spent the evening and next morning with Grandma. She became quite a hero by letting the kids have some spiffy cowboy hats and sheriff badges.

Grandpa showed up for breakfast and also earned his own little fan club by letting them all take turns riding on his new motorbike.

Then it was time to go. Another family picture on Grandma's steps (one of these days we'll have to count how many we have there) and we were off. 

Headed for home, sweet sweltering home.

Oh, And We Met a Bear

On our way into Waterton the day before, we stopped and talked to a guy who took people out on horseback rides. My girls have BEGGED me for years to let them ride a horse. Since a) we don't live on a farm, b) we don't own horses, and c) most places have an age-limit of 12...we haven't done it yet.

For our new friend, Ty...age wasn't a problem. We were sold. We set up our hour-long horseback ride for 1pm the next day.

Shortly after arriving, the girls met their new companions. Ellie was saddled up and perched on "Hero".

Lindy couldn't have been more happy. Her choice for a horse was "Blue".

Curtis rode with Daddy on "Freckles". Here he is, on Lindy's horse, showing how much he enjoyed the ride. (Being on a small saddle with another person, having the pommel consistently pummel you in a sensitive area wasn't his idea of fun.)

The girls loved every minute of it. A dream come true. Unfortunately for Lindy...she ended up being quite allergic to her favorite animal. She wasn't very happy about it.

After riding, we made our way into Waterton once again to visit another favorite place, Red Rock Canyon. 

On the way out of the canyon, we met a nice black bear.

(If you haven't guessed by now...it wasn't a real bear. But we sure shocked both grandmas when we pulled out these pictures. Neither of them were too pleased with us, I'll tell you that much.)

Waterton

Our fourth day in Canada found us in Waterton Lakes National Park. It is a typical destination for the Jones family while visiting Canada and remains on my list of top 5 favorite places on this earth. 

It was a gorgeous day. There's usually a lot of wind roaring through this place, but it was calm, clear, and sunny for us. Our first stop was at the Prince of Wales Hotel. The hotel was built in 1927 on a hill overlooking the Waterton townsite. (We rarely pose for pictures at this spot for fear the wind will throw us over the edge of the hill. In this picture I am trying to convince Curtis that he does not need to run full speed down the hill and into the lake.)

We ventured to a new picnic spot by the lake and, after eating our lunch, spent a long time throwing rocks. This beach was covered with the most perfect sampling of skipping rocks we've ever seen. (Ian's arm was sore for days.) Once again, the kids spent the better part of our time there with their legs firmly planted in the frigid water.

There were mounds of driftwood just ripe for the picking. The girls were on a quest to find "the perfect walking stick" for everyone.

Here's Ian with his "perfect" walking stick.

A little hike around the lake brought us to a place the kids dubbed "Seagull Island".

Soon we made our way into town for our newest family tradition (started last summer). We rented this 5-person surrey bike and tore through town. I sat peacefully in the middle seat, not pedaling, because Lindy was bound and determined to help Ian wheel us around. (Why would I argue with her?)

Our last stop was the ice cream shop. It is home to some of the best waffle cones I've ever had. (And, if you're lucky enough to be walking down the street at 5am, you might find a bear licking the sidewalks out front of the store...but that's a whole other story.)

Delicious.

Buffalo, Forts, Guns, and Names I Wouldn't Wish on Anyone

There's a place in Southern Alberta known as "Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump". Despite my 15+ years as a citizen I've never visited before now. While Grandma worked, Grandpa decided to join us on our adventure. And we picked the perfect day for it.

(I tried to get one of the kids to kiss this buffalo...but no one would do it.)

As we pulled up to the entrance, we noticed a bunch of people seated on bleachers surrounding the courtyard. As soon as I heard the drums I knew what we had in store for us. Pow Wow! We got there as the last few dancers demonstrated tribal dances and costumes. It was fascinating enough to keep Curtis entertained (though it might have had something to do with the announcers talk of "warriors" and "weapons").

We then made our way along the pathway that leads to an overlook area near the cliffs. Here's a little historical information regarding the site:

For 5,000+ years, the buffalo jump was used by the indigenous people to kill buffalo. They would drive the buffalo from grazing areas towards the cliffs. Young men would dress up as coyotes and wolves to help stampede large herds toward the edge. As the buffalo reached the edge of the cliff, the weight of the herd behind them, running at full gallop, would force them over to their deaths.

At the bottom of the cliff, the buffalo would then be processed. Most of the animal would be used in some way to help the people survive the cold winter.

This particular site was in use at least 6,000 years ago and the bone deposits are 39 feet deep. 

Did you wonder why it was called "Head-Smashed-In"? According to legend, a young Blackfoot wanted to watch the buffalo plunge off the cliff from below. He found a small crevasse at the base of the cliff and watched as the buffalo began to fall. As the bodies began to pile up, however, he was buried underneath the falling buffalo. He was later found dead under the pile of carcasses, where he had his head smashed in. 

Ian tried to use this as a warning to the kids that they should always listen to their moms and dads. If you ask Curtis about it, he'll tell you that the kid got smashed because he didn't listen to his mom.

Here's Curtis not listening to his mom telling him to smile for the camera.

Our next stop was Fort Macleod. It was originally founded as a barracks for the North-West Mounted Police. Their goal: to stop the illicit trade of "firewater" among the Blackfoot tribes. And, as a bonus...it put a federal presence in an area that was being eyed by the United States. (Ha!)

While I was seriously disappointed that we didn't see any real-life Mounties, we had a good time running around the Fort. 

Here's Curtis not listening to his mom tell him to stay off of the cannon.

(No one listens to me...)

The girls favorite part was the goats. They could have spent the entire day in the corner of the fort feeding these critters whatever they could get their hands on. (Ewww!)

Curtis' favorite part? The guns.

Here's Curtis asking, "If anyone wants a gun, please raise your hand!" (At which point he quickly raised his own hand.)

Oh, and he was a pretty big fan of running along the ramparts. But then...it was a lot of fun for all of us.

My favorite part? These two gentlemen. I hope I don't offend anyone, but I just couldn't help but laugh. Bachelor # 1: Bad Dried Meat. Bachelor # 2: Squat a Few.

(I know, right?)

Food, More Food...Oh, and Some Other Stuff

Each visit to Canada involves a trip to the "big city" to stock up on the goods. You know...Canadian chocolate, Canadian potato chips, and other various goodness. In addition to this typical mission, I had another goal in mind this year. I wanted to sample some more Poutine. For those of you unfamiliar with the term...allow me to enlighten you. 

Poutine (pronounced Poo-teen) "is a French Canadian dish, made with french fries, topped with brown gravy and curd cheese. Sometimes additional ingredients are added." (see Wikipedia)

My past Poutine experiences have been at Costco. (Apparently other international chains, including McDonalds, have been known to serve it as well.) While walking through the mall, however, I was excited to see that one of my favorite places (from when I was a teenager) had embraced this Canadian food. Yup, that would be New York Fries serving Poutine. (I know, I know...it's hilarious.)  

But not just any Poutine. Oh no...they've gone and ramped it up. They have the regular old Poutine (fries, gravy, cheese curds) AND they have 1) Pulled Pork Poutine 2) Butter Chicken Poutine 3) Braised Beef Poutine 4) The Works Poutine and 5) Veggie Works. SO MANY CHOICES!!!

They let us sample each kind (boy, Canadians are friendly!) and Ian and I finally settled on the Braised Beef and the Butter Chicken. 

I can't possibly explain how delicious this stuff is.

No, really...it's AMAZING. 

Now...as if our arteries weren't taking enough of a beating, we also stopped at our other favorite place, Tim Horton's. 

Oh. My. Goodness.

Their honey crullers are enough to make you weep! The only other place I've had something this light and delicious was in Paris (France, not Idaho).

Do me a favor. If you ever find yourself near a Tim Horton's (there are a few in the USA here and there) make sure you go in. Try a cruller. AND, trust me on this one, try a 40 pack of the Tim Bits. You won't regret it.

In case you think our entire Tuesday revolved around food (well, it kind of did)...we also took the kids to see Madagascar 3 (we all loved it), spent some time people watching (quite interesting), and stopped to appreciate Canada's commitment to dry grocery carts.

They really are such nice people.

And, no wonder...they have happy stomaches.