Grandma's 94th birthday

We made a quick trip down to Iowa to celebrate my grandma's 94th birthday in October.  She LOVES campfires, so that was the theme.  It was so fun to spend time with family!

We even got to see baby Emilia who was visiting at Lori's!

 

Confirmation Sunday

Abby was confirmed this fall, alongside a large group of classmates from our church.  We enjoyed celebrating this special day with family!

Lori's retirement

We have known and loved Lori since Abby was almost two and started going to her daycare.  We had to suddenly look for a new daycare, and had visited two others that we didn't love before our appointment with Lori.  When Lori scooped Abby up into her lap and bonded right away, we knew we had found the perfect fit.  The girls went to Lori's up until Abby started 4th grade and Norah started kindergarten.  The girls made so many great memories there!  We celebrated Lori's retirement with the rest of the daycare family this fall.  Lori has touched many lives!

First day of school

Summer went so quickly, especially this year with switching school districts.  Norah started her last year of elementary school (5th grade) on the Lumberjack team with Mrs. Prchal:

There is a large group of teachers' kids who hang out before school--these are the 5th graders:

So fun to be in the same building this year!

Norah's first day of 5th grade:

Abby's first day of 9th grade and first day of high school (two days earlier):

Banff trip--days 10-11

On Monday morning, we got up early (around 6:45) and finished packing/cleaning up.  We got on the road about an hour later.  We got gas and had lunch at Costco in Medicine Lake (cheaper gas and a cheap lunch).  The girls found treats/snacks that we can't find at home.  We had supper at Tim Horton's in Weyburn, and crossed the border back in the U.S.  We spent the night at a Microtel in Minot, N.D.  Note to self--check the booking when the price is only $55!  We only had one queen bed...oops!  Norah was moved to the window seat cushion when she fell asleep, so the rest of us all squished in.

On Tuesday morning, we left Minot at a little before 8 and were happy to be back home later that day!

Banff trip--Day 9

On Sunday, we had a very lazy morning.  We were going to stay in Banff/Canmore, but decided to go to Kootenay National Park.  Unfortunately, on the way down to the car, we had a bear spray incident in the stairwell.  The canister got bumped on the railing and we all had to go back upstairs to shower/rinse our eyes and throw everything in the wash.

After a rough start, we did make it on the road.  Our first stop was Marble Canyon.  There was a cool mist down below and a series of bridges leading up to a waterfall at the top (neat view and not hard...only 1 mile).

We stopped at a roadside stop to see Numa Creek Waterfall (very quick stop).

We had our picnic lunch at the Paint Pots trailhead--not a great spot (very sunny/buggy), and it would have been better to hike with our lunch to the river, we decided.  The Paint Pots trail was about 1.2 miles and was very cool.  There was a bridge over the river, then the trail turns into an orange creek bed.  The trail was very wet and had a boardwalk and some logs to walk on.  There were three cool "paint pots" at the end of the trail.  Dave and the girls dipped their feet in the orange one, and another was a greenish color.  These are cool mineral springs.  Back at the river, we stopped to skip rocks and dip our feet in the water.

We drove quite a ways to Olive Lake--we thought we'd swim, but it was not really a swimming lake, so we moved on.  We drove the rest of the way to Radium Hot Springs and saw four female/baby bighorn sheep walking along the road.  Radium Hot Springs would be fun on a cooler day, but it was 96 degrees outside--way too hot for hot springs!  We saw another bighorn sheep just standing by the road on the way back.  On the way back, we stopped at a roadside viewpoint for a picture and then at a little lodge/gift shop.

Back in Canmore, we packed a bit, then had McDonald's for supper.  Norah loved the pancakes kids' meal, and Abby loved the snack wrap kids' meal.  We swam and went in the hot tub, but the pool area was crazy.  The girls played with the bunnies and watched tv, while Dave and I did some more packing and laundry late into the night!