Saturday, July 18, 2009

Canada!!


We just got home last night from a week long trip in Canada. I admit, I was REALLY not looking forward to the trip for the main reason that I knew the girls would HATE the drive. They did, but the time we spent in Canada was amazing. We had so much fun with everyone. We saw a lot of people we haven't seen in so long, we ate lots of good food, played games, swam, laughed, etc. It was a blast. Here are some highlights from the trip:

1. The girls and I got to spend A LOT of time with Nate.. away from work and his calling and sports.

2. Seeing all the cousins, aunts and uncles, Grandma's and Grandpa's... etc was GREAT! It was really great to get to know everyone a little better.

3. Going down the crazy huge waterslide at the hotel was a blast for Nate and I.

4. The first day we were there, we had nowhere to go and Addy was really tired and would not sleep in the car, so we found a parking lot, took everything out of the back, set up Addy's pack n play and noise maker in the back and gave her a nap, meanwhile, we sat outside the car and threw rocks with Hailey while she slept.

5. We said goodbye to everyone and headed for home when I looked at Nate and said, "you want to go to Banff?" and he said "No, it wouldn't be any fun for the girls to drive more" and I replied "I don't want you to miss anything that you really want to do, so let's go". So, we turned the car around and went to Banff and we are so glad we did. it was so fun.

6. Poor Addy slept in hotel bathrooms half the trip so we wouldn't bother her.

7. Going to Elbow Falls was really neat.. even with the rain, it was really pretty.

8. Eating dinners and lunches with tons of family was a blast!!!

9. Getting rained out at the lake and ending up in the gym of the church was an adventure but we all had so much fun.

10. A bonfire with lots of fun stories.

11. the one thing that stood out to me the most and only because i'm his wife: while listening to the stories Valerie was telling about Nate's Grandpa, I was running around like crazy trying to keep the girls contained and out of the dirt and I was really getting irritated that nate wasn't helping and just sitting there, then I realized something... he is where he needs to be at this time. I finally caught a glimps of him and saw that he was crying. (don't ever tell him that i'm writing this) For those of you who know Nate, it's a rare thing. I have only seen him cry maybe 4 times in the 9 1/2 years that I have been with him and I realized how much he needed to hear what his mom had to say. It was a tender moment for him and i'm so glad he got to be a part of that. Thanks Valerie.

All in all, it was a great trip.. and thanks to all those who put so much effort into everything and so much time and patience in making it such a great reunion for all of us. Although, I was really stressed about it and not looking forward to the HOURS and DAYS in the car, it was worth it in the end.

so, thanks to Canada and all our family for spending some well treasured times with us. We hope to see you all again soon.

You can see lots more pictures here.

6 comments:

Allison said...

On behalf of Canada and all family here, You're Welcome! It really was so fun and we were soooooo glad that you guys were able to come- seriously. PS are you missing a black fan? We have it if you are, you'll just hafta come get it back :P

Valerie Mom said...

Your pictures are fantastic! Thank you so much for coming. It meant so much to me that you would come. I know it was a really hard thing to do.

The Staheli's said...

We were so glad you guys came! Avery was especially glad for Hailey. :) and if Nate is anything like Justin, he reads the blog. :)

Jess and Matt said...

Looks like it was a great trip! There is nothing like getting away from it all and spending some quality time as a family!

Carmen said...

We are so glad you came and I am so glad that it was a good experience. I couldn't have imagined it going any better, I just thought everything was so great. I am SOOO glad you guys decided to come out to Banff, it just made it that much better and I was almost as excited for you guys to go on the boat as Hailey was:). I also am glad you included those highlights, some made me laugh and some made me tear up. We are so blessed to have the family that we do, and come from where we do. We are also very blessed to have such wonderful spouses that have married into this family, you guys all bring the perfect balance to our crazy family. We love you tonz!

Shantel said...

OH Canada- I am so glad that you guys had a good time and that you made the long car ride home.
The funniest thing is that I just looked at your first picture and then looked down at my shirt that I was wearing. We have the same green roxy shirt. I thought it was pretty funny.
Anyways love ya guys and can't wait to see ya again.