Friday, November 18, 2016

Northern Alberta

From Banff and Jasper, we headed north about 8 hours.  We stopped at McDonald's on the way, which had a play place.  Weston had been asking the whole trip to go to a McDonald's play place.  He was so excited when we finally did!  There was also a cute train seating area.  It was funny to see Alex sitting there with the kids.  Weston really wanted Alex to sit with him, and then he took off to play!  Alex is such a good sport.  


After McDonald's and a couple of cracked windshields along the way... we finally made it to my aunt and uncle's place.  Weston loved seeing all the farm equipment, and Savannah wanted to pick all the pretty flowers.

I loved their dogs, which reminded me of our own border collie, Kai.  I've forgotten their names now...   

Mike and Enola arranged for us to stay in this trailer, which we were really grateful for, particularly because of the multitude of mosquitoes there.  The one downer of our stay was getting so many mosquito bites.  Weston's arms got chewed up the first night.  We figured out one place they were getting in and sealed that off.  Then we just had to smash as many as we could find right before we went to sleep.  We had to go in and out the door really fast, because they came in with you.  The boys started collecting the ones we killed.  

Those aren't Oreo crumbs... 


It was very peaceful there (at least until we brought our rowdy crew) - it was great to just stop and watch a butterfly for a moment.  

The guys went on a short hike to see a beaver dam.  We also enjoyed playing games.

And now, the reason for our whole trip - to celebrate Mike and Enola's 50th wedding anniversary!  We had a good time at their party, and I especially enjoyed listening to them tell their story.  They have one daughter, Kate, who is about 5 years older than me.  Loved seeing them again and helping celebrate 50 years.  The first picture was a photo of them in their younger years - still looking good!  (Mike looks just about the same, still sporting a headband and mustache.)  😊  

Love the sibling pictures of my dad, Eva May, and Enola - goofy bunch!  

Enola had her wedding dress on display, as well as some of their "wedding gifts that have stood the test of time."


Kate taught the kids some dance moves.  Jared picked up on some pretty quickly the day before, and he showed off some moves at the party.  






My dad's cousin Don was able to join us too - glad to spend a little bit of time with him.  He's standing between Eva May and Enola in the second picture below.  

There was lots of wide open space there - we loved the yellow fields.  The last picture below was taken at 12:15am!  There are not many hours of darkness up there.  Besides the mosquitoes, we had a nice stay.  It was so peaceful up there, and I loved being able to spend time with family that I don't see very often.    

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