Day trip to Calgary

It was a drizzly, gray morning on Friday. The boys had off from school, and Otto had taken the day off, and we headed for Calgary. I checked the weather and it said it was partly sunny. Partly sunny is better than no sunny! First stop: The Calgary Tower.


Here's Sam running away as I try to snap a picture of him and "Royal Mountie Bear" at the base. I'm not sure if that's his real name; in fact, I'm pretty sure it's not.


There's a revolving restaurant on one of the levels, but we just visited the observation deck. It had a sky deck where you could step out over glass and look below allllllllllllllll the way down to the ground. That seems to be all the rage in high places these days. Dad stepped out onto one at The Sears Tower (or whatever the heck it's called now) in Chicago last summer, and I hear there's one out over the Grand Canyon now, too.



A couple shots of the surrounding vistas.



And a few birds-eye view shots.


Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!



AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fun! :o)


After we all safely landed on the ground, it was on to Stephen Avenue,


a pretty pedestrian street with various eateries and stores, and The Glenbow Museum (art), which we didn't get to this trip. We spotted a spotted park from way up high, checked a map...


and found out it was called Olympic Plaza. A friend has since informed me that this is where the medals were handed out during the 1988 Winter Olympic Games.

And that during the winter you can come here to ice skate.

They had these quirky pink gophers along the side, and from what I read were part of a temporary City of Calgary Parks 100th anniversary celebration.


There were beautiful tulips growing at the entrance gates on one side.


And across the street, City Hall. It reminded us of Tulane (sigh).


Young spring leaves. And Alberta's flag waving on the right.

There was a memorial for police officers and fire fighters that had died in the line of duty in the plaza next to City Hall.

A quick game of chase to work up an appetite for lunch.

After lunch we walked some more, and ended up at a big, giant downtown Bay (department store). Here's Otto walking in - nice building.

Then we got some ice cream back at Olympic Plaza, and snapped another shots with a giant statue.

Then we headed home. Where it was still drizzly and gray. At least the grass and trees got a nice drink while we enjoyed some sunshine.

Andy Turns 8!

Andy chose a John Deere cake this year. Sobey's was kind enough to make it for me.


And the party was at LazerForce, our local lazer tag facility. I didn't take any pictures of them playing lazer tag, because it was pretty dark, and only those playing were allowed in. But here are a few shots from the cozy party room that we were assigned upstairs.

Having fun with party favors.


Andy and Sam gelled their hair into a mohawk as a special hairdo for the party.


Patiently waiting for cake.

The birthday boy with the cake right before we sang.

Wait - just one more!


Make a wish!

Lastly a group shot back downstairs before everyone went home. On the last round of tag there was a group of older kids in there so it turned into a kids vs. teenagers battle, which apparently was SO AWESOME!!!

Easter!

Easter lasts 50 days, so technically I'm not late. :o) Here are Andy and Sam working on Easter eggs. Voila! Bowl full-o'-colored-eggs. They turned out more vivid than I thought they would. And a couple days after that we made some pretty Italian Easter Bread. Funny-face Sam kneading the dough. Rolling out the pieces that will be twisted together. Breads twisted up, ends met, risen, and almost ready to bake. Just need to paint on a little beaten egg first... Andy's turn to make a funny face... and don't forget the sprinkles! Putting the Easter eggs in the center of each bread, accompanied by a little more silliness. Ready to pop in the oven! And ready to EAT. They were slightly sweet, like Hawaiian bread. They reminded me of king cake, too. Little, mini, Easter king cakes. Yum.

Friends visit, again!

Kim, Lupe, Isaac, Nathan, and Gabriel came to visit us from Texas a few weeks ago. They also came up last summer, so they're regulars around here!

We kicked off their trip by meeting them in Banff and skiing for a couple days at Lake Louise. Here's a shot of everyone suiting up. The camera was then tossed back in the car so as to focus on skiing (or boarding), so no action shots. I think all the relative beginners (myself included) got more comfortable on their respective vehicles, so great job to all of us! :o)

After the weekend, we headed back to Red Deer, and they spent a few more days in Banff. They went for a dog sledding tour at Snowy Owl in Canmore. They had a great time; I think we'll add that to our to-do list for next winter.

They then drove over here to Red Deer to spend a few days with us. Here we are trying to enjoy the outdoors at Bower Ponds on the coldest, windiest, slow-blowing-in-your-face-into-your-hood-and-down-your-back day of their visit. Here's the one picture that I took, for posterity, basically just to prove that we were out there before running back to the car.


The next day we checked out the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, just down the road from our house.

A few shots from the interactive hockey/football/soccer/something else game. Isaac taking a shot.


Otto in action.

Gabriel pondering his next move.

Andy drop-kicking with Isaac, Lupe, and Gabriel looking on.

Sam doing...something.


Nathan, Andy, and Sam on the never-ending climbing wall.


Wheel chair racing. The video part was not functioning, so it became a test of endurance - who can last the longest??

And a large game of snakes and ladders (like chutes and ladders).
Kim and Gabriel taking a stab at mini-curling.


Later that night....

Isaac and Nathan checking out Izzy.

Then Phoenix came out to host the guests for a while.

And just general horsing around before bed. Everyone had fun; so glad they could come up for another visit!!