Tues. Aug 28 - Andy got a fire going in the BBQ pit and prepared a mixed grill for supper. After supper we taught Danny the fine art of roasting marshmallows and constructing a s'more which he thoroughly enjoyed!

Highland Games in High River

Went to watch Erin at the Highland Games in High River which got off to start with a Paramedic Moment after Danny picked up a plastic tie fastener and cinched it tight on his wrist.

Erin competed in the Premiere Class F dressed in velvet and wool on a warm summer day.

Danny tours the Science Centre

Rachel took Danny to the Science Centre today. They met up with Rachel's friend Christine who works there as an Education Programs Assistant . After touring the science centre, making a paper airplane, lying on the bed of nails amongst other things, he had dinner with Rachel and Tyler before returning home.

Policeman's Rodeo

It was a beautiful day for the rodeo - attended the 25th annual Policeman's Association amateur rodeo in Airdrie. Danny borrowed a cowboy hat from Andy to keep the sun off his eyes. Not exactly the Calgary stampede but it was a fun time.

Golfing with the family

This is a historical event in our family ... we went golfing together!

It was going to be a 4some but then Rachel decided to tag along so she and Danny acted as caddies! It was a gorgeous summer evening - not too hot with a breeze in the air.

Putting practice

Danny claims he has his own set of clubs back home .... what a shame he couldn't beat Andy on this 18 hole course!!

Drumheller

Andy took Danny on a bike ride (after his run) in the morning and then took Danny to Drumheller today, which is famous for its dinosaur remains embedded in the hills surrounding the river valley. They toured the Royal Tyrell Museum http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Tyrrell_Museum_of_Palaeontology , shopped a bit at the gift shop, had lunch at McDonalds & headed for home. He is always happy to see Lyden and I pull up at the end of our work day because that means card games (Wizard, Uno or Phase 10)will most certainly follow dinner, a visit with Erin and even a video game or two!

Way to go Rachel!!

After running 22 km over a ridiculously hilly course, climbing a 1 km long hill between the 8 & 9km point and then experiencing a pulled groin, not to mention blisters on both feet, Rachel crossed the finish line of her first ever 1/2 marathon, coming in at 2 hours & 40 min! Unlike other races she's done this year (two 5Ks and a 10K), she did not have a running buddy. Tyler, Andy, Danny and I stood on the sidelines near the finish line and cheered her on. I don't think there are any moments more cherished and impactful than parents seeing their children achieve the goals they set for themself! Well done Rachel. We're so proud of you!

West Edmonton Mall Water World!

We packed up the car and headed off to Edmonton early Sat. morning. After several games of "eye spy" and the memory game "I like...." to pass time on the 3 hour drive, we finally arrived at West Edmonton Mall. Andy took Danny to Water World while I shopped the mall for 3 hours. The boys had a great time on the slides and in the wave pool. (Believe it or not that's Danny at the top of the red slide on the right in the black swimming shorts)

We would not have gone to Edmonton if it hadn't been to cheer Rachel on in the Edmonton 1/2 Marathon on Sunday. We met up with Rachel and Tyler at the hotel and went out for dinner which proved to be a longer event than we anticipated ... our 25-30 min. wait for a table ended up being 45 min. and Dan found the restaurant too warm for his liking. We headed back to the hotel at 8:30 and got him ready for bed, and after watching about 5 min. of tv he was out like a light.

Danny's first day in Calgary

Danny and Andy took a bike ride down to the river and fished for a couple of hours this morning ... the weather has turned unusually cool especially compared to the record breaking hot July we had, but as far as fishing goes, it was a perfect day.

Rachel popped by the house in the afternoon for a quick visit and dropped Andy and Dan off at the LRT station. They came downtown to meet me at the office after work, after exploring the Devonian Gardens (top photo). The three of us went to "A Taste of Calgary", an annual food event held at Eau Claire. When we got home we played a couple of games of Wizard with Erin and Lyden. Dan promptly disappeared to the basement with Erin & Lyden to play video games. We're off to Edmonton tomorrow - going to cheer Rachel on in the 1/2 marathon she's running on Sunday and take in the world famous West Edmonton Mall.

Danny arrives!

Danny's flight from the UK was delayed 4 hours .... he was to arrive at 4:35 pm - we left our house for the airport at 8:30 pm (3:30 am UK time). We saw the Zoom plane pull into the gate as we approached the airport. Even though Danny said he slept for 3 hours on the plane, he was understandably one very tired boy after a very long day of travel which started at 6am UK time when he and Mark set off from Coventry to drive to Manchester airport (only to arrive & be told that the incoming flight was delayed for 5 hours).

Family Quotes Portfolio

On Aug 2 I took a 2 hour class to make this portfolio; the theme is Family Quotes. The entire class time was spent "building" the portfolio. I added photos and embellishments and finished it off today after Andy, Lyden and I took in 18 holes on the putting course. After receiving an invitation to a networking golf tournament in September, I decided I should at least make an attempt to learn how to hit the ball off the tee so I picked up a left handed driver on sale at Sport Chek and Andy and I went to our local driving range and hit a bucket of balls Sat. morning ... if I practice enough, I'm hoping I won't be a complete embarassment. It's a non-competitive womens only "best ball" tournament so hopefully there won't be too much pressure! The added bonus is my friend Marian was also invited to the same tournament so at very least, I will be spending some quality time with my friend!

BBQ Lamb

Andy decided to roast the Morrocan inspired lamb directly over the fire pit ... it was delicious! With the coals left in the fire pit, we broke out the marshmallows and had S'mores!

Love Letters - Part II

Finished decorating this lunch pail today to hold some of our love letters (see earlier post).

Saskatoon Rhubarb Jam

Went out to the Saskatoon Berry Farm yesterday and picked up 3 pails of saskatoons - 1 for Tyler & Rachel and 2 for us .... last year was the first year I made Saskatoon Rhubarb Jam and it so delicious I was kicking myself that we didn't buy a second pail so I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice! Three batches of jam later and here are the results.

We still have 3/4 of a pail left over - will make a saskatoon berry rhubarb pie tomorrow (but that will only use up 4 cups) and likely freeze the rest to use in fruit crumbles or smoothies. Received some good news this morning: our 10 year old nephew Danny will be arriving Thursday August 9th for a 4 week visit - he returns to England on September 6th so we'll have a whole month together. He sent Andy an email to confirm the flight details which he started with the words "get out your wallet" ... cheeky as ever!!