Happy Birthday Sweet Kat...

and Happy Fourth of July to all you Americans I know!

We had our Payne cousins spend the night before and then went to Waterton for the day. It was SO HOT! So we went to the lake to play. Kat, Carl and S-man swam in that glacial water for so long, we couldn't believe it.

The rest of us played on the beach, made forests of driftwood and read books/took naps.

Later Uncle Dare and Aunt N showed up 3 days early to join in the party! What a great surprise! We broke a pinata, had a weinie roast (that was a work of Grandpa's will to build the fire with it being so hot), ate cake and opened her gifts. Such a fun day!




Kat is our sweetheart girl that is always caring about others feelings. She is very responsible and dependable. She works hard to not give up when things don't go right the first time. She makes me laugh because even though she loves to organize, she also loves to hang onto "stuff"...for creations and things. She is having fun experimenting with creative photography...here is one of her shots from her birthday of the driftwood forest and Grandma snoozing in the background. How lucky we are to have you in our family Kat! We love you!

July 1st...Happy Canada Day

It was a neat sight to see the flags line the streets. This picture is of my neighborhood growing up but doesn't show my house. To celebrate Canada Day, we went to the carnival at Lion's Park (I forgot my camera though). The kids went on inflatable obstacle courses, bounce house and slide. The kids ate hot dogs with chips and pop (sah, no junk food...) and we ate Indian Tacos...Yum! Took me right back to Jr High. The fireworks didn't start until after 11 but they were fun to see sitting on the tailgate of Grandpa's truck!

Layover in Phoenix

*Note* This entry and Serenade of the Seas are out of order and I can't figure out how to switch them..so just know that the lay over came first! :)

On our trip to Canada, we had a massive layover in Phoenix. Aunt Jenni picked us up from the airport for a little fun in the Phoenix sun. We ate Cafe Rio for lunch! YUM! Then we went swimming in their backyard pool. It was a riot and we all had a great time. Maggie surprised us by jumping off the diving board, off the waterfall and going down the water slide mostly unassisted.


Fun. Thanks for the fun time Jen and family!

>



I think everyone would agree that this was the best layover that we've ever had!

Serenade of the Seas

Having never been on a cruise before, neither Jeff nor I knew what to really expect. We did gain more pounds than we'd actually like to know about and we did have a fabulous time. We decided that being on a cruise ship is kind of like being on a floating Las Vegas. There is something "happening" 24/7. We enjoyed playing shuffle board (a la Love Boat), attending classes on acupuncture and what to do about puffy eyes...we soon figured out that the "free" classes are really just promotional events trying to get you to buy the expensive cruise ship wares "that you can't get anywhere else". :) Funny.

My favorite parts were as follows:
-The wildlife...it was amazing. The bald eagles, the whales, the sea lions, the seals, the orca...WOW! I could watch them all day.
-All of our excursions. We went sea kayaking in lobsterman pants (that made hip waders look like wanna be's).
We took a train ride up White Pass and then biked the 15 miles down the mountain.
And we went to Mendenhall Glacier/on a whale watching expedition. Very fun and memorable.
-Being with Jeff. He's been travelling so much lately that it was nice to wake up with him every day. He had our state room decorated for my birthday with rose petals and towel swans. I picked right when I picked him to marry that's for sure! (Thanks for the assistance Ang!)


-I had a facial that was divine. I usually don't mess with my skin too much but this was absolutely worth it. I've never had people comment on my skin before and I had 4 ladies tell me that my face was "radiant". Sign me up again!
-The towel art that was left on our bed every night, we had a rabbit, a ray, a monkey, a turtle...

-Being with the family was terrific. It was nice to be with the Lambert's and of course the Peo families.


WHILE WE WERE AWAY...
My Mom retired from being either a teacher or an administrator at Cardston Elementary School for somewhere around 42 years. Congratulations Mom!

She had the kids help her at the end of the year carnival (Which they love being able to do). Grandpa took the kids fishing (Kat caught 2 rainbow trout while Carl and Maglet both caught one). They camped in Waterton and had a great time. Thanks Mom and Dad!