Guesstures!

We just guessed Ocean's word - SKIN. Sara is showing Sierra on the cards what her word is. I wonder what it is? It is a great game for all ages. Bradley hope you had a great birthday with your family tonight. It was wonderful sharing it with you. Your Uncle David, Aunt Erin and cousins Emma, Josiah and Hudson will be able to share in your birthday too - via this blog site. I know they would have fun with us too. Happy Birthday Bradley!!!! 

Name of the Game

Sorry - got the name of the game wrong - it is Guesstures not Teasers. Thanks Sara and Sierra for leaving the box behind you so I now know the proper name. Thanks Sara for suggesting the game - though I am not a huge fan of acting out games - it was lots of fun for all the family. 

Surprise!

Ethan looks at Grandpa Andy as he is telling Laura he wasn't ready for his Kodak moment. Sorry Andy - but those candid shots are the best, don't you agree? 

Here's Johnny....

John Paterson explaining to us the game Teasers (I think that is the name). And Journey with her Lambie. Thanks for bringing the game John, we had great laughs and lots of fun too. 

Time with the gals

While the other team was acting out their words, Jon helps his nieces Sierra and Ocean with brushing the hair on their horses. Looks like they were having fun too. 

Hey what can I say?

Hey what can I say - I'm good - Bradley's team got his 4 words right. Well, remember it is his birthday (LOL) 

Grandma and Ocean

After dinner we played a game where you had to act out words. Grandma Charlotte and Ocean are waiting for their team to go up. The guys team beat us gals - but not by much. It was a fun time by all - good laughs. We missed Amanda though as she had to go back to work after supper. 

Edie-bettie

There is our Ethan. He slept through most of the dinner party, but caught the tail end of it. Hard to believe that he will be 2 next month. Where is the time going? Ethan and I had some cuddling time and gave me a hug before I left tonight. What a sweetie! 

Laura with Amy

In between taking photos of the party, I got Sara to take a photo of Amer and I. Thanks Sara it turned out great. Amy - you look great too! 

Mom with her birthday boy!

Birthday hugs from mom are the best. Here's Amanda gives Bradley his birthday hug! 

Uncle Jon James

Here is Uncle Jon and Journey while Grandma Charlotte is wondering what Journey has in her purple cup - can you guess what it is? CANDY!!! And it is chocolate to boot!!! A woman after my own heart. 

Our Cheerleaders!!!

Here are Bradley's cheerleaders getting ready to sing him "Happy Birthday". The cheerleading squad consists of Ocean (sister), Journey (cousin) and Sierra (cousin). 

Auntie Amy!!!

Auntie Amy (and Journey) came down from Three Hills to celebrate Bradley's birthday. Here she is relaxing after dinner. 

Birthday cake

Here's a close up of Bradley's birthday cake - can you guess the theme? 

A big hug!

Bradley gives his younger sister Ocean a big hug. If you can tell on the photo - Ocean just got her nails done. They turned out really nice Ocean. 

Bradley's helpers

While the sparklers were going, sister Ocean and big brother Jon were helping Bradley blow out his candles. It was yummy cake - chocolate cake with icing! 

Happy Birthday Bradley!!!

Today the family got together to celebrate Bradley's 11th birthday. It was a total surprise for him as he knew he was celebrating it with friends tomorrow!!! Love that cake with the army trucks and guys. Unfortunately a couple got melted by the sprinklers. Poor little Journey though - all those sparkles scared her - but her mom Amy, Uncle Jon and Grandma Charlotte reassured her that everything was okay. 

Heading back home

Our last hike of the season along Ribbon Creek. With the autumn leaves and warming sun, it was quite beautiful. Thanks girls for some great memories this summer! 

Walk along Ribbon Creek

Ribbon creek was only a 10 min or so drive from our original hike and here there is hardly any snow. About 20 minutes from the time I took photo - I slipped on some smooth rocks and sprained my ankle pretty good. We had to turn around because of that. Would like to re-do this hike next year. Ankle is feeling better now. In the future will wear my ankle supporter and ankle-high hiking boots, esp if I want to continue to hiking with the group. 

A fellow hiker!

As you can see, there were others on the road going with the flow. For a new driver like me, I admittingly freaked out a bit in the beginning. We first meet this guy in the middle of the road on the way to our first hiking spot. Being from Northern Ontario figured he might react like a deer or a moose - head right for the headlights. Selfishly - I really didn't want anything to happen my passengers and my car (haven't even had for a year yet). But all went though - we shared the road like good children. This photo was taken on our way to our Plan B - hiking in Ribbon Creek. I love this Picasa website as this mountain sheep was near the end of the picture and with cropping it now is centre stage! 

Last Hike of the Season

Here are the die-hard Newcomer hikers going with the flow of what Mother Nature throws at us. See I wasn't kidding about the amount of snow that fell and that snowplow! 

Winter Wonderland!!

 

Our first big snowfall

This was to be our last hike of the season with Newcomers (Sept 25th) - but the snowfall was almost knee deep for some of us. Now if we had brought snowshoes, probably a different story. The snowplow was still there at the parking lot we were suppose to go to, so we parked on the highway for a few minutes to soak in the fresh snow on the evergreens. It is an awesome contrast. From this snowfall, it ended up closing the Crowsnest Pass (along the TransCanada) for a few days! The wonders of Mother Nature. 

Another waterfall at Johnson Canyon

As I am trying to organize my other photos on CD I found another great waterscape photo that I took on the way to Upper Falls at Johnson Canyon. With the water rushing this quickly, I wonder what it would be like in the Spring time? 

Snow White and Cinderella

On this day (May 19th), Snow White (Ocean) and Cinderella (Sierra) gave myself, along with Grandma Charlotte and Uncle Peter a fond farewell as we headed to the airport. I was heading to Madrid, Spain to begin my European Contiki Tour. Char and Peter were heading to Chicago where they were meeting up with Char's sons Jon and David (Erin, Emma, Josiah and Hudson too!). The girls sure brighten up the day of waiting passengers at the airport. A wee by-line, in June I had brought Sierra with me to pick up Amanda and Ocean from the airport. Sierra decided to wear her Cinderella outfit to greet them. While waiting she received wonderful comments on how beautiful she looked in her dress. When we saw Amanda and Ocean coming down the escalutor, we waved to them as we were very happy to see them. In front of them was a group of Asian tourists and they started waving at us. It was a heartful embrace as soon as Ocean was off the escalutor the two girls ran into each other's arms and gave she other the biggest hug. You heard the oohs and aahs from the visiting tourists - probably had to be there - it was priceless and beautiful.