At the beginning of the summer, Sophie attended her first day camp. She had a week long half-day camp at Butterfield Acres. She got to feed and hold the farm animals, play games, go on tractor rides and so much more. She had a great time. At the end of the week, they sang a song on the Hoe Down stage. After it was over, there were tears because she said she didn't want it to end. Luckily, we have season passes and could go anytime during the summer.
Our first camping trip was at the end of May, Nat and Rob's annual anniversary trip to Bow Valley Campground. A few weeks later, we went to Mount Kidd with Nana and Papa. This was a particularly special trip because while camping, we visited a nearby ranch and the girls went on their first horse back ride. Very exciting! We also did a trip with Mamie, Pepere and Uncle Julien at Tall Timber. We spent our time swimming in the indoor pool, catching tadpoles in the Red Deer River and crafting up a storm. We brought our tadpoles home and watched them turn into frogs. Very educational! Our other camping trips were with; Nana, Papa, Uncle Warren, Aunt Ave, Ally, and Grace (Lake Newell); our good friends Scott, Lori, Nixon, and Leland (Mount Kidd); and Uncle Dan, Aunt Tina, Madeleine and Vincent (Ol' MacDonald). Our last trip was just a couple weekends ago with our good friends Denny, Chelsea, Emily and Logan (Tall Timber). We roasted plenty of marshmallows, did tons of crafts, made magic potions, went on walks, even a couple of hikes, went swimming, as well as enjoyed the company of our friends and family.
This summer, we also invested in some kayaks. So much fun. We made several trips to Barrier Lake; we packed a picnic, some sand toys, the kayaks and headed there for the day. Sophie really enjoys going for a paddle, while Elise prefers to stay on shore for now. Our hope is that the girls will learn to love it as much as Ryan and I some day.
Another fun thing we did this summer, catch lots of bugs! Many ladybugs, some spiders, plenty of ants and a grasshopper. In the spring, we were given some caterpillars, which we cared for until they turned into butterflies. Very interesting and educational. We also caught some tadpoles on our camping trip with Mamie and Pepere. We brought some home and watched them turn into frogs. Sophie really enjoyed checking in on them everyday and really struggled with our rule of no touching, just looking. She could have cuddled those frogs to death (why we insisted on that rule). So even with two girls, tiny creatures have been a big hit. Who knows what we will catch next year?
To see more pics from our summer, click here, here and here.
This summer, we also invested in some kayaks. So much fun. We made several trips to Barrier Lake; we packed a picnic, some sand toys, the kayaks and headed there for the day. Sophie really enjoys going for a paddle, while Elise prefers to stay on shore for now. Our hope is that the girls will learn to love it as much as Ryan and I some day.
Another fun thing we did this summer, catch lots of bugs! Many ladybugs, some spiders, plenty of ants and a grasshopper. In the spring, we were given some caterpillars, which we cared for until they turned into butterflies. Very interesting and educational. We also caught some tadpoles on our camping trip with Mamie and Pepere. We brought some home and watched them turn into frogs. Sophie really enjoyed checking in on them everyday and really struggled with our rule of no touching, just looking. She could have cuddled those frogs to death (why we insisted on that rule). So even with two girls, tiny creatures have been a big hit. Who knows what we will catch next year?
To see more pics from our summer, click here, here and here.
