Migratory Byrds: alberta

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Alberta bound, Post 1: Branding

In late May (yes, I'm that far behind!), we spent 9 days in Alberta. We left home on Friday night, May 16th, and drove all through the night in an attempt to have the drive be as easy on Finley as possible. (It sort of worked...)

Ben and I took it in turns to drive, eventually arriving at our weekend destination around 11am on Saturday morning. Our destination was our friend Nicole's family's ranch, where it was branding weekend! It had been 2 years since our previous visit, and once again Roxy met us there.

Luckily the branding had a delayed start due to rain, or we would have missed most of it. After lunch in the farmhouse with the many friends and family assembled for this highly-anticipated annual event, it was time to head out to the cattle yard and brand those baby calves.

I was able to stay out of the action this time by using Finley as my excuse, which suited me fine as I find branding a little bit heart-wrenching! Ben got right in there and wrestled calves to the ground though, and I think Roxy had a turn using the spray bottle.

The only photo I could find of me!
(Nicole's photo)

(Nicole's photo)

Aunty Roxy and Finley

Nicole and Cadi

Ben in action

Back at the house... Finley in the (slightly
too big yet) Wranglers Monica got for him!

After lunch on Sunday, Nicole and Monica went for a walk with Cadi and Finley and took a few cute snaps...

(Nicole's photo)

Monica and Cadi
(Nicole's photo)

(Nicole's photo)

That afternoon we headed up to the cabin for a picnic around the fire pit. We ate hot dogs and made s'mores and had a short sing-along until we started getting rained on. It was wonderful!!

(Nicole's photo)

Nicole and Cadi

Tyson and Cadi

Back at the house, Cadi and Finley had their baths in a picturesque old-style wall-mounted basin, complete with antlers for a soap holder. It was a gorgeous photo opportunity... and a time of great merriment for our boy, as he discovered that the more he splashed and screeched, the more the assembled crowd would laugh! Along with his excitement levels, the height of the splashes continued to grow until waves of soapy water were cascading onto the floor... :D

It was a delightful weekend at the ranch, with the warm hospitality of Tom and Monica's family the fondest memory of all. Thank you all so much!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Easter weekend in Calgary

For Easter weekend, we drove to Calgary, AB to visit Roxy! This was Finley's first real road trip... almost 2000 km return. We just allowed for lots of stops, and he did really well!

We hit the road after Ben finished work on Thursday, and drove as far as Kamloops, BC (350 km) that night. We stayed overnight in a motel and were on the road again at 9am on Good Friday. Throughout the drive to Alberta, we saw lots of beautiful scenery...

Wildlife bridge (i.e. for animals to cross the highway!)

...And we even spotted a female moose beside the road! Somehow I managed to get my camera out in time to snap a photo as we drove past.

We also had moose sightings INSIDE the car... :D

We arrived in Calgary at 7pm and were greeted by an enthusiastic Aunty Roxy. She had been excitedly anticipating our visit, and had spent most of the day cleaning/ shopping/ cooking in preparation for it! Finley and Aunty Roxy enjoyed lots of snuggles over the course of the 3 days and 4 nights we spent together...

(Finley and I enjoyed some snuggles too, of course!)

On Saturday, Roxy had organised for us to meet some of her friends for lunch at a Brazilian churrascaria style restaurant. It was great to meet them and stuff ourselves full of various delicious types of meat! Roxy's friend Frank also turned out to be an expert at encouraging babies to nap. :)

L-R: Auri, Roxy, Neil, me, Ben, Frank

After lunch we spent a few hours shopping at the Chinook mall. In the evening, Roxy cooked us yummy stuffed potatoes and we relaxed around the fireplace at her house.

On Sunday, we went to Roxy's meeting, enjoyed a scrumptious roast she prepared for lunch, went to her afternoon gospel meeting, and then had a few of her friends over for a takeout pizza dinner.

That day our gorgeous little man wore this ADORABLE sweater and toque (aka jumper and beanie) that a friend in Vancouver knitted for him...

On Monday, we did some sightseeing. We went to the Peace Bridge and walked alongside the Bow River (taking lots of photos in the process), then did a drive-by tour of Roxy's work.

Photo shoot before leaving Roxy's house...