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)

(Nicole's photo)

Monica and Cadi
(Nicole's photo)

(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!

Five days in Florida

After our western Caribbean cruise, we had another 5 days in Florida before flying home. We spent most of this time on the west coast of Florida, staying with Nathan's grandparents - Levi and Ruth - in a town called Venice (3 hours north-west of Miami). Venice's claim to fame is that it is the shark tooth capital of the world!

Ruth and Levi (many thanks!)

One day we drove half an hour north to the town of Sarasota, FL. We went shopping, ate cupcakes, admired the scenic beaches, and hunted down a Costco to buy some mangoes that we thought might be nearly as good as Australia's Bowen mangoes (they weren't though). Sarasota looked like a great town for a family vacation... lots of kid-friendly attractions and a laid-back beach vibe. We'll have to return someday!

The only photo we took in Sarasota was of this fantastic piece of work...

Another day, Finley and I went to the beach in Venice while Ben had his first experience with the American health system (don't worry, he's fine)...

The most interesting thing we did during our stay in Venice was go to the Myakka River State Park and take a narrated tour on the world's largest airboat to see some alligators. We saw lots! Did you know that you can tell how many feet long an alligator is by judging how many inches from its snout to its eyes?

Myakka River State Park

The airboat

Our tour guide and airboat captain

Gators!

Yikes

Keeping an eye on the tourists

The day before our flight back to Seattle, we drove back to Miami in our rental car and stayed overnight at the same motel we'd used before our cruise.

The next day, we passed the time before our flight by relaxing in a quiet park near the airport.

Then, it was two flights back to Seattle (again via Charlotte, NC), and a 3 hour drive back to Canada (via Trader Joe's and Wee Ones Reruns in Bellingham, of course).

In his own seat for the first time as the plane wasn't full

From my window seat, I saw another plane overtake us in the distance!

It was a fun and relaxing holiday!