Baby Blessing - Canada

 SISTERS ❤

I mentioned awhile back that my sister was pregnant with what is nothing short of a miracle baby. After 10.5 years of marriage, 3 adoptions, 1 miscarriage, a 3% chance of getting pregnant naturally, and they weren't "trying" to conceive anymore... I don't know what else you would call it. While I was on a plane to Thailand, adorable little Piper was born! A GIRL. My sister has three boys and was pretty convinced this baby would be a boy as well. Her and her husband opted to wait to find out the gender and I was just convinced it would be a girl. As I mentioned in the blog post about the baby shower we threw for her, I got her the most adorable little girls dress. Which was my way of willing it to be! It has been killing me to not have met my niece, but I finally got to!

When my parents told me they would be driving through Salt Lake if I wanted to hitch a ride with them to my Piper's baby blessing, I just couldn't pass it up. I wish I didn't have to come back so soon because I always have so much fun at her house! They live right on a lake and with sun not going down in Canada until around ten in the summer, we just play, play, play into the night! Lots of jumping in the lake, and back into the pool/hot tub, eating and goofing off. Never a dull moment at the Palmer household. It was really fun to see so much family. My grandparents were there, along with my other sister and some extended family. I stayed for the weekend but had to fly back on Monday while everyone stayed, which was a total bummer, but hey, a girl has go to work!

Before we even got to Canada we stopped in Washington for a family reunion. We camped for two nights and spent the time with my aunts and uncles and great aunt and uncles, you get the idea. After the reunion we drove into Canada through the BC side. We never enter through British Columbia because it has always been out of the way, but since we were coming from Washington it was the closest. It is by far the best way to go in regards to the views! I felt like I was watching a constant painting move across my car window. Stunning beautiful country. My Grandpa likes to call it "God's Country."

One of the small towns we stopped in on the way up! I would seriously move to a place like this!

canadian thanksgiving

With so much family in town last week, and it also being Canadian Thanksgiving on Monday, we were able to have Canadian Thanksgiving together the Sunday before! Growing up I always got two Thanksgivings, and I loved it.
 

Last Sunday we met up at a family friends house and all brought different parts of the meal. It was a fun night full of eating, playing pool, making music, talking, and laughing. I basically cuddled my sweet nephew all night long. The best part of the night was getting him in his pjs and ready for bed and being able to feed him while he fell asleep in my arms. That little guy just makes me so incredibly happy I tell you. When he smiles... he smiles BIG, and it fills you up! It is the best.

It was such a great night. Basically when my family is all together, everything is right with the world. Everything else falls to the background and we don't focus on anything but each other, and I love that.

Trevor just sat right on down and played this harp like he had been doing it for years. I guess that's just what comes with knowing guitar and piano so well, you can play almost anything! It was so pretty, I think we need a harp now.

Calgary Stampede - "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth"

Ever since I can remember I have wanted to go to the Calgary Stampede! For those who don't know what the Calgary Stampede is... "The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon racing and First Nations exhibitions."

I have always heard how amazing the Stampede is, and I have always wanted to experience it for myself. Finally this year while we were up in Canada we went as a family! It also happened to be my Mom's 50th birthday, so it was a fun day of celebration! We started off the morning singing Happy Birthday to my mom, and surprising her with a little movie of photos and music of her life. She is an amazing woman and did an incredible job raising six children. She should be incredibly proud of 50 years well spent. Of course her children are a bunch of weirdos, but I think for the most part we are pretty great too.

I know the picture is blurry, but I had to share it. Right when we walked into the kitchen and saw my mom me, my dad, and two of my brothers started jumping up and down around my mom hugging her singing happy birthday. This is the kind of stuff I love about my family. We are totally random, but at least it is never boring!

I was most excited to see the world famous rodeo! Me, my brother, and his wife Sharley went to go watch the rodeo while the other's went on rides and saw different shows etc. What can I say about the rodeo? Well, watching world champions compete against each other sure makes for an exciting show! I have seen smaller rodeos in the past, but nothing ever like this. I always thought that the Bull Riding would be my favorite, I mean, they do save it for last right? But I would have to say the best for me were the Bucking Broncos! Talk about a show!

 

 Us after the Rodeo!

We spent the rest of the afternoon eating fair food (THE BEST!), and strolling through the biggest expo I have ever been to! It was ginormous and full of a ton of random stuff you don't really need but always want to buy when you are there. We also walked around the agriculture area and got to see a bunch of different animals. I even got to stick my hand in a "cow" and feel what a baby cow feels like...

 I may, or may not have eaten a crap ton of these.

 

Justin had bought us all tickets to the chuckwagon racing and just as we were getting to the show, it started to down pour. We had outdoors seating mind you! We may have all been a little grumpy at first, but eventually decided we better just make the most of it. So while drenched we started making bets on different chuckwagons to win. The drivers for the chuckwagons were covered in mud, I don't know how they could see the race track, so I guess they had it worse then us!

The rain stopped just in time for the big show they do at the end of the Stampede and chuckwagon racing. Now my sister had gone on and on about this show and just how great it was. It wasn't that I didn't believe her, but I figured it would just be like most shows. Nothing can really compare! It was better then any concert I have been to, better then any Vegas Show! They pulled out ALL the stops for this production! You can't really describe it, you just have to SEE it. The show was so good that we all pretty much forgot about how cold we were. We were out of our seats in no time and watched the whole thing right at the stage. One of my favorite acts were these Chinese acrobats.

At one point during their routine the woman up top was doing the splits standing on one leg with the other straight up and the second woman was doing the splits with one foot on the first woman's foot and the other leg straight up. And if that wasn't enough... she was on pointed toe on the light bulb. Amazing.

And if the amazing acts, singing, and dancing galore wasn't enough... it ended with a HUGE firework show! One of the biggest I have ever seen (sorry Disneyland)... it was incredible!

I now know why the Calgary Stampede is considered a World Known Rodeo and Fair... because I would have to agree, it was is by far "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth"!

lake jumping and bbq filled summer...

While we were in Canada in-between traveling we stayed at my sister Kira's house. Kira and her family live on a gorgeous lake in Calgary. It is a beautiful home and area. I can't imagine waking up to that view every day. They have a dock that goes out into the lake and we took full advantage of jumping in and out of it all day. On the fourth of July we kept things simple and spent the day in their hot tub/pool and playing in the lake. We had a BBQ and when the sun went down lit some fireworks.

It is fun being apart of two countries and getting to celebrate both :)

One of the nights while staying at my sister's the boys all went to see a zombie movie and we got frozen yogurt and watch a chick flick at home. What is it about ice cream/frozen yogurt that makes everything in life just so much  better?

I loved being able to spend so much time with my family this summer!

my brother is cooler than your brother...

I can't believe I forgot to add this picture from our Waterton trip! And since I forgot, I decided to give it it's own post. I mean, it is that cool and all. 

This is my brother Ben. On one of our hikes up to this beautiful lake, he decided to see if he could possibly survive in the wild, and gave himself the challenge to build a raft from the debris and wood on the shore. He made this sucker in ten minutes!! 

I love spending time with my siblings. We are all so different and unique. Ben's personality is a pretty great one, as evidenced by this amazing raft!

WATERTON...

Oh Waterton! Waterton is very dear to my heart because I go there and I feel a connection to my father and my grandfather. My Dad grew up six months out of the year in Waterton, and the other six months in a town just outside of Waterton. My dad along with his father and brothers built a hotel up in Waterton that they ran and managed throughout the season. The stories that come along with it are great! They involved celebrities using their Sauna (they had the only one in all of Waterton) as well as a celebrity, William Shatner, asking my Aunt out on a date. And the best part, all of this was lost on them seeing they were just simple living farm people :) Just outside of Waterton are two towns, Leavitt and Cardston. Leavitt is my maiden name and the town was founded by Great Great Great Great Grandfather. We drove through Cardston where my Dad's house was growing up, and stopped in Leavitt to take a quick picture on our way to Waterton.

 

Where my Dad lived as a child.

Waterton Lakes National Park is a national park located in the southwest corner of Alberta, Canada, and borders Glacier National Park in Montana. Can you even imagine growing up in a National Park? I mean, it doesn't get much better then that. Except for maybe growing up in San Diego ;)

We got into Waterton in the evening, but didn't let that stop us from going on a hike. We did a midnight hike up Bear's Hump. There is a pretty spectacular view up there from the top, even though the hike itself is incredibly steep! When we got to the top we sat and talked, sharing stories and just enjoyed each others company. We also may have broke the law and lit off some fireworks... 

The next morning we were up bright and early for a ride around town in some surrey bikes! I can only imagine what we looked like, just driving all around like crazy people. Racing each other, pushing each other, being obnoxiously loud. We had a lot a fun on those things to put it lightly!

After some lunch we headed on over to explore Cameron Falls, where all the boys were crazy and jumped in - it is just a tad cold, you know, snow cap water and all. We then headed on a hike to explore even more beautiful water falls and gorgeous views. I wish I had brought my big camera more out with me, but for these hikes it was too much extra weight. Plus, who wants to worry about pictures when there is all that beauty around you?!!

 

We spent our time in Waterton hiking, swimming, playing tennis, and eating. Don't worry, we had ice cream every day, as well as Waterton Wieners, which are kind of like hot dogs on crack.
 

 

 

The hotel my Dad's family built and owned :)

But if that all wasn't amazing enough, before we left we stopped by the famous Prince of Wales Hotel. Which also hold family history for us. A few greats Grandfather on my father's side brought in the windows and installed them in the hotel when they were first building it. And to make it even more cool, a few greats Grandmother on my mother's side was hired to work there when it first opened as a maid. So it ties in on both sides that beautiful hotel. The view from that hotel is one of my most favorite spots I have ever been. Just beautiful.

Then we swung by a big group of Buffalo as we were driving out, and they were just so beautiful up close. Who knew Buffalo could be beautiful? All of them together, and the stunning scenery behind them. A perfect way to end our time Waterton.

Until next time beautiful Waterton...

Last trip to Waterton here.