Red Rock Road

The day we learned that the road to Red Rock was finally open (after being closed for three years) we made plans to check it out.   

Thanks to a particularly rainy spring and summer things have been super green and I think we've seen more spectacular rainbows this year than any other.   

Twenty minutes into this drive and we had to stop to watch a baby bear climb a tree, while its mother foraged for food down below.    This road never fails to disappoint. 

Though we could see evidence of the Kenow Wildfire all around ys we were delighted to take in the familiar colors and sights of this amazing part of the park.  Oh, how we have missed this!

Note- Three minutes after I took this photo another rainstorm rolled in causing us to hurriedly pack up our food and run for cover, which we didn't mind one single bit.

Rainstorms make for exciting drives along Red Rock Road.

Livin' the dream

Some friends of ours invited us out to their home for an evening of horseback riding. 

Um...fresh hair, horses, beautiful scenery and conversation until way too late...?

Yes, please!

Look at that Nate - conquering his fear of horses and riding like a cowboy!

Look at John sitting there like he rides horses every day, and there I am smiling like a tourist. 

Look at that view!!

Oh and look at Jess. 

A dog and a horse.

We're all just spent an evening living the dream!

Third family photo shoot of the year

One of these years I'm going to pay a fancy, professional photographer to take our family photos.  

We're all just practicing still. 

A Payne-ful evening

This evening was anything but painful.  

It consisted of paddleboarding,  being motored around the lake, visiting with the kids will sitting in the bed of a pickup truck, and searching for wildflowers.

We sure do love our Payne Lake nights!

The joys of June

In case anyone ever wonders if Jessica ever gave up on her "Puppy Campain" rest assured - it is still going strong.   One day after leaving work, I approached my vehicle in the parking lot to find notes pasted all over the van.   And with a darling pros and cons list like this one, how have John and I not gotten her a dog yet?   Sigh...hearts of stone, obviously. 

As mentioned above - I worked in June!  Like, got dressed and spent full workdays at the school again.   After a month off for surgery and then three more months off for unexpected recovery time - it felt really good to be back.  Granted, due to COVID restrictions there wasn't a student insight, but I was there!  That mattered to me, if not to anyone else;)

Nate spent his days in June teaching himself to bake and playing outside with a few select friends.   Golf has been the activity of choice this year and its just so cute to watch these guys meet up for a round.   Nate even learned hot to drive his friend's Dad's cart!  haha

June brought a very unusual, but beautiful graduation celebration.  My niece Mya was among this group of lovely girls and I was glad I got to photograph them one evening.  

John's sister Rachel came down one evening and we were just so happy to see real, live company that we just had to make a party out of it.  We celebrate my nieces upcoming birthday with chicken wings, fires, cake by Nate, and watermelon!

One evening we revisited the nearby Jensen's pond.  (A stocked pond off the Waterton Highway)  It had been years since we had visited this charming little fishing hole.  

Here's a picture of our first visit to this pond pretty much a decade ago!  (I'm a little sad my kids don't dress up anymore;). So much has changed over these past 10 years.  It makes me happy and sad, all at the same time. 

I'd have been perfectly happy to have stayed right here in June forever. 

Waterton Days

Our favorite National Park opened up a couple of weeks ago and we have been doing our very best to make up for lost time!

We had a BBQ with my sister and her family out at Pass Creek.   We chose pass creek because this was the only camp kitchen in the whole park that didn't have signs and red barrier tape across the doors and windows.  We weren't sure why this one was allowed to be open, and we wondered if we'd get in trouble for using it, but we weren't going to waste too much time wondering about little technicalities like that.   It was pouring for heaven's sake and there was a picnic to be had!

It's always fun to get together with family and my kids have definitely been missing their cousins!

We've gone out several evenings to fish (John could a big trout which he was thrilled about), paddleboard or explore whatever part of the park is newly opened. This week Akimina Road opens up for the first time since the Kenow Wildfire a few years back.  I am so excited to check out a few o four favorite old stops that we've been unable to get to until now.  

Abby recently got hired at Beavertails, so she has been making this journey almost daily.  

I kinda envy her.   I mean, I don't envy the hours she spends over a hot fryer cooking dough and fries - BUT I do envy the drives she gets to have.  

Sigh...everything is beginning to feel right in my world again.   

The other side of the Hill

This was the day I woke up 40.

I'm not trying to be dramatic or anything, but I really did wake up feeling different. 

Older, but in a good way.

I've been looking forward to my 40th birthday for years.  Perhaps that is because my Mom never got the chance to see 40, not even close.  Perhaps it is because I have just come out of a decade of surgeries in an effort to combat my genetic predispositions.  Whatever the reason - aging RULES!  

Bring on the grey hair, the laugh lines, and the added weight.  I'll take it all and relish in it. 

My sister and her kids covered my lawn with Birthday candles and 40 signs.

I left it up straight into the next day.  Both Jewel and Crystal always go all out to make this day a special one for me.  

The kids created a Birthday Wall of shame fame for me, Jess made one of her beautiful banners, and the table had fresh flowers.  

John had prepped for days to make sure that our family had a special Birthday outing that evening out at Payne Lake.  

                            He filled the cooler, making sure to pack everything needed for hot dogs and smores,  pulled the paddleboards out of storage, loaded the boat and tackle, and even remembered the Birthday Cupcakes.   Say what?!  Cupcakes even?  What a guy!

After we fished and ate and paddle boarded our little hearts out, Abby took the kids back to town.  John and I stayed out on the boat until the sun went down.   

While John fished I watched the water and the sky until it almost hurt to stare anymore. 

Then I just listened.

Water lapped against the boat. 

A nearby by let out its soulful call.

A pair of geese passed by, honking their way past us.

Three drunk guys off in the distance hollered and laughed as they rocked their rowboat so much that it sunk.

Sigh....Serenity...Serenity...

It was all a perfect end to a beautiful day.

I like 40.   I think I will be happy here.

Church in May

I really love church at home.  

Like, really so much.  

John makes sure that we give it the respect it deserves.  

We always dress up.

We sing.

We Pray.

Everyone takes turns giving talks.  

After a 45-minute sacrament meeting, we prepare for Sunday school, where again, someone takes a turn teaching a lesson.  

The kids listen better. 

Everyone bears testimony more frequently.

We've gotten to hear from Grandpa more in the past two months than we have ever before!  He has shared stories of his mission, testified of the truthfulness and importance of the book of Mormon in his life, and shared comments during Sunday School.  I hope my kids remember this time with him!

Sam caught me trying to take a photograph of our Sunday School meeting one day, and being the hoser that he is, did his very best to thwart every effort.  

He was almost successful.

I really love and admire the way John has continued to make the sabbath a special day. 

The temptation to show up in jammies and bring chips and salsa to class is real, but this guy won't let our Sunday mornings be anything but what they should be.  

It's why I married him.

Perhaps my old self somehow knew that one day I would rely on this man to see us through a new and unfamiliar situation.   

He's kinda done an amazing job at it.

There are lots of things we haven't loved since COVID shut the world down, but home church?  

Well, it's not been bad at all! ;)

The Birds of Spring

Oh, this spring was good to us. 

It was slow. 

 It took its time coming and gave us lots of time to enjoy.

It was full of wildflowers, and evening drives and birds, many of which we'd never seen before.

We watched Hawks and Eagles and Ducks, and Geese and noticed their beauty in a new way.  I think it is because we had nowhere to go or be.  With athletic games, youth activities, school, and meetings of every kind canceled - we were gifted with the only thing needed to really enjoy spring ...TIME!

It's AMAZING what you notice when actually paying attention!

We were also lucky to find an American Bittern, a Blue Heron, Mountain Bluebirds, the most beautiful Tanagers, and Sandhill Cranes.  

Slowing down and making time to watch the birds is good for the soul.

North Drywood Falls

With COVID keeping us inside for much of the week, John and I resolved to find a new neck of the southern Alberta woods to enjoy.  A friend from work recommended a hike near Pincher Creek and I am sure glad we took her advice.   

After a very, very inactive February- April (literally spent in a recliner) I wasn't sure if I would be able to physically do a hike, but this 8km round trip stroll along an old service road proved to be the perfect length and level of difficulty to keep everyone in my family happy.  

I think this mountain chickadee just may have been the CUTEST thing I'd seen all week.  It was SO small, but its song could be heard from quite a ways off. 

I honestly think my kids get along better once we get them out of the house, away from phones, and back into the fresh air.   Go figure!

This was titled the North Drywood falls because after an hour and a half of walking, this is where you end up - at the beautiful North Drywood falls!

Of course, John and the kids had to pull over for a bit and try fishing at the nearby Butcher Lake.  

Unfortunately by the time we finished the hike, a cold rain had started to fall reminding us that none of us were prepared for changing mountain weather.  How have we not learned this lesson yet?!

They all fished with socks on their hands until they could stand the cold any more.  

We drove home with the heater blasting, had warm soup for supper, and took naps that were much longer than they should have been.  

This first hike of the season sure tuckered us all out, but it was a lovely one to enjoy!