Goings on in July.

I have the greatest of intentions of making more regular blog posts but alas life gets in the way. The general looking after two young children and the watching of Keeping Up with the Kardashians has been taking away from this great intent and To Dear my former self, what did you do with all your time before you had two children or children at all? You thought you were busy then. Ha. I would just like to say get over yourself, YOU. WEREN'T THAT BUSY.

Oh, I got them hairs cut. I'm really regretting this decision. I've NEVER been one to regret a haircut before and my hair has been all sorts of crazy throughout the years. I just don't know what it is about this one? I have actually stopped looking in the mirror in the hope one day, in a few months I'll wake up and like the reflection again. Maybe it's getting older?  I don't have that many years of youthful look left and I'm starting to see the result of countless sleepless nights from small children. Now, I've gone and ruined myself more with this haircut and when looks weren't at an advantage anyway. Damn it. Live and learn I guess. 

So here it is, July, in one post. July started off with a lovely visit from some Aussie friends, they were travelling through Canada and since we live in such a cool part of it, they decided to stop in. We spent the weekend showing John and Tiarne through Jasper and the surrounds. Canada decided it had had enough of the "warm" weather and treated us to a chilly little weekend. The hot-tub proved to be major hit and the boys woke up Sunday with pretty sore heads from a few rums in the tub. 

A few snaps from our Jasper explorations. 

Attempt number 42,100 at getting a nice picture with Buddy. I actually secretly love these failed attempts, they really show his personality, always too busy for a picture. There's life to be lived Mum! 

We went on to Maligne Canyon, a gorge that runs through Jasper NP and was quite spectacular. The concrete paths and tourists detracted from the experience though. 

Love a man who babywears! 

John and Tiarne at the Canyon.

Travelling with kids, always the adventure.

Our lunch stop in Jasper town. 

 Ice-Cream at 13 degrees, I must be acclimatising!

We then went on to the Jasper Tramway. This is the highest cable car in the Canadian Rockies and for the times you get good weather at the top, the view is spectacular. This was not one of those days, however.

We showed J and T around town and took them down to the Beaver Boardwalk. Like any good Aussies they hesitated a little when they saw the cougar and bear warning signs. For Australians, just the thought there's something on the land that can eat you is a little uncomfortable (for the record; there was a Grizzley attack just a week ago, at a camp ground near us and there's currently a few trails in Jasper closed due to Grizzley charges.) Being aware and educated is your best bet to avoid any harm.  

Thanks JL and Tiarne for coming to stay, we loved having you and we loved just being able to speak naturally for the weekend without copping weird looks for saying things like thongs, no worries, sangers and cheeky rumbos.

This little crumpet, continues to charm his Mummy everyday.

The following weekend, as a family, went on a little hike in Jasper, the weather was just beautiful and nature needed to be enjoyed. 

This male Elk was roaming around the side of the road. In terms of Elk, this is about as good as it gets, the size of the Elk is measured by the number of "points" on their antlers. In hunter's terms this is a 7 by  7, a very good prize. Hard to believe that these are hunted, it's also hard to bite my tongue in a town/province full of hunters. These beautiful creatures will lose their antlers come the end of Autumn to conserve their energy for Winter. He will grow an entirely new set come the following Summer. 

A few snaps from the hike. 

A resourceful Daddy changing a bum.

The money shot.

Susie girl enjoying the Rockies.

After our hike we had a play in the Athabasca River (the River pictured behind us), the water at the edges was cool but the water no less than 5 metres in was freezing, I mean feet numbingly freezing. If you don't enjoy the feeling of having feet you can walk the entire length across. 

Bud's little friend Nolan had a birthday in July. He had a superhero themed party, Bud is yet to really get into the super hero thing so when we said he had to dress as a superhero it was kinda lost on him. A few youtube videos and a quick browse of some cool costumes later and he was right into it. Of course he chose to be "The Flash". This kid has an undying love of the colour red, so this was a natural choice for him. He was so so so excited leading up to the party (glad my love of parties is rubbing off on someone), anyone would have thought it was his birthday. He suggested making some cupcakes to take as well, his skills in the kitchen are improving weekly and he LOVES cooking. He made these entire cupcakes; cracked eggs, measured flour, you name it. After a tutorial from Mummy he iced most of them and added sprinkles too. A proud Mummy moment right here.

Token brother shot. 

 The FLASH!

 Token Mummy shot.

 Super E enjoyed the party too.

 The birthday boy.

I can't believe we are now well into the second half of the year and E is approaching 6 months. We are approaching our 4 month anniversary in Canada too. What do they say? Time flies when you're having fun!

Just some pics of the boys (for family) to finish.


Little E, the sweetest of the peas.

My Bud. Such a gorgeous natured little boy. I hope he always stays as loving, kind and caring toward others as he is now.