At the beginning of Summer, I took the kids to Calgary. I wanted to take advantage, one more time, of Robert going on the airplane for free (under two years olds get to fly for free). The journey was hard, especially because we had a stop-over in Winnipeg, and the kids (especially Robert) didn't appreciate the second leg of our flight. My brother was waiting for me at the airport, and my Mom came rushing in at the very last moment, before we were about to leave (traffic in Calgary is a killer). She then took us to her place (the Ranch where she lives in Porcupine Hills).

Here is a recap of our trip. I'll use the photos to help me recall all the fun things we did in Alberta!

We woke up, and right away my mom told us that she needs to go out and feed her baby cow "Fred". Somehow he got lost without a mother, and therefore needed someone to feed him. My mom filled that void. He would lick himself so hard when he saw my mom coming every morning.

Then of course the kids had to ride on the tractor.

Robert turned 2 that day, but because I we didn't feel like driving all the way to a store for a cake, I decided to try my baking abilities. I baked a pretty delicious cake for Robert, although the icing didn't turn out as I had hoped (good first try though). Robert loved the cake, and especially the candles which he had to blow out.

The second day we decided to go to the Rockies (as I love them so much). We met Alex's mom in Canmore for a lunch, and then continued to Banff to do the Tunnel mountain hike. Jakub was a true hiker, but Robert got tired right away and needed to be carried most of the way. We took turns as to who would carry him.

We tired ourselves out and took to relax at the Banff Hot Springs. Robert absolutely loved the hot water, and didn't want to ever leave.

Instead of heading straight back to the farm, we did a night stop-over at my brother's house in Calgary. He took us in graciously, although wasn't really prepared, and my mom was annoyed, as he didn't have any tea (my mom's true addiction). We showed him the pictures from the day's trip, and he decided to zoom in onto my huge bum, so that it filled the whole TV screen (love between me and my brother is so so strong, just like the old days).

But don't worry, I got back at him. Check out my brother's fantastic physique:

When we got back to the farm, we went on many hikes/walks around the fields and found many beautiful wild flowers. Jakub really liked to collect a bouquet every time. Robert liked to be carried, but whenever we stopped, he had the most energy and wanted to play. Very cute!

And of course we had to go visit Nanton's greatest attraction: the Model Train Museum. Jakub remembered from previous years and was showing Robert all the ins and outs of the model trains. Robert was in awe, and absolutely loved it.

Jakub is fascinated and obsessed wtih dinosaurs, so when he got a present from his grandma (babcia Bozenka) a Disney movie: The Dinosaur, he had to watch it at least once a day (usually when Robert went to sleep during the day.

Also, for this reason, we absolutely had to go to Drumheller - the hub of dinosaur digging in Alberta (if not in all of Canada). They also have a huge dinosaur museum there.

After the museum, we went on a walk in the Hoo Doo mountains - kind of a dessert like area with cactuses all around, and these strange mountainess configurations. Jakub thought we would find some dinosaur bones, but the closest we got was finding rocks that we said were "dinosaur eggs", which of course we had to take home with us to Montreal.

On the way back to Calgary (still in the town of Drumheller), we stopped at a small water park with a humungous T-Rex. The kids loved it.

We also went to the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth - the Calgary Stampede, and enjoyed a free stampede breakfast. Unfortunately the day was really cold, and we got caught by a great hail storm on the way home.

The next day I left the kids with grandma, and went to visit my friend in Edmonton. She just had a baby, and I couldn't wait and see her new born and her being a mother for the first time. I had a great visit and Trina, my friend, was the calmest and most relaxed mother I know. (Congratulations Trina!)

After our short stay in Calgary with Alex's Mom, we came back to the farm and Jakub wanted to learn how to take photographs. Here is a sample of his photography. Kind of shows what he sees. Not bad, eh?

While we were at my mom's place on the farm, she found an old slide/swing set. The kids liked that a lot.

Many times, when I put the kids to sleep (in their separate beds), they still wanted to play together. Then one day, when I came down to check up on them, they were sleeping together, hugging... so so cute!

Since I really miss the Rockies the most from Alberta, we again decided to go on a hike to Beaver Pond in Kananaskis (a provincial park close to Banff filled with many trails), and we had a great picnic there.

Near the end of the trip, Tomoko came to visit me at the farm, with her husband Rob and her little cute son Kasper. What a great visit (and another shot by Jakub Gierus).

Jakub adors Tomoko, and didn't want to leave her side.

The last day was another fun experience. Brian, my mom's husband, arranged to have some of his cows moved to a distant field. He had his brother come and some other people to help him with the hearding of the 70 cows through the gravel roads and fields. There was also some other kids that came to watch it all unfold. We all wanted to see the procession, so we threw the six kids (including Jakub and Robert) into the back of an SUV and followed the cows and the men and women on horseback. It was quite an adventure.