So the week before family day.
(remember that crazy week I talked about in the valentines day post!!)
Shane said "So here's what I think would be fun for family day."
I agreed reluctantly, Ahem, It did sound fun.
Busy but fun!
So there are a few things that led to this trip.
#1 Shane's dad is in hospice and with limited mobility.
He turned 60 in February and so Shane thought it was important
for us to make a trip to visit.
#2 Good friends who have worked their butts off financially
purchased a home in December and we were SUPER excited
to see them and encourage them in their new home.
(plus I had grit my teeth and packed up most of the
boy clothes we had in storage - they were all being gifted to them.)
#3 We all wanted to meet Baby Lincoln!
#4We all had cabin fever and needed to get ourselves out of this City!
#5 Shane wanted to attend the temple. He had tried to attend
the temple here in Calgary the week prior but due to
cleaning that plan fell through.
So I made a giant list and we got to work.
We are always grateful that we have a soft place to fall at grandma
Cathy's Especially when we roll in to the driveway at 10pm.
Friday morning after breakfast we were going to pick up a few things
in the city and go visit Diana and our awesome new nephew/cousin
and then after lunch visit Dwight.
Upon Realizing that Ms. A had infact packed 3 pairs of
Ms.E's pants in her bag.
Grandma Cathy Decided it was time for some shopping as well.
Costo Here we come.
The reason I don't have a membership to Costco is that I just
can't go in and get what I need.
I can't get out of that place without spending at least $100.
So after choosing 2 new dresses, 2 pairs of pants, an outfit for taylor,
socks and boston cream cake for Dwight.
We left - Headed for Walmart for T-Shirts and one more dress.
We were Grateful that things were that simple.
We Headed for Diana's after and enjoyed a visit,
and enjoyed letting the kids get reacquainted
Then it was off to visit Grandpa Dwight.
We picked up some lunch along the way as a treat.
Grandpa LOVES Arby's, I literally had never taken the kids
there and so they took a while to warm up to the food.
But in the end they all got fed and visited with Grandpa
and that was the most important part.
Our Yummy Boston Cream Cake was unfortunately a Disaster!
We left a couple of slices with Grandpa Dwight,
but upon loading everything back into the van the rest of it
upended on the floor smearing all over the floor.
The Kids were devastated to the point of tears.
Which boiled me right over I confess.
Events from earlier in the visit had been pushing my buttons already,
and although I thought I had let things go but apparently not.
So we LOUDLY counted our blessings overtop some of the kids
who were having troubles letting go of the cake,
and took some deep breaths together.
Thank goodness the Arby's franchise is a fan of napkins,
and we were parked pretty close to an outdoor garbage can!
After all the kerfuffle we were off to visit different friends.
After a few minutes of refreshing visiting, lots of water for me
and the kids playing together my mind was able to finally function
on a normal level.
(I could blame traveling and pregnancy?)
It could also have had something to do with the fact that this
awesome mom dealt with two potty accidents in the first 1/2 hour
that we were visiting. by two different kids.
Somehow things like that just make you feel like
a normal mom with normal kids!
We picked up some lunch along the way as a treat.
Grandpa LOVES Arby's, I literally had never taken the kids
there and so they took a while to warm up to the food.
But in the end they all got fed and visited with Grandpa
and that was the most important part.
Our Yummy Boston Cream Cake was unfortunately a Disaster!
We left a couple of slices with Grandpa Dwight,
but upon loading everything back into the van the rest of it
upended on the floor smearing all over the floor.
The Kids were devastated to the point of tears.
Which boiled me right over I confess.
Events from earlier in the visit had been pushing my buttons already,
and although I thought I had let things go but apparently not.
So we LOUDLY counted our blessings overtop some of the kids
who were having troubles letting go of the cake,
and took some deep breaths together.
Thank goodness the Arby's franchise is a fan of napkins,
and we were parked pretty close to an outdoor garbage can!
After all the kerfuffle we were off to visit different friends.
After a few minutes of refreshing visiting, lots of water for me
and the kids playing together my mind was able to finally function
on a normal level.
(I could blame traveling and pregnancy?)
It could also have had something to do with the fact that this
awesome mom dealt with two potty accidents in the first 1/2 hour
that we were visiting. by two different kids.
Somehow things like that just make you feel like
a normal mom with normal kids!
(instead of the zombie caregiver you label yourself as most days!)
We were so excited to see their house and how much room they had.
I actually laughed out loud when I walked into the front room.
They had been living in a little duplex and were pretty tight on space.
I laughed because their furniture from the Duplex looked so different
in a regular sized house. It all fit and didn't seem huge at all!
You could tell the difference that the space was making for the kids too.
We are super excited for this family and couldn't think of
a better thing to bless their little family!
We enjoyed every minute of our visit and the kids even learned
to play Hungry Hungry Hippos!
Later we had story time and the kids were eventually ready
to head to Grandma Cathy's house for the night.
The next day we were off to play at Grandma Websters.
Due to all the fuss of Friday we were not in a rush to leave in the morning,
but let the kids watch cartoons and play and just relax for a bit.
There was lots of fun at Grandma Websters, toys and games,
crafting, playing on the swings, and even some park time.
Grateful for Auntie Deanna who unexpectedly took Ms. A
to the park all on her own, because she was so focused
on a project with Grandma that she missed the earlier trip!
It was good and Shane got his temple visit in!!
Sunday we spent the day with Grandma Cathy!
She was recently asked to be part of the Primary Presidency
in her ward and so the kids loved going with her to primary.
I wasn't doing that great and honestly needed some sleep so
we skipped home after sacrament leaving the
kids with her (except ms. V).
It was a much needed break and I am grateful I got it
because ms. V's relationship with sleeping is definitely
not awesome when we travel!
In the morning the kids headed out early
to the park with grandma to give us time to pack up the van
and get ready for the trip home.
Ms. E had a birthday party that she was excited to be home for
so before long it was time to hit the road.
We were all super grateful for the time away, and the
good times with our family.
We were super tired and in the end I zipped out to the
grocery store deli for $5 pizza's
(this has seriously become a thing at our house!)
When you can feed my family of six pizza for $10














