Bear's Hump

We hiked the Bear's Hump yesterday. It was surprisingly steep (200m vertical over 1.2 km) but afforded a beautiful vista of Waterton town and lake. Grace had a short nap on the way down.

Back in Canada

After some more majestic Montana scenery we arrived back in Canada and have stopped for a few days in Waterton Lakes. The kids were pretty excited to see their grandparents and finally the scenery made an impact on them. Deer are freely roaming around. Two fawns and a doe grazed as I unloaded the car (which has a nasty expanding windshield crack from a stone chip.) We'll have to return to Montana. It seems such a shame to rush past all the nickel and quarter casinos that are on every corner as well as the historical sites such as the Custer battlefield and the many Lewis and Clark sites.

Great Falls, Montana

We drove 800 km today through three states (started in South Dakota, spent 30 minutes driving through a corner of Wyoming , and ended up in Montana.) We took secondary highways and it was incredible to see the big skies and the endless ranges and of course the cattle grazing. As we got closer to Great Falls we saw our first snow capped mountains of the trip!

We should have stretched this part of the trip out to see more of the Rushmore attractions and some of the western towns like Deadwood. It would also have been nice to see Yellowstone and Glacier Parks. We've done 3400 km so far and I don't think we're even up for the Going to the Sun road in Glacier. Next stop is Waterton Lakes. All those other sights will have to wait for the next trip.

It's unbelievably built up around Rushmore. The actual monument is well done, and your 10$ parking fee gives you access for the year. Outside in Keystone and Rapid City there's an air of a western flavoured Niagara Falls. It's what I imagine Anaheim is like around Disneyland.

Oh and I should mention he generous speed limits - 75 on the interstate and 70 on the secondary highways! What a pleasant contrast to the 2000 km we've done in the past at 90 km/h just to get out of Ontario.

South Dakota

Hundreds of kilometres across flat, then rolling, then hilly plains. Saw some cool grasshoppers at one of the rest stops. We made it to Mt. Rushmore. It was not as big as I thought it was going to be - impressive nonetheless. Dinner at the Olive Garden. Grace ate everything offered to her.
Craft beer from New Belgium brewing in Colorado - Fat Tire Amber Ale.
After last nights debacle, decided to pay a bit more and stay in a so-so Ho-Jo (looks clean and smells clean.)

Beware the $39 special

We stayed at a clean but decrepit 39$ motel in Sioux City last night. Lots of unsavoury types about. Police cruisers at the bar across the street. Smoky smells around and an unappetizing breakfast.

Chicago

We were only in Chicago to see U2 (now postponed!) Since the hotel was paid for (89$ on hotwire) we went anyway. We were at the Hyatt by the convention centre - walking distance to Soldier Field and not much else. We'll definitely return to spend some more time here - the city looked great and there seemed to be lots to do. Dinner wasn't Chicago style pizza, but rather California Pizza Kitchen. We had the roasted vegetable salad which I had been dreaming about since Naples (FL) in March. Local craft beer from Goose Island.

Kalamazoo

After one long day that involved my longest ever border crossing we arrived in Kalamazoo. Dinner was at the Cracker Barrel. Lodging was at a $45 hotwire special. You get what you pay for I guess. At least the internet was free and breakfast was included.

We're packed and ready to go!

Monday morning - the car is packed, Luke is wedged in the back and we're off.

Summer!

School ended this week and now the whole family is ready for summer. Tomorrow we begin our bi-annual road trip out west. Too bad we're packing this weekend as the weather is perfect for relaxing at the cottage.

News Update!

So, it is the middle of May. I won't even check when my last post was but I know it was before Grace could officially walk. She started walking - as a mode of getting around (rather than here and there) about a week after Easter. Just after she turned 14 months and now, she never stops!! I think her feet have finally grown or maybe they've just spread out from the walking. She has delicate, small feet like her Grandma. She can still fit into a size 3 which is about 6-9 month size...though she is almost a 4 now (6-12 month size). When I was shopping for Liam's pioneer outfit at Value Village the other day I came across some size 3 hot pink Mickey Crocs for Grace. She will often take off her runners and bring me her CROCS to put on. Very cute! (And no, I didn't actually find anything for Liam that day...but Grace also got a nice GAP raincoat for the fall - $4.99)

Other stuff...Luke's 7th birthday. Yes, SEVEN!! We had another Webkinz party because Luke wanted what Liam had. Luke's friends were not as into the "Webkinz" part of the party but they still had a great time. Despite a dismal weather forecast and many tears (from Luke) every time he saw the weather report it turned out to be a sunny and hot day! Go figure! Even up until the night before they were forecasting solid rain for the day.

(Great) Grandpa turned 85 on Saturday so we went out to Ancaster for a nice get together with everyone. Dan says that Grandpa appears to have the same energy and life as when he met him almost 21 years ago. It would've been Mema's birthday on that same day so we had some memories of her while we drove home. And today is (Great) Grandma's birthday!

Dan is taking another course - twice a week - and then he is done his Masters of Education which is great. I don't love being a single parent two nights a week but I'm sure this is preferable to him taking a fall course once I'm back at work (I just don't know that I prefer this yet...) One upside is that I've finally learned and remember how to use the latte machine so I can make my lattes when Dan has class...they still taste better when Dan makes them for me ; )

And...Liam is finished choir for the year. He had his big final concert on May 1st. It really was truly wonderful and then his choir did a fun family concert on the 3rd. Luke has also auditioned for the choir. We may be very busy next year! We haven't decided about hockey yet. It really is nice having those weekends free again but the boys need the exercise and it is only for about six months of the year. I know for sure that I am playing hockey again!

That's about it. I am still in perpetual sleep-deprivation mode. Grace wakes normally 2-3 times a night. Plus, I have been staying up way too late working on my ETSY shop, Princess Grace Bowtique.

So far I've had 68 sales in 6 weeks. At first, most of my customers were American but in the last couple of weeks I've had lots of Canadian orders. There is a niche for this in Canada as there aren't as many people selling this kind of quality product at these prices. However, I've had some shocks at the post office when I go to mail an $11 order of bows to Vancouver and it costs over $12...However, people would be pretty scared off at a $12 shipping fee! (this exact same box ships anywhere to the US for $6.94 - sigh). I need to use a box if someone orders lots of bows or they get squished...though now I have been sneaking one or two small bows into an envelope...and hoping they arrive in one piece! ($1.22 versus $10+ in Canada!)

Finally, here are some photos: Liam's pioneer day, Luke's party... and some of our adorable princess. I'll have to get my new FLIP video footage uploaded so you can see her run!