Our Son's Graduation and Trip to the Canadian Rockies

Friday, June 24, 2016

Dear friends, I hope you have not given up on me!  The month of June feels like a blur in my mind - where did it go?  In my last post I mentioned that our son was graduating.  My parents flew here to be for his graduation, and then we had a trip planned immediately following his graduation.  I meant to pop in and post something along the way, but that good intention never happened!  I feel that I am finally just now catching my breath after the whirlwind of events the past few weeks, and I am now looking forward to sharing some of those highlights with you! {smiles}


A walk in our woods during the height of the lupins in their purple gowns of splendor.


Even Annie appeared to be taking time to smell the flowers...


My parents arrived on one of the hottest days we've had here this year so far, as it got up to 94 degrees. Thankfully the cool weather showed up the day after they arrived.


Mom made me this gorgeous quilt for my birthday!  It has a beautiful farm scene with gorgeous chickens and roosters on one side, and teacups on the other!  She knows me well!


It was a beautiful piece of handiwork from her that I will treasure always!



She also made a cowboy quilt for our son for his graduation gift... and it was an amazing quilt!  He loves the color red, and it was perfect for his room.  We felt very blessed to receive such precious gifts of love from my mother!


Out in the coop, things were going well!  Bella and Buttercup in their comfy spot for the night.


And Goldie finally hatched out a.... baby hen!  Oh, I was so excited to know that we finally have a baby hen!  Her name is Sally :)


Just a few hours old here!  I had picked up the egg she was in the night before, and heard her cheeping inside, and my mother was with me, and heard it too, such an amazing thing!  Sally is part Rhode Island Red and mixed with Rudy who is part Marans, so she should be a very beautiful hen :)


My peony finally burst into bloom, and I was able to enjoy 2 blooms this year.


Mom got busy soon after arriving, and whipped up two batches of her wonderful homemade rolls.  I think we ate half of the batch in one sitting, as they came out of the oven warm, and then piled high with butter and homemade strawberry jam!


My dad helped my husband and son out in the yard as they stacked more stumps and brush in piles to be burned.  I love seeing the sight of old brush burning,!  It is a lot of work clearing brush from the dead trees that we have and always good to see the brush gone after the fire dies out.


Time for graduation!  Our son's graduation was a wonderful time, and we were so proud of him.  It was bittersweet for me... both our children are graduated from high school now, and will be attending college full time.  Time moves so quickly!


The next morning after the graduation, we left on our trip up to the Canadian Rockies.  These two were quite sad about the whole turn of events.  Our sweet neighbor took great care of them while we were gone, which we appreciated so much!


We crossed over the border into Beautiful British Columbia, a truly beautiful and amazing province.


The first major town we came to was Cranbrook, BC.


And our first stop in Cranbrook was at the Tim Hortons... there is just no coffee place in the world like Tims's!  {smiles} (Can I get an amen from any fellow Canucks out there?) LOL!


We traveled down a dirt road leading to this little provincial park. We like the "out of the way" places, and find we have the best experiences away from all the crowds of people.


Traveling down the road to the park, we enjoyed the views of this beautiful mountain as we drove.


Down at the lake, we saw this momma with her babies.  At first, they were all on her back when we saw her.  I still don't know what kind of duck she is, but it was quite an impressive sight to see this momma taking care of so many little ones!  We counted ten heads!


And while we ate our picnic lunch by the lake, this little guy showed up to clean up any "droppings".  He was hilarious to watch!


The sights before us began to come alive as the mountains rose around us in beauty and splendor.  We stopped at a rest area, and this was the sight we saw spread out before us.


This area was full of hot springs, and we took a detour down to visit one of the hot springs.  We found out that the hot springs were located way up in the mountains, and the resorts were pumping the hot water down into swimming pools for people to swim in.


Our first sighting of wildlife on the trip happened when we saw these bighorn sheep alongside the road.


They were quite content to munch on the green grass.  We enjoyed watching them for a time.




Our first destination on the trip was the town of Golden, BC where we had booked a room to spend the night.  My mom and I went in to pay for the rooms, and found out that my dear sis had called ahead and paid for the rooms for us... what a blessing that was!!!


We were staying at the Days Inn in Golden, and our room was delightful!


The room was clean, spacious, and had a balcony with an incredible vista!


This was the view outside our room balcony. The views of the Rockies were incredible.


Down in the courtyard of the Inn, there were sweet cherries growing.


We enjoyed the mountain vista view spread out before us.  The glorious sunset was enjoyed by all of us.  Finally, we went to bed around 11 or so, and the skies still were not dark!


Well... not before a good pillow fight ensued between my mom and the kids... while I cheered them on and videotaped the classic fun, lol!  It was a wonderful ending to the first great day on our trip!

I hope to be back soon to share more of our trip.  I took over 1500+ pictures on this trip, and it has taken me quite a while to sort through them!  Not to mention the fact that when we returned from our trip, I found my computer with a black screen - DOA (dead on arrival).  Thankfully, our friend who painted our house has skill with computers too.  After the several days of not being able to get it to work, I had him come and take a look at it.  He took one look at my computer and had it back in working order within a minute or so.  Incredible relief!  Thank you T!  There were tears in my eyes when he walked out of my office with the screwdriver in hand, and saying... all is well!!!

So, with the computer incident, and all the pictures that I have had to sort through and edit, it has been a slow process for me to get back going online with the blog.  However, I see light at the end of the tunnel, and hopefully this weekend I will be able to share more pictures with you of our incredible vacation in the Canadian Rockies.  :)

36 comments

  1. What a blessing to have this time with your family! I wouldn't know where to begin with that many pictures taken in such a short time frame. I have just over a thousand pictures on my cell but they have been taken over 21/2 years. But than again I have taken more and deleted them and maybe that is part of what you are doing!? Glad to hear you are happy and well. Ronda

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    1. It definitely was a lot of pictures to deal with! We didn't want to leave any mountain feeling "left out" you know, lol, and so we had to take pictures of so many things. So yes, I have gone through and deleted a lot, but I am still left with about 900 pictures from the trip overall, wow! Thanks for stopping by and saying hello, I have missed much from the blogging world in June for sure! Hope you had a blessed Canada Day my friend!!!

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  2. Welcome back! It sounds like June was full of wonderful events and gorgeous vistas :o). Congratulations to your son for graduating ... I just graduated mine this past Monday. So good to have you back.

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    1. Wow, we both have graduates this month, it does make for a very busy June! Appreciate your visit so much, and hope to stop by and catch up with you soon :)

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  3. Congratulations to your son on his graduation! Those quilts your mother made a truly special and so gorgeous. I'm so glad you were able to take that trip up to Canada with your mother and your family. My hubby and I honeymooned in Kimberly and then took our sons up to Radium Hot Springs years later...so much fun and a vacation we will never forget!

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    1. Indeed, the quilts gifted to us by my mother are SUCH a treasure, and we appreciate them so much! It was a wonderful trip in so many ways, we were blessed to have this time with my parents! Definitely the kids want to go back and stay at a hot springs, and that is probably a trip for sometime in the future, lol! Appreciate your visit, and look forward to seeing what has been happening with you soon :)

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  4. Love the pictures and the updates - thanks for sharing them!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by for a visit, and for your kind words, they are much appreciated! :)

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  5. Congratulations to your son...those quilts are beautiful and oh my how Days Inn have changed, what a lovely room. Have a beautiful day, friend.

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    1. Thank you Linda, we are really enjoying the beautiful quilts! And we were very happy with our Days Inn room, it was a delight to stay in it :) I have missed being in blogland it seems for the month of June, and hope to get back to regular "programming" soon, lol!

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  6. These photos are breathtaking of the Rockies. Makes me feel cooler just looking at them. Congratulations to your son!

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    1. LOL... yes, the weather is definitely cooler in the mountains! Hope to get by to visit you soon :)

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  7. Congratulations to your son!
    What a trip you had! I bet your beauty banks are full!
    It's nice to have you back.

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    1. Thank you for the congrats wishes, we appreciate them, it is a different world after your kids graduate, for sure! We certainly have full beauty banks, really we keep them full year round living where we do, but always have room to enjoy more of the Lord's creation! Appreciate your visit, and hope to stop by to say hello soon :)

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  8. Yep ... June's been a whirlwind!

    Welcome back ...

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    1. Well, the whirlwind has continued, it seems, oh my! Hopefully July is better! :)

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  9. Hello,
    I hear ya, June as been crazy here too. All good stuff just like you, just busy. :-)
    Best wishes to your son.
    I love your vacation photos. WOW,how fun. I have not had Tim's coffee, but I have heard a lot about it. :-)
    Carla

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    1. Yes, lots of good things happening in June, busy has been good! Oh, you definitely need to try Tim's. I enjoy the coffee that we can get around here, but it doesn't hold a candle to Tim's! I think we stopped at Tim's every day we were in Canada, lol! Appreciate your visit, and hope to stop by to see you soon, I feel like I've missed the whole month of June somehow!

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  10. P.S. I love that the hotel room has a wood floor, nice and clean!
    And I loved the pillow fight. :-)
    Carla

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    1. The wood floor was so awesome, I agree, not often you get to enjoy wood floor in a motel room! And the pillow fight was such a hoot, we love to have good clean fun, lol!

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  11. Congratulations to your son! Looks like you had a beautiful trip too. Thanks for sharing the photos. I love those quilts! Very pretty!
    Enjoy your day ♥

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    1. Thanks Anne, we were both so thrilled to get such a precious quilt as a gift from my mother, we will treasure it always! Appreciate your visit today, and hope to get by to see you soon :)

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  12. Congratulations!! It has been a busy month for sure.

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    1. Thanks Kim... apparently June has passed me by, and here it is already July, wow! Hope you are doing well! Will be by to visit you soon :)

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  13. So good to know that you had a wonderful time, and all is well! I have been praying for you and am happy to know you have made it home safe. God bless you, sweet friend. Sending you lots of love and many blessings!

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    1. Thank you dear Cheryl for your prayers, they are so appreciated! We had a wonderful time, and made so many precious and wonderful memories. Praying for you too!!!!! I can't believe June is over and July is here already, oh my! Much love and hugs to you today!

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  14. Wow, the Canadian Rockies look absolutely amazing - I am now adding them to my bucket list of places I need to see in my lifetime!!

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    1. They are indeed worthy of being at the top of your bucket list of places to visit! :)

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  15. Congratulations to your son!
    You had a beautiful trip, wonderful.
    My husband and I wanted to live in Banff after we married but ended up in Calgary. Such a beautiful area.
    Looks like you enjoyed some Tim Hortons too. :-) When we were there they had a new Oreo doughnut that my husband fell in love with then they stopped making it and brought in a new one, he was so disappointed. I enjoy the powdered sugar jelly filled ones.
    We must have been in Canada at the same time?
    Your mother's rolls are positively perfect! Oooh I could go for one of those, breads are my weakness.

    Beautiful post and so good to see you, dear friend.
    Thank you for the precious post card.
    Love and blessings~~


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    1. Oh dear Debbie, I do believe we probably were in Canada at the same time! Tim's is one of our favorite places to visit whenever we are able to get across the border. My favorite doughnut is the powdered sugar jelly ones too, isn't that amazing! I saw that they had strawberry shortcake doughnuts as their new one, and I tried it, and it was very good!

      Ah yes, my mother's rolls were absolutely delightful! She made two large batches of them, and we took them on the trip with us. YUM! Yes, bread is a weakness of mine too.

      Will look forward to hearing about your trip to Canada! I am so far behind on my blog reading, but will be by to see you soon! Hugs and love!

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  16. Congratulations to your son!
    You had a beautiful trip, wonderful.
    My husband and I wanted to live in Banff after we married but ended up in Calgary. Such a beautiful area.
    Looks like you enjoyed some Tim Hortons too. :-) When we were there they had a new Oreo doughnut that my husband fell in love with then they stopped making it and brought in a new one, he was so disappointed. I enjoy the powdered sugar jelly filled ones.
    We must have been in Canada at the same time?
    Your mother's rolls are positively perfect! Oooh I could go for one of those, breads are my weakness.

    Beautiful post and so good to see you, dear friend.
    Thank you for the precious post card.
    Love and blessings~~


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  17. June did fly by! How wonderful to have your parents visit. Your mom's rolls look simply divine!! Love the quilts too. I remember making those piquots around the edge on a quilt for my oldest daughter when she was little. Congrats to your son. Looks like you had a fabulous trip!
    hugs,
    Jann

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    1. The quilts were such a precious gift from my mother, we will treasure them always! It was such a wonderful visit with my family, and we are truly blessed to have made all the amazing memories on this trip. Appreciate your visit Jann! Hope to stop by to see you soon :)

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  18. Just popping by to catch up. I hope you are well.

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    1. Hi there! I've been wondering where you've been! Hope you are feeling better! I will be by to visit you soon :) Hugs and blessings!

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  19. I'm so enjoying your travel photos here today. Wow seeing those Big Horn sheep up so close is just awesome. So many gorgeous sights. The donuts looked pretty yummy as well. Going to go read the next 2 posts as I'm catching up on your blog today.

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