To Canada We Go!

Two weeks ago the boys and I flew up to Edmonton.  It was first time in months that we had seen Spencer and we had all missed him.  It had also been nearly a year since the boys had been in Edmonton and they were delighted to discover how much they remembered.  Upon entering any house they would point out the things that they remembered from their last visit.

Eliot also had a recently re-aquired skill to show off.  Grandpa and Nana kindly bought bikes for the boys to use and they spent a lot of the time honing their skills.

Peter liked to make engine sounds for his bike--hence the funny face.

Peter was very taken with his helmet and would often wear it around just for the heck of it.  In fact, he wore it later on a nature walk.

During the nature walk the boys picked saskatoon berries with the help of Uncle Aaron and Auntie Patti.  Eliot would spot the berries and pull a branch down to pick them.

Aaron and Patti's new puppy Henry also joined us on the walk, much to Eliot's delight and Peter's chagrin (Eliot ran and played with Henry while Peter kept reminding us that he really aught to be on a leash).  Eliot took a real shine to Henry and kept asking me when we were going to get a dog.

It wasn't all fun and games either.  Eliot took his dog-owner-in-training role very seriously.

Very seriously.

I mean, honestly...

Eliot could get a little crazy and could be a little too liberal with the treats to both Henry and Grandpa and Grandma Bennett's dog Daisy.  But his heart was in it, there's no doubting it.

Peter's interactions with Henry were a little less tender.  Henry didn't mind Peter in the least, but let's just say that Peter wasn't asking me when we would be getting a dog.  There's still time to work on him though :)  He did seem a lot less nervous with Daisy (who is a much smaller dog) than he had been at our last visit.  Perhaps he just prefers dogs that aren't able to look him straight in the face at eye-level.  Fair enough.

You just can't beat mid-summer days in Edmonton.  Long, sunny, perfectly warm.  Nothing says "summer" quiet like spending a whole afternoon outside in nothing but a swimsuit and bicycle helmet with popsicle stains on your face.

A visit to Edmonton would not be complete without a visit to Gigi and Bapa's for breakfast.  Fluffy pancakes heralded us along with a chance to slide down the basement steps.  Peter has recently learned for whom he was named, and though he was a little shy he thought it was pretty neat to see "the first Peter Young" again.

We spent one of the days taking the boys to Drumheller to visit the dinosaur museum.  It was pretty impressive.

Drumheller was a three hour drive one-way from Edmonton and let's just say that the boys were not well prepared for it.  They discovered this little door that opened into the trunk of the car and that kept them busy for a while, but peace was not long-lived.  Both there and back, I started out in the front seat, and ended up in the back separating them.  

Toward the end of my stay (the boys were visiting for three weeks and I was only able to stay for the first week) we went to park nearby Grandma and Grandpa Bennett's home for a picnic.  Eliot learned to play fetch with Henry and Peter played in the sand with his Mighty Machines.

It was sad to leave them at the end of the week and I look forward to seeing them again soon.  But I know they're having fun, creating memories, and forming bonds.  Love these guys!