First of all, a HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful honeybun, Stevo. You may be middle aged now hunny, but you still have a 20-something wife on your arm :) Hee hee. For another 4 months anyhow. May this be the best decade yet!

So you will have to bear with me here. We just got back from Fairmont BC, and I have about a million and 5 emails and I am exhausted so hope this tides you over while I sort through those and answer them.

We left last Thursday after letting Steve open his presents (a ripstik, lots of candy and chocolate, a yo-yo, and an itunes gift card) and spent the night in airdrie. We had family pictures on Friday morning, walked around the outlet mall (cuz we had to visit the BAss Pro Shop of course...needed lifejackets so it worked out ok), and then got a few groceries and headed for the mountains. We really loved our time with Fraser and Janel Holt and their 7 year old girl and 5 year old girl/boy twins. The kids played so great together.

My 30-year-old spouse. Mid life crisis.

My girls :)

I love the view in the mountains. One of my favorite places on earth. I have severe Kananaskis withdrawl at the moment :(

We spent the day on Saturday at Invermere lake. Water is kinda cold in the mountains but it was a great day still. Janel and I even managed to sneak away for an hour or so of shopping while the guys watched the 7 kids! I got stung on the lip by a wasp as I tried to eat my sandwhich and ended up with an INCREDIBLY painful fat lip but after 5 days I think I FINALLY have normal shape and most of the feeling back in it.

The 7 kids. Braden you are going to be one lucky guy in a few years :) On Sunday we had a wonderful meeting and after a quick lunch, headed to the hot springs.

Men on a misson!

So these are the natural hot pools. They are actually luke warm but it still felt nice on a somewhat windy day. It is a bit scary since this is in the middle of the mountain and there are drop offs at the edge of some of the pools. Plus wet rock grows moss which is incredibly slippery. Anyhow it was nice and relaxing and it wore the kids out. BONUS!

All I have to say is thank goodness I don't have TV! Kept the kids quiet and entertained as you can see but kept me up late!!

On Monday it rained so we went to the rec center and swam at the indoor pool. I think the kids got in some form of pool every day we were there. They will be feeling water logged. They all loved the water.

On Tuesday, after more swimming and playground etc... we had the privilage of going to John and Jackie Faulken's campsite to have supper with them and their daughter Jen and their 2 grandkids Emma and Mason. It was so much fun to catch up on news of the old Calgary folk etc...they were backing onto a river so the kids had fun throwing rocks etc... too.

John, Jackie, and Jennifer.

Such good friends. Janel and I found these skirts when we were out shopping.

Sunset over the winding river.

Awwww....Isn't that sweet? Ha! My man is still gorgeous at 30.

Thanks Holts for the invite. We had a really great time. Hope you aren't too exhausted from sharing your space with us :)

We spent a lot of time at this park too. Unfortunately I never took my camera to the water park/ spray park/ pool, but oh well.

Thursday morning on the way home. I love how the clouds hung half way down the mountain.

Interesting color in the rock. Made my husband pull over for this picture because this coloring isn't that typical in our mountains.

So anyhow...now we are home and school will soon begin. It is going to be a real struggle getting back into a routine. We have supper plans tomorrow, supper AND lunch plans on Sunday....so it's busy busy as usual. Steve goes to work tomorrow even though it's only one day before the weekend. They are extremely busy, lose all their summer help soon, and lose 4 guys to schooling so they are desperate for good help. If you know anyone who wants to work construction, PLEASE call Steve!!!!

Well I HAVE to get this old body to bed before I drop off the chair. I don't even have energy for tea if you can believe it!!!

Love you all,

Jen and family.