Annual Sedrovic Calgary Trip!!

Yay, yay, yay!! We just had our annual Sedrovic Calgary trip and it was perfection! How did I get blessed with such an amazing family?!?!? We started it all out at the zoo. Due to a series of unfortunate events, Doug and I arrived about 40 minutes late. Sorry!! But once we got in there, it didn’t matter one bit. We were all together and it was awesome! We started out in the dino park and hit up every sight and attraction the zoo had to offer. The kids were WAY too excited!! Haha. I love their energy! Some of the highlights were the Rhino swimming in its pond, the kids on the carousel, seeing the baby gorilla, eating screamers while the kids played at the park and for me, getting to wear Alice in the Ergo while she slept. One of the biggest things I miss about babies is wearing them…my kids lived in their carriers!! The kiddos got to pick a toy at the gift store and after we fought with John for him to NOT buy the pack for cheap trucks. Finally, he grabbed a dinosaur and we quickly rushed to the check out so he wouldn’t change his mind. After my mom paid, she looked at the bill, and that toy was $45!!! Ahhh!! How ridiculous!! Luckily, he loves it and has played with it non-stop. After the zoo, we headed to the hotel. We decided to just eat dinner at the hotel restaurant and it was perfect. They had a buffet of pasta and pizza and it was SO delicious! The kids loved the buffet – especially Nola. She was such a big girl, going up and picking her own dinner. Melted my heart.

That night, Doug and I crashed when the kids did, which was lucky for us. Poor Robbie woke up in the night with a really sick tummy. Robbie is a puker, so we were shocked that he was awake and complaining for so long without vomiting. Finally, he looked at us in panic and shouted “I have to go potty!!!’ Poor kid has diarrhea something fierce! Luckily, he got it out of his system and slept great after that.

The next morning Doug, AJ and Dad went for ‘boys breakfast.’ When Nola heard this, she decided that us girls needed to go for ‘girls breakfast.’ Once the boys were back, us girls headed down. I ate SO much and it was a great way to start the day. After breakfast, we headed to the pool. That, by far, was the highlight of the trip. We all played in the pool for hours! GG isn’t one for swimming, but she came and watched. I was blown away by Nola – she is so brave and adventurous in the water!!!! She was jumping into the deep end and LOVED the waterslide! My heart was exploding as I watched her. Robbie and John were having a blast too. There was a kiddie pool with a little waterslide that they loved. They also LOVED having Grandpa in the pool with them.

After the pool, we headed out to CrossIron Mills mall. It was fun, but pretty busy. Maybe not the smartest choice of thing to do with so many people, which I feel bad about because it was my idea. Sorry! It still was a good time though. We ate at South St Burger, went to the Disney store and played in the arcade. While there, there was a huge hail storm!! We watched it hit the skylight. We ate some dinner at the mall and then headed back to the room. Doug and I thought we’d go to bed at the same time as the kids again, but once we got them into bed and laid down, we realized it was only 8pm! Haha! So we went over to my mom and dad’s room to visit with everyone for a couple hours.

The next morning we had breakfast buffet again in the hotel and then packed up and headed home. Again, how blessed we are to have our amazing family!! Thank you, every one of you, for being so amazing!! We love you so much!!!

Auntie and Uncle won some suckers for the kids at the arcade. It kept them happy on the drive home :)

Waterton with Nana and Papa

A few weeks back, Mama and Papa called us up and asked if they could take the kids camping overnight in Waterton. Obviously, we said yes! Not only were the kids so excited to go camping with just Nana and Papa, Doug and I were excited for a little break too! After church that Sunday, we drove the kiddos down to Waterton. We met up just outside the park at a little picnic area, so Doug and I didn’t have to pay to get in. Mama made a delicious dinner of Mexican food and we had a little visit. The men then transfered over the kiddos car seats and we parted ways. Nola gets a little homesick, so I bought us some matching friendship bracelets to help her.

On our way back from Waterton we stopped in Cardston to water Mama and Papa’s flowers. Then, for ol’ time sake, we went and sat on the temple grounds. When Doug and I were engaged, we made some choices that forced us to postpone our temple marriage by 3 months. That was a pretty challenging time for us and one of the ways we drew strength from the Lord at that time was to go to the temple and sit on the grounds. We may not have been able to enter the doors, but we were there and felt abundantly of the Saviors love. We went every week, from September to January. We would sit on the grounds, in grass or snow, and talk about our future. Those are some of my most cherished memories. It’s crazy to think that was 9 years ago!

Doug and I had a great night together – we watched the Prestige downstairs and ate treats. That may not sound too exciting, but our kids bedrooms are downstairs, so we never watch movies down there when they are in bed. The next day was absolutely brilliant !! (for me, anyways) Doug went to work and I had a WHOLE DAY to myself. At first, I had no idea what to do with myself. I literally paced around the house! Finally I decided to just get my shoes on a go for a run. After my run, I met up with my mom at the mall for some lunch and shopping. After that, I came home and watched another movie downstairs while I rested. Once I was rested up, I watched another movie and gleaned all the kids toys.

Mama and Papa brought the kids back around 7PM, so once they were home we got them to bed – they were exhausted! How grateful I am for the opportunity my children have to make memories with their family!! Here are some pictures that Mama sent my while they were camping

Fernie over-nighter

My mom and Dad bought a trailer to leave in AJ and Sarah’s yard down in Fernie, so when they go down to see them and Alice, they have a place to stay. Mom invited the kids and I down for an over-nighter in the trailer. It was lots of fun!! The drive down was great – the kids watched a show while Mom and I chatted. I really do love my mom so much! She is one of my bestest friends. Once in Fernie, we hung out for a bit and then headed to Tie Lake. Margaret was watching Lacey for the day, so they joined us!! It really was awesome. The kids were so happy to play with Auntie Sar, Grandma and GG in the water, I was happy to get my hands on Ali and Nola was a total fish!! She is getting so brave in the water.

After the beach, we stopped at 3&93 for ice cream. Yum!!! John was so cute – when we listed off the ice cream flavours he exclaimed, ‘There is mango?!? I love mango! It’s my favourite!!’ The poor guy dropped his ice cream half way through, had the saddest cry about it and then got a new one. He’s so spoiled!

Once we got back to AJ and Sar’s we BBQ’d some hotdogs and smokies for dinner. Auntie Kerry joined us for dinner which was lovely. After dinner we visited for a while and then got the kids to bed. Nola had a hard time falling asleep, but once asleep the kids did great.

The next day we hung around the trailer. Sar and I took the kiddos for a walk down to the river. Alice slept while the kids played in the water. It was actually quite hilarious – they made a play for us! They found some big sticks which looked like staffs and were inspired to put on a play entitled ‘The Story of Jesus.’ Nola and Rob started in the water and told a bit about who Jesus was. Then Nola ran on to the shore and laid down in the rocks. While pretending to be sick, she narrated the story. “Jesus saw a girl sick on the shore” She would then tell Robbie to come to her on the shore. “Jesus blessed her” Robbie then poked Nola with his stick. Nola jumps up and exclaims “It’s a miracle! I am healed!” Then she announces that she wanted to be baptized, so her and Robbie walked into the water and Robbie tried to baptize her. It was SO funny – they were in the water and trying to get in the proper position for baptism. They danced around each other for a few moments and then Robbie finally just grabbed Nola and brought his little hand to the square. I wish I would have got a picture of that!! After that position didn’t work, Robbie grabbed Nola by the back of the neck and just pushed her face into the water. Bahaha! I was glad to get a picture! It’s nice to see that the kids are retaining some of the things we are teaching them with the gospel.

Once back at the trailer we had a snack, packed up and headed home. It was so great to spend time with family and make memories. I love my family so much!!! They are such a blessing to us.

Beaver Mines with the Watmoughs

We had the most amazing weekend ever. Gosh, I just can’t describe how much I love the Watmoughs!! They are some of the best people I know - we are honoured to have them as our friends and family.

Saturday after the storm, we packed up and got ready to head out to Beaver Mines to camp. Ryan was heading out Saturday morning too, so we drove out together. Trev and Jo found the perfect spot to camp for that weekend. We were right off the side of the road with the river right beside us. Because it was raining, there was no dust and there were very few people out camping or on the trails, so the spot was perfect. We set up our tent and got ready to go out for a ride. To be honest, I was feeling a little nervous about riding because I would be driving one of the quads with one of the kids with me. Ryan showed me the ropes and then we headed out. I got the hang of it pretty quick and can now say that I am hooked!! I want an ATV so bad!! IT was a prefect set up – Doug and Ryan on their dirt bikes, Tyson and Nola on one quad, Robbie and I on another quad and Trev, Jo and John in the Razr. Just as we pulled out of the campsite, it started to pour. Robbie cried for the first 10 minutes or so and wanted to go back home, but once he calmed down he realized how fun it was! He was hollering and cheering the rest of the time. We headed into the mountains and on the trails. It was pretty easy going up and the weather was perfect – rainy and cool. After bombing around for a couple hours, we stopped for some lunch. Tyson had a specific spot for us to spot at and it was no wonder as to why – it was a HUGE mud pit!! We all had fun watching him bomb around in there. The kids literally ate there lunch standing in huge mud puddles. John dropped a couple of his sandwiches into the mud. It was cute, he would say ‘Uh oh! My sandwich is all soggy!’ At this point, I was starting to get pretty cold, so we jimmy rigged some makeshift splash pants for me and the kids out of rain coats. Once we got back on the trails, we sure had our work cut out for us! The way we took back was insane!!! HUGE puddles, deep potholes, steep hills and a whole lotta mud!!! It took hours to get back – we would each take turns driving through the rough parts and most times we’d all be out helping, pushing and pulling one another through. That, right there, is one of the things I love most about the Watmoughs – they are such a team! And when we are with them, we are part of that team too. We all worked together, laughed together and made it through together.

Once we got back to the campsite, the river was just begging for us to jump in!! Of course, we didn’t pack any swimsuits, so we swam in our clothes. It was so refreshing and felt perfect. We then ate some dinner, Doug and I made a quick trip into the Beaver Mines conveniences store (we forgot to bring our toiletry bag and desperately needed contact solution and cases!!!) and then we visited in the Watmoughs trailer while the kids watch Big Hero 6. Us adults sat around the table, exhausted and giggly, while eating way too many dino-sours and chocolate eggs. We thought we may want to play a card game, but we were all too tired, so we said our goodnights and went to bed.

The kids feel asleep great and sleep amazing!!! John woke up once around 4AM because there was water dripping on him. Once we got him moved out of the drip and settled, he went back to sleep. We all got up around 8, ate some breakfast and then headed into Pincher Creek for church. Trevor and Tyson spoke and the kids stayed for all their classes!!! Yay!! After church, back to the campsite to eat lunch, pack up and head out.

Its times like these that I am just so humbled, so filled with gratitude for this life I get to live. Our lives are so full! Thanks again Watmoughs, for an amazing weekend.