Hotel Window Nature

Believe it or not! We did nature study right from our hotel room while away for lacrosse tournaments. This little guy and his friend were rummaging around on the ground in the alley way outside of our window.

  The kids sat in the window and watched.

Travel Sports

We have been traveling more often lately due to both kids being in Lacrosse. Summers seem to be like this for us. If it's not sports, it's racing. In either case, this is what the house looks like each week. Suitcases are sprawled out and clothes are being folded into baskets from the laundry room to just be packed up for the weekend away. Sometimes I wish we weren't so busy but other times I'm surprised at how much fun we have together when we go away. Family time in the hotel pools, chatting in the van on the long drives, eating snacks together in the room, spending time together but with friends in the hallway have all proven to be good for us as a family. It's a great deal of work but it's all worth it.

Going Home

Our vacation was too short. We met this Canadian family who were on the flight with us. The kids stood at the window and watched as the ground crew helped to bring the plane in. There were marks on the ground. One long line that the middle wheel stays on and three lines across that line. The plane stopped on the middle line. Interest can be sparked or something can be learned from just about any moment of our lives.You just never know what we will learn tomorrow!

Nature in Florida

 We like to watch the turtles and fish when we go to Florida. Here is one big turtle we saw.

 They come close to be fed.

 There are many kinds of ducks and other water birds all over Florida. These ducks were at Magic Kingdom.

 This interesting bird was flying over our pool and I got a picture of it because Austyn and I were keeping an eye for them and trying to figure out what types of birds we were seeing. It appears to be a type of gull but it flew and dove more like a raptor. I tried to look it up. I thought it was a kite, or a gull or an osprey. I can't seem to find it. If you can identify it, let me know what it is.

 This looks like a vulture. There were many American Black Vultures around. 

 Every year the kids try to catch the little lizards that run around all over the ground.

 I think these are brown Anoles. We even watched their behaviour with eachother and saw a couple of them puff up their chins until the chin was big and bright red. Here is a link.

This one had a short tail. I think it's tail has been pulled off and it is now growing a new one. More information on them and their tails can be found HERE.

We are pretty sure we saw other raptors while driving around and we found some cool clusters of orange toadstools, but I didn't have my camera. We learn something new every time we go to Florida.

Resort Fun

 There are always many things to do at the resort we stay at. 

 There are many pools to choose from.

 There are always crafts, board games, movies, and other activities to do.

 Austyn made a couple door hangers for when he gets his own room again.

 Zoe made a craft and coloured.

 They met some friends and one friend they want to keep in touch with.

 This is daddy's splash at the slide.

We needed this vacation. I wish it could have been longer, but with my Dad sick I didn't want to be gone too long.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

 We went to the Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. I loved the decorations!

 We sat behind the castle this time to watch the fireworks.

It was a good time and we left with a bag full of candy each.

He is now 8 Years Old!

I can't believe that he is eight years old! Where does the time go?! We celebrated his Birthday in Florida with a Captain America cake.

Our Summer in Alberta

 Austyn tried writing letters instead of just printing letters.

 Watching America's Got Talent sparked an interest in entertainment. Everything from singing, dancing and here they are doing a magic trick together.

 Archery in the back yard. Austyn liked to fill cups with water, place them on a small table and use them as targets.

 While school was out they spent time with friends who attend school. This little boy is Austyn's friend from Lacrosse. 

 We did some science. This is an experiment with house hold items testing them to see if they are an acid or a base. 

 We watched many movies and this sparked play with toys that haven't been played with in a while.

 Zoe enjoyed doing her make-up and painting her own face.

 We watched a couple of hawks in our area and named them. First there was "Prey" (above) and then a much lighter coloured, larger, younger female showed up to spend the summer with him. We named her "Sky".

 They are Swanson's Hawks. We learned that they can be aggressive to humans. We also learned that robins make a cool noise around them that signals to other birds that there is a hawk nearby.

 I arranged for a homeschool trip to the Strathcona Raptor Shelter.

 This is a place we wanted to visit since we arrived in Edmonton.

We learned so much and met more homeschooling families.

 We stayed cool with friends and took advantage of some of the free organized activities put on by the parks program.

 Austyn attended a couple of hockey camps. One was the Oilers Camp. It was a full day for a week. 

 The coaches were a ton of fun. The kids were sometimes carried around under an arm, or placed in a garbage pail. 

 He got to meet a real Oiler, Cam Barker.

He got to play hockey with and learn from a retired NHL Player, Chris Joseph.

 Zoe had fun socializing with the other kids at the hockey camps. 

We were invited to a fun BBQ.

 We met up with Austyn's hockey team at the park a few times.

 We went to Drumheller.

 It was dangerous business, but Drumheller turned out to be extremely educational for Austyn since he is now old enough to take it all in.

 What a better way to learn about Dinosaurs than to go right to the source.

 Since it was a hot day in Drumheller, the kids enjoyed ice cream and a run through the water.

 Movies sparked a new toy purchase and a new craft.

 Lego creations continue. You may recognize this scene from the new Star Trek Movie.

 We finished off our time in Alberta with swimming lessons. 

 Both Austyn and Zoe did great.

 Zoe's naps happened less, but were sometimes needed, especially when we had busy days with friends.

 Zoe learned to braid the hair on her dolls and on her own hair. This is one of her first braids. In the following days she improved so much and still does her own braids when she gets ready to go out.

 Before leaving Alberta I started a North Group and a new Park Day in the North of the city. These days became popular and we met many new friends. Two wonderful ladies took over the group for me since I'm now far away.

 We will miss the free park programs, the free skates, the free junior rangers.

 We met up with a few people before we left. 

The kids found ways to entertain themselves, even in the middle of packing.

Well, I guess that sums it up. We had a good summer and our time in Alberta was wonderful, this time. We planned on staying. It's funny how quickly things change.