Week 52 and 53 - Travels across Canada

Sarah has arrived, travel has commenced and we are on our way experiencing more of beautiful Canada. Have there been hiccups along the way... yes. But we have dealt with them with humor and a lot of prayer.

Monday and Tuesday were serious packing days. We culled all of our things and ended up with 6 full bags to take to the thrift shop.

Wednesday we were expecting Sez to arrive in the evening, but discovered that her plane in Australia had been cancelled. It turned out to be good as we had an extra day to get all of the things off our 'to do' list. We spent the day finalizing things like accommodation, insurance and of course sending off our possessions to New Zealand. That night, we went to Peter and Carols for dinner. We had the best time (as usual) and left feeling so blessed to have such awesome friends in our lives.

Thursday was a full on day. We started the morning by packing Jelly to the brim with our boxes that needed to be sent home. We then went to Pete's work to collect his tool box as that was going home too. After more goodbyes, we loaded our boxes onto a crate to be shipped home. Time was on our side as we rushed to our ultrasound. However, we were pulled over by a cop. After showing her our license and discovering our insurance had cancelled when it hadn't, we spent half an hour ringing our insurance company to get them to explain that we really do have insurance. Needless to say, we were late for our ultrasound, but we were fit in. Words cannot explain how amazing it was to see our baby on the screen. Pete's face said a thousand words, and he couldn't take his eyes off the screen. I was overcome with gratitude for the blessings God has given us including our little miracle.
After heading home, we rushed about cleaning the apartment readying it for our inspection. In no time at all, we were making our way to the airport to collect our precious Sez. After collecting her and her pretty much empty bag, we made our way out for a bite to eat before heading home for more chats.

Friday we arose early to head to Banff. We wanted Sez to see this part of Alberta as it is so pretty. In Banff we went on a wagon ride. So, is was like stepping back in time to 'Little House on the Prarie' days. Except our wagon was likely far more comfortable than they had back in the day, and our steak meal was cooked for us. We had the best time where we took several snaps of Banff in all its glory. We then visited several tourist stores in Banff town and before we knew it, we were heading home.

View from inside the wagon.

Pete inside the wagon.

Beautiful Banff.

Pete was taught to lasso and was pretty good at it.

Saturday we arose early to give the apartment another once over before our landlord came to inspect the property. After given the okay, we were off. Our destination was a place near Red Deer (about 2 hours away from Calgary). There we went on a train ride that involved us stepping back in time (sensing a pattern?) where there were staged robberies. The bandits shot guns and rode horses and 'robbed' the passengers. I say robbed, but we willingly gave our money away as we knew it was going to charity. We then had a lobster and steak meal in a small town, before heading back to the station. This excursion was over 5 hours and well worth it. We then made our way to our hotel where we relaxed for the evening.

Sez and Pete before boarding the train.

The robber on the train.

Sez and Pete killing time after dinner.

Appropriate I think.

Sunday we journeyed from Red Deer to Winnipeg. The trip was long, and made a bit longer as Jelly (our trusted stead) showed the 'check engine' light. After realizing we would need to get this checked, we settled in at the hotel hoping and praying Jelly's fault wouldn't cost us too much.

Monday Pete brought a scanner to determine the fault. He discovered it was the transmission. So we went to a transmission specialist. Turns out Winnipeg wanted us to see more of us though as it was a public holiday there, so nothing was open. So we booked in at the hotel for another night and enjoyed a swim and a meal out.

Tuesday Pete left us to sleep in while he took Jelly to Mr Transmission for them to sort the problem. $400 and 4 hours later we were on the road. Destination - Sault Ste Marie. As that drive was over 17 hours, we ummed and ahhed about whether or not we would stop. We didn't want to be another day behind as we had pre booked everything. So, we decided to do the epic drive. Pete drove most of the way. We stopped for quick toilet stops and bites to eat, but otherwise we drove and then drove some more. Along the way, that pesky little light came on again, so it turns out the problem with Jelly hadn't been fixed. We also encountered numerous signs warning us about Moose at night. Apparently they are huge and when they see lights, they stop and stare and are easy to hit. So I huddled in the back praying away while Sez sat up front chattering away with Pete to keep him awake. We arrived at 6am to our booked hotel. So we checked in, grabbed breakfast and 3 hours of sleep before gearing ourselves up for more driving. Meanwhile, Pete had forgone sleep to get jelly fixed again. He is amazing! The verdict was that a part would need to be ordered so we would be spending another night in Sault Ste Marie. So we grabbed an early dinner, booked a cabin at the local KOA and enjoyed an afternoon/ evening of swimming, mini golf and relaxing.

Thursday we all made our way to the transmission place to wait for Jelly to be fixed. Once that was done we made our way to Montreal. As we had booked for 2 nights there as I wanted a day to explore the city, we lost out, but it was fine. The drive was non-eventful with no light flashing. Yay! We arrived late and crashed after climbing epic stairs to get into the place we were staying.

Friday we had another huge trip ahead of us, so we filled Jelly with gas, grabbed some McDonalds and hit the road. Everything was in french and everyone spoke in french, so that got a bit much. We were glad to be hitting the road. Destination - Prince Edward Island. After another day of driving, we arrived at the confederation bridge. 13 kms in length, we drove snapping wildly as we went. We arrived in time to settle into our accommodation, wow Sez with the supermarket Sobey's and their salad selection, and relax with dreams of Anne of Green Gables.

View from the bridge.

After our epic travel across Canada, we all slept in Saturday morning. We had breakfast and decided to look around Charlottetown instead of do Anne of Green Gables as things may be shut Sunday. Charlottetown was gorgeous. We loved window shopping and seeing people dressed in period clothing walking around the place helping the tourists. There we watched a show (free!) which was awesome. We then did some more window shopping. To finish off our relaxing day, we booked tickets to see Vacation at the movies. The movie was funny, but oh so crass.

A shot from the free show.

Sezzie and I.

P.E.I is well known for its lobster. Tried it and it was good.

Can you spot us?

Inside a stunning church.

Sunday was the day where my dreams and Sez's were about to come true. We had brought a package deal that took you to Green Gables, the birth place of L.M Montgomery and a show. We started by heading to the L.M Montgomery museum. We loved it as we learned tonnes about the woman behind Anne. There we visited her home and then walked through the haunted forest which lead to Green Gables. I can't begin to tell you how excited we were, even Pete. Green Gables was amazing. It wasn't actually the one used in the movies as by that stage it was the property of Canada. But it was what inspired L.M Montgomery to write Anne of Green Gables. We then had raspberry cordial (could you not) and took a stroll down lovers lane. We then made our way to another museum where we learned more about L.M Montgomery. Before long, we were making our way to the place we were staying to jump into something more comfortable before seeing a show called (Anne and Gilbert). It was one of the best shows I have seen, and was done on a small scale. After our day, we snuggled into bed tired, but oh so content.

Sez heading to Green Gables.

A shot from a room in the house.

Us and Anne!

Us in lovers lane.

 That is the first installment of our trip. Next will be America. Stay tuned.

Week 51 - The News is Out!

I'm assuming those who read this humble blog of ours also know that we are expecting. We are over the moon about this and it has been hard not to include the sordid details of pregnancy in the blog, but now I can! I've been pretty blessed as I have only felt quite ill a couple of times so far. And have only lost my breakfast twice. So not too bad overall.

Monday was our last week at work. It seemed surreal and also exciting. The work day was the same old, and before long, we were heading out the door to visit the doctor. As I don't have an Alberta health card (which makes health care here free) and our medical insurance did not cover us for pregnancy, we paid $125 for 5 minutes of a doctors time. All we wanted was a referral to get an ultrasound. After obtaining that glorious piece of paper, we hurriedly left to grab a bite to eat and then do our food shopping.

Tuesday was another day. I had planned to go to sewing to finish my project, but decided to go the next week, so we had a quiet night in.

Wednesday things got exciting at work. During my summer camp, Lynette (a colleague) turned up quickly turning on the radio. It turned out there were tornado warnings and we needed to evacuate the building. We asked the pizza place downstairs if we could camp out there. They were fine with it. So we hurried downstairs to watch the news and keep the kids calm. They were fine. Me, not so much. When the screen beeped and went red and the words 'WARNING! WARNING!' flashed on the screen, I admit to feeling a little freaked out. To cut a long story short, we avoided the tornado. And I learned that Calgary's weather is even more unpredictable than Auckland's.
After an exciting day, and the kids been sent home early, I walked home (all was fine by then) and had a quiet one.

Thursday was a similar day to Wednesday except there wasn't a tornado warning.

Friday we celebrated the last day of work by having pizza with the kids. I was then gifted items by my colleagues (for the baby) which made me feel all gooey inside. I then made my way home in a daze as the fact we are leaving Canada and heading home really began to sink in. After Pete arrived home, we relaxed for a bit before heading out to Ranchmans (a local pub) for a dinner send off with Pete's work colleagues. Ranchman's was an authentic Calgarian pub with line dancing and a mechanical bull to boot. We had the best time eating, drinking, and watching people attempt the bull. Pete did it and I was super jealous I couldn't. Before too long, we decided to make our way home.

Saturday we decided to make our way to High River where our beloved Heartland is filmed. We found the best cafe and enjoyed a quiet breakfast and an awesome coffee (well Pete enjoyed that, not me). We then took a tour of the town, which is very small before choosing to head home and relax before heading out to church that night.
Church was amazing as we got to share our news with everyone. We were also prayed for as it was our last service before heading home. We had the best time. We then decided to head to an Irish pub for a bite to eat with friends (David and Claire). I was asked if I was the sober driver as I ordered Sprite, to which I replied proudly, "Nope, I'm pregnant!" Time got away with us and before long, we were making our way home.

Pete's 4 shot coffee!

A monument in High River.

Baby cowboy boots!

A uniform in the museum of one of the characters in Heartland.

A place that features in Heartland heaps.

Sunday was a really quiet day. We decided to spend the day packing and sorting out things on our very long to do list. We did pop out for a bit (to head to the library and grab a coffee) before heading home to relax before heading out again to the Clark's for South African pancakes. There we caught up with a bunch of people and had an awesome night socializing and saying good byes as that is the last time we will see some of our good friends.

And thus ends another week here in Canada. We are in full on packing mode now, trying to organize everything before we collect Sez from the airport and embark on our big adventure throughout Canada. We can't wait to see more of this amazing country and take you all along with us!

Week 50 - Short but Sweet

This week I got to be a lady of leisure again and boy did I enjoy it. My time was occupied with packing, emails and a few too many movies.

Monday was an average day for both of us. When Pete arrived home, we sat down to dinner and of course some Heartland.

Tuesday I went to sewing. I am making a kimono and am loving what it looks like. But, I didn't get it finished so I have one more class before we head off on our adventure.

Wednesday was a repeat of Monday.

Thursday we hit the bank after Pete finished work and then we made our way to the Archery place. Why you may ask. Well, after 2 years of wanting a bow, Pete's dream is coming true. So, being the ever supportive wife I was, I told Pete to take his time at the shop while I sat in the car. Thankfully, he didn't chat for too long, and he emerged with his bow in a case. Naively I thought that that would be that. Alas I was wrong. In order for Pete to use the bow, he also needs a few other items. So we shall be visiting the archery place again.

Friday after Pete arrived home from work, we went to the library to return a stack load of books I had borrowed for work. We then went to McDonald's for dinner. I swear I love this place far too much. We then headed home and slipped into our PJs to snuggle up in front of ... yep, you guessed it. More Heartland.

Saturday we decided to head to Cross Iron Mills (a huge mall in the north). We had a great time looking around and making a few purchases. Pete tired sooner than I did though, so after a few hours, we decided to make our way home to have a quiet one in. As summer is upon us, church is now only every second Saturday.

Sunday we had a lazy morning. I managed (easily) to convince Pete to take me out for breakfast. Destination: IHOP. The place was packed, but the wait was worth it. We dined on pancakes, sipped coffee and enjoyed hanging out. We then went to a secret store to buy a secret gift for someone special back home. After our leisurely morning, we were wiped, so headed home where I had a nana nap and Pete watched a movie. We spent the rest of the evening mapping out where we are going on our travels through Canada. As we are driving all the way across the country, some drives will be pretty full on. Pete feels he is more than capable of being our chauffeur. I know he will be great.

"Quick, take the picture cos I'm so hungry!"

Banana pudding pancakes

All that for $11. Not too bad.

And so ends another very uneventful week here in Calgary. Plans are in full force for our holiday though which I will blog about. In those posts you will be inundated with photos. Until then...

Week 49 - Quiet week but more Stampede!

Gone were my days of being a lady of leisure this week as I was teaching at summer camp. I only had to work 4 hours a day, but as I was teaching, I did have to spend more time prepping for lessons.

Monday to Friday were fairly non-eventful days. Pete would head off to work early and I would sleep in a bit. I would then busy myself around the place until lunchtime when I would walk to work to teach. After the work day, I would walk home almost melting from the heat, where Pete would arrive home shortly after. We would then have dinner and relax for the evening.

Saturday was also fairly uneventful as I was teaching at church in the afternoon (we had a visiting speaker), so we pottered around home, took a casual stroll to Starbucks for a cool beverage and relaxed before heading to church. Church went well, but we chose to head home after the service instead of staying for the later service. We relaxed at home before deciding that we would head to the movies. Our movie of choice was Jurassic World. We opted for the late showing as we had no special plans for the next morning. The movie was great. I spent a bit of time huddling into Pete as some of the scenes were a bit scary. However, I'm pretty sure Pete didn't mind. 

Sunday I was awoken by huge cracks of thunder. We had no plans for the morning, but we did have plans for the afternoon/ evening. And they involved being outside. The rain pelted down, so we spent a leisurely morning inside. At around lunch, we decided to pop to the mall. I felt like a cafe type bite to eat, and the best place near us is a cafe in the mall. It's the closest we've got to a cafe here anyway. We only browsed through the mall. I broke the bank by purchasing some mustache pencils (I couldn't resist). We then went home for another bout of relaxing before we packed our bag ready for the Stampede. Today was the last day for the 'Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth'. We had another look around, saw John's (Pete's boss) daughter Willow performing in a show to which Pete screamed out "Go Willow!". He found out that that had made her day. We then toured the place for some food for me. Pete had eaten before we came. I opted for a pulled pork bun. Scrumptious. We then made our way to the Grandstands for the Chuck wagon races. They were everything I was expecting and more. After 9 heats, they moved onto the show. The theme was Canada. And despite not being Canadian, I felt proud of the country I live in after watching the show. Unfortunately the photos I have will not do it justice. We then watched the magnificent display of fireworks before popping out early to get a spot on the train. As we expected the trains to be packed, this was a good idea as we missed all of the crowds and got a seat all the way home.

Pete standing on our homeland on the world map.

Crossing the finish line!

That tractor hauled that massive stage across the ring.

An image of the show.

Can't get over how awesome their uniforms are.

The Northern Lights (AKA flying girls).

Fireworks!

Fireworks!

And so ends another quiet week here in Canada. We are getting into leaving mode now with the plan being to pack our apartment up next week. Sad to be saying goodbye, but oh so excited to be traveling throughout Canada and the States.

Week 48 - The Stampede!!!

What a week! I've had the luxury of being a lady of leisure as I am on holiday. We celebrated our first Canada Day with friends, saw the parade for the opening of the Stampede and we went to the world famous stampede and saw the rodeo. 

Monday I managed to drag myself out of bed and accompany Pete to work as I wanted the use of our trusted stead that day. The reason. Value Village was having a 50% sale. Now how could a bargain hunter like me refuse that. Before I made my way to thrift shop, I relaxed at home and then headed into Pete's work as he wanted me to come for lunch. They were having a BBQ. I loved hanging out with his colleagues and chatting. I then made my way to Value Village. As I wasn't the only one who had bargains on the mind, the place was packed. So I managed to pick up a few things before choosing to leave. That night was a quiet one. Dinner in and a couple of episodes of our new favorite series - Heartland. It's filmed and based in Calgary, so why wouldn't we fall in love with it.

Tuesday I enjoyed sleeping in and keeping myself busy around the house. That evening, I had sewing, so I headed off to finish another project. I loved the chats with the girls, and of course the sewing. I think the thing I enjoy most though is coming home to show off my creations. Pete is the ever supportive husband and marvels over the items I make.

Wednesday saw us getting up at the crack of dawn. Strange as today was a public holiday - Canada Day. We arose early to make our way to our friends Peter and Carols as we were accompanying them to Drumheller where we were meeting other friends (Les and Val) to go to the Drumheller Canada Day parade. As the weather has been pretty hot as of late, we all dressed fairly cool, not thinking it would rain. Alas rain it did. I loved the parade and the candy that was thrown out by every float. After the parade, we went back to Val's parents house and had an awesome afternoon of socializing and eating. We clicked with Val's family and it made me slightly homesick as one of her brothers was the spitting image of mine. Not looks wise, more mannerisms. After a few hours, we made our way home.

Ahhh, the RCMP, they get me every time.

For Dad.

One of the princesses of the parade.

Loved his outfit.

Us!

Thursday I spent the day at Daphne's house helping her with sewing. The theme was the Stampede, and we all had an awesome time. Later that evening, Pete and I decided to go out for dinner. The restaurant was at the end of our road, and the place was nice. We had a voucher thankfully as the meals were fairly pricey. It was an awesome evening though, hanging out and chatting over great food.

Friday was another early morning as we were heading into downtown to watch the Calgary Stampede parade. We (Pete and I and Darrin and Daphne) got there early to ensure we got a good spot. We did. Val decided to join us a little later which was cool. After an hour or so, the parade started. I was blown away by the marching bands and the amount of horses in the parade. To say we had a good time was an understatement. As Pete had to get back to work, and I had to pop into work to set up for Summer camp the following week, we left early to avoid huge crowds on the train. We grabbed a bite to eat (McDonalds, my guilty pleasure) before Pete rushed off for work and I relaxed at home a bit before walking to work. I didn't spend long at work, but managed to get myself organized for the following Monday. When Pete arrived home from work, we indulged in more of Heartland.

The Stampede marching band.

Pete's boss's daughter Willow was one of the flag holders.

Don't they look dashing.

A cool float.

More of the dashing men and women in uniform.

Super cute.

The tanks were a big success.

The did wheelies which enraptured Pete.

Saturday was a day where we ran errands. So we visited the library, the dollar store, the book shop oh and my beloved Denny's. Jeez, I'm sensing the pattern that we ate fairly badly this week. Before we knew it, we were heading home to have a night in and get some rest before our big day at the Stampede the next day.

Sunday we had a leisurely start to the morning before heading to the train station to make our way to the Stampede. We had brought tickets for the rodeo in the afternoon, so spent some time browsing the markets there and sampling the cuisine and taking in the sights. We then made our way to the rodeo and I was blown away. We had seats (thank goodness) so could see all the rodeo had to offer. The beginning of the rodeo got me excited as there blowing around in all its glory was the New Zealand flag. Was I proud to be a kiwi or what! The rodeo was sensational, making the ones I have seen in New Zealand look like child's play. I loved every minute of it. I particuly loved seeing a kiwi barrel race. She didn't place, but the day before a kiwi had won the barrel races so I was happy about that. I had my best friend with me and was deleriously happy to be experiencing this with him. But we both felt that my dad should have been with us as he would have loved the whole thing. Once the rodeo was over, we made our way to the First Nations village to take a look. We saw some cultural dances and again I was proud to be a kiwi as we are so lucky to have Maori in our country whose cultural performances are mind blowingly awesome. I did sample the First Nations version of fried bread and was in heaven. When we head to the Stampede again next week, I will definitely be getting more of that! As I was exhausted, we made our way home at around 5. The train was crowded but we didn't have to wait too long.

At the train station.

My sexy cowboy!

Our view of the rodeo.

Can you see the NZ flag?

The introduction to the rodeo.

Broncos!

Broncos!

More broncos.

Half time and the marching band.

Barrel racing by a kiwi.

The kids even got in on it.

Gorgeous ponies.

First Nations looking amazing.

Tipi.

Me eating fried bread.

And that ends another amazing week here in Calgary. I love this city and especially more so as it has the Stampede. It exceeded my expectations and I am so looking forward to heading back there next week to experience the chuck wagon races.