Time to Meet our New Grandson in Calgary

At last we were flying to Calgary to meet our new grandson, Sawyer, born on June 22. Here is a happy Grandpa with Baby Sawyer and his big brother, Alex. Sawyer seems less than impressed. It was nice to finally get to hold him.

We went for a walk in beautiful Fish Creek Park. There are over 80 km of walking/hiking trails.

Our guides...Patrick, Krysten, Alex and Sawyer, hiding under the blanket.

We spotted a deer who was doing his best to stay hidden...

It turns out he had a friend. They weren't really afraid of us, but were certainly keeping their distance.

Oh my...how much do I love that face?

Krysten is walking up the Devil Hill, a lovely steep incline back to the parking area. It was hard going for us and we weren't carrying a baby! Good job, Mama!

The weather was absolutely amazing when we were there. We did have a few flurries one morning, and then after that it was unseasonably warm. We loved it! Time in the park with Mommy and Sawyer...

We rented a house which gave us extra room and a few surprising amenities...like an espresso/latte maker. Barista Jim was hard at work with the instruction manual.

Alex showed us his puzzle making skills. The look on his face when he realized there were two pieces missing would break your heart. He's very much into dinosaurs.

Grandma Kim with Sawyer. Love the mustachio soother!

Jim's sister, Joanne, came from Edmonton to stay with us, another reason the house worked out so well.

How much do I love that face? He was pretty pleased with his choices at Mastermind. A car that turns into a dinosaur? Nothing better.

Sweet Sawyer...look at those lips.

We took Alex to the Calgary zoo. Here we are getting up close with the Komodo dragons.

We went into the butterfly sanctuary, but it wasn't fast paced enough for Alex. Pretty flowers though...

Really, we could have just gone to the play area. His favourite thing? The "rock wall" and the Jungle Jim.

Although he did like being a Baby Roo...

We whizzed past the meerkats...

Checked out the giraffes...

And the flamingos...

Said "hello" to the camels...and called it a day. That was a lot of walking!

One thing on our "to do" list was to check out some possible locations for a family reunion next year. We headed to Johnston Canyon near Banff, to see if some of the cabins there would fit the bill. Spectacular scenery...

We passed by this house...yes, that's a house. Some money was made in the boom years.

The magnificent Rockies...

We quickly realized that the elevation at Johnston Canyon was going to be too high for Jim with his breathing difficulties. That brought about Plan B. Let's head to British Columbia! Why not? Granted, it was 2:00 pm and we had a four month old baby in car. No problem!

 We stopped in Radium Hot Springs...

 At the tourist bureau where we acted like...tourists!

Oooh...that adorable face.

Alex and the grandparents...

I don't even remember what Alex said, but it cracked us up!

Family portrait with the fall leaves...

All comfy...Alex looks like he's had enough photo taking for one day...

Awww...a proud papa!

We arrived at our destination of Invermere...yup, we were thinking this might work. Good elevation, great scenery, things to do. To be continued...By now it was about 5:00 and we were beginning to question the wisdom of this side trip.

See you next year, gadget moose!

On the way home, Krysten spotted a heart on the mountain and decided it should be called Love Mountain. Pretty cool!

And it was getting dark...about now we were realizing we were an hour beyond what anyone could take in the car in one day. Baby Sawyer was crying his little heart out, but he was fed and changed and we concluded if we kept stopping, we'd never get home. So on we pushed! We didn't want Alex to fall asleep as he would then be up half the night so we kept asking him if he was awake. Poor munchkin. We made it, but the last hour was a little hard on everyone's nerves. It was fun to be spontaneous though!

Sawyer is so good natured. My finger isn't really what he wanted, but he was making do.

Alex's new car/dinosaur...

Our next day trip was to Kananaskis to see one of Patrick and Krysten's favourite walking spots. Lots of farm land...

Beauty everywhere...

And when we arrived, Jim immediately could feel that the elevation was going to affect him. We googled and sure enough, we were at 5000 ft. He decided to stay put while we did a walk around Forgetmenot (forget me not) Pond.

Look at that beautiful blue sky...

And look at this view...I can see why you'd love to come here.

We started a leisurely walk around the pond with plenty of photo breaks...

Why is this piece of wood interesting, you might ask? Because it's floating in water. Yup, that's how clear the water is. Amazing...

One of my favourite photos that day...

That face...I just want to squeeze him!

This shows some of the lasting effects from the flood in 2013. You can see how wide the river during the flood, compared to what it is now. Some of the trails in the park were completely washed out and have not reopened.

Long about now, as was becoming a recurring story, we had spent far too long wandering about. We had a turkey to cook for Thanksgiving, and it was supposed to be in the oven...now! One last photo and time to go...

Someone wasn't too stressed...

The chefs hard at work...

Krysten's mom joined us for dinner. It was yummy!

How cute is he? I'm not biased by any means.

Another day trip took us to the Calgary Corn Maze and Fun Farm...it was ridiculously windy that day.

Hey some bouncy fun! This was supposed to be the calm section, but there were some people who didn't get the memo. I couldn't believe that there were women with babies in snuggies getting on this thing. You could end up on your behind (or on top of the baby) in short order. Patrick and I had fun keeping Alex bouncing.

We got on this train thinking we were going on a good tour of the farm. We waited and waited until they filled all the carts.

And we were off...only to have the ride end about 60 seconds later. One quick tour through the corn and we were done. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Lots of activities...

Sawyer was enjoying it from the comfort of his stroller...

Alex, as usual, loved all the slides and swings...

That face!

Grandpa trying to get down to his level...

And a chair big enough for all of us!

Love!

Alex got to bring home a little pumpkin...

And best of all, got suited up for a pony ride...

He was a pro!

And pretty proud of himself when it was over!

We fed the goats and it was time to go. That was fun!

We went to watch Alex's swimming lessons one afternoon. Great work, Alex!

Are you looking at me? One last photo and it was time to head home. We had such a good visit! Can't wait to return next year.

Back in New Brunswick, there weren't any mountains, but there were lots of pretty trees.

A great visit...so happy to see our growing Calgary family!