Prep, Birthday, Rehearsal, Fun

We had some busy days getting ready for the wedding, we had lots of food to make for the rehearsal dinner, and lots of food to make for the wedding celebration at the park (where they had their pictures taken)

Some lucky person got this 'phenomenal' candy-kabob...it spells Brian...I am one lucky girl, surrounded by incredible talent:-P Haha.

My Grandma Shantz with her great-grandson

Happy 28th Birthday Brent!

Happy 4th of July!

The night before the wedding we had a girls night in one of the trailers, junk food and Enchanted!

Friends...with guns

We had sooo much fun with all the friends and family that came out for the wedding from Ontario. Much of the fun revolved around Power Uno, ping pong, and of course, gun fights! Everyone got a chance to shoot the real guns too, at targets.

Soccer night, with the league my parents run. Liana was there to play and help, Krista and I were there to watch:-)

James, Lehman, Logan, Liana, Laura and Kaden. Insert a different background and this could be a poster for a movie or something. They look very fierce.

Girls, not afraid to get hit with a very painful "green rock", as Kenna dubbed the bullets. She collected them as she found them everywhere!

Stealthy sniper, James

Liana, Emily and Hannah, waiting for the wedding to start

Sexsmith, AB

Alright, I am in the process of uploading some pictures from our trip. We made it home safe and sound, but are staying with friends until tomorrow because the last coat of poly is still drying on our floors!! More about that to come...

My parents house...most of it...it's very long so it's hard to get in a close up shot.

The garage

3 campers and 1 tent trailer to house the guests for Brent's wedding

That big Alberta sky. They live in the saddlehills region, so it's really not as flat as the prairies. But...you still can see a long way off! They have some gorgeous views.

Downtown Sexsmith

Not exactly a booming metropolis, just a quaint little town. For real stores and groceries it's off to the big city, Grande Prairie

Wedding

I posted some brief details about Brent & Chantelle's wedding on the family site. It was a great day, and a lot of fun.

We arrived in Alberta with no problems, aside from almost missing our connecting flight out of Edmonton. Some delays in Chicago made it a close call, and we were actually paged and they held the plane for us. I've never had that happen for me before! The kids slept on the long flight the entire time, and were angels on the 2 shorter flights, I was so encouraged that it will be possible to do alone...it's such a long day.

We are having a blast here, although there are a lot of mosquitoes, so we're a bit itchy. Otherwise it's wonderful. It really cools off more at night than I thought it would, so it makes the hot sunny days bearable because the house stays residually cool.

Brian left for home yesterday and was quite delayed in Calgary due to mechanical failures on the airplane. Because the Calgary stampede is going on there were no hotels in Calgary, so he was 'shipped off' to Toronto, and then headed home today. Crazy trip for him! I really hope nothing like that happens to me traveling home alone with 2 kids.

We had quite the house full...or yard full over the wedding. The house was full, and also there were 3 camper trailers (top of the line and gorgeous) as well as a tent trailer to accommodate all the guests from Ontario (and us). We had a great time with Uncle Howie, G & G Shantz, the Jermacans and Herzogs (and Krista), and the Belvederes. Between all of us we have hundreds of pictures that I can't wait to post. Unfortunately on dialup it's very slow. Next time we go to town I will bring the laptop and see if there are any wi-fi spots around town. Otherwise the majority will get done when I get home on the 22nd.

Kenna has done a remarkable job learning the names of everyone. She really knows who is who! Brooks has started talking and imitating sounds a bit more too, he's such a cutie. They sleep and nap really well due to all the excitement around here!

It's Davis and Brooks, at the park.

Alberta Bound

I am leaving tonight to go to Alberta to visit my family for about a month. For those of you who might go through withdrawal not seeing our adorable faces on here, fear not. I have my laptop, so I will keep posting as often as possible. My family has dial-up, so I might have to spare a little on the quantity of pictures, but we'll see, they might upload just fine.

So stay tuned for pictures of Brent's wedding (July 5th), and fun with friends and family. Pray that Kenna and Brooks stay happy and seated for their roles as flowergirl and ringbearer in the wedding. They are being pulled in a wagon:-) And pray for Brian who is coming home in a week to tackle refinishing our floors, work, and summer camp with the youth group, all while I am gone. He will be super busy!

Thai Restaurant

We had a great time going out to eat with Lauren. Brooks slept through the whole thing on the floor behind our table. Poor little guy! I was so surprised he didn't wake up...this is a first!

Happy 141st Birthday Canada!

People in the US always ask me how we celebrate Canada Day, and really it is just like the celebrations for the 4th of July. There are picnics, cookouts and fireworks...just fun with family and friends. Here are a few quick facts about the holiday...Happy Canada Day!!

• On June 20, 1868, a proclamation signed by the Governor General, Lord Monck, called upon all Her Majesty's loving subjects throughout Canada to join in the celebration of the anniversary of the formation of the union of the British North America provinces in a dominion under the name of Canada on July 1st.
• The July 1st holiday was established by statute in 1879, under the name Dominion Day.
• A highlight was Canada's Centennial in 1967 when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II attended the celebrations on Parliament Hill.
• On October 27, 1982, July 1st which was known as "Dominion Day" became "Canada Day"
• Canada Day is always observed on July 1st, unless it falls on a Sunday (it is then celebrated the following day)