Things you find in your house when you go looking.....

Yup - we've got boys!

Summer Babies

There is something about the beginning of summer that seems so fresh and new. Those first really warm days that we've been longing for seem so sweet. The grass is green and the flowers beautiful.... frankly, we're just ecstatic that the snow is finally gone and we get to savor Canada's far too short yet glorious summer season! I can't help but pull my camera out and snap photos like crazy! On our recent trip to the mountain parks, Marc and I were witness to another sure sign of early summer - wildlife babies! Here are some of the pictures we took of some of the "babies" we saw that weekend, as well as some other wildlife shots.

Here is a baby Rocky Mountain Sheep - adorable!

A shot from a little farther away, but here is a mother mountain goat and her baby!

This one is quite blurry because the bears were quite a distance away, but here is a Grizzly and two cubs!

Here is one of many bears seen in the ditches along the highway, chowing down on all the fresh greens!

Wild Wild West

Okay.... so we're really not all redneck cowboys in these parts, but there is certainly no shortage of wildlife - especially in the mountain parks. Marc and I visited both Banff and Jasper last weekend and took literally hundreds of pictures. Here are some of the highlights!

If these pictures have left you wanting to see more, then head over to our photo website to check out some more pictures.

Love,

Cathy

Summer's on it's way!

Marc and I had an impromptu trip to both Banff and Jasper National Parks this weekend. It started out as a day trip, but turned into a weekend away when we found ourselves in the town of Jasper. We got many beautiful pictures, but you'll have to wait until my next post for those! Let me leave you with another picture that is a sure sign that summer is around the corner.... An end-of-the-year school band concert! Here is Adam playing away on his trombone!

Also....here's a sample of our beautiful weekend

The simple things in life

Come with me on a little walk....

You're invited to join me on a picture tour of Cranston. Come and enjoy pictures of the place I call home springing to life all around me!


Strapped the camera around my neck and I was ready to head out.... didn't get too far before I started taking pictures. I came across this tree showing off it's beautiful blossoms and I just had to capture it's beauty!



Then, I almost walked right into this next tree and got so wrapped up in it's beauty and taking a picture that I didn't notice a fellow walker staring me down.... As soon as I had snapped this shot, she demanded to know why I was photographing her house! Admittedly, her house is in the background of this picture but, as you can tell, I clearly wasn't trying to see into her bedroom with my zoom lens or anything!!!


Well, once I recovered from being accused of espionage, I continued on my merry way, snapping pictures as I went along. Here are a few samples of the pictures of the day - and more reasons as to why I love living in Cranston!

Well..... hope you enjoyed our little photo walk. I definitely hope that it made you want to hop on a plane and come visit (hint hint...) because Cranston is so much more fun in person!

Oh....and in case you didn't already know this, Calgary has the strangest weather in the world. I went for this walk on June 3..... in my sandals and capri pants.

This morning, June 6, our yard looked like this -

Oh well! At least we don't need to water the lawn this weekend!!!


Hope you're all having a great day!


Cathy

Grocery Store Glimpses

The boys arrived back at our house tonight and we were clearly in need of stocking up on groceries because, well, the boys were back! :-) Now that Jeremy is working as a price checker at the grocery store, he always wants to come when one of us is getting groceries because he is very proud of knowing where everything is as well as allowing us to use his employee discount card. I must add, it comes in quite handy that he knows where everything is, and you won't hear me complaining about the discount card either!

When he came with me tonight, I got a really interesting glimpse into the real life of Jeremy Robichaud. I say that because when children are younger, you know their world. In a lot of ways, parents are the world of pre-school children - for the good or for the bad. As children start school, parents are very involved in the day to day activities of school and are talking to the teachers and supervising homework. Children continue to grow and mature though and as they do, you begin to be a bit separate from their lives - at least their school life.

Sure - you still know them (even though they don't think you do!), but when you ask how their day at school was, you get "okay". When asked what they did at school that day, the reponse is usually "nothing". In essence we only know what they want us to know which, of course, leads us to stew and worry - wanting to make sure that things are really okay in their lives outside the house.

Well, I got a glimpse of that part of Jeremy's life tonight, and it was so great to see! We arrived at the grocery store - the same one that we have gone to for years - but yet somehow it feels like Jeremy's turf now. Before we even got our cart from the cart corral in the parking lot, people were already saying hi to Jeremy. Over and over again different staff were saying hi to Jeremy - calling him by his nick names.... I have to say that it was heartwarming to see how this has become his community.... he was obviously proud to be there and be noticed - it was awesome!

Although parenting (and particularly step-parenting) teenagers can be incredibly challenging and emotionally draining, there are some pretty fabulous moments!

Cathy