Hockey Night in Edmonton

This was a fun night. Jamie and I went to our first professional hockey game. It was a really good game and in the end they had to go into a shoot out. That was amazingly intense but the Oilers won. It was so neat being there live, it is not the same as watching it on TV. This is something that we would do but we were lucky to get these tickets for free from one of Jamie's travel clients. Thanks for a great evening.

Torch Parade

This was the first time that our cub and scout troops have participated in the torch parade but the boys were sure excited, I mean really they are boys and they did get to carry some very large torches. How fun. This was Darien's
It was really neat because they actually made their own torches. It was great because the majority of them lasted the hole walk.

Leaving the fire hall heading down the main street. It was so neat because they had police escort. They also blocked off the intersections for them. I was really proud of them for celebrating Baden Powell's birthday. Jamie walked with them and took Stefan and Rylan along. Stefan still talks about the fact that he got to carry a torch. Rylan and Keagan even made it into the local newspaper.

Boys and fire what more can I say. LOL

Happy Family Day

In Alberta we get an extra holiday in February called "Family Day". This year we decided to enjoy our day being unplugged. (no computers, or any other electronics.) We got some tickets for the huge water park at West Edmonton Mall. It was great because we got them at a discounted rate. So normally it would have cost us $140.00 to go there for the day but with our coupon we went for $72.00. It is something that we have only done a couple of times since moving to Alberta but it was fun.
It ended up being a day full of deals. We enjoyed a picnic lunch to save on cost. We spent the whole day there but it was a little crazy with all the other people.

After our water park fun it was off to use some more coupons. We had some fancy drinks from Orange Julius using our coupons and wondered around the mall. Then it was time to head for dinner and thankfully we were able to feed our whole family for only $10.00. Our favorite place to go is Ikea because you can get a decent meal but because it was family day they had a special on their 10 piece meatball meal for only $0.99. It was great. We love those kinds of days when you can have so much fun with the kids and not go broke doing it. LOL

Our Last Hoopla!!!

This was our last day to play and enjoy the sun so it was spent trying out a new sport for us and we loved it. We decided to try some stand up body boarding. It was so much fun. I wasn't too sure at first but it was really good.
The person that we rented them fun was really great because he gave us three to use for the price of one. Now that is a great deal especially when you you have so many kids that would love to do it. Stefan had a great time catching a ride with whoever would take him.

Darien has done it before with his scout group and was like an old pro.

Keagan loved it. It was so cute to watch him and Darien going out to the middle of the lagoon and jump off and pretend that they were diving.

They gave Rylan a smaller board and paddle and it was perfect for him.

Stefan catching a ride. LOL Darien was pushing the limits trying to see how far he could go on the back of his board. He did pretty well. LOL

It was a great day and a great way to spend out last day. Everyone just chillen before heading to the airport. We are so happy that we made this trip with our friends. We really enjoyed Hawaii but we are still die hard cruisers. There is something so easy about going on a cruise. But we will try and make it back to Hawaii again. It was beautiful.

A final nap for Mr. B before heading out of dinner than a long over night flight home. LOL

Water Slide Time

Today was spent at a water park in Hawaii. It was so much fun and thanks to a dear friend we were able to go in for a great price. It was perfect because it was the middle of the week so it wasn't busy at all. Stefan wasn't tall enough for very many of the slides but they had a great children's area.
One of the big slides that the kids and adults had a great time going down.

I like this picture. You would think that we don't feed Keagan. LOL

I have to admit that the water was a little bit cold but that didn't stop them.

This was a great slide to get some pictures of the boys shooting out of. This is Mr. A.

We had the timing down pat with Darien and his show. LOL

Then Jamie had to give it a try. LOL We a great time.

A New Adventure

Of course you have to try something new so today Jamie and Dave went and rented a kayak and took some trips out to a small island. It was pretty rough right off the beach but once they were pass the break it was just fine.
On their way.

Half way there.

Darein had fun making some stairs for Stefan to use when climbing up the sand dune. My personal favorite is the smiley face.

We should have just camped out on the beach it was so beautiful.

There is no way to describe the mountain ranges. They were so different from anything that I have ever seen.

It is just like you see in all the books but to really see it in person is something else.

This is their state flower. So beautiful.

We managed to make it to the other side of the island and see the temple, the town that it is in is a lot smaller than I imagined it would be. It was so beautiful and we had the opportunity to go in to the visitors centre. There are some very nice Sister Missionaries that shared with us the importance of family. It was a great presentation.

On The Beach Again Just Can't Wait.....

I know we have a lot of beach pictures but for me each picture has a memory attached to it and I never get tired of looking at pictures of my kids and their friends having fun and living in the moment. These two became real body boarding pros.
Each time they could catch the perfect wave their smiles were huge and they would run right back out to catch the next way. It was awesome.

While the rest of the kids were in and out of the water the whole time. Those waves just never stop. LOL

Getting ready to battle the next wave. :)

Mrs. B and I even got in on the body boarding action and soon discovered why they kids liked it so much. We had a hard time giving up the boards. Next time we will get more boards for sure, I think I have a new passion. LOL

All our stuff...

Keagan loves to play in the water but a lot of time you will find Keagan digging a hole to China. LOL He loves to play by himself and has a great imagination. I wish sometimes that I could climb in his brain and see all the things that are playing through his mind.

Our next beach bum. LOL

Dave's first big trip and he really enjoyed it. This is Jamie's younger brother and we had a great time with him on the trip.

The newest addition to our traveling group. Can't wait for next time. We had a blast with this family and can't wait for our next adventure to Costa Rica. :)

Enjoying the our Hawaiian sunset and it was beautiful.

Pearl Harbor

This was a very early morning for the kids. Jamie took our older three with his brother, Mr. B and his two boys to Pearl Harbor for the day. They had to get up at 7:30 am to be able to get a decent time for getting on the ships and the memorial.
This was one location that all the boys had been looking forward to going to. They did a ship and submarine tour with the headsets which is a great way to do a tour because it tells you so much detail.

My boys like most boys have a huge fascination with war and especially the events that took place in Pearl Harbor.

These ships are amazing.

When asked to describe the atmosphere on the floating memorial they all said "peaceful" and "quiet".

This is the view of the memorial that you take a boat out to.

Getting ready to tour another big ship.

This is the reason why they went so early because they only do so many tours and they didn't want to miss out.

The boys all came home with new information that they shared with us.

I am thankful that they were able to see a piece of history and learn something new.