Summer Vacation (Part Two)

These are just a few pictures of some of the highlights of our time in Raymond with my Dad, LuAnne & Claire...

We were in Raymond over July 1st - Canada Day. Raymond is a really fun place to be on Canada Day - they have a great parade, softball tournaments, a street carnival, fireworks etc. I remember doing all these things as a kid, so it was really fun to be able to be there with my kids.

From the parade... (I think Brian will tease me until we die about when I told Ava to look at the 'cute little quarter horses', which are actually Shetland ponies...)
Brian, Ava & Dillon / LuAnne & Claire watching the parade
Dillon running while we waited for the parade to startAva (in red t-shirt) waiting for candy to be thrown at the parade & then going for it! She figured out that if she clapped & cheered for the floats going by that they were more likely to throw candy her way - so she really cheered!Claire, LuAnne, my Dad, Me, Ava & Dilly in our Canada red after the parade. (Brian took the picture for us since he was in blue).
After the parade we went to a Wolsey family reunion picnic. It was so fun to see my Grandma Wolsey and Aunts, Uncles & Cousins that I haven't seen in so long! At the picnic, there was a huge hill that the kids couldn't resist rolling down.There was also a big waterslide that started at the top of the hill & went all the way to the bottom. I wasn't sure Ava would go for it because it was really big & the water was so cold, but she loved it! She kept running up the huge hill & sliding down until we made her stop because her lips were blue & she was shivering! This is what Dillon did while Ava was sliding...
Brian, Ava & Dillon at the picnic
Me & Bri Bri at the picnic
One of the kids favorite things to do while we were in Raymond was to help LuAnne in the kitchen! She so patiently let them help at almost every single meal. They got a big kick out of the aprons that they got to wear that were just their size.

We were so happy to be able to go to Claire's High School Graduation. We have been to a few grads this year, this one was a class of just about 50 students which I thought was pretty cool.

We were so lucky to be able to spend time with both of my Grandma's (this is my Grandma Wolsey, unfortunately I didn't get a picture of my Grandma Blumell this trip). Ava asked me how she was so lucky to have so many Grandmas! She really is lucky!

I drove around the town of Magrath a little bit one day after visiting my Grandmas & it was a total trip down memory lane for me! I have so many good memories of playing at the fish pond, the old tennis court, & my Grandma & Grandpa's house with my brother & sisters & cousins. Anytime that we drove anywhere, I was so amazed by the beauty that surrounded us! The endless prairies & farms of green & gold, and the huge blue sky full of the biggest white clouds. You could see the mountains in the distance. It is such a different beauty from the desert we live in. This is a picture (from the car) of a golden canola field, (which was Brian's favorite).
The last highlight for me from our time in Canada was our trip to Waterton National Park. Of course I took so many pictures that I will do a separate post from Waterton!