So, the following are some pictures and info about our latest family holiday! They're in reverse order because I didn't think to start backwards so it would be forwards on the blog... Does that make sense?? Anyway, we had a great time! We were able to take 10 days and stop in Edmonton for the exhibition, Drumheller to go to the museum, Waterton to see the mountains, the family reunion in Montana, and finally the Calgary zoo!! Every day was packed with activities! And now we're home trying to recover from the busy time we had together!

Here are the girls at the Calgary zoo! We had such a very fun day together! A very long day too! But we were able to see everything that we wanted to see! And it was another hot day! Emily and Bethany loved everything about the zoo! Our favorites were the elephants, giraffes, hippos, tigers, and gorillas! There was one tiger that was just pacing back and forth in his pen. It was neat to see because usually when we try and see the tigers or lions they're always hiding in the grass! I really liked the tropical gardens! It felt like we were in Mexico!! I love flowers and all the fun stuff! Beth really liked seeing the baby gorilla! It was so cute! And Beth just loved everything it did! Emily really liked the dinosaur exhibit! A place where there were recreated dinosaurs along the paths! There were also peacocks just walking around free in the zoo! That was neat too! Being able to walk right up to them! At the end we were all pretty tired! We stayed right until the zoo closed! And walked to the van in a down pour! We were soaked! Then we drove to Tim's parents' cabin where Tim got to go on their new boat for the first time! He was like a kid in a candy store!! Emily really likes that boat too! So ended our 10 vacation!! It was great being able to do all this stuff together! It's nice to be home now though and wind down! We're all pretty tired! It was a busy 10 days!

This year the Gwilliam family reunion was held in Montana at the Glacier Camp! Emily had SO much fun playing with her cousins!! Her, Brooklyn and Heather were especially good friends! She also really likes to play with her cousin Taylor! Of course all these cousins are my cousins kids! It was fun to be able to see everyone and how much the family is growing! Uncle Don did his famous magic show. Uncle Buck water skied in his jeans, but we didn't have a ski so he did it in a tube behind the boat! We had a fun activity that helped us to learn more about our grandparents and great grandparents! It was nice to see Emily so excited to go off and play with her cousins! We didn't have to worry about her at all the whole time we were there! We had fun playing down at the lake (a very pretty lake) where there was kayaking, boating, blobbing and of course swimming!

Here are the girls sitting beside the river in Glacier National Park! This was an amazing drive! SO pretty! There were tons of waterfalls, mountain goats, flowers, valleys, mountains, and construction! Ha ha... Had to throw that in! The only thing though is that it was really hazy/cloudy from fires burning in Montana and Oregon. The girls were great at pointing out all the waterfalls! There was even one that I was able to touch out my window as we drove by! It gave the van a good wash too! We stopped at the top where there's a visitors center and still quite a bit of snow! It was really busy up there! And then we crossed the continental divide! That's really neat to see the water flow one way and then another on the other side! We stopped as much as we could so we could see all the sites by the highway! Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to see everything! Of course we'll have to go back and spend a few days!! On our way home from the reunion, we were able to drive in much nicer weather through the pass! It was hot and sunny and just as beautiful! But we stopped even less because we needed to hurry and get to Calgary so we could take the girls to the zoo!!!

Beth and Em in front of Cameron Falls!

Emily and Bethany taking in the view at the front of the boat!

Our third stop was in Waterton! Where we spent most of the day at Red Rock Canyon! It was another hot day and the water was fun for the girls to play in! It was really pretty there! Beth is turning into a good little hiker! She would run up the trail! It was hard to keep up with her! The drive to the canyon was really pretty. There were wild flowers growing everywhere by the highway and the mountains were beautiful! I love being in the mountains. It is always so relaxing for me there! After the canyon, we tried to go to Cameron Lake, but the girls fell asleep in the car so we just ended up going for a scenic drive! In the afternoon we took the girls to get ice cream and then to go swim in the lake! Waterton Lake! It is FREEZING!! But Emily actually swam in it! Tim and I just jumped in really quick and then ran out again! But the girls love water, so I don't think it really mattered how cold it was. Beth had fun throwing rocks in the water! After playing in the lake, we went for a boat ride on the International. It takes you on a tour around Waterton Lake! It was lots of fun!! The girls were able to sit up at the very front of the boat and see everything! It was beautiful out there! We saw a moose on the shore and a bald eagle in the trees! We also crossed the border into Montana where we stopped for a few minutes! It was the end of the day so they didn't have the ranger station open and we couldn't go anywhere, but it was neat all the same! The next day we took the girls to see Cameron Falls quickly before heading to Montana for the family reunion! The falls are right in the town site and are really pretty! We hiked up to the top (which isn't very far) and took pictures! Then it was off for a drive through Logan's Pass in Glacier National Park!

The second leg of our vacation took us to Drumheller where we were able to go to the Royal Tyrel Museum to see all the dinosaur bones. Also at the museum we took a hike to learn about the 7 wonders of the bad lands! Emily really got into it and was always interested in what the guide had to say! We actually learned quite a bit about the area. We also went inside the biggest dinosaur in the world! The second day we were there, we took the girls to see the hoodoos. That was fun! Emily and Beth had a great time climbing around! Emily even remembered how hoodoos were made (from what the guide told us)! But it was really hot and we could only stand to be out there so long! Finally we stopped at a suspension bridge that crossed a river (I can't remember which one it is). The "floor" of the bridge was like a grate and we could see the river below as we crossed the bridge. It was kind of intimidating! But it was pretty neat. I don't think my mom would have been able to do it though. The bridge swayed pretty good and just the fact that you could see the river under your feet was a bit scary! Sorry Mom! Anyway, Drumheller was really fun for the girls! I think the museum was the best for them though.

Here's a picture of the girls on a ride at Capital Ex in Edmonton! This was the start of our family vacation! The girls, along with their cousin Luke had a great time trying out all the rides! I even got to go on one with Emily. She is so funny! She is getting so grown up and just some of the things she says make me take a second thought! Bethany just liked being able to spend time with Emily and Luke and her Grandma and Grandpa Burnham. Both girls did exceptionally well! It was a long day and they were happy most of the time! We also got to take the kids to a pretend farm where they got to feed the animals and take what they got from each animal to the market to make money so they could go to the store and buy food which got them a treat in the end! How did you like my run on sentence?? It was a fun day...

Here is our float for the Canada Day parade here in Grande Prairie! Our business, Peace Moon Bounce, just started up this summer! It's gone pretty good so far. My sister, Melissa is here taking care of delivering the jumps! It's been fun having her around for the summer so far! Emily and Beth love having her here! The parade was lots of fun! Emily and a couple of her friends were able to help throw out candy to the kids who were watching! We also had some friends' kids playing in the jump so we could showcase how much fun it is to rent them! I, along with some of the young men in our ward and Melissa, handed out cards with all the info for the jumps! I think we got a pretty good response during the parade, so I hope we get lots of calls to keep Melissa busy over the next few weeks! I can't wait until next year's parade!