We took the boys on their first camping trip and our first family camping trip since Summer 2020. Ya, it's been a minute. Camping with two little ones is really daunting, but I'm pleased to share the boys did really well! They slept great, which is kind of what matters most. No one was hurt by the evening fire. They liked the water. And obviously our older kids were super pleased to be outside camping - they love it! Priest Lake is so gorgeous and it's such a gem. I got lucky and snagged a campsite cancellation. Just wondering, what are our thoughts on saving beach space with 10x10 tents? Is that rude, entitled or totally okay? I'm mixed. The beach was basically a wall of reserved space. We just set up a little bit in front of a couple beach spots. Here's the kicker for me, only about half the beach set-ups were occupied on Saturday. So is that fair? Does it matter? I dunno! Just some thoughts and questions.

Our second day swimming was interesting. The boys were hanging off of me (see last pic) and Enoch surprisingly fell asleep on my lap for a good hour. In just a few days we discovered those yucky feelings were the beginnings of Hand Foot Mouth Disease. SO... that makes sense. Still, I'm calling this camping trip a win!

And to wrap up our Calgary trip, Holly went to a Stampede Church Dance with her cousins. It unfortunately wasn't nearly as fun for her as the middle school dance she went to in June, however, I got this cute pic of the cousins so...

The greeting, "Happy Stampede!" had Conor and I cracking up. It was said in a way akin to, "Merry Christmas." We did have a happy Stampede. We hit it hard. Conor and I went one evening to see the Vance Joy concert and watch the fireworks. We went one morning with the whole family. And we went another day without the little kids. It was fun and busy! My favorite stampede day was the night we went to the concert. I feel like we got our Stampede fill for at least 5 years.

When we were in Calgary, I got to spend a lot of time with my sister's kids and man, do I love them! One morning I took them and and my youngest three to the park to play. My big kids make fun of my Auntie Persona but being an Aunt is one of my favorite jobs!

A stand-out part of our trip - the Calgary Stampede parade! It was fabulous and I love benefitting from my sister-in-law's wild tradition of sleeping downtown overnight to secure seats. The kids are really just happy to show up to anything that includes cousin time.