I just had to do Moraine Lake while we were in Banff. We decided to use the bus system and there's just something so wonderful about available public transit. We liked riding the bus and I was happy to do it! Moraine Lake is gorgeous. That blue is so vibrant and unreal. We liked hiking around the rockpile snapping photos and people watching, but I was glad I looked into doing a hike in the area.
When we went to Calgary, I decided to do a little mini vacation and spend some time in Banff. Moving forward, this is going to be a must! We left E and Maeve with Conor's sister, Liz (THANK YOU!) and spent 2 nights with Holly, Greta and Ira. On our first day, we hiked Tunnel Mountain and enjoyed sweeping views of Banff. The Canadian Rockies are ridiculously beautiful!
Ira is 5 months old! He continues to be a joyful little guy to have in our family. Ira flips onto his tummy almost immediately upon being laid on the floor. He's constantly hanging out on his stomach taking everything in and he frequently forgets that he can roll onto his back if he wants to. Ira's neck is really strong and he lifts his head all the time. It looks like he's doing little baby crunches. He's super interested in what we're eating or drinking. He's the youngest baby I've had to show interest in food and drink. I haven't started him on solids yet, but I have a feeling he's going to be all in on it! Ira sleeps through the night, loves to nurse and adores his siblings. He still sleeps in our room and I find listening to his little baby breaths at night to be musical and calming. Ira likes to be in water (yay!). He continues to give big smiles and suck on his thumb. He's so dear!
Our third annual Coulee City, Banks Lake trip! We love this summer trip! It's so low key and basic. I hope to return in a cooler season to do some family hikes. But at this phase and season, our days were swimming and napping the babies. The first day we arrived, the area was pretty smokey but by the next morning the smoke had cleared. E loved crawling through the water. The day use beach at Steamboat Rock State Park is so awesome because it's shallow for a long ways and the sand is so soft!
Our second day we played in the water in the morning, ate lunch and napped the babies, and then played again in the late afternoon before eating dinner in Electric City. A couple of important things we forgot were the baby carrier for Ira, sand toys, and E's floatie. We packed a paddle board but never took it out because the effort that required was beyond us.
Our last day was overcast, chilly with some rain. The kids still got in the water and so did I. Then we had our lunch by the playground and returned home. Vacations/trips with five (FIVE!) children are no joke, but I think they're worth it.
Here are our past vacations at Banks Lake. There's something super special about repeating a vacation with E.
As you can imagine, two babies makes just about everything more challenging. That includes yard work. When Conor mows the lawn, he often puts E into the backpack carrier. One evening we were all outside, pulling weeds and doing some cleaning up. (Maeve was making a bouquet - we all have our part to play) And this is how we did it. Enoch in the carrier, Ira in the bumbo, pulling weeds until one or both of the babies are yelling, "stop!" Upon reflection, I would say that our family has learned a lot about team work in a family. We all have our selfish moments/days but generally we're doing alright at pitching in and lifting together!
