The West Edmonton Mall!

The next morning we left Red Deer and within a couple of hours we were at the West Edmonton Mall. It is the largest mall in the world (inside is equivalent to 8 city blocks) and is even bigger than the Mall Of America. So what did we do first? Checked out the petting zoo. This was the best little petting zoo I have ever seen and outdid our county fair's. They had the cutest baby animals that were so wonderful with the kids.

The picture of Dan and the boys was inside a whale's mouth. We also got to watch a free see lion show and scope out the whole mall situation for the next few days. We then headed to our friends' house: Kate, Paul, Vittoria (Tori), and Leo. The kids hit it off right away and had a blast over the next 4 days.

Red Deer, Alberta

Back to our road trip finally! We spent our first night in Canada in Red Deer, Alberta with my friend Krista. The boys were excited because she has 3 kitties: Harley, Sydney, and Casey. Elton was in total love with the "kitty kitties" and even Caleb thought we should stay longer or come back on our way back home. Elton got up at 5:40am to look for and spend some quality time with the "kitty kitties" before we left. The boys were really good with the cats and hopefully we didn't upset them too much.

We took Krista out to her first sushi restaurant. This was also the first time the boys have been to a sushi restaurant as they just get to eat California rolls at home that we make. They loved it and Caleb even wanted to try some of our sushi. The boys also got to play at a park near Krista's house to get rid of some of the energy that had built up from 2 days in the van.

Father's Day

Last night we went to Dan's parents for BBQ'd trout for Father's Day. Dan has to work today, but I want to say how much I love and appreciate him for the wonderful father he is to our boys!!

To Serve & Protect

The first day of our road trip went very well with the boys loving that they could watch movies in the van. We arrived in Great Falls, Montana at about 4:30 and decided that was enough driving for one day (over 500 miles).

As we ventured out for dinner, we found a quaint Montana Pizza Co. restaurant that sounded like a good choice. As we pulled in to the parking lot, an airforce officer in uniform was also going in. Caleb was very interested so I explained to him that the man helped protect us and keep our country safe. He was still very curious when we got into the lobby of the restaurant where the officer was sitting waiting. I told Caleb he could talk to him and tell him thank you for helping to protect us. The he asked him about his fancy patches on his uniform. That is when he peeled of his American flag and gave it to Caleb!! What a gesture and great experience for Caleb!

New Skills!

We are back from vacation in which Elton fine tuned many new skill. We took the Pack 'n Play for him to sleep in and with so many exciting things to check out he learned to climb out the first morning. At my friend Krista's he got up at 5:40 am to go find his new friends the "kitty kitties" (new words) that he so closely bonded with the day before. The next morning he climbed out at our other friends' to see if his new friends Tori, Leo, and Otto (dog) were up and when they weren't, he proceeded to help himself to the coffee sticks dipped in choclate (you can't leave good choclate alone you know!).

I wondered if this meant the end of the crib when we got home, but hoped not. This morning Dan found Elton up with Caleb so he must have climbed out. Thus, Elton helped Dan convert his crib to bed tonight. He got a new flashlight on the trip so hopefully he will stay in bed.

Packing Up And Heading Out!

We are almost packed up and ready to leave on our road trip first thing tomorrow morning. Dan installed the dvd players in the van yesterday and the boys are excited. While we purchased them a few weeks ago, we waited to put them in so they would be something new for the trip. Plus, I don't think they need movies playing constantly when we are just driving around town. Of course, Caleb packed up his train case with trains and track to show his new friends when we get there.

We will be offline for a little over week, but I will post details and pictures when we get back!