The great outdoors....

Alberta is WINDY. Really windy, like rivaling the Windy City windy and our weather can change on a dime. My neighbor always says to properly plan for an outing in Alberta, you must bring sunscreen, an umbrella and a toque. She's right. We have to take advantage of the "warm" days when we get them. Spring comes and goes in the blink of an eye. The snow doesn't melt until May and even then we'll sometimes get another snowfall. Since they use sand on the roads in winter, rather than salt, it's a dirty mess when it all finally melts. It's like living in a giant sand and gravel pit. Cracked windshields are so common, there are temporary repair stations set up in the grocery store parking lots. About mid May, things are really warming up and people start getting anxious to plant their flowers and work in the yard. Then comes the wind. Crazy, fierce, blow you away wind. We are so desperate for warm weather and the chance to be outside, we just endure. The first two weeks of June always rain. Now that we've reached mid June, we're almost guaranteed good summer weather from here on out, or at least until Fall, which is September. Yesterday as we were enjoying a particularly spectacular day outside, Dayven said "This is sooo nice. If only it would last more than 2 months!"

After being cooped up all winter, the kids are desperate to get outside and beg me constantly to go out and play. Hadley always requires an outfit change after playing in the back yard because she fills her watering can from the fountain and dumps it right down the front of her shirt. on purpose. then laughs. then does it again. Then Wyatt fills his squirt gun and sprays the grass and stomps around in it. I have already had to take away the tea cups because they filled them in the fountain and drank them. Who knows what is floating around in that fountain? Leptosporosis tea, anyone? I try to just relax and let them have fun, but it seriously gives me anxiety watching how dirty they are getting and thinking who will clean up this mess? ME! That's who!

Having said all that, we do enjoy our outdoor time for the most part.  Our neighborhood splash park is open now and we've had our first visit of the summer the other day. It was actually Hadley's first time ever and she was in heaven. She ran through all the fountains, laughing and squealing. Wyatt took a little more time to warm up, but he was lovin' it too before long. It's a great part, with little sprinklers and fountains for the kids to run through, a playground and picnic area and it's free! I'm sure we'll have weekly outings there this summer. 

 

Summer is also the time for BBQs. We attended a party at a friend's house to celebrate their joint birthdays. The weather was perfect and there was quite a crew there, with kids running a muck everywhere. They had the kiddie pools filled and of course, my little fish couldn't resist the opportunity to swim. I forgot Hadley's suit, but she was thrilled to be splashing around her diaper!  Like all parties that involve kids, we went hard until about 8pm, then the little people started to hit the wall and we knew we were on borrowed time. Quick thank yous and good byes, a mad dash to round up all our stuff and we were out the door. Thankfully we just live around the corner so we didn't have far to go!

The girls: Marianne (and Shaelyn), Me (and Hadley), Courtney (and Eva), Christine (and Ella).

Swimsuit? Who needs a swimsuit?

The batteries didn't work so they got a work out pushing each other!

Small, but mighty! She's stronger than she looks and pushed him all the way across the yard!