Camping in Kananaskis

Ahhh....how good it was to be back in the fresh mountain air.

The Augustine's have returned from a summer camping adventure in the mountains. What fun was had by all - Rory was just on the go the moment he stepped foot onto the campsite. There was not a rock left unturned, not a hill not forged and tumbled down, not a plant nor tree not prodded by Rory's curious fingers, no puddle or stream splashed in, no squirrel or bird pointed at....oh the list could go on and on. This was definitely a trip of wonderment for our little outdoorsman! Rory was all for exploring everything and everyone!


There is such a big, big world out there - where to start??

Rock throwing seemed to be the highlight of Rory's antics.

Mum had a tight hold as our fearless rock thrower would happily retrieve all the rocks he had thrown into the stream.

The biggest rocks would only do and daddy always found the best ones!

The little Rorster has quite the arm for such a wee one! Good on ya mate!!

Rory's rock throwing in action!!

The speed bumps on the road was also a fun past time. Rory could endlessly run up and down without a hint of boredom. Our campsite neighbours found this quite hilarious to watch.

Our evening walks along the lake were my favourite. That was when we weren't told to stay back from our reoccurring visitors - a grizzly mama and her two cubs, who liked to frequent the meadow not too far from our campsite. Nothing like seeing Park Ranger's and bear dogs walking up a path with tracking devices and a massive rifle!!

Grizzly territory! But what a view!

Our contemplating 15 month old, having a rare quiet and still moment taking in the views.

We had a wonderful couple of days in the mountains. We biked, hiked, chased our inquisitive little camper, we walked, we ran up hills and we ran down hills, we went exploring through the woods, got bitten by mozzies, roasted marshmallows and hotdogs over the fire - we were exhausted. But what memories (and with over 250 photos taken, we will remember this first 'real' camping trip with Rory, for a long time) and we wouldn't change a thing.

Wishing you all a summer full of adventure!!

Duke and Duchess

Yeehaw!!! Happy Stampede Everyone!!


Our little cowboy dressed in his gear to head down to the for a chance to spot the Royal visitors.
It was little insane as people had been there as early as 5am this morning and even some people camped over night! Not us though, we wandered down in our cowboy hats just before 8am and chose an okay spot and we waited and waited and waited - ate some Cheerios.
And then finally we heard the motorcade approaching and we blinked and then Will and Kate were gone!
They were going so quickly, but we managed to get a glimpse of Princess Kate waving and her beautiful smile and the back of Prince William's head.
I manage to capture a few shots, but nothing very clear.


You can just make out Kate's hand in the window and the back of Will's head.



Not great photos, but it was pretty exciting to see them and the atmosphere was awesome!

Blueberries!!

Summer is finally here and what better way to beat the heat than with some delicious smoothies!
Rory loves his smoothies, especially his BLLLUUUUUBERRY one!!!


As you can tell, smoothies are a messy business.


But who can beat a smile like this after a few sips of smoothie?

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day!


We spent Canada Day with the Snider clan.
It was a fabulous day full of swing rides, playing in the pea gravel, running around, playing house, getting soaked in the water table, snacks and loads of giggles! Not to mention a delicious bbq and feast of summer goodies.

This photo sums up the amount of fun that was had by all. The Rorster was a little exhausted by the end of the day, it's hard work keeping up with all his cousins!

Lots of patriotism here!!

Oh what fun Rory had with the water table - no toys needed as splashing was so much fun!

Sharing a refreshing treat.

A huge thank you to Shari and the crew for an awesome Canada Day 2011.

Hope everyone had a good Canada Day!

Kananaskis

The Augustine's ventured out to Kananaskis this past weekend to catch with the camping Snider clan and for a mountain bike ride. We left Calgary in shorts, t-shirts and sandals only to arrive in K-Country and bundle up in shoes, socks, long pants and warm sweaters! It was a chilly 6 degrees, but we all had an awesome time despite the cool weather.
We had a little lunch and visit with the Snider's at their campsite (an awesome view from the picnic table of the mountains - wow, what a spot to camp!), before packing up Rory in the bike trailer and hitting the trails. I had forgotten what biking in the mountains is all about - hills, hills and more hills! We spent a couple of hours on the trails and treated ourselves to a well deserved ice cream on our way back.


Rory enjoyed the views and just chilling out on the rocks.




Lots of giggles with daddy.
Lindsay was throwing rocks into the lake and Rory thought the sound of rocks hitting the water was hilarious.


Walking over the rocks was somewhat tricky for little feet, but the helping hand of daddy made the hike along the lake much more fun.



Time to go!
Approaching rain clouds down the valley was a sure sign that the Augustine's needed to pack up and head home after a great day in the mountains. We said our farewells and thank yous to the Snider's as they hunkered down in their trailer before the rains came. Gotta love time in the mountains!! Can't wait till next time.

Rory and Daddy

Rory and daddy!

What mischief these two guys get up to! If they are not giggling madly or chasing each other around the couch or playing at the park they are building towers. Yes towers, out of recyclable containers of margarine, yogurt, coffee and so much more - anything really that has a lid and can be stacked.

It's a toss up sometimes who does all the building, but it is definitely Rory who does all the destroying.

Rory has become so good at taking his time and being so careful when putting the containers on top, especially the really high ones that Lindsay lifts him up for. All the time smiling ear to ear and muffling his giggles, Rory is planning his attack of knocking everything down and then tossing the containers into the air!

Rory and Lindsay have their time at the park almost every evening after dinner. They walk hand and hand across the road and down the pathway. Rory has quite his routine of what equipment to go on first, now that swing just isn't fun enough anymore. Rory can climb up stairs and let himself go on the slides and do it again and again.

Yippeee!!!!!

Climbing confidence!

Our confident little climber has now mastered the fairly steep stairs on the play set across the road. With lots of help from dad over the last few weeks, Rory has finally managed to climb to the top completely independently (with mum or dad not too far away as Rory's concentration on what he is doing wavers pretty easily!).

Check out Rory in action!

Way to go little dude!!