Sun Maze

This weekend was a great weekend for a fall outing. The weather has still been great and so we opted to drive north of Calgary to the Bowden Sun Maze. Now, I was thinking that this place would have a pumpkin patch seeing as how I searched "you pick pumpkin patches" in the area and this is what I came up with. In the end it did not have a pumpkin patch but it was a lot of fun. There were you pick flowers and you pick potatoes, we did get a few flowers, I was not about the pick out potatoes!

Look at how silly we are! And then this one of Olivia is the best... So, into the maze we go, Olivia ran ahead, at times I was thinking we would NEVER get out of it. It didn't seem to bother anyone but me. I wondered, would anyone come to get us at the end of the day if we still weren't out? Alas, we got out and all was ok. Like I said, no one else seemed to be worried... There were also some donkey's at the little farm and a little calf named, Lil Orphan Annie. Olivia unlike her mother, really enjoys petting all there animals, which is great, and it is an event she can do with daddy. Olivia got her face painted like a little kitty cat and then off she went to the mini maze for kids where she had a great time running around and jumping off the bales of hay.

When we were leaving, our little kitty cat found a kitty of her own to pet and rub its belly, the cat liked Olivia too, he jumped into the car when we opened the doors! So, it was a great day, the drive was a little long but we survived. I just wish there had been a pumpkin patch, maybe we can find one for next weekend!

We have had some great weather the last few weeks - Indian Summer - as you would call it. It was warm and we got outside as much as possible. Unfortunatly, this week it has started to cool off and be a bit rainy.

But, Olivia had fun outside in the sunny evenings on the slide while supporting her favorite team...GO HOGS!It has been nice enough to have dinner on the deck too. After dinner, Olivia decided to build a "hopscotch" with her chalk crayons. It was so neatly lined up! Also please note, the cute little panties, we are officially potty trained and doing great!We also had a day at the zoo. It was a bit rainy, but it was still fun. There is a new baby giraffe and lots of other baby animals. Olivia had a great time with her friend Isabel, looking at the animals and running after each other.And lets not forget that..."Mommy, hippos DO bite!"

I find it really hard to keep up with this blog lately. Partly because we are busy and partly because so many people are now on FACEBOOK, I feel Like I am putting all the same picutres on here. But, thats ok, for those of you that still look for the pictures and the commentary on Olivia I am more than happy to try a little harder.
Ian celebrated his birthday last week and we had a little family dinner. Auntie Pat has been coming over for dinner lots so she is getting in on some bed time reading which Olivia loves.So, back to school for us really meant just more people on the road in the morning when we do our normal thing and well, also more shopping for Mommy since Olivia needed new fall clothes. But Olivia did start a new ballet class last week and really loved the first day. I will try to keep things on here a little more updated! Maybe we haven't been taking as many pictures too lately!

Just a cute picture of a cute girl!!!

Finally, another post

Again, it has been a long time since I have updated the blog. Meanwhile, we have been busy and I think we have forgotten to take pictures for a while too!!! Can you believe it?

Olivia is growing like a weed. She is 36" tall, we measured her today. And I think it is suffice to say that she is experiencing some of that independence that comes with this age, also known as the "terrible twos"!!!!!!!! At times, she is sweet as pie and then without warning, it changes. Challenging? Yes, but we are learning how to get through it.

So I have a little montage of pictures to post, some of Olivia being silly in the back yard and others from our day at Heritage Park. Grandmama Cheryl is here visiting so Olivia is loving having her here to play with and tell things too, and she has soooo much to tell!

The other morning Olivia decided she wanted to wear her snow suit out in the back yard...whatever, right? At least the mornings are cool. She eventually said she was too hot and took it off, thank goodness. Today, she wanted to wear her ladybug Halloween costume, so she wore that for awhile too (I didn't catch that on film).

We also have to show off our big crop of strawberries, all 6! (Olivia ate the one missing) At least we got to them before rabbits. Heritage Park is a historical town with old-timey people and places, lots of fun and lots to see and do. It is Calgary from the past, with a little old church, town, train, boat, farmhouse, windmill...well, you get the gist...

Finally, after so much fun, and a really long and hot day, Olivia didn't even make it out of the parking lot!

That's it for now!

We have been out of commission as far as computer updates go, we had our computer just completely stop working last week or maybe longer now, so I haven't had a chance to update with any pictures.

We have been having fun though, the summer weather has finally stayed around for several weeks and we have all been outside enjoying it.

Today, we all went to the Lake with Auntie Pat and Uncle Phil. It was a lot of fun, Olivia played in the sand and the water and the playground and back to the water and running around back and forth having a great time. When we asked her what she liked best she said "the fishing". I am pretty sure we didn't go fishing! ha ha ha. Anyway, here is the only pic we have of the day...

Stampede

We went to the Calgary Stampede this weekend, advertised as the "Greatest outdoor show on Earth!" Well it was fun. We went last year but Olivia didn't get the full fun of it, being so little. This year was another story. She absolutely LOVED the Superdogs (which is also my favorite).

We started out riding the city train and having a little snack...

After the Superdogs show which was the first thing we went to see, we had a real Stampede snack...the corndog! I love corndogs and only eat them once a year at the Stampede, so I am starting Olivia on this great tradition as well. Meanwhile, this picture, I think they could use as a poster for kids to go to Stampede. Olivia looks so cute and so messy! I love it!

After a little fuel, Olivia rode some rides and played some games with Daddy.

And saddled up like a real cowgirl is only for a photo op!
Olivia was exhausted from the day, and actually NEVER took a nap. It caught up with her though, she was asleep by 7:15 and again tonight by 7:00! These summer adventures really tire that little girl out, well, and Mommy and Daddy too!:)

Yes, another amazing day at the zoo!

I know that I write lots of posts about the zoo. We go there lots. Its fun, we have a year pass, and Olivia loves animals.

Sunday's trip was no exception. We got there and Olivia wanted to immediately ride the little train.

Olivia wanted to see all the baby animals too. Of course, our favorite is the baby elephant, still.

But the new baby gorilla is a close second.

This little statue Olivia was really intrigued by...I am thinking she was wondering what these kids were doing, eating ice cream? Or playing pat-a-cake?

The hippos are also one of Olivia's favorites. She likes that they make BIG splashes when they go in the water.

A little run around time with Daddy is always fun.

But the real hit of the day was when we were in the African Savannah and I said, "Where are the giraffes?" We kept walking and saw them in the little fenced in area. There was Richard, the baby giraffe, and his mother and they were being fed. Better yet, they were letting visitors feed the giraffes. So, Olivia and Ian got in line and well, got to feed Richard carrots and leaves! Olivia was delighted! She was so thrilled she called Grandma Cheryl and Grandma Marj to tell them about the fun.

And finally we had to feed the ducks. They weren't really hungry but we tried anyway.
The day was great, I know why we spend so much time there.

Water park fun...and the aftermath

Today we went to the water park for some fun in the sun. When we got to the park Olivia ran through the water and then ran around in circles around the park. Its pretty fun to watch, she runs around squealing with delight!

After a little cuddle with daddy to warm up, Olivia ran up and down the gazebo entrance...

Then Olivia fell. Poor baby! I don't actually have a picture of her fall, but we do have a picture of the aftermath; a little scratched cheek, and scuffed chin, and a fat lip! When we got home, she wanted to feel better by wearing her little sundress with the flip flops and eating a popsicle. Whatever works.

Happy Canada Day

We went to the park today. That was about all our Canada Day excietment from around here. Unfortunatly, it was a little cool, so you can't see Olivia's Canada t-shirt. But here are some pictures anyway, and you can see that she wanted to wear her winter boots!And the best picture of the day...