We've been counting down to the time when Grandma Sue and Grandpa Dan could come visit, and oh, what a visit it's been!
They arrived on Tuesday, the kids were waiting all day! They got here in the late afternoon. Grandma commented about how she doesn't know we do that car ride to get from Bountiful to here with kids, hahaha! We talked to them about their travels and then took them on a tour of our house. They loved it and Sue mentioned how homey it is and how much she loves all of our updates we've done on our home. We talked and the kids played with them, and then we ate some fajitas for dinner.
Wednesday morning, we woke slept in, got packed up, and got ready to head to Canada, eh? Our first stop was Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. We went to the Western Development Museum first, which was a hit with all and nicer and larger than we bargained for. So many neat airplanes, cars, boats, trains, and a whole lot of history. The kids loved the hands-on things available. We drove around a bit, and then went to go on the Tunnels of Moose Jaw. It's kind of hard to explain so I'm taking this from the website: "The Tunnels of Moose Jaw...provides guests with history and excitement. Moose Javians have told stories of the tunnels under the city for decades. Boys, now men, played in them as children, much to parent's dismay...Their purposes have been argued and disputed with many an old timer claiming to have the real scoop. Over the years merchants have blocked up many of these spaces. Other under downtown hotels have been filled in following fires or demolition. Only a few are known to remain. Now, the stories of tunnels under Moose Jaw come alive in...interactive theatrical tours. Guests become a part of the underground experience, traveling beneath the streets of Moose Jaw. History has never been more exciting. Walk by the side of the early Chinese immigrant then lay low with the infamous Al "Scarface" Capone. Each...tour features state of the art animatronics characters, a multi-media presentation, fabulous spaces, character tour guides and intimate group sizes." We did the "Chicago Connection" Al Capone tour, which was pretty fun. They allowed no photography inside, but it was quite fun. Cov clinged to Daddy the entire time, Lucy gripped my hand, Emma plugged her ears, worried someone would pop out of a door unexpectedly, but Cal was the fearless leader of the pack who volunteered to do things. After, they told us they weren't scared, but they were a little ancy. We were the "bootleggers" on the tour and it was fun how interactive it was. We learned a lot and it was definitely a fun stop! After the tour, we walked down the main street of Moose Jaw a bit. Then we drove over to Regina. We went and stuffed ourselves at Mario's East side grill, which was an good Italian place. Then we checked into our hotel, it was late! We got some donuts earlier, so we ate some donuts, watched a little TV, saw some fireworks out the window, and headed to bed. Cal and Lucy wanted to stay in Grandma & Grandpa's room and they thought that was cool!
Thursday morning, we ate breakfast and went swimming at the pool. They had a hot tub, sauna, kids splash pad area, a regular pool and two slides. The kids loved it and even Cov started to get back in the water! It was fun to watch them play and play with them in the water. Then we cleaned up and got ready for a day in Regina. It was rainy and windy, but very beautiful and green and we had fun doing indoor activities anyways. We went to Costco first to pick up a couple of items and eat lunch. We had to try the poutine, a Canadian favorite, which is fries topped with gravy and squeaky cheese curds. Shirley told me Costco had her favorite version of it. It was delicious! The kids cracked up that the restrooms were called "Washrooms" and always asked to go to the "washroom" instead of the bathroom or restroom. Then we went to Walmart so Grandma Sue could find a Canada shirt, which she did. They had all kinds of Canada themed merchandise in the store with Canada Day coming up. After that, we drove around a bit - saw the temple (though it's closed this summer), the Parliament building, Wascana Park, and more, then went to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. It was a natural history type of museum. There were many neat animals and murals, and we learned more about the history and landscape and people of the Province. After that, we went to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Museum for a while. Mounties have been trained in this area since 1855. The exhibits were nice. The kids loved the musical ride virtual reality exhibit where you could practice the formations on a "horse", the crime scene forensics exhibit, and dressing up like Mounties best. We grabbed some burgers to eat on the ride home and made the bumpy ride (the roads in Canada aren't the best) home. That night, we stayed up talking for a while and then hit the hay.
Friday, all of the kids were tired and slept in for quite a while while we got ready to head off again. The destination this time was Fort Peck. We stopped in at my OB appointment in Glasgow, since it's only 15 minutes away from Fort Peck dam. After the appointment, we played at the park and had a picnic. Then we had to run to the store for a bit and gas up, and we were on our way! We drove around a bit and saw the dam and spillways. Our first stop was the Fort Peck Interpretive Center, which was a delight for us all! Great information and displays on the eco system, native animals, pollinators, ancient life and more. They also had fun activities and crafts for the kids to do. We went on a stroll outside on a walkway and over to a pond, which became our rock skipping hot spot. Then we had a tour of the power houses, which was incredible to see how large and and learn how powerful they are. Dave says "Power House" is his new nickname, ha ha! Then we played at the park for a while on the playground and with the frisbee Cal got for finishing his "I Spy" worksheet from the Interpretative Center. We went to the Fort Peck Hotel next, which is said to be haunted, for some dinner. The food's okay, but it's a fun atmosphere. We finished off the evening at the Fort Peck Summer Theatre to see Oliver. The show was so well done and now the kids are all singing "Food, glorious, food!" and "Oliver, Oliver!" and asking "please sir, I want some more" at dinner time for seconds. Grandma and Grandpa really enjoyed it, too! We drove back that night, I and many in the car slept the whole way.
Saturday was Scobey day. We slept in a bit, recovering from our travels all over here. Then we got ready leisurely and went down to Pioneer Town for Pioneer Day weekend here. We started out at the Thresherman's breakfast where you get to eat in an old dining train car. We had all we could eat of the yummy sausages, pancakes with choke cherry & regular syrup and juice...so tasty! We explored the buildings, played in the kids area, went down to the bridge, went on barrel rides, played in the old jail cell, sat in the old wagons, and then it was time for the Dirty Shame Show. Many of our friends were in it - singing, playing instruments, or performing in the skits. It was very fun and they all did a great job! The parade was next and there were some great vintage cars and antique tractors (how they still can get them up and running is a mystery to me). After that, we were all pooped and so we came back to our house, some napped, made some pizza for dinner, ate and visited a long time, then we went to the Burger Hut to get ice cream. We finished off the night watching the new Beauty and the Beast.
Sunday, it was time for church. Grandma and Grandpa were shocked by how small it was, but they really enjoyed our meetings and little branch! When we arrived home, Jeff & Shirley were waiting, they were on route to Canada to see family but stayed for the day and a night, so it was fun to have everyone! We played board games, visited, and looked at scrapbooks in the afternoon. We had ham, funeral potatoes, salads and rolls for dinner. Some of us ate outside on the deck and it was a nice night! The next morning, it was time to pack out for everyone. We helped them out with their bags and sent them all off, already missing them! It was so great having them with us, we love them!
