Sunday, April 24, 2016

Our last month - Photo Heavy

Man oh man this past month has been crazy, busy.

After we got home from our ringette tournament in Medicine Hat, we were officially finished with both hockey and ringette. No more games. No more practices. No more ice times... The first couple of weeks, after being that busy for 7 months, is dreamy. And then you begin to miss your peeps... A lot of time is spent visiting and making friends with other parents. So, as glad as you are that your schedule is going to slow down, you're a little bit sad too. Our social life came to a screeching halt.

But we didn't have much time to be sad, because right after Easter, Easter Monday to be exact, we had an exchange student from France staying with us for just over a week. After we got over our nervous jitters, it was okay. But that first day... My word... Slightly stressful.  We aren't fluent in french and our student had limited english. Thank goodness for the iTranslate app.

How our everyday lives differed when our student was here. We basically never stopped going for 8 days. The school days were jam packed with outings and field trips, and every evening we had something going on, so the french/english kids could hang out.

I hope our student had a great experience. In the week he was here he saw: Banff, the Zoo, the Tyrrell Museum, and Heritage Park. Those were the class excursions. There was also a night at the Flying Squirrel, a Potluck with all participating host families, he went to Scouts with Mason one night, went Paint Balling, attended a bonfire, and we took a trip downtown, they rode bikes to Dairy Queen for ice cream. We tried to let him see and experience as much as possible.

Mason & Andrea with the skyline in the back. This was the day he arrived.

 Drumheller, Alberta


 Paintball shenanigans.


Riding bikes up to DQ.

Then, the weekend after he left, Barry and I were headed to Mexico, to see my friend get married.

Which was delightful. Seriously. Such a nice way to end off a really busy season. We might have to consider doing that on an annual basis. Some sort of treat for ourselves. A little get away to reconnect.

A mini bottle of champagne on the plane, compliments of the groom who preferred not to drink his. 

 
 I'm surprised they need to put this sign up, to ask guests to refrain from touching the iguanas...

 First night!
  Checking out the beach. A happy place for sure.

 Picture perfect.

 Pretty awesome view.

 Hanging out poolside.
 
  During the ceremony.

Congratulations to Carrie and Albert!   

We took a selfie, and then realized the bride and groom were in the background. 

A perfect end to the perfect day.


There's a cute story behind these little snakes. Madelyn has been on a huge sewing kick lately, and just creates things. These two little snakes are an example of that. She also snuck one into each of our bags, so that we would 'think about her' while we were away. So we took them around iwth us, and took photos of them in different places.  She was thrilled to learn her little snakes went on quite an adventure.



 Seriously... These iguanas are EVERYWHERE.

We could connect to wifi in the lobby. And man, that makes you realize how dependant you are on your technology. Each morning we had breakfast and headed to the lobby. Having said that, it's awesome to be able to chat with your kids and my M&D, when we're away.



If you follow me on IG, you'll know I was anticipating the 'all-inclusive' very much. Thrilled to get there and find my wristband worked. We did a ton of walking, because of the nature of the resort. Which was super. Because we really indulged on the eating and drinking aspect of this holiday. I'm a little bit surprised i didn't come home with green tinged skin. Let me say, those Mexican's know how to make guacamole. That was a must have each and every day.  When in Mexico, right?
 

We, or at least I, came home a few pounds heavier. With no regrets. Not a single one...

We came back home to some absolutely gorgeous temperatures. The day after we got back was in the high 20's. For real. In the middle of April. Our city is greening up before our eyes, and all the flowering trees are beginning to bloom...

Now, to keep up with the 10,000+ steps I'd been doing while away...


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