canada, oh canada

ryder and i recently got back from a trip home in Canada. poor todd was left here in SF to make it through school, but his dad convinced me that he's just going to have to get used to missing out on the fun so why not start now? we had a fabulous time playing with family. ryder got to meet his cousins, maddie and halle, and his aunt kelly, who he personally chose as his favorite (sorry robyn, cathy and ang). the last few days of the trip were a bit rough with two new teeth coming in and what ended up being strep throat, but we made it through smiling with some GREAT memories. here's a recap...

one of the things i love most about going home to canada is all of the hanging out time. everyone is content just chatting it up around the living room. ryder, maddie and halle didn't seem to mind either. :)




one of our first activites was a trip to the Lethbridge Ramada hotel for a swim. they have a nice wave pool, a couple of water slides, a hot tub and a much too cold kiddie pool. ryder wasn't too crazy about the whole swimming thing, but he loved playing on the sidelines.






here's another pool shot, with ryder showing off his 'so big' abilities. :)









gotta LOVE the scrunchie face. ryder sure loved his aunt cathy!









one day we traveled over to Writing on Stone and played on the beach and explored the hoodoos... what are the hoodoos you ask? Click here to find out.






playin' in the sand















all of the girls in waterton.... wow, it was a GORGEOUS day!










family picture.











cute sam and cathy!












angie, me, ryder and kelly enjoying our picnic in waterton. i so wanted to go swimming, but if you were there and had felt the water, you would know why no one does!












we were hoping to be able to rent paddle boats up at Cameron Lake, but as you can see, the lake was still frozen over and therefore, boats were a no-go.









luckily we caught this on camera, because this single moment was the only time ryder let his grandpa fairbanks hold him, let alone get anywhere near him. poor lloyd.




and isn't this lovely? unfortunately, i wasn't the champion of the universe when it came to dr. mario, but one day i will be.... i'm sure of it.








grandma the great fairbanks may be ryder's very favorite after our trip... thanks to the chocolate ice cream cone she spoiled him with. yummy.

one last photo, just because ryder is absolutely adorable! :)

if you made it this far, you must truly love us. thank you. life continues to be busy.... todd just finished finals (YAHOO), and we head to SoCal this weekend for Nate and Kala's wedding, after which we'll head to indiana to visit kelly, mike, maddie and halle. we can't wait! in the meantime, ryder and i went the beach today with some friends, and we're planning to hit the zoo tomorrow. gotta love the warm san francisco weather!