Eight day vacation. Seven passports. Six little cousins. Five days of travel. Four months of planning. Three different airports. Two countries. One fabulous Adventure!
That's the quick summary of our big family excursion to Canada this summer. A month ago, we were driving through Alberta and British Columbia, Canada to visit Adrian's older brother Jeremy and his family. On June 30 our children met their Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Jessica and three cousins - Girls age 6, 12, 13 - for the first time!
We were also thrilled to have Adrian's parents along with us to be a part of this special occasion as well as provide GREAT assistance in traveling with three young ones.
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| Selfie with my man on the Skywalk in Jasper National Park |
Day 1: Let me just tell you, juggling passports and boarding passes through international security for a family of five is not for the faint of heart! We flew from Philadelphia, PA to Toronto, Ontario to Edmondton, Alberta. I was pretty impressed with AirCanada - all flights were on time and we had individual screens for movie watching in-flight. The only hiccup was confusion over passports for my husband Adrian and my daughter Adria, due to their similar names...we were last to board the plane in Philly because of it!
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Checking in with Air Canada - Expedia had failed to note that Judah was traveling with us (Infant in Lap)!
We got it resolved but we think that contributed to confusion with passports at the boarding gate in Philly.
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| Judah looking out the window uncertain on his first flight. He snuggled in with Mommy and did well. |
We gained 2 hours due to the time zones, and that night Adrian took us to a destination he'd visited years before - the
West Edmonton Mall. This is not your average shopping mall. It is HUGE, boasting 5.3 MILLION square feet, 800+ stores, plus attractions like the world's largest in-door amusement park and a water park with a massive wave pool. We were only able to walk around for little while after a day of travel, but the girls were impressed and loved being able to enjoy some rides at the amusement park.
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| Our party of 7 outside Galaxyland amusement park inside the West Ed Mall. |
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| Spinning on the teacups with my girls! |
Day 2: Our party of 7 hopped in our rental, a white Toyota Sienna minivan (like we have at home), and drove through beautiful Jasper National Park in Alberta. You should add this place to your bucket list. Hours of gorgeous scenery and impressive snow capped mountains. Adrian and I had driven through this park nine years ago, so it was a special treat to bring our children with us this time.
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| I tried to take a panorama view of the stunning blue water in the glacier fed lakes. |
Plus, we tried out the Glacier Skywalk - a popular new tourist attraction that enables you to walk along a mountain side and out onto a solid glass walkway with a ravine far below! I was impressed that Adria braved it, but not for long.
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See that crazy looking thing sticking off the side of the mountain?
That's the glass skywalk on the far right with the ravine far below!
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| The kids were a little nervous, but they did go out on the walk for a short time - this is just before going on the glass. |
Day 3: We drove 5 hours through quiet Canadian country from Jasper to a town in the heart British Columbia where Jeremy's family lives. After years of dreaming and saving, they recently built a new home on a lot that provides a peaceful view of the valley. It sounds like construction has been quite challenging and there is still work to be done, but it's a charming home that provided a lovely retreat for us.
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| Brothers chatting in Jeremy and Jessica's living room, with large windows showing off the great view. |
Jessica has a beautiful garden from which we enjoyed fresh vegetables for the many delicious meals that she prepared for us. The oldest daughter cares for their 3 cows and milks one every day. All three girls are active speed skaters during the winter and are now getting into running, along with their parents.
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| Meeting the cousin's cows |
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| COUSINS MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME! |
Day 4: July 1 was Canada Day - often celebrated much like America's July 4th. The young cousins spent hours giggling and playing together, including time in the pool and on the trampoline. Judah practiced his recently acquired skill of
walking everywhere and was deeply fascinated by the staircase. Good conversation was shared among the adults. Granny and Grandad treasured taking it all in and babysat in the evening, so we parents could have double date night.
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| Enjoying Pool time on the only really hot day while we were there. |
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| The girls enjoyed their Russian Matryoska doll collection. |
Day 5: We all drove to a nearby mountain called Sinkhut, that has a fire watch tower. Some of us hiked to the top. It would have been too much for our little ones, so they were able to take a ride up a rough dirt road. The view was STUNNING from the top. You could see countless miles of mountains and countryside. The wind and mosquitoes were also rather impressive - ha!
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| Our Canadian Seely family! |
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| Everyone enjoying the top of the mountain |
Day 6: It was a quiet, rainy Sunday. We relaxed inside, trying to treasure our final day with family that we may not see again for years to come...
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| The kids watch with interest while their older cousins practice French horn and clarinet. |
Day 7: The 4th of July. We packed up the rental mini-van, said our goodbyes early, and drive 9 hours across Canadian countryside back to a hotel by Edmonton airport. We never saw moose on the trip, but we did spot some good-looking caribou that day. Thankfully, the children traveled fairly well with the girls snuggled in on either side of Granny while Grandad and I took turns driving. Needless to say, we did not see any fireworks or Red, White and Blue flying around us that day.
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| Caribou on the road |
Day 8: Head to airport at 5 a.m. Fly AirCanada back across the continent and two time zones to safely arrive in Philadelphia after 4 p.m. And yes, the worst part of the trip was getting stuck in rush hour traffic on this final leg of the trip home. But we did finally make it home close to 8 p.m. I was back in the office the next morning and worked 6 days straight...
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| Johanna relaxing on the plane. The girls enjoyed flying. |
It was all worth it. Priceless memories made. Wonderful conversation shared. Adria is already asking me when we can go back to Canada!!!
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| A special time...who knows how many years may pass before we all get together again. |
