Let the building begin!

Today we started the construction of our new house.  While day one was basically digging a hole, it was nice to get started.  I've decided to keep track of the building process on a separate blog, I figure it make be a busy process and thought it would be nice to have a running diary of the process.  You can follow it here

http://riverridgehomes.blogspot.com/

Obviously I'll make reference to it at times and post links here too.  They boys sure enjoyed helping out, but I suspect the excavation crew won't be as pleased.

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Summer Trip - Mainland to Home

Following the reverse summer posting, I thought I would post some stuff about our return trip.

The wedding (posting to come) was great and we packed up shortly after the festivities, making our way home.  The original plan was to take the most direct line back, the #5 and then the TransCanada.  It's been ages since we've been to the enchanted forest, in fact Dora and I haven't been there together so we couldn't wait to take the boys.  Everyone was excited!

 While much of the displays brought back memories, several displays were fixed up and different from what I remember.  They boys were out of control!  At one point it felt pointless to reign in the chaos that had ensued.  They could run into doors faster than I could contort my body.  It felt like a strange form of torture as I twisted my body through a tiny opening only to have Winnie the Poo staring at me with a smile.

It was pretty fun with only a few injuries.  I think Evan got the worst of it, a swinging door in the face.  We found an interesting campsite only a few km away, Noah's Ark Resort.  A campsite with an actual boat on-site.  Very unique.

Now our trip home took a sudden detour when we got a hold of Ham Solo.  He was around so we headed south to Cranbrook.  We hadn't seen our friends their in years and since they were around we felt it would be great to visit.  We had some time to kill so we also decided to hit Fort Steele.  I don't remember ever going and Dora has been bugging me for years to go.

 It was a great visit, too short but enough to make us want to return sooner rather than later.  Logan made a new friend and everyone had a blast!  We also found some excellent Japanese food too.

Fort Steele turned out to be more fun than I expected, plus they were dog friendly, a bonus for us!  Imagine bringing a dog into an environment with sheep, goats, horses and such.  I must say she behaved herself exceptionally.

The real reason for our visit to Fort Steele was to get one of those old fashion style pictures.  Dora had one with her family when she was younger and she always wanted to get one with our family.  Turns out the wait was worth it and we managed a few good shots!

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Waterton with the Hams

With both of us back in school, we were doubting our resolve to get out after our first week of school.  We knew it was the long weekend, but we were in desperate need of time to prepare for our classes.  We compromised and went to Waterton for the day with Dora's folks.  Turned out to be one of those wonderful days that you all remember in the Gem of LOMAH.

We started with a nice lunch on a great blanket, enjoying the fine fares of Subway.  Not much planning on our part.  Dora's folks had packed a lunch that looked a lot better than what we had.  The kids of course have learned the fine art of "Mooching".

 The lunch was followed with a hike up to Bertha falls with both boys taking their turns running down the trail.  It's so nice to see them enjoying the great outdoors.

Once at the falls, Logan proceeded to scare the living crap out of me.... repeatedly, by jumping back and forth between the rocks.  I swear that kid was gonna end up in the water if I didn't grab him!  This has gotta be payback for something right?

Good thing Mom is agile!

 After my nerves were shot, we headed back down the trail.  I thought I would put the MEC warranty to the test and see if our kid carrier could handle 70lbs.  No Problem!  Heck I just need to figure out how to make it a double decker.  Evan fell asleep of course and enjoyed a nice quiet ride back while I kicked the older boy off after a few km because the leverage from him hanging on was starting to kill the shoulders.

We finished the day by having supper with some friends who were camping in Waterton and were at the park when we showed up.  It was a pleasant surprise that included some great burgers and some sweet Taber corn.

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Whitefish Mtn Biking

So my brother calls me up and want to know if I want to go biking in Whitefish with a few friends of his.  You know, some downhill stuff.  Will an OK from Dora I call back with an "I'm In!"

Now this is where it gets interesting.  I'm thinking a Saturday at the ski hill and then maybe some shopping Sunday and an early departure home.  To my surprise, the actual plan is for a little cross-country biking on the Saturday and the downhill on Sunday.  I can work with that.... or so I think.

Turns out the cross-country they have in mind is an 11 mile climb.  Oh wait, that's just until we turn around for the return trip.  22 miles or 40km.  Considering the preparation for this trip was buying a $10 used downhill helmet on my way through Columbia Falls, I figure I'm screwed.  Turns out I was right!
I'm exaggerating a bit, considering I was lucky to have a nice family pick me up on the way up.  They were doing it right, having their mom run shuttle for them.  So in the end, I missed a bulk of the climbing, but still did enough to have me gasping for air.  Where the heck did my cardio go?!?

We finished the run and then decided that a BBQ meat platter at Piggyback BBQ would be an appropriate meal to follow up with after the ride.  You know, 1/2lb of pulled pork, 1/2lb of ribs, 1/2lb of beef brisket and a whole chicken.  Not to mention the sides.  Man, I'm glad we're done for the day.

Wrong.

Turns out they want to do a 6 mile ride to finish the day.  Oh wait, make that 12 miles round trip.  After about 4 miles I call it quits and let the younger generation speed off to their future while I start planning my funeral.  I hate those kids!

The next day was a better with me holding my own on the downhill.  I crashed more than the rest of them, but I held my own.  Come to think of it, I might have been the only one who crashed.... repeatedly.  Regardless of the crash count, I had an awesome time and would do it again.  I just have to find a shuttle bunny!

The rest of the pictures are here, hopefully the rest of the people can link to their pictures in the comments.

2011.09 Bike Trip

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SKUNKED!!

Well, I got skunked in August.  No Posts!  Man, that's not right, we had lots on our plate and lots to talk about.  I guess I'll need to update everyone about our summer, but will do so in reverse order.  That means I get to talk about last weekend and my bike trip in Whitefish.

Pictures to come when I can download them from my camera.  Speaking of which, where is my camera?

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