Day 27 - Wildcat Willy Days

Every year the town of Elkford celebrates Wildcat Willy Days (the locals call it Wildcat days).  Wildcat Willy days consists of fireworks, pancakes, a parade, craft show, ball tournament, beach volleyball tournament, inflatable rides.... (the list could go on forever :).

We made it down for the pancake breakfast today followed by craft fair and a parade.  Unfortunately the rain came in at the end of the parade.  Gave us a good excuse to come back to the condo to relax with Grandma and Grandpa Takanaka.

Our night ended off with some competitive games of crokinole.  Wildcat Willy days a success!

All dressed up for the festivities

Harrison was not happy that we wasn't allowed to run on the streets to pick up candy during the parade

Getting into the spirit of things with a bear tattoo (Yes, still teething)

Just looking so darn cute

Day 26 - Elk Valley Provincial park

Elk Valley Provincial Park is by far my favourite place in the area.  (So far)

Emily's mom is in town so we all made the trip.  The park is 70km North of Elkford up a gravel road parallel to the Elk River and right next to the Alberta border.  The views on the drive are stunning, lots of camping areas and an abundance of Grizzly Bears.  We even ran into a pack of wild horses on the road.  They hesitated to let us by and their leader tried to attack the truck, but we made it through safely :).

Halfway through the trip we stopped for a picnic at Weary Creek.

Eventually we made it up to the park where we walked into Lower Elk Lake.  The lake is surrounded by mountains, waterfalls and glaciers and is the starting point of the Elk River. 

On the way back we stopped to look for Vinnie and take some artsy flower pictures.

Can't wait to go back!

Day 25 - Round Prairie

Bought a 6 month membership to the local gym.  (Think old high school weight room)  Time for Trent to work off that baby weight!

We rode our bikes out to Round Prairie today.  Round Prairie is an area with a few farms and a nice camping/recreation spot out by the river 5 km North of Elkford.  Unfortunately it started raining as soon as we got there.  So disappointing.  Thankfully Harrison found shelter and stayed dry...  Not much more to the day other than rainy day lunch (grilled cheese and soup :) and an afternoon movie.

Wildcat Willy days start in Elkford tomorrow.  Can't wait!

Day 24 - Gone Fishing

Harrison hadn't pooped for 5 days until today.  We were all relieved when he did :).

This afternoon we went searching for a good fishing spot.  Google says that the Elk River has "world renowned" fly fishing.  It also said that the fly fishing is better late in the Summer.  Worth a shot anyways.

First we found Forsyth Creek about 28 km North of Elkford.  Beyond the creek you can hike (or ride horse) into Connor's lake.  I was told the creek has some very good fishing... just not today.

Our stay at Forsyth Creek was short as Vinnie almost got swept away in the current.  3km farther North we found a backroad heading East towards the river.  We came upon a very nice stretch of the Elk River where we spent the majority of the afternoon.  No fish and the water froze Emily's feet however the hot dogs were delicious and scenery was amazing!

Day 23 - Time for real food!

No hiking pictures today.  We made it to the top of the mountain for a hike but it was raining.  Had to settle for errands in Fernie...

Today Harrison began eating solids.  It was a lot of fun, can't wait to try out different foods.

He couldn't get enough of the mangoes

Didn't like the eggs at all

Things got a little messy

No clothes for supper (easier to clean)

Had a lot of fun with avocado and banana.  Harrison also liked the taste of them

Good to the last drop :)

Day 22 - Harrison gets a pony

Another beautiful day today... unfortunately it was time to go home.

We were able to meet up with Emily's dad and Carla in Ponoka for breakfast on the way home.  After breakfast we made it out to see the horses where Harrison got to try out his riding skills.  Very cool!

After Ponoka we continued down the highway to Calgary where we picked up a fly fishing rod, fishing hat for Harrison and a high chair (Harrison starts eating solid food tomorrow).

Good to make it back to Elkford.  Love this mountain air!

P.S. Harrison is 6 month's old today!

Harrison riding a colt (Merlin)

Roy was his favourite (Roy will be at the Calgary Stampede later this week)

A lot bigger than Vinnie

This is Awesome!

Day 21 - Wedding Shower

Vanessa and Cole are getting married on Aug. 16th in Elkford.  Today was the wedding shower!

We had a Japanese themed shower with good decoration, great food and lots of friends and family.  Cant wait for the wedding!

Vanessa and Cole opening their presents (its a vitamin ;)

Grandma, Ojisan and Harrison.

The Chambers' three.

Harrison loved watching the bubbles from his Jolly Jumper.

Lucas got a little cranky after making all the cupcakes.

Day 20 - Wetaskiwin

First day of Summer!

Today we had a very nice relaxing day preparing for the Wedding Shower.

Pancakes were delicious, sun was shining and Harrison had got to enjoy some time on the deck.

We need more days like this.

Day 19 - Edmonton

Made it to Wetaskiwin early this morning... Harrison travels great when he sleeps!

We spent the entire day in Edmonton.  Haircuts and then picking up some stuff for the condo in Elkford.  BIG THANKS to everyone at work (Syncrude) for the gifts we were given prior to going on leave.  We had a great time shopping at Babies r us, Sears and then the Keg for supper.  So generous, we can't thank you enough!

The day ended with Emily and Harrison's first International Volleyball match.  The World Cup of Volleyball (mens) was in town with Canada facing off against Australia.  The game was a bit sloppy, with Australia winning in five.  Harrison enjoyed the game, we enjoyed getting him dressed up :).

Day 18 - Toonie Swim

It's official, Harrison cannot be left alone. Where he lacks in ability to crawl he makes up for in his ability to roll. So much to explore via roll.

We are lucky Elkford has a really nice pool. Toonie swim is full of our people. Babies and rubber duckies everywhere.

Harrison is also nearing the big 26 which meant today was another fun round of immunization shots. Fun fact (not really fun) BC health immunizes babies for Hep B while in Alberta you don't get vaccinated till grade 5. #whos driving this ship #conspiracy. He took them like a champ.

Heading up to Wetaskiwin for Van and Coles wedding shower. Looking forward to a good weekend with family!

Day 17 - Blue Lake

Today we went looking for a good place for Vanessa and Cole to have their wedding ceremony.  (Vanessa is Emily's sister who is getting married in Elkford this Summer)

Who knew that the best place would be the location of an old lumber store and someone's unfinished house... trust me, its very nice and will be perfect!

The rain continued, however we were tired of sitting around the condo so we made a trip 20km North to Blue Lake.  It was absolutely beautiful.

We had to be covered up some of the time to keep away the rain.

Harrison and dad had a staring contest.

Harrison also got to try out roasting hot dogs (however dad wouldn't let him get close enough to the fire for it to really work well :)

Day 16 - Rainy day (again)

Heavy rainfall warning... how exciting!

Another rainy day in the condo.  Great chance to get some work done around the condo.
Harrison slept almost the entire day, must be coming down with a cold or finally have some teeth coming in.

Here are some old favourite pictures of Harrison. (Much better than the pictures Emily took of me fixing the kitchen sink today)

                                                 

Day 15 - Day at the Beach

Rained all day today.
It was very nice to have a chance to slow down, watch a couple of movies and hang around the condo.

In spite of the rain we got Harrison dressed up in his new summer clothes and had a little beach party.
Here are some pics of Harrison enjoying his day at the beach!

After the beach Harrison found his new favourite toy.  (And dad found his new favourite way to babysit :)

Video of  - Harrison's new toy

Day 14 - Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there.

The day started with a Father's Day round of golf in Magrath.  Very nice course, even allowed me to get my annual birdie.  (No chance that will happen again this year :)

After golfing we packed up the RV and went to Costco.  Everything is excessive at Costco.
With a stomach ache from the poutine and a bit of buyers remorse we headed back for Elkford.

The night finished off with Harrison helping dad open his Father's Day gift...

Day 13 - Coaldale

Today we ventured off to Coaldale (10 minutes East of Lethbridge) to meet up with an old college friend.  We had a very nice time catching up with him and his family. The night started out with a bbq and then moved to the fire pit... up way too late.

Harrison can't wait to go back when he is older.  They have no rules!

Failed to bring out the camera...  won't do that again.
To make up for it, I've included some good pics from the past few days.

Day 12 - Lost Lake

2 bottles of Baileys gone.

A stop at a Fernie fly fishing shop ignited Trent's excitement to try fly fishing. A 30 min drive up a mine road lead us to Lost Lake. True to its name it took a couple minutes to find it but was worth the little trip.

And then... Vinnie became a man.
Stuck for at least 5 seconds, head in the mud, he finally pulled himself out.
A new stronger, smarter dog.

Grandma made it out to Elkford for the weekend.
Harrison was so happy to see her (after making a bit of strange :).

Off to Lethbridge today - more updates coming Sunday night!