Calgary continued - the tower and downtown :)

After we left Telus Spark, we headed to downtown Calgary to see the Calgary Tower and to go up to the top and see the view!  It was fabulous!  So glad we have done this now - reminded me of the stratosphere in Vegas :)  The kids really enjoyed it and we even had ice creams up at the top :)

The tower has a glass floor you can stand on, so you get an amazing view down!!  It can be a bit scary though - and Abigail was scared at first, but by the end she climbed on too :)  Sam loved the glass floor and was jumping, lying on it and didn't worry about it at all :)

I thought it funny that Abigail will go on any scary rollercoaster - but a thing like the glass floor terrified her :)

You get off at 525' :

All of us on the glass floor:

And a few sights of Calgary:

Love this picture of the girls walking along the sidewalk:

Tag time :)

What's your current obsession?  Camping, traveling and making the most of Summer while it is here!

What are you wearing today?  Not much lol - it's hot!!  I'm not dressed yet, and I slept in underwear and a tank.

What's for dinner?   Pulled pork with baked potatoes.

What would you eat for your last meal?   Christmas dinner :)

What's the last thing you bought?  dishwasher tablets - hahaha exciting huh??

What are you listening to right now  My Son calling our dog - no clue why!  

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?  Cascade Ponds in Banff, for a picnic and paddle.  

Which language do you want to learn?   Spanish.

What do you love most about where you currently live?   There are just so many festivals and events that are free all year long - so much for families to do - and fabulous weather :)  

What is your favorite color?  Turquoise or Emerald green.

Chocolate or vanilla?   Chocolate cake but vanilla ice cream :)

What were you doing 10 years ago  I was preparing to move to Canada.  Breastfeeding my 6 month old Daughter and today I would have been prepping for my Sons birthday.  He was 9. 

If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?  Not sure I would spend it..just save it - nothing I really need or want today.  Would save it for the end of the month when I'm likely to need it lol!

What are you going to do after this?  Get up and showered and then prepare to head out to the Corn Maze for the evening.

What are your favorite films?  Depends on my mood :)

What inspires you?  Brave Girls Club.  :)  

Your favorite books?  Far too many to mention!!  

Do you collect anything?  I collect pins from everywhere I go.  Charity pins also.  I also collect swans - they have to be single swans and I never pay more than $10.  

What makes you follow a blog?  If it inspires me - through the writing or pictures or just through the persons way of life - if it gives me new ideas to try.  

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today?   I got my Son (7) to create a birthday cake from Lego so I could take a picture - the Lego FB page is posting pictures of them tomorrow as it is Lego's Eightieth birthday.

What is on the top of your to-do list?  Not sure....get my blog up to date????  Oh and try and figure out why iphoto will not let me get all my pics off my phone!!

What's your favorite time of day and why?  I like early mornings on my own with a coffee on the porch.  Or by the campsite :)  I also like late evenings :)  

Art journaling.....

I did plenty of art journaling while I was away - sitting at the campsite and 

writing/ drawing was totally blissful :)

Telus Spark!! Calgary:

My friend Brandy had posted some great pictures of this place and so as we had a free day and no specific plans, we decided to head there and explore!  We are annual members of the Telus World of Science in Edmonton, so we got in free at Spark as it belongs to the same group.  

One word sums this place up - AMAZING!!!!

It is a new science centre, and although it looks kind of sparse to begin with - it is really just very airy, light and spacious!  Very modern!  

It is an extremely hands-on science centre - and more than a science centre, it encourages imagination and creativity!!  There are crafts and activities to join in with in every room - and plenty of staff who were very helpful and friendly - all there to inspire you!!  

I really wish we had a place like this here - we would be there all the time!!!

Abigail and Susannah wrote their birth stories and added them to the board hahaha:  

Sam built a pipeline that shot balls through the tubes with air.  Abby and Susannah joined in:

I made these two creatures from junk while Sam was busy building a castle with the same supplies.  You can either add them to the Spark display cupboards OR you can take them home:

There are galleries on space, planet earth, Canada, the body etc etc all with hands on activities to help the learning:

There is a big 'play room' too with an indoor playground and lots of arts and crafts, books and things to do.  While Abby and Sam were in the playground, Susannah and I played with the dominoes - it worked perfectly and we even got a round of applause:

Electrical circuits:

Making music and light...learning about sound:

The restaurant was also fabulous!!  Delicious food and a huge selection of drinks.

Such a great place - we will definitely be back soon!!!

Canmore....

On the Sunday we had a lovely lazy start...we spent a few hours at the swimming pool, and then decided to head to Canmore for the evening.  We had supper on the patio of a really nice Mexican restaurant, then after a stroll through the town and a visit to the candy store, we then headed up to Quarry Lake for a swim and picnic :)

We went for a drive around afterwards, roads we hadn't been along before - found some amazing views to photograph, and came across this old mine shaft:

Camping in Calgary...

The view of Calgary lights from our camp site.  We could see traffic lights in the distance and so we had a game when walking back from the bathrooms - we could only walk on green and had to stand still on red.  Sam loved it :)  

So much for homeschool kids lacking in the socializing department lol - wherever we went Abigail made new friends.  Even the hour or two we were at the lake, Abby already had a friend she was playing about and knew all about her :)  

Abigails swimming skills are so good now - she is a little fish - she reminds me so much of me though and when we tell her to get out of the pool she will swim to the middle and refuse to get out knowing I can't get her :) I used to do exactly the same as a child :)

Sammy all cozy in his sleeping bag:

Gymnastics in the pool:

My little camping stove, coffee and art journaling:

Calgary continued....

On the Saturday we were in Calgary, we headed to Calaway Park - a big Amusement Park - we went for the first time last year and had a great time - and the kids were very keen to go back!!  I think it might be an annual thing now :)

I only went on a few rides, but the girls went on them ALL I think - and Sam, who is my little daredevil, went on everything he was tall enough for!!  He was very sad not to be tall enough for the ones he felt were the most fun!!

We went to see a magic show too - and although the kids were not too keen to go to it, I thought it would give us some time out of the hot sun!  It ended up being a highlight of our day as the magician was AMAZING!!!  He performs in Vegas too and was just FAB!!  All we said/ heard throughout the show was "Omg how does he DO that???"

This was the girls favourite ride - it spins, goes right up and then their individual seats spin upside down as it goes towards the ground - so it looked like they would smash into the ground!!!  Yikes:

The Magic show:

Me :)

I don't have many pics of me from the holiday as it's always me behind the camera - but here are a few silly ones of me: