Canada

and Colorado,

but we will start with Canada.

Michael and I are notorious for having bad luck on our vacations. Don't let us come visit you, your house will flood, we will give everyone the stomach flu, and surgeries and illnesses will pop up and you won't even know why. 

SO, our flight into Buffalo, NY got delayed and didn't get in until about 12:30 AM. We had to go get our rental car. We got close to the rental desk and I thought to myself "hmmm, they look closed." But that couldn't be the case because we had a reservation and they knew we were coming. We got closer and there was no one at the desk. I then thought "How horrible would it be if we had to get a hotel and stay over night. Haha, what a nightmare?" But I really still thought it would be fine because we had our reservation. After one angry phone call, a cancelled rental car, a happier phone call followed by a re-reserved rental car, we were dragging out two children (jack dead asleep in the stroller, eleanor punchy and awake) two carseats, and 4 bags to a hotel to stay the night in Buffalo. It was 3AM. I have never seen Eleanor think so many things were so funny.

The next day we got on the road early. 

Then Jack threw up.

Then we got stuck in traffic. 

Our 2 hour drive turned into 6!

But it was all totally worth it to see my parents for the first time in TWO years!

We got to follow them around to a fireside that they were speaking about and then a baptism the next day. The baptism was in the old chapel that President Monson attended when he was a mission president. We also got to see his old mission home!

We decided to celebrate Jack's birthday a few weeks early and do it with Grandma and Grandpa.

We ate lunch at the Mardarin (which is a buffet. We didn't eat the next three meals the food was so good and we were so full) 

We fed the ducks, got caught in a rainstorm, and fed the one legged duck. Jack was very determined that he would get the one legged duck as much bread as he could!

We came home and mad robots out of soup cans and nuts and bolts and opened presents.

 

  

 

 We went into Kitchner to see Heidi and Van and familiy.

Jack LOVED the cousin time.

 

We went into Toronto to walk around at the lake.

 

 

 And then we toured the city

 

 

 

China Town

Colorado

Colorado was a breeze...they lost our carseats two times...but it happens!
Michael presented research and we got to RELAX the rest of the time.
That's right.
I said relax.
We hadn't done that in a long time...and won't for a long time. But we love it!

 

 

4th of July

planting