Fresh Mountain Air

Day trips are always a good idea. They force you out of the house and to spend some fabulous time together as a family making memories. I hope those memories are the good kind and not the kind that are bad at the moment but later you might learn to laugh about. Today we went up near Blairmore Alberta with Ryan's brother and his family and an extra few nephews. We loaded the joint collection of toys onto the truck and trailer and off we went looking for adventure. CBts' new the perfect place and when we arrived at the spot I knew it was going to be a fun day. The boys unloaded the toys while the kids anxiously waited close by wide eyed with anticipation. It didn't take long until they were off cruising around.

Way back in February when Brayden learned how to ride his dirt bike we had promised Sydney that as soon as she learned how to ride a bicycle on only two wheels, Ryan would teach her how to drive the dirt bike also. Well the first nice day after that she was on two wheels and ready for her turn on the motorbike. Finally after months of practicing her balance she was determined to finally have her chance so Ryan, excitedly, got right to it. He taught her how to brake properly, then made her drive as slowly as possible to make sure she could balance, and then off she went! She took to it so quickly. At one point when she did start to show frustration Ryan reminded her that Brayden was 7 when he learned to drive and she was only 6 and that was all the motivation she needed to keep on going. She was so steady and was able to keep the bike going at a steady speed, it was so fun to watch. She loved it and pretty much spent the whole 6 hours we were there on that bike! It was awesome.

As the day went on both the kids were getting pretty confident on the bikes and so they took off down a very mild trail through the trees to explore. It was just so fun to watch the two of them riding together and Ryan mentioned he can't wait until they are bigger and they can all go out dirt biking together. It's always nice to see some of that tomboy come out of Sydney, the best of both worlds.

Even Madison seemed to have some fun running around in the grass, watching the kids whip by on their quads or bikes and snacking on junk food or fruit. There was a hammock set up, CB brought some bubbles for the littles and those were a big hit but I have to say I think that Loki the dog was the biggest perk for her.

For me, it was just so nice to be out in that mountain air. I'm not too sure what makes it more crisp, or seem to smell better but it's just so much cleaner then anywhere else. Truly invigorating. It's also such a different kind of beauty then the prairies or the Philippine greens, so humbling to realize the diversity all around the world and how much of that beauty is found so close to home. Canada is really something amazing!