To Alberta, With Love

The week before last we made the trip to western Canada again to spend time with my cousin and her family.

Because my cousin Misty is more like a sister, we just call all the kids cousins (and they are technically, just second cousins) and sometimes even say “Aunt” and “Uncle” for my cousin and her husband Mark.

Because I feel easily at ease around her big family and in her home(s) and because when we talk it is like no time has passed, this vacation has become an important visit for my soul.

Because there is the lake, which is amazingly beautiful and cold to jump into and now familiar too, this place is quickly becoming one of my favorites on the planet.

Of course I took a lot of pictures.  I took my DSLR but never got it out of my purse.  I used my Sony point and shoot for every photo I took (besides the ones I took with my phone).  They aren’t perfect but they are still pretty good.  And I’m still going through the hundreds of photos I took.  But a few stand out to me so I will share them here and what they mean to me and then I’ll overload y’all with pictures in another post.  Sound good? Great!

 

This was our first morning at the lake.  Tim was in the kitchen making his signature cinnamon toast and the jammie-clad little girls were watching.  (You can barely see Tim on the other side of the cutout window)  In this photo are half of the kids that were at the lake with us.  My cousin’s second oldest in on the left and my middle kid is on the right.  I think it’s cute how they have their legs crossed.  The soda can on the side table was mine from the night before.  That coffee table was used later in the week for several “art projects” and many games of Fan Tan.  I love that I captured this moment in time at the lake house.  Although it makes me want to go back. Now.

 

First off, I did not take this photo, Tim did.  From the jet ski he was riding.   And you may not be able to see, but I am in the boat.  This was the first time the kids got to go tubing and the lighting was gorgeous.  They were having so much fun in that freezing cold water and while on this boating/tubing trip, Mark told me how happy Misty was that we were visiting again.  That made my heart happy to hear.  Also, boating reminds me of my times as a girl, on the lake, when I was a kid.  The kids’ smiles and laughter reminded me why Tim and I decided to bring our family to this spot again…

 

 

This is our room at the lake.  I love this room, especially the view.  When I walked in this time to put our things down, and it felt familiar, instead of new, that felt wonderful.  By the time our stint at the lake was over there were clothes all over the floor (from the suitcases filled with clothes for a family of 5) and the bed was unmade.  Oh and just FYI, the kids slept in the bunk room with their cousins so when I say “our” room I mean mine and Tim’s. 🙂

 

Then there’s this guy.  My kids love him SO much and think he is about the cutest thing ever.  They literally squeal when they are around him and play with him.   He’s the baby of my cousin’s family and probably always will be in our eyes, the “baby”.   After I took this photo of him he scooted all the way down the hill, on his bottom, to the edge of the water and got in the canoe (that was safely “beached”) by himself and played in there for a bit.  This kiddo is going to be a lake boy through and through, just like his older brothers.

 

 

Like I said, many more pics to come, but these were some of my favorites from our time there, just for what they mean to me.

 

Have you taken a photo lately that has more meaning to you than you thought it would when you took it?