We all slept like rocks thanks to Hampton Inn’s dedication to quality mattresses and our particular hotel having a waterslide in the pool area. We feasted on hotel breakfast—another area where Hampton Inn excels. The boys were in their swim trunks at 7:40AM, anxiously awaiting the 8AM pool opening and strategizing how to get the maximum number of runs down the waterslide in the 30 minutes we were allotting them. Their energy level was so high that Darin had them run on the treadmills in the fitness room until 8AM when we discovered the pool had a chemical imbalance problem and wouldn’t be opening at the time specified on the sign. The two 1st graders melted down like Chernobyl. Darin and I used the opportunity to discuss flexibility, how things don’t always go how we think they will, and the importance of NEVER swimming in a chemically imbalanced pool (can you guess which parent preached which point!😂).
Jacob with a Mountie Moose. I’m not sure who is cuter❤️
It’s spring break and our anniversary, so we threw caution to the wind and turned a movie on as soon as we got into the car. And because I’m striving to be labeled “fun mom”, I popped the complimentary bag of microwave popcorn in our hotel room and grabbed 3 coffee cups for serving. Our kids are totally going to laugh at the kids who went to Disney for spring break! After hearing about a ride on Splash Mountain, they’re likely to rattle off a fun fact about Canada they read in one of the books I checked out from the library. (Because everyone knows that fun moms check out books from the library related to the trip. They do, right??)
The 3-hour drive through Calgary to Banff and Sunshine Mountain was uneventful. Darin lamented the slow Canadian speed limits and and “interstates” that routed through small towns. Kenny lamented the ski bag that kept falling on him. I passed out popcorn with stern warnings to eat one kernel at a time so popcorn wouldn’t end up all over the car (am I not as fun as I thought?) and enjoyed multiple barns sporting smiley faces for the enjoyment of passersby—these Canadians really are a nice bunch!
In addition to the popcorn, the boys consumed muffins, peanut butter jelly sandwiches, cheese sticks, apple slices, carrots and gum. They begged for dried mango, but I put my foot down (What do they think I am, a fun mom?). This is a 3 HOUR CAR RIDE PEOPLE! And I wouldn’t give them food for the first hour on the principle that our car is not a moving buffet and they should have eaten more protein at breakfast! But their ribs stick out so I can’t deny them food for too long for fear of social services making an inquiry. I’m so thankful our snack food wasn’t confiscated at the border (another deep seeded fear from Port Huron border crossing days).
We arrived in Banff where I used a public restroom on the corner. (I had been holding my morning coffee for 2 hours and wasn’t sure I would make it through the check-in process.). Darin was so anxious to get to the mountain that we spent a whopping 30 minutes in the condo before hitting the slopes. Sunshine Mountain had all sorts of new adventures for us! The first lift had starting gates that opened for approximately 5 seconds and let you onto a magic carpet where an alarmingly fast moving chair swept us off our feet. We weren’t fans. Sunshine redeemed itself with a lift that had heated seats! Yes please—and thank you:-).
We skied 2 hours before giving in to the call of apres ski. We shared an order of fish and chips at Tappers Tavern served up by Austrailians. I’m not sure if it was their accent or the food, but it was amazing! We felt so good that we skied the long green down to the base rather than take the gondola. It felt strange to be skiing at 5PM—it’s light out so much later here, they run the lifts an hour longer than the typical Colorado resorts!
Jacob with a Mountie Moose. I’m not sure who is cuter❤️
The late afternoon snack allowed us to swim before an anniversary dinner at a greek restaurant in Banff (Kenny was so thrilled with the meal, he declared he loved Canada, loved greek food, and asked when we could come back:-). We had a small wait so did a bit of shopping while we waited. Lest you feel jealous, envision the wonders of the Canadian Gem and Rock Market. The boys tried to convince Darin to buy me a gemstone pendant for our anniversary (I must be doing something right—you’re welcome future wives!!). Kenny purchased a slice of geode, which fueled lively dinner conversation. Could it be obsidian? Only his book of rocks and a flashlight could unveil this mystery. We’re all anxious to get home and find out!😂
Two of the three boys fell asleep on the 5 minute care ride to the condo. Darin and I weren’t far behind. We’re exhausted in the best way. Cheers to kicking off our 13th year of marriage in the most adventurous way!!
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