Today was an early morning for group of kids who once again didn't fall asleep until well after 10:30 pm. This might be the last vacation we can get away with just one room and two double beds. It's been a little bit tight sleeping three to a bed, especially when they all spread out and try to push us out! We left the hotel a little later than we had hoped but made it to the airport fairly easily. We met Gabriel in the parking lot and returned his car to him muc...

After a super late night yesterday, half our room slept in a bit while the other half was up at their usual time. No surprise it was Liam and Whitaker who were up early. Some kids had run out of clothes with today and our travel day left so we did some quick laundry in the hotel and enjoyed another breakfast in the Canalta hotel in Banff where the pancake conveyor belt was once again a big hit. The courtyard and hot tub area is wonderful so we took advantage an...

Today was our longest day yet! We packed up in the morning while the kids ate leftovers for breakfast and then we hit the road. We were happy to see that it wasn’t raining, snowing or foggy so we hoped we’d be able to see more mountains on the Icefield Parkway than on our drive up. There were a few stops we hadn’t done as well so we knew we wanted to head there before our glacier adventure in the afternoon. First we spotted some elk right as we got onto t...

Finally, some wildlife. I was beginning to think nothing lived in this massive park. To be honest, we're not even sure there are mountains in Jasper given how low the clouds have been while we've been here. More on that later. Our day started with a cloudy, snowy drive along Maligne Lake Road to board a sightseeing boat on Maligne Lake. The closer we got to the lake, the more snowy it became and some was even sticking to the trees and ground. This road is one o...

For Father's Day we slept in a little later than we typically have been and made our way to the Bear Paw Bakery for some cinnamon sticky buns, white chocolate raspberry scones and apple danish. It was very yummy! Even though it was a bit cold and rainy, we headed off for our surprise activity…a horseback ride through the mountains! Liam, Odin and Kevin mounted their horses, Bugs, Thunder & Jasper and joined their personal guide on a one hour ride to Py...