We drove all day to get to Carbon, Alberta, just outside Calgary.
We stayed with my dad’s cousin Deanne, her husband Cam, and their twin girls Tavia and Kiara — they are SO cute! Tavia has curly hair and Kiara looks like her aunt, my dad’s cousin Shannon. We played with them and helped them with their walking.
There were also two dogs, Rudy and Brandy, and they had puppies in the winter. Rudy is a GIANT golden retriever; he looks like a big lion.
Deanne is really into theatre and teaches some theatre classes, so she was really excited when she got to see mine and Courtney’s dance video. After that, we watched Cam and Deanne’s musical that they were in called Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat.
Their house doubles as a bed and breakfast, and all the rooms on the top floor are themed — three of the bedrooms are winter, summer, and fall, and the bathroom is spring.
Deanne took us to Horseshoe Canyon, where we walked through a lot of really tall grass and there were a BAJILLION mosquitoes, but the canyon was really pretty.
We left Deanne and Cam’s and headed to Calgary.
We shopped at IKEA. I got organizers for my scrapbooking stuff, bamboo for my room, and a little table.
We went to the girls’ house (my cousins) and hung out there. Courtney, Maddie, Kirsten, and I went to get a Slurpee.
We went to Kirsten’s soccer game. They lost 2–0, but Kirsten played the whole game except for maybe the last three minutes. She played really well.
We went back to the house and watched So You Think You Can Dance. Then we played some board games called Mall Madness and Guess Who until bedtime.
It was my dad’s 43rd birthday, and we travelled to Sicamous, BC.
We went to Lake Louise and canoed around the lake. Tyler and I were in one boat, and my mom, dad, and Courtney were in the other. Ty and I called ourselves the pirates.
We ate lunch and walked around.
When we arrived in Sicamous, we went for dinner and then for a walk where we saw these crazy cool boats — triple-decker with a twirly slide that shoots you off the back.
We went for a swim in the lake. It was cold but refreshing. We met some locals, Jamie and Ariel, and they were really nice.
When we got back, we went in the hot tub, then went to the hotel room to watch Super Nanny. There was a huge brat who would scream at her mom and bite her, scratch her, and hit her.
It was Canada Day and my birthday — sweet 16 — and we headed to Vancouver to stay with our cousins.
When we arrived, we went to the condo my aunt and uncle rent out and went swimming in the pool. It was fun and I got a tan.
When we got back to the house, we played Ello and Courtney sang me a birthday song with Nikita.
After that, we had dinner and cake, and then it was time to open presents. From my parents, brother, and sister I got a Lululemon gift card, a Garage gift card, and — wait for it — A RAZOR CELLPHONE!
I don’t get any of it until I get back home, but it will definitely be worth the wait. YES!
Then we pretty much went to sleep.
It was the anniversary of my mom breaking her ankle, and the whole family went to Englishman River Falls.
We climbed on rocks in the river. My mom did it all. It was so much fun. We went swimming in lagoons (it was cold).
I almost broke my face, lost my glasses, and had a horny beetle on my foot.
Before that, we went to a beach for lunch and found so many tiny crabs, sand dollars, and cool shells.
We stayed at the Travelodge in Parksville, went swimming, watched some TV, and went to bed.
We arrived in Ocean Village on Vancouver Island.
We stayed in cabin #47. It’s oceanfront and has one bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom.
Our neighbours were the Franz’s and the Parisiens.
We went swimming, got settled in, and walked over to the left side of the beach.
We saw sea anemones, starfish, and climbed rocks.
That night, we had a bonfire, roasted marshmallows, and made jokes. We ran around on the beach in the dark with a big yoga ball and it was really fun.
There were seven families: the Hammond’s, the Carroll’s, the Parisien’s, the (Darren) May’s, the (Jeff) May’s, the Franz’s, and Uncle Jeff’s family friends.
We went rock climbing again in search of starfish and caught lots of crabs. We kept them overnight.
We had another bonfire and roasted more marshmallows and made more jokes.
Kirsten, Madison, and Halie slept over in my cabin. We went straight to sleep because rock climbing really wears you out. We also went swimming until the pool closed, which probably helped.
We did more rock climbing, walked in the ocean, and hiked to the beach next to us. All the families came.
When we got back, we went to the pool until it closed and then had a campfire where Uncle Al got drunk. It was so funny.
First, he jumped over a log and fell over. We got him to go sniper bird hunting — Tyler even gave him a call.
He was sitting by the fire and suddenly said, “Holy mother of pearl, it’s hot down here.” Then he went up to his cabin to shave and came back soaked.
When we asked why, he said, “There’s a sprinkler system up there and you have to work your way around it.”
That night, Kirsten and Halie slept over.
We also went whale watching and saw three grey whales and a humpback whale. Their names were Herbert, Stewart, Burt, and Ernie. Whale watching was so cool and I would definitely do it again.
We went to Long Beach, jumped waves, and got completely soaked.
After that, we visited a small marketplace near Ocean Village with really nice jewellery. We went to Tofino and I bought a West Coast Long Beach shirt.
Back at the cabin, Uncle Daryl started our traditional sandcastle. We built walls and moats to keep the tide away.
Maddie and I built a village called Beach Village with huts and landscaping — it was pro. Then we let the tide take it away.
We went swimming and had a bonfire that someone shut down because “we’re not supposed to have fires after 11 PM.” Whatever. All the other fires that week went past 11 PM, so we went to bed.
It was our last day at Ocean Village, and we left at 11 a.m. for Salt Spring Island.
The drive was long, winding, and nauseating. We took a ferry.
Once we reached our cabanas, we went out for groceries. I spent the evening reading.
That night, we had a campfire with Mom, Dad, Courtney, Tyler, Erin, Daniel, Uncle Al, and Auntie Arlene.
We went to the market and shops in town. I bought two stamps and some postcards.
Back at the cabana, I read most of the night. Later, I went swimming with Erin and Courtney.
We had a campfire, went to bed, and I finished my book.
We explored Salt Spring Island by car and stopped for lunch in a gazebo picnic area.
Tyler got a weird rash on his foot called stinging nettle, and Courtney’s face was blotchy.
After dinner, Tyler and Dad went golfing, so Mom, Courtney, and I stayed back and played cards. Mom won Crazy 8’s, Golf, and all the War games except the last one — which I won.
Courtney and I went swimming. I swam all the way to the docks and back, but she stayed at the first one.
When I reached the big dock, she asked if Tyler could bring her out in the paddle boat, and he did.
We showered and went to bed.
We left Salt Spring Island and headed to Victoria.
We missed the ferry and waited two hours in the car playing cards.
Once we arrived, we played soccer most of the day, walked to the beach, and then went to bed.
We played more soccer and went shopping in downtown Victoria.
In the afternoon, we made fusion beads while watching Narnia, then went to bed.
We played more soccer and went shopping in downtown Victoria.
In the afternoon, we made fusion beads while watching Narnia, then went to bed.
We drove to Calgary — it was a long day.
I cried during my very first movie, A Walk to Remember. It was so sad but really good.
After arriving, we walked to Husky and watched So You Think You Can Dance. Musa got kicked off and he was so good — Dimitry should have gone instead.
We relaxed and went to sleep.
We went to Edmonton and visited West Edmonton Mall and the water park.
I rode the Sky Screamer five times, and so did Court. We went on Nessie’s Revenge four times. I also rode the Sun Runner, Raging Rapids, The Howler, The Twister, and the Blue Thunder wave pool.
We rented a cabana, which was really neat.
That night, we checked into the Comfort Inn, had dinner at Boston Pizza, went shopping, and went to bed.
The next day was spent driving to Winnipeg.