Kananaskis - Sunday, May 22

Dean and Bella on the Pond Rocks

Becca "sleeping" at the dinner table

Petting the wolf

great place to spend a weekend

Deer Crossing

Oh I forgot the best part yesterday! While watching tv and chewing a toy, Bella's loose tooth came out! She was very excited to put it under her pillow and have the Tooth Fairy actually leave her a twoonie under her pillow in a hotel! It was an exciting morning!

No surprise after last night's lack of sleep that the girls slept in a bit and didn't get up until after 8am. We had taught Bella how to turn on the TV and put it on the correct channel for Treehouse (28 if you are heading there yourself) so she got up and turned on the TV plus played with some of the toys she was given in the kids' gift upon check in yesterday (a slinky, rubic's cube, metal puzzle etc.). Becca woke up soon after and called me to get her out of her play pen so she could join Bella.

We decided to order room service and not worry about Becca's restaurant behaviour after last night and it was quite a treat. The girls split toast and fresh fruit and they were nice enough to send us up some cookies even though they aren't on the menu until 11am. Dean had an omelet and I had eggs benedict. There is a small fridge in the room and we planned ahead by bringing our own juice to save a bit of money ($3.95 a glass there vs $0.99 a litre that we brought). Plus there was complementary tea and coffee in the room so we used that instead of ordering it off of the menu. We did treat the girls to hot chocolate, however we could have only ordered one and have them split it - they were large with whipped cream, and between the 4 of us we didn't finish both of them.

After breakfast we decided to head outside and hike the Village Rim Trail. It circles around the perimeter of the grounds and provides fabulous views. We have been to the mountains and even this location on many occasions and the view is still breath taking. We were lucky to have great weather with rain forecast for the afternoon so we wanted to take advantage of it. We hiked along the well maintained, fully paved pathway. I wish we had brought a stroller because Becca was walking so slowly, but that reminded us to slow down and relax and just enjoy our surroundings. There are 5 benched lookout points that we stopped at to enjoy the view. Just before viewpoint 5 we were treated to 4 deer. We stood on the pathway and watched them eating just a few feet away off of the path. Then they walked across the path right beside us. It was so special and a great opportunity to teach the girls about respect for wildlife. The girls were perfect. They were still, and quiet and even though Becca really wanted to touch them, she understood and didn't fuss.

We had never walked all around the grounds before. I had gone on a guided, private Nature Walk with my Mom about 5 years ago and that was very informative about the flora and fauna, but this walk showed us more of the activities available on site. We walked past a ball diamond and sports field, a seasonal toboggan hill and skating rink. Our next stop was an outdoor playground. Just beside it there were basketball nets and 6 beautifully kept tennis courts. Tennis is our family sport and due to the forecasted rain we didn't bother bringing our gear which we were now sorely regretting. Fortunately you can rent equipment on site, but we didn't bother. We climbed around some more on the pond rocks before heading inside to the Wolf presentation. This weekend had a theme of wildlife with tons of activities. It was possible to schedule something almost every minute of the day. One thing we really wanted to attend was the wolf session. We showed up with only 15 minutes left because we knew the girls couldn't sit through a long presentation. That was the right choice. I love wildlife and learning about ecology but this presentation was boring! The lady giving it was dressed like Little Red Riding Hood and lives with 7 wolves on her property. She was a little too hippie for me and not enough scientist - but oh well. At the end we got to pet the wolf she had on a leash in the room...again, not my idea of WILDlife...but the girls had fun. They got to touch some pelts and teeth and claws. And they got to make some crafts, like make a mask and colour pictures.

We decided to head to the pool and play around. After about an hour we decided to dry off and grab a snack. We had such a large breakfast that we didn't want anything too filling for lunch. We decided to head out to Obsessions Deli. Between the 4 of us we got a turkey sandwich, cinnamon roll, 2 cheese and crackers, yogurt and granola plus drinks. Dean and I, missing Starbucks, treated ourselves to a Mocha and London Fog.

Next we headed out to find the indoor Children's Creative Centre in Mount Kidd Manor. We had a really hard time finding it since there weren't any signs to pointing to it until you actually got to the door. Fortunately a really nice employee at Woody's Pub and Lounge walked us down. And once we got in we were in Heaven! Part of the walls were chalkboards, there was a puppet theatre, a climbing wall that lead to a treehouse with a slide...books, puzzles, games etc. And the best part? An HD tv that got the French Open so Dean could lay on the leather sofa and watch it while the girls played. For over half of the time we were in there we were the only people there. I did lots of puzzles with the girls and when two other girls came in Bella had a great time playing with them. It rained a bit while we were in there so it was nice to have this indoor option for a while.

Once we pried the girls away, Becca and I went to the playground while Dean took Bella to the pool and then we both met up after in our room. We got ready for dinner by 6pm and headed to Grappa - the Italian restaurant and tried dinner again. It was still difficult, but much better than last night. We made sure Becca was in a high chair so no spilled wine! Also, we were more proactive with her doing things like counting objects and identifying colours. Bella had chicken fingers and fries while Becca had penne and tomato sauce with fries but ended up mostly eating Dean's linguine. Dean and I each got appetizers - we need to stop doing that because it takes too long and makes the girls get bored. But they were so delicious! I got the tomato mozzarella salad and Dean got the crab cake. We got similar build your own pasta for a main course - both rose sauce and scallops but I got cheese tortellini and Dean got linguine. For dessert I got a really neat panna cotta while Dean got the Chocolate Bailey's Brulee that I had gotten last night (the restaurants are side by side and they obliged getting him the dessert from next door.) We were able to finish our peppermint patties tonight and while it rained all through dinner it had stopped by the end so we let the girls have a short walk outside to play in the puddles. Becca kept telling us she was so sleepy and even kept putting her head on the table, so we made sure to put them in bed by 7:30.

We also knew to start them in separate areas so we put them both to bed and by the time I had filled our tub they were both asleep! - Yay! I enjoyed a few glasses of wine from a bottle we had brought and again we had yummy chocolates on our pillow before bed (Lindt tonight! - which is my favourite). I have started reading Tina Fey's "Bossypants". I was late to become a fan of Tina Fey, only noticing her portraying Sarah Palin, but I have since become a huge fan, and this book has me in stitches! Hilarious. It was nice to have a relaxing night with no crying girls and no frustrated parents. Becca did wake up once around midnight, but I checked on her and she went back to sleep. It is so stressful having loud kids in a hotel because I don't want to be bothering other guests. Fortunately I think she was just a little caught off guard waking in a strange place so she was easily settled and back to sleep.