Why I love Calgary! Zoo Edition

I know a lot of Calgarians have plenty to complain about when it comes to living in Calgary.  I have to admit that after a long cold winter I’m definitely one of those people looking on MLS searching for my new home somewhere HOT!  Truthfully, however, I love Calgary.  People I talk to seem to think that our summer got off to a slow start and we haven’t had any great weather. I don’t agree.  We just didn’t have a spring.  Blame the rotten spring everyone, leave summer alone!  She’s doing her best and July has been great (according to me)!  It’s true I have big hopes for August and September (don’t let me down girl), but so far if you look through my photo albums you’ll see lots of blue sky and greasy sunscreen faces. 

One of my favorite parts of living in Calgary, especially during the summer, is going to the Calgary Zoo.  What a treat!  I’m pretty sure that no matter what the temperature is in the rest of Calgary, it’s always hotter on St. Georges Island.  Maybe it’s because you are surrounded by animals from places like Africa and South America that it gives off the illusion of being warmer or maybe it’s pushing a 30lbs toddler in an equally as heavy stroller all throughout the zoo grounds.  Either way, I leave feeling sweaty.  :o)

I really feel fortunate to be able to show my son all different kinds of animals, fish, reptiles etc. without having to leave the city.  What a great way to educate (and entertain) him about animals and when he’s older about conservation. 

One of the best parts of going to the Calgary Zoo is every time you go you experience something new.  On a recent trip to the Zoo with my dad we went in to see the butterflies and it was fairly quiet in the butterfly garden (unlike other times I’ve gone) and butterflies were landing on everyone (my dad included).  I’m sure it happens all the time but I’d never seen so many butterflies on people before.  I loved being there and felt I could stay and watch the butterflies for hours.  

Have you ever seen a baby Giraffe run as fast as it can with no particular destination in mind?  It’s both amusing and amazing to see.  Jengo is almost 6 months old and when he was born he weighed 185lbs and was 6’6” tall!  He’s all legs and on previous visits I had only seen him sitting or standing.  Wow were we in for a treat this trip!  It was early in the day and Jengo must be at the same stage as Ryder because he just ran around non-stop to the amusement all of us fortunate spectators.  I lucked out and caught a few moments of it on video but so far downloading a video onto Blogger hasn't worked out for me. :(

Watching Jengo run around was also an enlightening moment for me.  As a child who grew up in Calgary I went to the Zoo regularly.  I remember the giraffes quite clearly.  They had a barren patch of land with a couple of leafless trees.  They always seemed so far away.  The Calgary Zoo has definitely come leaps and bounds since I was little and the giraffe area is one of my favorites but until Jengo started running around I honestly had no idea how large their area was.  I didn’t know they shared the field with the Zebras as well!  You can get quite close to them as well at certain points along the path.  Yes, definitely not the Calgary Zoo of years ago.

I could go on and on about my trips to the Zoo and could probably make it a regular blog entry about all the new things we’ve seen but seriously you don’t want to read that – you want to experience it for yourself!  Plan a trip to the Calgary Zoo with your family, get an annual pass and go all year round! 

:o)

Wait... I think I'm forgetting something...

Oh yeah, that's right - Blog!  We've been so busy playing at the splash parks and going to the zoo that I forgot to blog!  When you live in Calgary where your summers are short you really need to maximize the time you spend outside on hot summer days.  Also, staying inside for too many days with a 16 month old is just asking for trouble!  So we've been busy playing at parks, going to the lake for the first time, and playing in our own backyard.  We are getting closer to the end of July now but I'm hoping August proves to be just as nice as July.  We've still have lots of places in Calgary to explore this summer, and I look forward to blogging about them too!

Enjoying the Sunshine!

Another day at the park.  I can already tell we'll be spending many days at the park across the street from us this spring/summer.  Ryder loves the swings and the slides but when we can't make it to the park there's always furry friends in the backyard to play with...

Today Peyton and Dillon came over to visit.  All four dogs had so much fun and when it got too hot we brought out the pool!

I just love this weather.  I've been working out in the garden... hoping to have some flowers to show off pretty soon.  Stay tuned... :o)

Wonderful Weekend!

What a weekend!  Not only was it Easter this weekend but it was also my husband's birthday!  Ryder even made his daddy a birthday card!  Finger paints and a 1 year old... hmm I guess I didn't think this through.  Oh well, it turned out in the end and Ryder hardly ate any paint.  

Ryder showing off his work of art!

Friday night Ryder was lucky enough to have his grandparents babysit him so his mom and dad could go out and celebrate his dad's birthday with friends from out of town.  Apparently Ryder had the best time because the next morning he slept in so late that I had to wake him up so we wouldn't be late for Easter  breakfast at Auntie Arja's and Uncle Paul's.  

At Arja & Paul's dressed in his new Easter vest made by Grandma Tu!

On Sunday the fun just continued with a trip to the park to play on the swings and go down the slide!

You'll likely have to click on the pictures above to enlarge it so you can fully appreciate Ryder's first experience on a swing.  It might look like at first he wasn't enjoying himself but actually the tears were caused by his Daddy taking his sunglasses away from Ryder.  As you can see they were quickly returned and all was well. :)

The slide was by far his favourite!  Every picture I took he had such a big smile!

After lunch Ryder finally found the giant Easter egg the Easter bunny had hid for him!  In the end he only ate a small piece and saved the rest for another day.  The Easter bunny spoiled him this year!  Such a lucky guy.

Hope everyone had a great Easter!  We sure did!  

Good-bye Stroller Blues!

Ryder and I sure love our new (to us) stroller.  Check out these happy baby pics of Ryder in his Peg Perego GT3.  Previously, we had a Valco Baby and there were plenty of things to love about the Valco Baby, but unfortunately our son did not love it.  I only have a few pics of Ryder in the Valco and in those he is always sleeping...

...and you may have noticed the soother in both of those pics.  Problem was he could never get comfortable so he'd cry, I'd give him his soother and eventually he'd fall asleep.  He's a big boy but no matter how I adjusted the straps they always seemed tight on him and really restricted his movement.  The Peg Perego has a special freedom of movement harness that allows the child to move around more in his seat.  Also, the seat seems bigger.  I really love it and Ryder definitely approves!  It's a bit heavier than the Valco Baby and it doesn't fold up as small but it makes up for these shortcomings with easier opening/collapsing, the hand brake, and of course the happy baby factor!  I'm so happy I made the switch.  :o)





My little Sunshine...

 Such a handsome little man.  All dressed up to go to Grandma Tu and Grandpa Don's (Ryder's Great-Grandparents) house today for lunch.  We thought Grandpa Don would really love to see him in his flat cap, but little man's head is too big!  (That's OK because Grandma Tu is going to try and make it bigger by adding some elastic.)  When we got to their house Ryder was feeling pretty good and happily ate a Hob Nob cookie until there were only crumbs left behind.  :)

Grandpa Don told me that when he walks around the house with his walker he always passes the pictures* of Ryder and says, "What a beautiful child."  He said, "Too often we think these things but don't say them."  It definitely got me thinking about what I say and what I don't say.  Thank you for the lesson Grandpa. :)

Unfortunately, Ryder's mood went downhill soon after we arrived.  He had his vaccinations yesterday afternoon and was starting to feel the effects.  His temperature rose and he threw up all his milk.  Poor little dude.  We decided it was best to head back home so he could get some rest.  He's been sleeping now for 4 hours and is just starting to get restless.  I imagine he'll be up any minute and hopefully feeling better. 

*The pictures of Ryder that Grandpa Don was talking about were taken by Eden Lang.  She's an amazing photographer and I absolutely love her work. 



Happy Birthday Dar Williams!

"Time it was I had a dream 

You're the dream come true 

If I had the world to give
I'd give it all to you 



I'll take you to the mountains
I will take you to the sea 

I'll show you how this life became
A miracle to me 



You'll fly away 

But take my hand until that day 

So when they ask how far love goes 

When my job's done 

You'll be the one who knows

"

- The One Who Knows

Happy Birthday to Dar Williams!  My favorite singer/songwriter for over 15 years! 

(I love this song.  I sing it to Ryder all the time.) :o)

 Dar Williams and I at the Calgary Folk Festival!