Lots of company, May 9-13, 2018

May 9
Knocked off a blog post in the morning before heading to town for a doctor's appointment. Afterwards I met Allan and Denise at the registry office as they bought my car. They gave me a ride home and we were enjoying a coffee and a visit when Dave's bother, John, arrived. John is from Victoria, BC and is a very active squash referee and player. He was in Calgary to ref a tournament so did the 3 hour drive to Edmonton to visit some family for a few days before driving another 3 hours here to visit us. We wrapped up our visit with Denise driving away, smile on her face, in her new ride. I sure hope it continues to be as comfortable, reliable and efficient for her as it was for me. John, Dave and I headed into town for some lunch. 

Osaka, in Bonnyville, has some of the best Sushi I have ever had anywhere. We shared three rolls and it was enough as we were planning a big supper. After lunch we had a nice walk and then hit Sobey's to pick up some groceries. Once home we had a couple adult beverages and began supper prep. The meal was fantastic! Steak, shrimp, baked potatoes and Caesar salad...

and more than one bottle of red wine....oops! ;) Thursday we slept in a little and woke up a bit thirsty. Weird. After breakfast we drove 45 minutes to Cold Lake Provincial Park to do a hike. It was such a beautiful day and we chose a 6.8 kilometre path from the many trail options.

Dave with his knife and the bear spray. The park is known for many bear encounters.

It's called "Cold" Lake for a reason! John, Dave and Margaret waiting for the ice to thaw.

Beautiful trails.

John and I snuggling at the campground amphitheater.  Dave's show wasn't very entertaining...lol

The ice is slowly breaking up.

By now we were pretty hungry so we went into Cold Lake to Mamacita's, as John had never been there (and it is our favourite)

Chicken Tacos...so good!!

Two thumbs up from John, too

Once home the guys went out to look at the back-up camera in our truck. It had fogged over during our trip to the coast in March. We had been told, by various Ram dealers that: the seal might be gone, the entire camera may be broken, it is a warranty item, it is not a warranty item,  $$$ for them to figure out, up to $600 to replace, blah, blah, blah! Dave decided to check it out himself. I started making a pot of beef barley soup from some leftovers and a salad for dinner. Before I barely got started Dave was back. He had the camera out, the seal was broken. He made a couple calls and had a replacement part secured for the next day at a local dealer. "Of course it's covered by warranty" they say. The shop is very busy so it might be a few days before they can install it but they will allow Dave to do it himself. All told it went from a potential two appointment/$600+ deal to costing nothing and 20 minutes of Dave's time. Sheesh! After a small dinner and a nice evening we went to bed early as John is leaving in the morning with a very long drive to Penticton, BC ahead of him.

May 11

Once we got John safely on the road I washed and changed the bedding and cleaned the guest bathroom as Ryan & Ashtyn and Sam & Richard are coming up tonight. Once the house was presentable we did a walk, a bit more polishing on the trailer, grabbed a few supplies from town and then layed down for a short nap. The kids all work today so they won't get out here until 8 pm. That means a late night for all of us, for sure! 

Me, Ashtyn, Sam and Richard enjoying hotdogs and snack around the fire.

The neighbours look hungry too! Seven deer came strolling by.

Evenings are still pretty cold so we let the fire burn down around 9:30pm and headed into the house. We refilled our drinks and set up for a game of Rumoli stopping only for a Fireball shooter and some snacks  in between.

Taken at 12:30. Not quite sure what time we shut it down.

Saturday morning began with a couple pots of coffee. The kids had brought out an amazing assortment of croissants, pastries and scones, fresh strawberries, orange juice etc. It was fantastic!!

Taco, Kirby and Margaret helping Ashtyn and Ryan prep breakfast while Dave supervises.

After breakfast we toured Richard through town (it was his first time here) and stopped for a walk around Jessie Lake.

Richard, Sam, Ashtyn, Ry and me with the scariest pack of dogs ever!

The last stop before heading home was a stop at our local butcher shop, Hamels. The kids make a point of stopping there every time they come to Bonnyville. The sausage and jerky are awesome! I think, as a group, we dropped a couple hundred bucks. So worth it. Back home we BBQ'ed up some burgers, tossed a salad and then poured a beverage and went to enjoy the beautiful weather on the deck.

The kids packed up for their trip back to Edmonton. It was a short but very fun visit, as always. Happy Mothers Day to me :)

Love this gang!!

May 13

Happy Mothers Day to all! After a quick breakfast and some coffee I set out for a walk while Dave had arranged to go for a run with Rachelle. They have both signed up for a 10km race in Edmonton on July 14th so time to get a training session in together.

More than half way done and still smiling!! Keep up the good work.

Around noon Graham and the grandkids arrived from Fort Saskatchewan. Britany stayed home to enjoy her Mothers Day pedicure and ticket to Stars on Ice.

Rylan and Grahams new truck.

My Katelyn

The latest addition to their family, Louie. Margaret is not impressed! Uggghh...puppies!

Graham is taking our quad so he and Dave cleaned it up, installed a new battery and got it up and running while I took the kids to the playground.

We all went in for a late lunch and a visit. The kids played inside for a bit but once Dave and Graham went to load up the quad in their truck they were back outside! They love it at our place as there is such a big yard with hills and animals etc. I think all "city" kids love trips to the country. So much fun watching them get dirty! Love them! Once we had them safely packed up and on their way Dave and I took a drive out to Moose Lake Provincial Park to unwind.

 60K already?

My girl is getting old but I still love her!

There has been lots of company and some good laughs and great meals in the last few days. It's been great. If our house sells things like that will change without the acreage to run around on and rooms for sleepovers. Enjoy it while we have it and we'll figure something out for when we only have our fifth wheel and not much room for company.