Yet more Banff photos

These photos are from Johnston Canyone, an easy hike that is right off of the Bow River Parkway (the scenic route to Lake Louise from Banff.) It was one of my favorite hikes. A lot of people only walk to the lower falls, but it was very worth the extra mile or two to get to the upper falls, as you can see from this picture.
I was very impressed by how well Alberta takes care of their National park. The small bit of British Columbia that we went to was not as well maintained, but they had experienced a major forest fire 6 years ago, so that may have screwed things up. In Alberta, though, the trails were very well maintained and most trails were clearly marked.

A few of our pictures from Baff

This is an area literally 5 minutes down some stairs from our hotel. It is called Bow River Falls and it was gorgeous. We later followed the path into town, which was a lovely walk.

This photo is for those of you goofballs who think that my tummy is not growing! "Grover", as we have been calling him since we can't think of a real name, is getting bigger. In fact, according the the baby books, he should be about 12 oz. and 8 inches. We took this picture about 3/4 of the way up to Tunnel Mountain.

Lake Louise had the most serene beautiful turquoise water. I don't love this photo, but it does capture some of the color of the water.

We were lucky enough to stay at the Banff Springs Fairmont, which is like an castle. Everything there was top notch, from the pool, to the service, to Andy's martini at the outdoor bar. Simply the perfect place to stay in Alberta.

Ten years of happiness...

Today is our tenth anniversary. Truly, we have been through it all in the almost 16 years that we have been a couple, and things continue to be wonderful. I feel so lucky.
We went to another National Park yesterday, called Kootneay National Park in British Columbia. The weather was great so we did some hiking on a glacier. Today we are going to go up on the Banff Gondola and to a special dinner at a restaurant called Fuze.

Gorgeous, beautiful Banff...and some good fudge!

Canada appears to be a wonderful place so far. They take excellent care of their parks and the trails are clearly marked. The people are muliticultural, something that probably has to do with being in a resort town (many people are in town just for the summer, I think) and very nice. Everyone seems to love dogs, which I think is awesome, of course. We miss our girls, but realistically, we know that they would not enjoy the hiking and sightseeing. They just don't appreciate mountains and water nearly as much as Hannah Montana and Baby Jenny.
We went on a moderate hike yesterday called Tunnel Mountain here in Banff. Today we picked up our rental car and drove to Lake Louise along the Bow Valley Parkway. Along the way, we stopped at Johnston Falls and made the easy hike up to the upper falls. It was about a 3 mile hike which we almost did not do. I am glad we did because the falls were very dramatic.
Now that I love food again, I have made sure to sample lots of the food here. I got some excellent fudge at one of the chocolate places nearby. Last night we went to a place called The Bison that was highly recommended. Andy and I both liked it quite a bit, especially because it was totally unique to Banff. We have noticed that people here are in some ways like people in Austin. They love organic food, particularly local.

A few photos from San Francisco

Back from California!

I just got in from my trip to San Francisco. It was a nice getaway. We lucked out on the weather, although it was a bit chilly yesterday, the rest of the time was great. I got totally spoiled by the great food there! I am very thankful that I am hungry again because I would have really missed out. :) I am about to go get my girls at school, which I am very excited about. I missed them!

First swimming lessons

Natalie took her first swimming lessons today. She did a great job! Meagan is terribly afraid of swimming, so I wanted to give Natalie a chance to try without Meagan whining or crying. I couldn't believe it- Natalie even went down the slide! She was very proud of herself. The girl that we are taking the lessons from this summer, Tomi, is great. Meagan says that next week she wants to take class with Nati, so we will give it a try!

I am going to have a...

...BOY! Even though we were told at our First screen test that this baby might be a boy, I don't think either Andy nor I really believed it. We are just so used to all girls, all the time. Today, though, we found out for sure. We have no idea what we are going to name this little guy, but we are super excited to meet him. Meagan is thrilled to have a baby brother, but Natalie says it will change to a girl.

We've got Annie!

Last night we went to go see the traveling Broadway production of Annie at the University of Texas. It was so much fun! We went with some friends and as you can see, the kids had a ball. It was a definite big-girl night out. We went out to dinner first, then went to the play. Meagan was transfixed by the whole thing. We didn't get home until 11, and she kept up a smile the entire time. Plus, both girls slept until 8:30 when I woke them up, which was an extra bonus!

Tuesday is a big day

I am so excited for Tuesday when I get to see munchkin number three on ultrasound. We will find out for sure the gender and also make sure that everything is okay.
Andy has been painting all weekend. We selected a gray color that we loved at first, but it ended up looking like a cellar. Therefore, he is currently repainting it "Pumpkin butter", a tanish color. It has some undertones of orange, but subtle.
We are going to see Annie tonight with a bunch of girl friends. Natalie and daddy are staying home, as this is a traveling Broadway production and pretty pricey for Natalie to just hang out in the lobby (hey, I know my kid.) This will be the first night in 9 months where we try to put the girls to bed seperately. Both of them love sharing their room, even though Meagan still calls it her room. They do most things together, but this play ends at 10, so there is no way to keep Nati up that late without mutiny. Hopefully Andy does not have too much trouble. We are excited to go!