Our Summer Holiday

For our holiday this year we decided to go back up north to Fort Nelson. We were anxious to go camping at all our old favourite spots. We left as soon as Bill was done work on a Thursday and

headed for Fort St. John- and the Walmart parking lot! We were officially on holidays for 2 weeks- and we all know you can't have a holiday without the traditional night in the Walmart parking lot! (haha) We didn't care- Bill's phone was off and he was away from work! We chose to stay overnight in FSJ because we had to get fishing licences before we continued on up to Siikani River Campground.

We spent the weekend there with some friends and enjoyed hiking to the Siikani Falls, picking wild strawberries, trying to fish in the muddy river, making mud pies and other creations on the river bank, and having mud fights (the girls, of course). The kids had a blast making there own little fires on the shores of the river. It was a wonderful start to our holiday.

Ainsley's Hand

Dakota's Hand

Mckenna's Hand

One of my favourite pictures on our hike.

After the weekend, we then headed on up to Fort Nelson. We spent a couple days there, visitng with some friends, but mostly letting the girls spend time with their little buddies. Mckenna hooked up with Abigail and they were inseperable, and Ainsley and Dakota were with Kyla and Alyssa. Ainsley also got to see Paulina and Dakota got to see her two friends named Paige.

We then headed off to Muncho Lake, and as always, enjoyed the drive seeing the mountains and all the animals.

Our friends Melissa and Brad and their two kids met us for a relaxing 5 days. It only rained once which kept us in the trailer, but we really couldn't complain...we were in the mountains! Brad and Bill fished one night until the we

e hours and got all kinds of fish. The fishing really got good around 1:00 am. They kept three and we cooked them up a day later- they were pretty tasty.

We went up to the Liard Hot Springs for a swim. The girls enjoyed seeing their log again and had fun slipping off of it into the water. This time we also went up to the upper pool and the girls had fun swimming there as well. Most of the time it is closed because of bear sightings, but it was open, and we weren't sure when we would be back again, so we let them have a dip.

One day, we hiked up a wash, hoping to see some sheep hanging out on the mountain side, but the only thing we saw was the beautiful scenery. The girls hiked like troopers in their rubber boots and had fun. We filled an empty water bottle with some fresh, clean, cold mountain spring water. It tasted pretty good. I think the bottle of Muncho Water is still in my fridge. It was quite windy, but we really enjoyed exploring the area and checking out the rocks. I think our round trip was 5kms. Before we left, when we were telling the girls what the plan was, Dakota says, "What's with all these hikes?" We said, "Now that y

ou guys are old enough, it's kinda fun to check out na

ture and see some interesting things." I think the answer satisfied her.

One day the adults convinced the girls to go for a swim in the lake...freezing! They were brave and actually lasted longer than we thought they would! The worst part for them was putting their heads under the water, but I think they all eventually did. Brave girls!

We drove to the lodge one day for ice and decided to keep driving to our favourite sheep spot. There weren't any on the road, but we did see some on the mountain side. We were able to pull over and actually watch them for a bit and eventually one came down right in front of our truck. The girls really enjoy seeing them and checking out their weird yellow eyes.

It was so wonderful to go to Muncho again to relax and enjoy the mountains with good company.

Moose Jaw, or Bust!

Bill's Great Aunt and Uncle (Bill and Evelyn Gilmour) were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on their farm in Moose Jaw, so we decided to attend the festivities.

It was a long drive, but we were very glad that we made the trip. It meant so much to Bill's Auntie Evelyn that so many of us came from her side of the family. It was wonderful to see and meet so many other Wolstenholmes. The kids thought it was neat that there were other kids and adults with Wolstenholme as their last name.

We enjoyed visiting with everyone and exploring Moose Jaw and area. We took Avery and London with us, as Geo and Jenn had to go to the States with Taylor. They were worried that it would be a lot of work for us, but with 3 girls fighting over them, and Bran and Cole and Gord and Pen helping too, it was a breeze. We were able to get some cute pictures of all the grandkids!

(I can not seem to figure out how to move the pictures past each other! Grr! Technology...anyway, the pictures are not where I wanted them, but they are here, nonetheless!)

Soccer, Soccer

All three girls played outdoor soccer this season, instead of swimming. That was quite an adjustment for me, but just as busy! As well as rec league soccer, Ainsley and Dakota played Wolves soccer, so there were lots of practices and a few tournaments too. In July, Mckenna was asked to play with the Wolves team in her age group. She was able to play with them until we left on holidays.

In early July, Ainsley and Mckenna both had a tournament in Red Deer. Bill had to work, so the girls and I were off. We stayed with Shan and Kel, and had a wonderful visit with them and their girls. It was nice to spend some time with them; that hasn't happened for a long time. I really appreciate them opening their home to 4 girls (Ainsley's friend Jenna came with us for the weekend), 1 tired mom, and the smelly soccer gear! Gord and Pen came up early Saturday morning, watched the games, and left Sunday afternoon. They were a huge help with taking either Ains and Jenna, or Mckenna to games. I appreciated their help, and the girls were excited that they were there to watch them.

Ainsley and Mckenna played hard and Mckenna's team fought hard and won the bronze!

Here are some various soccer pictures from the season!

Mckenna Goes to Camp!

At the end of Grade 6, Mckenna got to go with the rest of the Grade 6's to Crimson Lake ( down by Rocky Mountain House) for a 3 day campout. I was fortunate enough to go along as the third teacher! It took Mckenna some time to get used to the fact that I was going, but in the end she was OK with it.

When they were at Crimson Lake, they got to stay in cabins and participated in a variety of activities. (oh how that sounds like a teacher who just finished report cards!) Mckenna had a blast canoeing and swimming in the lake. She got to work with her own horse and go for a short trail ride- due to the thunder showers. She was mostly looking forward to the Archery and Rock Climbing activities, but those were rained out. She had many laughs with her friends, and they enjoyed hanging out together during their down time. It was so wonderful to be there and watch her constantly smiling!

The biggest smile I saw was when she came back from horseback riding. You can see in the photos that when she was first assigned to the horse, she was nervous and unsure. She was brave, and should be so proud of herself for getting on the horse and riding!

I am so thankful that I got to be a part of such a wonderful experience with Kenna!