A summer of memories….Packed our bags and started the lengthy journey to North America on June 16th. Our flights took us to Korea first where we spent the day sleeping in a day hotel. It was fantastic because getting shut eye all day in an air conditioned room kept us wake for the 13 hour flight to Las Vegas switching our internal time clocks.
Landed in Las Vegas, rented a mini van and showed the kids the strip. It was pretty cool to see Las Vegas through naive eyes. Drove the strip, grabbed our first super expensive meal back in the norther hemisphere and continued on our road trip to Salt Lake City.
…. Chalmers & Salt Lake City….
(We spent a week with our wonderful Aussie friends who moved to Salt Lake City last year. Always amazing hosts and sore cheeks from laughing so much)
(One of the things the kids love to do is get on hockey skates and hit the ice. Salt Lake City has great family rec facilities (obviously) so we had a blast skating around for a few hours. It was fun to show the kids what my winters consisted of…. being a rink rat)
(Bec teaching the kids to make homemade pasta… It was so good!
(Ev’s little foot compared to the T-Rex imprint)
The Mom’s took the kids out one day because the Daddy’s were having man time somewhere in Nevada or something…haha (right guys) So Bec and I took the kids to the Museum, Science theatre ~ all fun places… at least we thought so. Days later Trent and James took the kids out and showed us up by spoiling the kids with other activities and food…
(To the Moon and back kids)
(These five practiced and perfected a magic show that amazed. Here they are after they earned their first dollar off their soon to be traveling show)
(Ev was on the piano all the time. Will be interesting to see what he does with his talent in years to come)
A highlight from Salt Lake we can’t forget was the leisurely river float. I wish I had pictures to show but most of the time we were struggling to keep our heads above water or keep the kids from getting hung up in the over hanging bushes. Like I said it was a memorable day 🙂
… Up to Canada …
… Edmonton …
… Edmonton …
(A great visit with my Gramma and Grampa Galbraith in Edmonton. The kids love spending time with them learning about their lives)
(Spent the afternoon with Brooklynn (my second cousin) stealing hugs and kisses)
(The kids schooling Donny (another cousin) in a game of soccer)
… Uncle Ian and Tammy’s new acreage …
(Love their sign. Makes me think of my Dad)
(My Uncle and Aunt have been taking care of Monty our dog we had for years. Monty has always had a special place in our hearts, we are very appreciative to see him so loved and well taken care of. Monty was a free spirited pup, heading out on his own adventures wondering back days later. Mont had a great life, sadly this summer he passed away at the age of 16yrs. old. Our family is so thankful we were able to see him one more time before he went to doggy heaven)
(Par for Alberta weather it turned very cold and we had to borrow some warm clothes. Here we are with Uncle Ian (my dad’s brother) getting ready to explore their new acreage of 84 acres.
(The boys loved riding around on the quads and mini dirt bikes. It was a blast back to my childhood watching the boys as this was my very first motorbike as a kid)
(Thanks for a great afternoon. Delicious lunch (sorry we were late).
(Eva (a second cousin) just loved having the kids for a visit. It’s wild seeing my cousins having kids of their own)
… BC Time …
(The kids getting a lesson on how to wash a truck at a car wash. No self service car washes where we live)
… Video of the kids Triathlon …
(The kids competed in their first ever Triathlon in Kelowna BC. It was awesome. Press play to see the event. So proud of the kids hard work)
(Brotherly love… My heart beams at how much they love/annoy/tease eachother)
(No place better in the summer than at the lake on a boat 🙂
(When not relaxing on the boat it is time to surf. Trent favorite activity on the water)
(Em joins the fun rocking it out behind the boat surfing to the music)
(One of the best tubing pictures ever! Uncle Ian got this shot of Quintin, Everett and Easton getting some crazy air…. They loved every minute of it)
…Visitors…
We had the Richard family come visit this year. Rob, Tori, Jaymee and Jordyn.
Mom, Bonnie, Troy, Harlow, Keidis, Brayden
Gramma and Grampa Galbraith
Uncle Ian, Tammy and Quintin,
Bec, Georgia and Connor.
(It was nice for Harlow to see her old friends Jaymee and Jordyn… I think we need to get a bigger table for all these growing kids)
(A boat full 🙂
(Always great to spend this special time with my Sista)
(Keidis having a sleepover, until he escaped on me..(cutie) He loves his Uncle Twent)
(All the grandbabies… growing up into amazing young people.
Emma. East. Keidis. Ev. Brayden (with his new cast ~ sorry) and Harlow
(Bonnie is my Dad’s daughter… Great job on packing your truck. Thanks for coming out, it is very special)
(Always an awesome visit with my Uncle Ian, Tammy and Quintin. The kids just love having Quintin come out and it is wonderful they can reconnect each summer)
(The Chalmer kids returned the favor and came up to Canada for a visit. Ev, Georgia and Connor snug up in Ev’s bed)
(Thanks for making the trip up Bec, its always full of laughs)
(Georgia and Everett. Best Buddies, they get on so well, I think finding comfort in each other being expat kids… very sweet)
… Happy 89th Birthday to my Gramma …
(A wonderful family gathering. My Gramma who looks fantastic for 89 celebrated her birthday in the Okanogan surrounded by family. My cousin from Hong Kong with her family, other cousin from Toronto with hubby, their big brother along with his crew plus my Aunty and Uncle from Calgary. We were only missing two cousins plus their loved ones unfortunately from Edmonton but Uncle Ian, Tammy and Quintin were there for them plus Troy & Brayden missed the celebration. It was really nice to have a large Galbraith gathering!
Chris. (Uncle Ray’s Mom) Daniel. Mom. Stephanie. Alisha. Harlow. Sun. Scott. Desmond. Everett. Jody. Talia. Christa. Gramma. Grampa. Bonnie. Keidis. Tammy. Uncle Ian. Aunty Carol. Uncle Ray. Easton. Quintin. Emma. Trent
(One big cake for this crowd)
(Multiple generations… It’s amazing the kids have access to their great grandparents)
(Birthday girl on the water. I have been very blessed with a young active family who never stops. Here my Uncle Ian age 54, Grampa a young 82 and Gramma spunky at 89. Sure glad I have these adventure genes in me)
… Kids Day …
(Kids Day 2012 at Klub Kal. A fun day of face painting, relay’s, activities and the infamous scavenger hunt)
(The theme for this year was Medieval… Ev is ready for a dual)
(My Canadian Boy)
(Amy and Easton, a friendship that started at birth)
(Every one’s favorite event. The HUGE slip and slide)
(Quinton came to join in on the fun in the Teen Challenge. Good sport he was eating all that jello and whip cream for his team… made me sick to watch)
(The kids can’t wait to fill their mouths with some of Mom’s birthday cake)
(Each year Mom gets her birthday celebrated at the lake surrounded by everyone… always loved)
(Practicing my Thai Massage techniques I have picked up on a seasoned critic ~ Grampa Alan… I passed the test..haha ~ I think)
(Oh the stories over the years we could all tell. These wonderful woman have been summering together for 33 years ~ pretty intriguing story)
Jodie. Jackie. Linda. Mom. Bonnie. Jody
… Lake Fun …
(The girls and I out on the water on a perfect morning wake boarding and knee boarding. Love spending time with you chickies) 
(Best Buds since the moment they were born. Avery and Emma ~ love their annual picture!)
(15 years married this year! Loved every part of the journey and can’t wait for more 🙂
(Oh how the kids are growing up ~ the summer family)
Ally. Hillary. Everett. Nickolas. Nolan. Easton. Amy. Avery. Emma
(My budding entrepreneurs. The boys did great this summer selling their Thai goods of funky key chains, fliers, magic wallets)
(My summer buddies. Jodie. Raya. Jackie. Lots of laughs and a few more ticks to go on the KK Bucket list..haha)
(Ice cream, they all scream for an ice cream trip through the canal)
(Ev watching some tennis action)
(Emma and Avery swimming across the bay. They did fantastic, good training for next years triathlon)
… Sock Hop …
(The Sock Hop theme this year was 80’s. It was so fun dressing up and bringing back the neon look. Amy and Emma looked awesome!)
(Em, Trent and Ally getting ready to dance the night away)
(East and Grant, best summer buddies!)
(Another year at the lake babe, the Sock Hop was a great way to end it. Had fun making my hair 80’s big 🙂 … Back to Calgary …
WooHoo Calaway Park. A fantastic day with Bonnie, Harlow and Keidis. The kids out rode us on the rides that’s for sure)
(Everett had to sit a few rides out since he was turning green from riding the Storm ride so many times. Lesson learned I think)
(Thanks to Keidis having a super awesome pass that lets him skip the line with 3 of his buddies, the kids got front of the line of the log ride with in seconds. Poor Keidis though had no idea what to expect as you can see from the look on his face)
(My beautiful sister and I. Love her so much! sniff sniff, a proud big sister)
(A farewell playtime in the park with Trent’s family. The kids have fun playing games with their cousins and seeing how everyone has grown)
(The kids and their Mamma. Such a special bond they have, thanks Mom for always letting us take over your house, your truck and pretty much everything else..haha… You will be very missed)
(Back on a jet plane with my amazing travellers. Trent left to the US before us and the kids and I followed a day after)
… Vegas Baby Vegas …
(Our flight back to Thailand flew out of Las Vegas so we decided to spend a few days playing around before we left. We had a lot of fun hitting the rides, seeing shows, eating some good food and playing around in the pool. It was smoking hot when we were there, 42 degrees most days. It was a good prep for us to get back to Thailand)
(The view of the strip from our room was amazing. The kids spent our evenings before bed staring out looking at the beauty of all the lights)
(This means trouble. The store It’s Sugar was overwhelming with all the cool candy options in there. In Thailand there is not a lot of good candy so this was fun. Even Trent was like a little kid in here ~ see his face)
(Ev is ready to dive into his lollipop 🙂
(All the kids wanted to do was see a show in Vegas, so we decided on the Blue Man Group. What an awesome show!
(To the kids immense excitement we got front row centre poncho seats. We got squirted with water, banana, Trent even had his name come up on the big jumbotron. A great night)
(Sitting in the front row of the show we even got piled on with toilet paper, the boys were buried and we had to dig them out. To much fun and a great way to say goodbye to North America)
We had a fantastic summer in the US and Canada, cherishing our time with loved ones and getting back to our Canadian roots. Thank you to everyone who opened them homes to us, shared a plate of food and had time to chit chat. We always feel overflowing with love.
Back to Thailand where the kids settle into Gr. 7. 5. 3 ~ Love Life <3
Lots of Love
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