Grammie and Grandpa Come To Town

For Craig's baptism and all just to see our family for the first time in a couple of years (except, of course me. Yay, Italy!), my parents came to visit us in February.

Of course, Craig's baptism was an important part of their trip, but it wasn't the only part.

Our big outing was going to Jasper. We had the kiddos and Kyler take a day off midweek and went to visit Jasper for the day! 

I had never been to Jasper in the winter, and my parents hadn't really been to Jasper at all. It was great, and surprisingly warm. I think the high was something close to 10 C / 50 F, which for Jasper in February felt pretty amazing!

We grabbed lunch at A&W 

and then checked out the town a bit.

Following that, we put traction on our shoes and went to Pyramid Lake. Getting traction of some kind was a requirement for me when planning the trip, and it came in handy. No one except Kyler fell, and he didn't have anything (because he only decided the night before he could take the day off work). 

The rest of us with our ice cleats and things were successfully able to navigate the pathways. Yay!

Mom and Dad, Pyramid Island, Pyramid Lake, and part of Pyramid Mountain!

Pyramid Lake itself was frozen, so once we got to Pyramid Island, we let the kiddos walk out on it a tiny bit. 

They had fun, though I don't think they all realized at first they were on the water of the lake. 

We also checked out Athabasca Falls. I knew, in theory, they'd be frozen, but it was still so strange for me to see them. 

Also to hear them. Usually the falls are near-deafening, but with most of the water frozen, the sound of the flow was much quieter. Very different than I'm used to!

The kiddos spent quite a bit of time throwing snow from the side of the path into the moving parts of the river.

And I hit this tree 

(the sideways one) with a snowball several times! Go me!

All in all, a pretty good winter day in Jasper!

We also did a lot of random little things. Like...

Dad helped me tackle the ice that's been plaguing my sidewalk because of the freeze/thaw cycles.

Thanks, Dad!

We spent a lot of time just hanging out, 

giggling 

and cuddling.

Cuddling with Grammie is one of Caleb's favorite things.

Mom and Dad got to watch Calista curl

And we took a visit to the zoo.

The goat at the zoo liked Mom.

But Calista was rather unsure of the peacock's intentions...

And, I mean, who can blame her?

Calista also got the chance to interview Grammie. 

Questions include what I was like as a child, memories of Grammie's grandmas, and what living in California and Alaska was like.

I loved having my parents visit - and having them close enough to be able to visit. Like, on the same continent! Thanks for coming up and braving the Canada winter, Mom and Dad. Definitely worth it!