September overview

Okay, so here's a not so quick overview of what we did/accomplished/enjoyed in September. We started out by going on vacation to Alberta. We drove to Sicamous, BC to visit my sister and her family and then continued on along the Columbia Icefields Parkway to Jasper, AB. What an incredible view! God's majesty and grandeur all around! After Jasper we drove on to Edmonton where we stayed at the Fantasyland Hotel right in the mall. We spent a day at the huge indoor waterpark there. After two nights in Edmonton we drove to Big Valley, AB where we visited the Big Valley Creation Science Museum. There we learned about all kinds of ways that science agrees with the Biblical creation account. It was fascinating! Then back in the vehicles and on to Drumheller! Joshua has been asking to go to Drumheller for YEARS! and he brings in up in conversation several times every single day. To him, this was the 'trip of a lifetime'. He was building it up in his mind so much that we did not dare tell him that that was where we were going, so we kept it a secret up until we saw the sign on the side of the road that said "Drumheller 58km". In Drumheller we saw the Hoodoo's, the Rosedale Suspension Bridge, the World's Tallest Dinosaur (we got to climb up inside it's mouth and view the whole area from way up high), the Royal Tyrell Museum, Horsethief Canyon, the Bleriot Ferry and many other stops and sights along the way. After Drumheller, we made our way to Canmore, which would be our homebase for the week. From Canmore we took several daytrips to Banff, Lake Louise, and the Calgary Zoo. What beautiful country! Then it was back to Sicamous for a night and on to home.
Once back at home, our school year began, with a new schedule on the wall and an excitement about the year ahead (at least I was excited, and I think at least some of the kids were too). I am just loving our new schedule! We are getting so much more accomplished than ever before! Things like reading aloud to the kids (we are currently reading The Last Battle from the Narnia series), baking, spending one-on-one time with each child, and lots of other things too.
My cousin Dan visited from Nova Scotia, so we spent some time with him, mostly playing games (we are definitely a game playing family), but we also spent a day at the GV Zoo. Even though it rained, we had a great time!
September closed out with Christine getting her haircut. She raised over $800 for the Canadian Cancer Society and cut off 14" of hair to be donated to make a wig for someone with cancer.