The Tans will Fade but the Memories will Last FOREVER

I headed down to Southern Alberta on Sunday and after a lovely dinner in Calgary with my mom and sister I got to Raymond without wanting to give my child away. On Monday and Tuesday was Brooke's high school graduation. We made it through both days without too many meltdowns and without melting in the heat of the high school gym...anyone ever heard of air conditioning?? Brooke looked beautiful and graduated with the gold braids! We are so proud of her and wish that Tyler could have been there to see her. I'm so lucky that Tyler has a sister that I get along with and love. She is the best aunt to Quinny and so fun and easy to be around. We are so excited that she will be moving up to Edmonton in the fall to take Nursing (yay for free babysitting!) and can't wait to have her closer!

Way to go Brookie!

Seriously gorgeous right?

Love.

Tyler finally arrived on Tuesday night after finishing his exams (which he passed!!!) and somewhere in there we celebrated our 5th anniversary. Go US! I posted about it below and then on Thursday we got to skip out of the June 30th program!! and instead had a Dudley family reunion sort of deal at Grandma & Grandpas complete with a geneaological play, food, dancing, a fire, a program and lots of family. Susie put on a lovely performance of Leroy Brown and the Dudley brothers "Thank God I'm a Country Boy".

The man who started it all

The stars of the play

Dancing

Susie

Love those eyes.

The Dudley family has many and I mean many traditions when it comes to July 1st. During this part of the trip I adopted the saying "I'm just along for the ride" I chose to just go with the flow (which is new for me) and I actually really enjoyed it. On the morning of the first we had breakfast and family pictures...(always an adventure) at Grandma Dudley's before the parade. This year Grandma made us 50/50 shirts because her and Grandpa have been married for 50 years and including all marry ins, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and children they have 50 people in their family. Crazy right? I mean how often does that happen? Then we headed over to watch the parade in front of the museum. I asked again why we don't sit 1 house over from Grandma's on the corner and enjoy the parade close to home and for the 5th year in a row I was quickly informed that the parade is not the same there and can only properly be enjoyed on mainstreet. So to mainstreet we went and enjoyed a very Raymond parade complete with Grandpa Dudley's chariot and plenty of double bubble (that I had to fight Kara for!). Quinny of course loved all the action and the attention she got at the parade.

Some of the 50.

Happy Canada Day!

Quinny & Cousin Nick

At the parade

Love her.

Just waking up from a nap

The chariot

After the parade and lunch at Grandma Nicki's house with the Smiths we headed over to the rodeo to watch Grandpa Dudley & Kevin rope. It was sweltering and every year I wonder why we can't sit under the covered grandstand and every year I'm told that this is where the Dudleys always sit and to not mess with tradition. Kev caught his calf and didn't lose anymore digits during team roping so overall the Raymond Stampede was a success. We enjoyed the rest of July 1st with some swimming, visiting, and more food. We opted for bed over the "awesome" Raymond fireworks and feel great about that decision.

On Saturday morning Tyler and I (and half the Dudley family) ran the town 10 km race. We both finished faster than our goal times and were pretty proud of ourselves. Next up...a half marathon....As I crossed the finish line literally the first thought that crossed my mind was how on earth am I going to do double this!?!

The runners

The boys

We headed over to Waterton on Sunday and stayed there for a few days. We set up camp, wandered the townsite and tried to avoid the wind and mosquitoes. We were super lucky because the weather was actually gorgeous while we were there. Sunny and warm with minimal wind. Highlights of the trip include Grandma Dudley winning a serious game of Farkle, Kevin grabbing the deer by the horns, golfing, eating Big Scoop, attempting to sleep in a tent with a 6 month old, hiking, and hanging out with family. This was probably the most fun I have had in Waterton and it is actually kind of growing on me. I'll probably never love it quite like the Dudley family does (it is no Fairmont) but I'm definitely not hating it...

At the trailer

A perfect picture of Grandma

Family.

Tyler rocking the Mustang

At the start of the hike

Look at that form...

Seriously he rocks

It was great to be there and spend time with family but nothing is better than my own bed and Quinny in her crib after a long vacation. So nice to be home.