O Canada!

Last week, Dallin and I got back from Canada. We went up for a few reasons: one, I have never been to Calgary and haven’t met most of Dallin’s extended family; and two, Dallin’s Grandma and Grandpa Salmon had their 60th wedding anniversary. So, we made the LONG drive up to Canada. We went up with Dallin’s dad , mom , sister (Tara) and her little 19-month-old boy Sam. Sam did great in the car – better than me, anyway. :) Dallin and I stayed with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Cindy, and everyone else stayed with Grandma Palmer – so it was cool to get to see people from both sides of Dallin’s family. We had such a great time and did so much while we were up there. Here are a few pictures of what we did.

On our way into Canada we stopped at this visitor centre (yes, I spelled that right) and took a few pictures. They even had this huge dinosaur (apparently Alberta is a hot spot for fossils) outside that we took pictures with.




Friday we went to the world-famous Calgary Stampede. It was so much fun, there were TONS of people but there was also a lot to do. We had to get a picture of us with our cowboy hats, and also with a Royal Canadian Mountie. We saw a human cannonball (way cooler than we expected), an ice show (with the beloved Canadian ice skating couples from the 2002 Winter Olympics) and a really cool trampoline show. Also, there was a huge building we could walk through and see all of the different animals. Dallin even got to reach his hand INSIDE the back end of a pregnant cow!!! Tara took Sam on some rides, and it was fun watching him. Later that night we went to the chuck wagon races. They were so fun to watch, and we kept betting on which wagon team we thought would win each race. Tara was the best at picking for sure (she married a Kentuckian, so I guess that’s expected). After that, we saw the Grand Stand show – basically a huge, spectacular display of singing, dancing, lights, effects, talents, and fireworks. To be honest, we didn’t really understand the storyline, but they had a ton of really cool acts and the show was amazing.










Saturday was shopping day, and boy did we shop! We bought tons of Canadian candy…SO good!

Sunday we had a great time with Dallin’s extended family. In the evening we went to the 60th anniversary reception for Dallin’s grandparents, and we met a lot of old friends and family.



Monday we went up to Banff. On the way up, we stopped by the construction site for the Calgary temple – that was cool. Banff was awesome, and so beautiful. Sam was making new faces so we had to get those on film. Later that night we went to a family get-together. It was so much fun to see all the family – Dallin’s family is huge! A highlight was getting to hang out with the Salmons’ close friend Bertram (from Nigeria, but has been in Calgary for a long time).









It was a really fun trip. I’m glad we went, even if the drive was long. It was fun to meet and hang out with of Dallin’s family up there, and especially to see Dallin’s “home and native land.” :)

Lord of the Lost Ring

So Dallin lost his wedding ring about a month ago, and we haven’t been able to find it. :) We ordered a new one last week, I picked it up yesterday, and last night I tried to plan a fun night to give it to Dallin. Well, I can’t keep a secret and Dallin always knows when I’m lying. I tried to make the night a fun, FHE night and I was going to take him up to the Y to give it to him there, but it was raining (with lots of lightning) so I decided to take him to the Provo Temple (where he proposed to me). So I proposed to him, on the exact spot where he proposed to me, with his new wedding band. :) He totally knew it was coming (he said he knew it was going down before he even came home from work), but we’re both just happy he has a real wedding ring again. :)

Proud to be an American

I can’t believe 4th of July already came and went! I love July 4th – it is easily one of my favorite holidays. Also, this was Dallin’s first official July 4th as an American citizen! So we were both pretty excited for all the festivities. On that note, I love, love, love fireworks! We had a great holiday weekend, but it was really busy. It started with the balloon festival on Friday morning – 6:30am. After that, Dallin went to work and I went off to play with my mom and sister. Later that night, we went to some 3 vs 3 soccer games; Dallin’s family always has a team in it, and this year it was Chandra, Roland, and Lincoln (and Mitch – he’s pretty much family). It was really fun to watch them play, especially because they won the whole thing! Later that night we went on a double-date with some friends; we went to a dollar movie, and then watched fireworks from the Orem Owlz game. The movie we saw was “Something Borrowed.” It kind of sucked…it had an 18% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and Dallin said afterward that that was way too high. :)










Saturday, we went on a run/walk with Tara and Gary who were visiting from New Mexico for the holiday. I thought it would be a quick little run/walk, but it turned into 3 miles. :) After our walk/run we went to some more soccer games, and then went down town to see the booths and games around the Courthouse. Dallin went to “Transformers” with his brothers and I hung out with the girls. I got this new crackle nail polish…love it! That night we watched the Stadium of Fire fireworks from Dallin’s parents’ house on the roof. It was awesome (great view up there!), and not only did we see those fireworks but watched all of the fireworks from the neighbors. The newly legal fireworks are awesome!

Sunday, Dallin went down early to help save the traditional Salmon spot for the parade, and thanks to him and Lincoln we got the same, awesome spot that the Salmons have claimed for over 10 years! Lincoln (and some other 6th Ward kids) spent the night to make sure we kept the spot. Monday came around and we got up early again for the Freedom Festival 5k run. Dallin, me, Dallin’s sister and her husband, my sister, mom and niece all ran the 5k. My dad and brother-in-law ran the 10k. I didn’t do as bad as I thought, thanks to Dallin staying with me and pushing me the whole time (he busted it for the final ½ mile). Then we went down to enjoy the parade, which was fun with all of our family, especially all the nieces and nephews. Afterward, we had a BBQ with my family which was really fun just hanging out and eating. Then after that we took off up to Park City to hang out with the Salmons. Ross and Karen got this really nice suite and we sat around, had dinner, and finished the night with a bunch of rounds of Werewolf (the Salmons’ new favorite game). It was a great (and very busy!) 4th of July weekend. If reading through that seemed hectically busy, imagine living it – needless to say, although the weekend was a blast, Dallin and I are just happy to have some alone time this week. :)