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.” :)
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. :)
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. :)
Our niece Melanee is staying with us while her parents are on a trip. Well, she loves going to Orem’s Summerfest so we had to make it happen. She loves the rides, parade, and booths. She also loves playing with Haley, so when we were going to the carnival we also picked up Haley (and of course we couldn’t leave Brynlee out!). So we took the girls to enjoy some of the rides and the fest. The girls loved the rides, and I even went on my first ferris wheel! It was really fun, and we got to enjoy the parade and fireworks the next day. Melanee even got a feather extension in her hair at one of the booths . . . which she talked me into doing too. :) It was fun going to Summerfest, but mostly fun just hanging out with our nieces.
This last month has been crazy with a LOT of family stuff going on. We’ve loved every minute of it, but it certainly keeps us on our toes.
The fun all started with my birthday (of course)! I really have the best husband and family ever. So, Dallin had a business trip planned to leave to Dallas/Kansas City on May 24-26. My birthday is May 25, so he would miss my birthday completely. Needless to say, I was really bumbed about not spending my birthday with my husband (it didn’t help that he was gone for Valentine’s Day this year too!). Dallin felt really bad about leaving, so he made lots of plans to keep me busy and feeling loved. :) Also, my sweet grandma didn’t want me to be home alone so she came to stay with my parents to make sure I had someone to be with.
So the morning of May 24 (day before my birthday), while I was getting ready for work, Dallin was finishing packing for his trip. We kissed goodbye, I went to work, and Dallin left for work (he was driving himself to the airport around noon). I was sad all day at work knowing he’d be leaving for a few days – I really HATE when he has to travel. Anyway, it didn’t help when Dallin called me at work as he was driving to the airport. Then, 10 minutes later his little brother (Lincoln) showed up with 2 dozen roses! I was happy, but also really sad – I already missed him a ton. Right after work (around 5:30pm), I drove straight to the salon where I met my mom and grandama – Dallin had arranged for us to go get pedicures together! :) I got my toes done and it felt so good, I loved every minute of it.
Leaving the salon, my mom asked me to take my grandma home so my mom could stop and get some dinner for us. I said ok, but thought it was kind of weird because she was so pushy about it. (Side note: my grandma had shingles like 8 months ago and she still has some days were she has muscle aches.) So, while getting in the car, she told me that today she was really hurting and I had to take it easy, drive slowly, and help her in the house when we got home. Fine by me, I didn’t know anything different. Anyway, we pulled up to the house, got out, and I helped my grandma to the house (through the front door). To my complete surprise, when I opened the door I heard a loud “SURPRISE” and I saw my family (Mom, Dad, Ryan, Amber, Alyssa, Justin, Mindee, Melanee, Tervor) and Dallin’s family (Ross, Karen, Jason, Shannon, Haley, Brynlee, Ryan, Jessica, Mady, Austin, Mia, Brandon, Stephanie, Mckinley, Jordan, Annie, Chandra, Lincoln) all standing in the front entrance with balloons, party stuff, etc. To say the least, it was a pretty overwhelming. My first thought was how great it was for Dallin to arrange for all of this, but it made me miss him even more. Then, all of the sudden Dallin came around the corner! (Another side note: I guess people were betting how long it would take me to cry at this point…well, it didn’t take long) I was totally blown away. I guess Dallin’s trip got canceled like two weeks ago and he never told me – he just started planning this whole day out! He was a little scared I’d be mad, but I was so happy. I have the best husband in the world. The best part of the day was to have him there with me, and then have him for my whole birthday. It was awesome!!!
That following Thursday we had a very special day – Lincoln’s graduation from high school! (I was actually sad for Dallin that he was going to “miss” Lincoln’s graduation, as well as my birthday. He pretended to be sad about that for weeks too! Very sneaky.) Anyway, Lincoln is such a great kid; I really hope I have sons just like him (Lincoln, I know you don’t read blogs, but that’s a compliment!). He’s such a hard worker and really smart and talented. He’s going to BYU, and he’ll be working with the football team filming their practices and games. The graduation was pretty fun (air horns and bouncy balls kept things interesting), and it was great being there to support Lincoln.
That Sunday, we left for a family trip to Vegas! The whole trip was so fun, we got to stay at a very nice resort and have a full week of relaxation and fun with the family. We walked the strip (a few times), saw Phantom of the Opera, went on the roller-coaster at New York, New York, did shopping, swimming, reading, and tons of other stuff. We also got to hang out with Dallin’s aunt and uncle who live down there, and Dallin’s cousin fixes and manages private jets, so one night we got to go see one and take tons of pictures in/of it. On Saturday, Dallin and I got a really fun treat – we had some really good friends (Richard and Jenn) make the drive up all the way from California just to come hang out for the day! Richard went to BYU and was in the Marriott School with Dallin, so they took basically all the exact same classes for almost 2 years. Anyway, it was so great that they would drive all the way up to see us, plus we got to meet their super cute little girl Peyton. She was so much fun to play with, but she wasn’t so sure about Dallin (I don’t think his vacation beard was very helpful) so she would only let me hold her. So Vegas was great – we had a lot of fun doing so many things, but mostly just hanging out with the family.
