My favorite picture of the week...

Jesse was leaning up against the grill around the firebox...it just makes me smile every time I see this picture! (Melissa, what does this remind you of??)

Anyway, we have had a busy week. On Saturday, Mike and I got to leave the kids here with John and Brenda, and we traveled out to Banff for the afternoon to celebrate our fifth anniversary (which actually isn't until the 10th). We ate at Melissa's Bar & Grill, which was one of the places we ate on our honeymoon. Then we bought some fudge from the Gondola gift shop. And, then we drove out to Morraine Lake and spent some time canoeing. I love that lake, it is so pretty. It was a good day and we enjoyed the time together.

We have had some special friends visiting here in Calgary. Alex and Natasha, and their two girls Yulia and Marina, were in town. They used to live here a couple of years ago (originally from Russia). Then they moved to Holland, and just recently moved to Australia. They have hopes of moving back to Canada in a couple more years. They are such wonderful people. Back when they lived in Calgary, they invited us (John, Brenda, Dan, Mike and I) over for dinner. Natasha cooked us a Russian meal, and it was delicious. That was the first time I had ever put sour cream in my soup, but it tasted great! So, last night, Natasha came and prepared another meal for us to enjoy. We had the same soup (tasted just as great as I remembered) and a yummy salad. Jesse loved the food, but I think he liked playing with the girls even more! Yulia is such a smart little girl. I think she is 7, and she already speaks several languages. When she speaks English she almost sounds British. I listened in on part of a conversation she was having with John, and she was explaining about why it was hotter closer to the equator, and why the bigger the city the hotter it was...she knew all sorts of stuff I'm pretty sure I didn't know when I was 7!! Anyway, it was fun to have them around.

So it's almost time for us to leave Calgary. On Saturday we head for Bengough. We have to be back in Abilene on the 19th, so we will only be in Bengough for a few days. I sure am looking forward to seeing all the family there again one more time before we head south.