Ramen and Pool Day (Aug.1, 2026)

Jason headed out early this morning for a run.

I stayed with the kiddos and visited and worked on my puzzle.

When Jason got back, we decided to go and get something to eat.

There was this big balloon dog that Eden was fascinated by.

Jason found this ramen spot near where we were staying that had good reviews.

They had Tan Tan Ramen so that's what I had and Jason had the black tonkotsu.

Freya had ramen too and we got chicken for Eden.

I think the drink was her favorite though.

Spilled some.

They had a kids meal option which was great - I've never seen that before at a ramen spot.

The ramen was really good, I'd go there again for sure.

On the way back to the car, Freya stopped at the balloon dog for a photo.

Jason put them up on the dog too - they loved that!

Eden didn't want to get down.

She would have stayed up there all afternoon if we'd let her.

Just checking stuff out.

 

It was a gorgeous day out a bunch of us decided to go to this outdoor wading pool kind of in the north side of Calgary,

It was packed with people and it took a long time to find a place to park but eventually we did.

Living her best life!

It was a huge area and it was shallow, about up to my knee.

Perfect for the kids and for us to sit in and stay cool.

Jason.

Crystal, Freya and Eden.

Even though there were tons of people there, we didn't feel crowded.

The park area was close to the airport so planes were going by constantly to Eden's delight.

I wish we had something like this nearby.

Gorgeous smile on a gorgeous girl.

Coolest Papa at the pool (in my opinion).

Kalem and Whitney.

Freya is so good with Whitney.

Hunter came with us.

Whitney just loves her Uncle Hunter.

The girls are always so happy when they get the chance to hang out with Hunter.

They all love him.

Morgan and I.

Eden playing dead.

We always tease and say the only way to know for sure she's really dead is if her tongue is sticking out so then she'll immediately stick her tongue out.

Whitney was enjoying herself.

Oh, her tongue is hanging out, that's a sure sign that she dead.

I love having the family together for events like this.

Zepplyn.

There was a nice park there too that the kids spent some time at after they finished in the water.

Back at the house we got to work on another puzzle.

Jen made sure to take a picture with me in it.

We just spent the rest of the night visiting and working on the puzzle together.

I did not make my step count.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

Thrift Shopping in Calgary (July 31, 2026)

I love Fridays but I love Happy Fridays in the summer even more.

I got up this morning, got ready then walked over and got myself a matcha latte and some stuffed bagel bites for breakfast from Starbucks. 

Then I walked down by the river and found a nice spot to sit and enjoy the scenery while I ate.

I checked out just after 10 then I couldn't get into our VRBO for the night until 4 pm so I decided to check out some second hand stores.

I was on the hunt for some shelves for Morgan, craft supplies and then of course, puzzles.

I went to this Veteran's Association Thrift shop, picked up a few things and at the checkout found out that everything was 50% off today.

So I took my stuff to the truck then headed back in for another round and found a few more things.

I hit up a Goodwill and then also made stops at Homesense and Winners.

I didn't buy a whole lot, I got a few puzzles, shelves for Morgan, a bit of craft stuff then a couple tops for myself at Winners.

I had made my way over towards our rental which was way in the South side of Calgary.

I stopped in at Walmart and got a few groceries for our stay.

Then I went to this spot called Lara's Kitchen for a chicken shwararma.

It took about a half hour for them to make it so it was 4 by then and I was able to head over to the house.

Randy, Crystal and Zepplyn beat me there, they were in Waterton for the last few days.

It was going to be awhile before everyone else arrived so I sat down and did one of the puzzles I'd picked up today.

It was this 500 piece one with all these dogs on it.

The color blocks made it really easy to do.

I had it knocked out in and hour and a half or so.

Morgan, Kalem and Whitney arrived next.

Jason, Rob and the girls ended up arriving around 7.

I was so happy to see them.

Mom and Jen were closer to 9 when they arrived then Adrien, Alivia and Hunter were much later.

Alivia had to work tonight so they couldn't leave until she finished her shift at 9 pm.

We all just hung out and chatted and snacked on goodies.

It was so nice to see everyone.

I do feel bad that Kody wasn't here.

Next time.

Reached my step goal.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!

Waste of a Lovely Evening (July 30, 2026)

 I had previously considered taking today off but since Jason and the girls didn't end up coming with me, I decided to save the vacation day and work.

I had to do payroll anyway.

My co-worker Christian allowed me to use his office as he was off today and just look at the fabulous view he has.

I sent the picture to Jason so he reciprocated with a picture of his current fabulous view with this note:

Ha ha ha.

He can always crack me up.

I got to spend some one on one time with Alicia today and we chatted about a bunch of stuff.

It was nice.

I worked all day without anything at all to eat so by 3:30 I was starving so I headed out for the day.

There was a restaurant in the hotel called Flower and Wolf that had outdoor seating so I decided to eat there.

 I love eating outdoors when it's nice out.

I had brussels sprouts to start.

Then I had a kale Caesar salad with grilled chicken.

It was pretty good.

I went back to the room to deal with a few payroll issues.

It was another nice evening out and I had planned on maybe hitting up the pool at the hotel or going out for a walk but ended up staying in all evening.

I was texting Kody to see if he was going to let the girls come and he was taking forever to get back to me and so I was thinking the worst and that he wouldn't let them come.

Things really aren't back to normal since the fight and I hate it.

I know it will eventually but in the meantime it really stresses me out and I just feel bad and like I don't know what to do with myself.

In the end, he did agree to them coming and I'm happy about that.

I know the girls would have been so disappointed if they'd missed out on a visit with Hunter.

I chatted with Jason for an hour or and really spent most of the evening playing games on my tablet.

Kind of a waste of a lovely night really but it's what I needed I guess.

I didn't get anywhere near my step count goal for the day.

That's all, until next time, be happy!

Summer Evening in Calgary (July 29, 2026)

I was up early this morning because I have to drive to Calgary and I needed to be there for 1 pm.

I wanted to leave by 7 am, it was 7:10 when I left so not too bad.

I listened to the new book the whole way, Stranger in the Mirror. 

It's ok, I sampled a few but none of them really peaked my interest.

This one is just ok but it was also free so I decided to give it a chance and so far, so good.

I made it Calgary at 12:45, found a spot to park then found my way to the office.

Our head office moved to a new building since the last time I was here.

It wasn't too difficult to find but it was still a little after 1 when I got to the meeting - there were having technical difficulties so hadn't started so it was all good.

We finished up our meetings at 3:30 then we presented Pam with a going away gift.

I think she was happy and felt how much we appreciated her.

Afterwards we all went out to dinner together to celebrate Pam.

We went to The Keg.

There was Jason, Christian, Pam, Alicia, Colleen, Queenie and myself.

We sat and chatted and visited for a couple hours, it was really nice.

They all work here in Calgary so I don't have a chance to see them in person often.

I had the salmon and garlic mashed potatoes for supper, yummy.

Afterwards, I went and checked into my hotel.

They put me up at the Sheraton.

It's a nice hotel.

It's right by the river and there are nice walking trails all along the river and it was a gorgeous evening so I decided to go out for a walk.

There is a nice playground right outside the hotel for the kids with an awesome climbing structure.

Then a little further down, there is this area where cool mist comes out of the ground.

What a great place to run through if you were out for a run and needed a quick cool down.

It was such a nice evening and there were tons of people out and about.

This is the Bow river and it's glacial water so it has the cool icy blue color which is so pretty.

It runs all right along the edge of the downtown, they are so lucky to have a space like this.

The sky was looking gorgeous.

You can kind of see the blue color of the water.

Just a little scenic moment.

It was such a lovely evening.

There were these giant pots of flowers all over in full bloom.

I just love them.

Another scenic little area.

There was this platform/dock kind of area full of people.

There was music playing and they were all dancing.

What a fun thing to do.

I walked over to the bridge behind them and watched for a bit.

There were a lot of people there.

Nice way to spend and evening.

Dancing by the Bow River.

I went one way on the trail but it goes all along the river in the opposite direction as well.

I must have walked for about and hour or so and I think I pretty much talked to Jason the whole time.

I really enjoyed it.

Heading back to the hotel.

I spent the rest of the evening doing a blogging and watching some YouTube then heading to bed.

I've been trying to remember to take my Progesterone lately because I find it really helps me to sleep.

Reached my step goal.

That's all for today, until next time, be happy!