Fairmont 2017
Each family had a bedroom and there was tons of space to hangout. Mom & Dad organized amazing meals and snacks.. seriously, I think I overate to the MAX there! We hiked, swam and adventured the whole time we were there. The weather was INSANE.. 37 degrees and it was sweltering! Luckily, we had AirConditioning in the house so we all slept great and got away from the heat for a bit when we could.
We headed out to Fairmont on Thursday when Brian was done work. Carter, Bentley and Penny were over the moon excited and had been counting down sleeps for the last month. It could not come fast enough for them! It was a late night of settling in, playing with cousins and checking everything out! Friday morning we all got up and hiked up to the fairmont hot springs. It was a pretty hike BUT... the mosquitos were HORRIFIC!!!! Im sure I got 30 bites in the 20 minute hike there. It was awful! It made it hard to enjoy the view because we were instantly all just trying to rush and begging the kids to run up the hill so we didn't get eaten alive by those blood sucking bugs!
Once we got up there it was GO GO GO! Thank Heavens Mom & Dad bought these shade tents to bring with us because it was so hot and nearly unbearable.
Bentley was so proud that he figured out how to swim underwater by himself.
We stayed at the pool for most of the day. A couple of us ran back down the hill to get the cars and lunch for everyone. Not having to hike "mosquito trail" with the kids a second time was good.
The rest of the afternoon and evening was for biking around and playing games with little water balloons!
I love how great all the cousins get along. No fighting at all this weekend, just pure bliss and fun! How lucky is that! Not to mention we have the cutest little nieces and nephews around.. I mean, just look at this little guy!
The water balloons were a GREAT idea! It was so hot outside so getting cooled off with water balloons was awesome!
(Thanks to my 6 year old photographer, Carter, for snapping this shot!)
It was so nice as well at the end of the day to put all the kids to bed and all the adults got to hang out and chat. This never happens so it was a wonderful evening spent!
Saturday morning we decided (before the weather got too hot) to go do to Hoodoo Hike that was nearby. This time, we all completely covered ourselves in bug spray and Im not sure if there were just a ton less mosquitoes or the bug spray really worked but it was much more enjoyable for sure!
Bentley and Marsden had been using Grandpa's two way radios for most of the hike and although it was a little distracting and we kept having to remind them to "keep walking" they had a BLAST with it.
When we got to the top we quickly realized that the hike trail actually puts you right on top of the hoodoos.. so you cant really see anything lol we were kind of all expecting to hike up to them but not on top of them.. Carter send it best when he asked Brian and I "did we really just do all of that... for this".... HAHAhahaha! yes buddy.. I guess we did! It was fun though and a good experience. Im glad we went!
(Thanks again to Carter for taking this next adult shot!)
(Man, this guy is a STUD! Best hiking partner out there!)
Pizza was ordered for lunch back at the house and we all surprised Dad with a birthday Cake and 56 candles since his birthday is today!
The kids each made him little paper cards and he was so sweet giving each little grandkid special attention and a kiss after he read each individual one. They LOVED this part with Grandpa!
After lunch we packed back up and headed out to Lake Windermere and I am so glad we did because it was beautiful and fun!
We were there for a few hours. The water was PERFECT! Cool and soooo refreshing! Thankfully I had a few little ones willing to come swim with me! We went back to the house for a BBQ for dinner and of course the kids requested more water balloons. This time, a full on water flight happened and it was AMAZING!
Since we were headed home early the next morning, we put the kids to bed (after a hot and intense bike riding session of course lol) and packed up a bit. We even did the mosquito trail (half way) one more time just to sit in the natural falls pools. It was so beautiful! We were thankful Dad came with us to snap a few shots!
It really has been such a fun weekend and we cannot thank Mom and Dad Reed enough for everything they did to make it happen! It did not go unnoticed or under appreciated. We will always be forever grateful for the fun memories we get to make every year as a family. For cousins who get to grow up and grow close together.
We are lucky to belong to such a wonderful family! Until next year, its been a slice!