Panorama Adventures 2018
This year our Panorama trip was FAST! We left after Brian was done work on Friday and headed towards BC. The forest fires are awful again this year. We were trying our best to make it down through highway 93 which would mean that our trip would be 3 and a half hours total. BUT part way down highway 93, the fires were so bad that they had to close to the highway and send everyone backwards. So instead it took us an extra 2 and a half hours going back and to Golden and then backtracking back to Invermere. It was quite the adventure. Because the kids and I left early to drop off George with my mom and drive to Cochrane to pick up Brian from work, when it was all said and done and we arrived in Panorama, the kids and I were in the car for EIGHT hours. It was a SUPER long drive but the kids did amazing!
We made it to Panorama around 10:15pm and the kids went straight to bed. We all stayed in this corner unit. It was sad this year that Meghan and Steven weren't able to join us and Becky and Ben went the day before us and had to leave Saturday Afternoon so we didn't really get tons of time to play with them but we still made the best of it and had a great time!
Because we got there late on Friday night and we had to all check-out Sunday morning we knew it would be a really short trip so we waisted no time on Saturday exploring as much as we could! Of course, the kids were most excited about swimming so the minute the pools opened, we were there!
Their goggles are killing me, especially Penny's haha.
Brian and his Dad started off this little balancing act with the kids and a few of them gave it a try. Jumping in after was the best part!
I am so grateful for a sister-in-law who carries around her camera as much as I do and takes AMAZING pictures! Im also so grateful that she shares them with me! Thanks Lena for snapping some real gems! Her photos are mixed in with mine so give that girl some credit, she is AMAZING!!
And because Lena and I both take a million pictures (heaven forbid we miss a moment!) the swimming fun does not stop there! I love these memories the kids all get to make as cousins. They are all growing up closely together. I can see their little friendships and how much they love seeing each other and spending time together and it really is such blessing that they get to do that!
After a few hours and COMPLETELY wrinkled fingers, we were all starving and headed back to the condo for some lunch.
Jarren and Lena brought some Oreos for a game for everyone (probably more for hilarious entertainment than anything else!). It was cute seeing all the kids give it a go!
We played in the little courtyard and went for a walk over the bridge and to the tennis courts too.
And I was elated to have a few minutes with just Bentley, by the river. We put our feet in the freezing water and it was so cold that it almost hurt. It was fun to just sit with him and chat for a bit. I cherish these moments.
Brian and Carter came and joined us after too.
We were all so hot after that little walk so we came back and Brian's Dad pulled out some water balloons. Ben and Jarren were the heros who filled them up and carried them back (they were so heavy!) but the kids LOVED every single second of it.... ok, and the adults did too.
Thanks again to Lena for these last few water balloon fight photos!
This is where Ben and Becky headed out on the their drive home. I wished they could have stayed the last night with us, Carter was so happy to be with Marsden, Sawyer and Bentley are so cute together and Penny and Evie were inseparable!
After hot tubbing in the rain and having showers, baths and dinner, we took the kids up to the Candy Cabin for one last treat (they were so loaded in sugar already... why not top them off right before bedtime... thats normal right?!)
And these two ladies right here... they are amazing. Becky and Meghan are too. I love spending time with them and Panorama trips allow for lots of that!
Remember when I said we gave them a bath before walking up the hill to the Candy Cabin... well.. Penny may have had a second bath once we got back.
Brian and I (and our kids) are forever grateful for this tradition. We love that even just for the weekend we could go. Our kids look forward to Panorama every year. Sleepovers with cousins, movies, swimming, exploring and non-stop food and treats really makes Panorama so exciting for them. Thank you Mom & Dad Reed for facilitating another Panorama Trip, for planning it and organizing it. It was so worth the long drive (by the way, highway 93 was open on the way home, yay! so it was much faster to get home although seeing the devastation of the forest was really eye opening and sad). We are so grateful for traditions and for making sure that all the little grandkids grow up together and have that bond for a lifetime!
