Jasper Adventures: part 1

Two weekends ago we headed to Jasper for a weekend away. We lucked out and had the nicest weather in all of Alberta we stayed out at Pyramid Lake, which is so gorgeous! We were there for the beginning of Jasper in January and their Winterstruck festival out at Pyramid Lake. There was ice skating, snowshoeing, fires, maple taffy in snow & dog sleds.  We tried to get in on all the action.  

Anna's second time out on skates and she did fabulously!

 I only lasted about 10 minutes compared to her  hour.

 

It was a dream / bucket list to go dog sledding and it was amazing to finally make it happen. 

It was magic!

 

All of it. Magic.

California Adventure: part 3

We started day 3 in Disneyland and immediately went to meet Mickey & Minnie. By mid day on Day one we realized that the Characters were always in the same spot day in and day out and if I actually read the map it says where Characters will be right on it and what times they go there. You won't know who but it will always be someone wonderful.

Meeting Minnie was pretty exciting for Anna.

Then came Mickey and I captured this AWESOME expression! 

The Best!

She also met Chip & Dale and Goofy- who was just that- completely goofy. He signed his name on the back of his head and Anna still talks about how "crazy" that was.

We headed over to Pixie Hallow to meet Tinkerbell. Sometimes you think "What is taking so long?" when you're waiting in line but then when you get in there and realize it takes a little bit longer because these characters spend actual time with each kid- this makes me so happy. Tinkerbell was teaching Anna how to fly as we were heading to the Dumbo ride next. So great.

 

After we rode a couple rides in Disneyland we headed over to California Adventure. We purchased "park hopper" tickets which allows you to go back & forth between parks. 

We rode my favorite ride- Grizzly River Run and got soaked, we rode Ariel's Undersea Adventure, and then stopped for a picnic. We hit up Target on day 1 for snacks and veggies so we weren't spending as much on food in the park. A daily stop at Wetzel Pretzel was a must however. The picture of Cory with the Sword & the Stone is from later this day when we went back to Disneyland. (we did a lot of walking this day)

We went to Cars Land and checked out Radiator Springs! You Guys! This place is amazing! We met Mater & Lightening McQueen, had our photo taken at every professional stop and drank an insane amount of water- it was +40. 

As I mentioned in day 2 of our adventure we had the photo pass and were able to pose for all the photographers and not worry about choosing. Here Anna was too busy eating ice cream so Cory & I had to have all the fun without her. I loved going through the photos and seeing what they added into the photo after the fact. 

 

Riding the Radiator Racers ride was a must on my to do list, we waited 35 minutes for this ride, it was the longest we waited for anything and it actually wasn't that bad, even in the heat. The ride was awesome! All three of us loved it!

We headed back to Disneyland as we had a reservation to meet Elsa & Anna from Frozen (I'll talk about reservation lines in a later post). Anna, of course, was super excited! 

 

After dinner & a few rides we went back to California Adventure (park hopper pass = awesomeness) to end our day with The World of Color show and a few more photo ops. 

World of Color

One word: AMAZING. 

I included the link to their site for you to read about it if you'd like, it is a must see.

Today was a long, amazing day. Anna fell fast asleep and Cory & I took our time heading home, enjoying the warm evening and perhaps another stop at Wetzel Pretzel. 

Until next time...

California Adventure: part 2

We purchased a 5 day park hopper pass (we are able to bounce back & forth between Disneyland & California Adventure) and this is Day 1 in Disneyland and it was MAGICAL. The park is decorated for Halloween until Oct. 31 and part of the reason I chose this time of year to go. It really is magical. The sights, the sounds, the hustle & bustle. We were all in awe. I have been before and even I walked around like it was the first time. 

At first Anna was nervous about being with & hugging the characters but that wore off fast! We bought a signature book and she became an experts at asking the various characters & princesses to sign her book. She ended up filling two! She was always excited and had the most amazing expressions and she met someone new. 

The details, Disney loves their details. The goodies available blew me away each time I saw them! 

Our favourite rides from toady were Big Thunder Mountain Railroad & Splash Mountain. Anna loved roller coasters, we all squealed and threw our hands in the air!

Splash Mountain. Awesome.

We got soaked and Anna was quite upset that her shirt was "ruined", it was +35 so it took no time to dry and she forgot all about being upset.

There is a parade each day in the park and it is wonderful. Anna practically waved her arm off. At one point she asked if she could stop waving. 

We also stopped at the Mad Hatter shop to buy Cory & Anna their first pair of Mickey ears with their names embroidered on the back. Anna of course chose princess  and Cory chose pirate ears.

Meeting the characters was amazing. One of my personal favourites was Merida, 

she captured the essence of that princess SO well!

(the picture of Minnie is from day 2)

Anna's favourite princess is Cinderella and meeting her was beyond amazing for her. I will never forget her reaction when she came around the corner and saw Cinderella standing there, smiling at her. She gasped the largest gasp and then turned to us in shock. I got goose bumps. These pictures make me so happy.

We purchased a Photo Pass before we left on our trip and it was the best purchase we made. For less than $100 we have over 700 professional photos. The photographers are throughout the park, they take multiple images, check to make sure they captured a great shot, they have you pose in different ways and many locations have you do "random" poses and then when you go look up your photo it has been edited like the one in the bottom left corner. Fun!

This picture pretty much sums up Day 1. 

Disney Adventure to be continued...

California Adventure: part 1

Our adventure starts here at the airport with this Anna doll. The morning of our flight Anna woke up to a new Anna doll that the princesses of Disneyland had sent her to help her be brave on the plane. She was excited to say the least. 

I will be sharing this trip day by day- mostly because I have so many photos that I love and want to share. 2575 photos to be exact, 1863 between Cory & myself and 712 professional photos from inside the parks. I used my Photopass like it was my job! 

We arrived early and got through security like a breeze, did you know if you have a little one that you get to jump the line? Hello awesome! 

So beautiful! However... I am scared- like feel like I might faint scared- of flying. I ended up taking something to knock me out for a good portion and keep me "happy and calm" for the remainder. As for my 3 year old- A CHAMP! She was so brave, not even a flinch when we had a little turbulence. She didn't even ask what was going on. I was so proud and choked up when I told her I wished I could be more like her. 

We're here! We're here! After landing, collecting our luggage and our rental car we headed out into LA traffic. Not my shiniest moment. Short story- go fast, know where you need to exit and go faster.

After lunch we headed out to Downtown Disney. If you haven't been it is basically an outdoor shopping center before the gates into the parks (Disneyland & California Adventure), there are shops, restaurants and kiosks. We headed into the Lego store first and were amazed by the creations. All the figures in the pictures above are built with Lego.

Next stop- Build A Bear. Anna built a princess cat (I know, it looks like a horse), dressed her, gave her rollerblades, a leash and set out for a stroll. The cat's name is Aurora and she has a sound chip in her foot that sings "Let it Go" which will come in very handy on the plane home (please hear my sarcasm).

Starbucks! YES! This is a new thing for here, maybe in the last 2-3 years, so I was very excited. This Starbucks is huge! It is the second biggest, the biggest one is located in Times Square. It also made the best Pumpkin Spice latte I have ever drank!

To finish off our first day in California we headed to Target to get groceries and wine. Why wouldn't you buy wine when it sits beside the bread (Oh Canada- why can't we buy wine with our groceries?). I also found everything Pumpkin Spice flavor and I mean everything. We came back to our hotel, ate gelato in bed and planned our next day- our first day in Disneyland!

To be continued...

Where have I been?

I am back. If you follow along with me on Instagram you knew where I was but if not, we were off on a dream vacation/adventure. We left for California/Disneyland on September 29 and spent 8 amazing, sunny, packed days there soaking it all up. I have to be honest, I shed a few tears our last day- I was just not ready to go home but our bank account said it was time. I have spent the last 3 days cleaning, unpacking and trying very hard to get back into a routine.

I will be sharing in detail our trip and how grateful I am that we were there together but for now here's the Coles Notes version...

- Cory & I celebrated 6 years of marriage.

- I took a lot of drugs to knock me out for the flight (both ways). Anna on the other hand was unbelievable brave.

- We rented a car and drove in LA traffic- slightly nerve wracking.

- We lifted our faces daily up to the sun and said thank you.

- I celebrated my 36th birthday.

- We met Mickey, Minnie and all their friends (except Daisy).

- We met every princess.

- We met Pooh and all his friends.

- We took hundreds! of photos.

- We found a beach, walked a pier and played in the ocean.

- We ate and ate and ate. 

- We didn't complain once that it was +35 - +40 every day that we were there.

- We lucked out so many times when it came to waiting in line and scoring reservation tickets. And we high fived every time we did.

- We went to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party and it was so awesome!

- We shopped & shopped & shopped.

- We only had one blow up and it was mostly me doing the blowing up and it boiled down to reminding everyone to be grateful.

- We ate breakfast with the Princesses one day and with Minnie and her friends another.

- Anna had a makeover at the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique.

- We got soaked on Splash Mountain.

- We ooh'd & awe'd at the fireworks.

- We ate Dole Whip... a lot.

- We raced cars in Cars Land, twice. My favourite ride for sure.

- I went on the tea cups and spent an hour after trying not to throw up. Spinning rides are not my "cup of tea".

- Anna loves roller coasters. 

- I have never seen a happier Wachter family.

Jasper Adventures

We loaded up the car and headed to Jasper this past weekend. We wanted to get one more camping trip in before the summer ends and school starts, not to mention all the work I need to get complete before our trip to Disneyland. The weather was nice, not nice enough to go swimming in the lake again but perfect for walking around doing touristy type things. I swear that I see the mountains through fresh eyes each time I come and I hope that never changes.

Athabasca Falls. 

I am always blown away by the sheer force of the water each time I come here. It never gets old.

Jasper the Bear, lunch on patios, wine & smores and the hugest little dimples ever.

This little rocky "beach" is at the end of the falls where the water meets the lower river. We come here always and lose track of time as we navigate the rocks and search out heart shaped rocks for our collection.

We reserved this campsite because it is next to a small creek. Anna was in love and right in her element splashing in the water. It was pretty great to sit down there and drink our morning coffee.

On Saturday night a herd of elk came through and stayed for a visit. I lost count but I know for sure there were 5 little ones who still had some of there spots left. It's kind of magical sitting down for dinner and getting to see them so close. They ate, yawned, laid down, pranced around, scratched on trees, drank milk from the Momma, drank from the creek and called back & forth to each other. 

It was actually quite amazing. Just for the record- we kept or distance. 

Until next year Jasper.

the week that was

Holidays- gone! I have to admit that while we did try and do something fun everyday I feel like the 10 days we had off together were spent trying to schedule & organize our lives. What we should eat, when we can work out, when we're both working, when we should clean, when we can have date nights, when we can have family time, when we can have creative time... the list goes on.  I feel pretty bummed about it, maybe because we didn't go camping and for the last 5 years we have always gone on a big trip. I'll get over it, I know that this organization & scheduling will eventually just become part of our routine but right now it seems a bit stiff. But I think stiff is just what is in order over here- do you remember the last time I created anything just for me, not for a deadline. I can't. {insert sad face here}

I have some other life related stuff I want to share with you, to show you another side of me. It's personal and leaves me feeling a little a lot vulnerable. I will hopefully have that finished up over the weekend.

Anna, she is certainly amazing but she sure can have a rotten side. To say she is trying my patience lately would be an understatement. She does not want to eat & spits everything out & she has now for the last 3 weeks been waking up at 1:30am starving (I would imagine that it's because she's spitting out all her food). The last week has proven to be the most difficult, up 2-4 times a night, eating twice- we never got up that much when she was a newborn. It leaves us tired & frustrated but I think I may have seen a new baby tonight- one that gobbled up everything we put in front of her, I am keeping  fingers crossed she sleeps soundly. She's lucky she's so freakin' cute!  Sounds corny but her smile makes everything just a little bit easier to deal with, that and the fact that she is finally saying Mama, Mama, Mama- melt my heart.

I just wanted to share some of our photos from the week that was...

 - Our trip to the Calgary Zoo. Anna was awesome, making grunting noises at all the animals.

-We took in Heritage Days and enjoyed the sun and some yummy foods. My favorite and most boring but the most delicious- an elephant ear
-We  walked down Whyte Ave and ate ice cream
-We BBQ'd every night and sat out enjoying the weather.
-We drank our morning coffee out in the sun, such a great way to start the day

-We had my family come over and I got to snuggle with Brayden
-Anna got her first hair bow- was not an easy task putting that thing in!
-We went to the family & friends event at the new Cabellas here in Edmonton

Those were my favorites, have a great week my friends!

ps... how in the world is it August already? HOW!



a road trip, sunshine & a wonderful friend

I am back from a wonderful trip to Lethbridge. The weather was glorious- so hot & sun shiny! I really had a wonderful time and can't thank Kara enough for having me and her mom for working at Splurge so Kara could have the time off.  I left Anna with her Gramma and headed off, my first stop- Drumhellar for a photo op with the world's largest dinosaur. Then off to Vulcan to see the spaceship and then finally into beautiful Lethbridge.
Kara and I spent two days shopping and sitting on patios- seriously great! I'll share some of my purchases later. We went thrifting, craft store shopping, we went to a tea house for the most delicious mint lavender lemonade and cranberry white chocolate scones with devonshire cream. We went to a greenhouse/cafe for lunch one day- so wonderful and then to a local hot spot the other day that had a patio that reminded me of being in California- awesome! We sat in her back yard and talked & talked- there's a photo below of me watching her work while we visited... I was a very good foreman.
I got to finally see Splurge (her clothing boutique). It is wonderful & I am so proud of her.
I was sad to leave but excited to get back to Cory & Anna. Not so excited to get back to "real" life and the to do list that made to do list babies while I was gone! With that, I'll leave you with some photos of my trip. Have a wonderful weekend friends!