more on canada...

so we're back home in provo now. but i'll share some of our last shots in alberta. sam met up with us last thursday, what a LIFESAVER! the kids went crazy without him there, screaming hysterically, crying out, "WHERE'S DADDY?! WE MISS OUR DADDY!" and drama queen makayah began showing signs of illness, which later disappeared once she saw her daddy the next day. thank goodness! however, before i get into when sam came, here are some things that went on just before he showed up. earlier that week, we took isaiah to sam's uncle to give him some "batman teeth." unfortunately, he had a couple cavities, but they decided to just cap all his molars so we wouldn't have to go through this a second time. good thinking! so we made our way up to edmonton - which is a four hour drive from calgary...well, without kids i think it would be closer to 3 hours. anyway, isaiah and makayah loved visiting their crowfoot cousins. they had such a blast playing with all the cool toys, but i think they loved the trampoline the best. once or twice, we had to tell isaiah to stop bouncing so makayah could actually jump. but, isaiah just had too much fun bouncing her to the ground, and she- for a while, laughed her head off...and then several minutes later, she finally had enough. once she was off, i came on...its been years since i've had a trampoline. i think its time to get one! so this was all the night before isaiah went into surgery. i was a little worried about it, hoping that isaiah wouldn't be too sad. so, to ease my guilt, i allowed him to stay up until midnight, playing with his cousins, banging on the drum set, and playing with the pool table. the next morning went by in a blur. we arrived, isaiah was knocked out (whew!), and then he woke up a half hour later. he was pretty upset. but the thing was he was so out of it, so disoriented. it took me a couple minutes to console him and calm him down, and then he was fast asleep. after his half hour nap, he woke up dazed and confused...but happy. so here he is with his new set of batman teeth. the great thing is, he thinks they're pretty cool, and i'm not about to argue with him! and as they eagerly awaited their daddy's arrival, they had a blast with grandpa crowfoot and the tractor rides! so a couple days later, on thursday, sam flew in. that night he hung out with one of his long lost friends, and went to his punk concert. the next day, we went to the calgary zoo... after renting a wagon for our two little monkeys, and grabbing a bite to eat at the zoo cafe, we were on our way...first stop - the hippos. they were so incredibly close, i've never seen them that close up before. i seriously could've touched one, if i wanted to risk losing my limbs. but it was awesome, and the kids were mesmerized. it was makayah's first trip to the zoo...ever! and she ate up every minute. she tried making animal noises...mostly puppy barks, in an attempt to communicate with the various beasts. its so much fun to see things through their eyes...i mean, to only be in the world for two short years, so many new and wondrous creatures to see, the entire world yet to be explored. every animal fascinated her to say the least. and here is our little zoo veteran. lucky isaiah had the chance to see the brand new baby gorilla snoozin' right by the glass. the mama gorilla tried to wake her baby up to take him away from prying eyes, but the baby was OUT! isaiah sat by the glass watching the baby for several minutes when finally he turned to me and asked,"mom, when am I going to have a baby blother?" hmm. someday isaiah, someday. once i read that the daddy gorilla was thirty years old, i just had to get a picture of the two overprotective fathers. we tried taking a family shot here...but makayah wasn't in the picture-taking mood, and tried to slip out of the shot before daddy could snatch her back in...she's fine, really. ;) Anyway, we had tons of fun. and lots of laughs with everyone! there are so many more pictures with the uncles and grandmas and grandpa...so i will make a slideshow, i promise! love you and miss you!