Celebrating Canada: Visiting Banff & Lake Louise

Today we spent most of the day at Lake Louise and in Banff National Park. The Rockies were nice to see in all their majesty, and it made me feel quite small and in awe of our Creator. 

I loved the winding roads up and down the mountain side--even though I had to keep popping my jaw to get my hearing back :D

Only spot that wasn't comletely frozen over. I was pretty disappointed not to see the emerald green waters of Lake Louise. I suppose May is still too early for spring/summer temps up in the North!

Chateau we ate lunch in.

Lake Louise is a little ways past Banff, so we headed there first and then backtracked to the mountains.

It was overcast pretty much all day, but didn't rain until we headed towards Banff. Most of the rain came while we were traveling, and we were able to stop and get pictures in Banff.

The "Castle". That's what someone referred it as when describing the Banff Springs Hotel. I can see the resemblance!

Bow Falls

The Gondala. You can either walk up the mountain and get a free ride back down or take both ways in the Gondala. Personally, I liked having my feet on solid ground, so I didn't go up. However, my parents did, back when they visited Calgary several summers ago, and really enjoyed it.

So, now I have been to Banff National Park, and Lake Louise!

Monday Moments: Baby Showers

Sarah's and Tosha's baby shower. The theme was owls.

Food:

Oreo truffles in the form of pops...delicious!!

Silvana made the sandwiches--she's a fantastic cook. Her buttered chicken? Absolutely love!

The food table was so pretty...and yummy!!

Nancy's Spring Rolls.

{First time I heard Nancy say she would make spring rolls for church, I was like...wha??? Was she going to shape the [bread] rolls into something that would remind us of spring? A flower? Rain drops? Even when I saw them at our potluck the next Sunday, I didn't recognize them as anything I'd eaten before. But, I tried them {Alberta has opened my horizons on food ;} and love'em.}

Vanilla and Chocolate cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting and garnished with M&M's.

Another angle on the food...

Isn't this a pretty blanket!?

Pretty Baby Girl clothes... 

The diaper cake turned out really cute! And, of course, you can never start to early on one's book collection! :D

T and Baby Hailey {10 Months ago...yup, I'm very late posting these. At least they're up before the kiddos turned ONE! :}

Diaper cake!

Sarah's Mom, Anne, made the wooden blocks and also the silliute above. She does impressive work! Check her Etsy shop, theRUBBERpress. The above were made specifically for the shower, but I'm sure you can find things you love on her site.

Homemade Chicken Burgers

I love cooking new things and making up my own meals--either a new creation or a fabulous re-make on an old. Cooking, in my opinion is SO much more forgiving than baking. You can throw in a pinch of this and a pinch of that...or a cup of this and a cup of that...for most dishes, there is no difference if you alter the recipe {whereas, with most baking recipes, precision and accuracy are encouraged for yummy tasting and looking desserts :D}

Anyway, a friend of mine is headed back to the Island {Victoria, BC} with her husband and kids for vacation, and last night was the only time we could fit in a visit before she leaves--on Friday morning! They live about an hour and half from town, so it was [past] supper time before I made it out to their hobby farm.

Since she had ground chicken, I suggested we make chicken burgers.

Tosh mixed the chicken, bread crumbs, 1 egg, fresh garlic, minced onion, and some herb&garlic seasonings--before shaping into patties and placing on a heated pan that had a little bit of oil.

She sliced up some avocado...

and tomato for hers...

I kept it simple with just a bit of mayo and pickles :D

Tosh thought pickles sounded good too...

and mustard!

And, instead of using bread, I put mine on a bed of lettuce and Tosh wrapped hers in lettuce.

Really, you can put whatever you want on your burger...it will taste good, no matter what!

I love the drive out to their place. The scenery is breath-taking, whether summer or winter. Yesterday we had dark clouds most of the day and a little bit of rain. In the midst of a dark and angry sky, this little puff of cloud was snow white. It made me smile so I had to stop and take a picture! Good thing the roads out there aren't too busy!