Life With Boys

Drumheller road sign This post was originally featured on the blog for my sons' youtube channel. I have re-released it because I feel it is very well done and deserves to be seen again! All of the information should still be up to date and accurate. Drumheller Road Trip! Make sure you remember to visit our YouTube channel for a vlog of our trip! www.youtube.com/c/ToyTrioTV The boys and I decided to take a Road Trip to Drumheller, AB. We visited a few areas and had SO much fun. Below will be a review of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, Star Mine Suspension Bridge and the Hoodoos of Drumheller. All of the stops will be linked throughout the blog post, as well as at the end :) First Stop!   Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology Picture is from  www.tripadvisor.com Price: $$ -  $19/for adults Time Spent:  around 2 hours Accessibility:  Handicapped and stroller accessible for the most part - aside from the gift shop. Experience:  This is not the f

Beautiful walking paths Over the winter, my parents bought a travel trailer. My kids have been BEGGING to go camping since they purchased it, and on the last weekend before school started we made that dream come true! We booked a spot at a new campground at the Discovery Wildlife Park  in Innisfail and it was AMAZING! Innisfail is about 1.5 hours from Calgary. It is a really nice drive up the QE2, although it can be very busy on long weekends. Innisfail is a small town that has a population of about 8,000 people. There are grocery stores, restaurants, fast-food joints, and other services very close by, so it is great for someone that likes camping but with the comforts of civilization. The town also offers activities like the Pro Rodeo, Kemp House museum and Historic Village museum. It is also close to Red Deer, which offers all of the comforts of a major city. The Wildlife Park itself is very nice. Upon entering the main building, you are greeted by very friendly staff and a

The boys and I wanted to get away for a little vacation before the end of summer. We wanted to stay local but not in Calgary, so we decided that Airdrie fit the bill! After researching some rooms through expedia.ca, I decided on the Holiday Inn Express in Airdrie. After booking, I sent an email off to the hotel asking if they could make it special for my newly 7-year-old because it was his birthday and it was their first time staying in a hotel. They exceeded anything I could have imagined! Check-in went smoothly, and we were in our room within 10 minutes of arrival. There is a large parking lot with ample free parking available on site. Upon entering our room, we were completely blown away by the arrangements that met us! The staff had gone totally above and beyond anything that I could have even imagined. This is what we walked into! A room that was beautifully decorated, gift bags for ALL THREE kids with candies and little toys, and a birthday card. I was totally b

We live in Calgary, where the weather can change at the drop of a hat and the summer is NOT that long, so when we get the opportunity to have a day out with great weather we seize it! Not long ago, we decided to check out Calaway Park. We hadn't been in a while because it is very expensive for a family to have a day out anywhere, and with my kids being so little I wasn't sure it was worth the money - boy was I mistaken! Parking: was a NIGHTMARE - but that is to be expected on one of the first nice weekends of the year! It's much more easily navigated than the Stampede. I drove around for approximately 20 minutes looking for a spot before finding one almost at the very back of the lot. The kids and I don't mind walking. Lineups: were not that bad - the worst was the roller coaster which only B (8) could ride. Aside from the hour we spent in the lineup for the roller coaster, the lineups were not longer than 15 minutes. The rides that the kids could go on w

Oldest and Papa - a week after the accident It was a beautiful summer day. The sun was shining and we had just gotten back from getting E's vaccinations. We had spent the morning at the public health office and then getting groceries. When we got home, I put the kids down for a nap and was beginning to clean my main floor. I was just starting to pick up the toys, reflecting on how amazingly the morning had gone (I had 2 kids under 2 and I seamlessly did early morning vaccinations and grocery shopping so I was feeling pretty good!) BOOM Everything changed. That was the loudest sound I have ever heard in my life, and as soon as I heard it I knew what had happened. I raced upstairs, screaming B's name while praying that he was okay... I remember pausing at the door prior to opening it and hoping that I wasn't about to find his body. I opened the door to find my oldest son under his 4-drawer IKEA dresser, only his diapered bottom sticking out. He wasn't crying. I

Safer Cycling Calgary Course (instructor Sasha in front) A child at Safer Cycling Calgary course Today, my kids and I checked out a CAN-BIKE Safer Cycling Class. Safer Cycling Calgary is the only business in Alberta that offers the full range of CAN-BIKE courses to the public, and it is locally owned and operated! It was founded in 2011 by Melissa Malejko, who is fully certified in all of the CAN-BIKE courses. Sasha, our instructor, is certified only to teach Level 1 courses which is what we signed up for. This particular class has a maximum of 4 kids and is $80 for the outdoor class (subject to weather) and $100 for the indoor option. Safer Cycling offers a variety of courses for every skill level, starting from the very beginning of learning how to ride a bike, up to advanced cycling skills. My sons' were both on training wheels at the start of the course, and my oldest now knows how to ride without training wheels but is not comfortable riding. My youngest did not