Heading to Whitefish!

In Canada, there is no Memorial Day, but there is May Long Weekend the weekend prior to the United States' unofficial start to summer! We decided to head to Whitefish, MT to get a little taste of the good ole' U.S of A. The main road through Glacier National Park isn't open until mid-June, so we had to head south through Fernie, British Columbia.

We headed out of Calgary a bit later than we were hoping, so we knew it would be a late evening. We stopped halfway through our drive in the town of Fernie to grab a quick bite to eat and got quite the surprise of an overpowering smell of fresh pine and cedar trees. It was such a pleasant surprise! Sort of like smelling the best air freshener possible, so I think their new town motto should be "Fernie... the best smelling town in the world!"

Anyways, once we ate a quick dinner, we jumped back in the car and headed toward the U.S. border as the sun slipped away from the sky. We drove the last few hours in the dark, and I have never seen so many deer perched on the sides of the roads. It was very unnerving, especially because every few minutes you would pass a cross tacked on the side of the road that I'm sure was to memorialize an accident that had happened at that location. Thankfully, Jeff drove like a champ, and we rolled into our hotel just before midnight.

The first day we ventured out for a morning hike in Whitefish. It was fun, and not too taxing, so we enjoyed our time. Boone liked riding in his backpack so much that he even dozed off to sleep for his morning nap in the backpack. Here's a few shots from our hike:

Later in the day, we went to check out the downtown area of Whitefish. It's a small ski town that has so much charm and beauty. It's surrounded by mountains and the people are so friendly. It would be a great place to call home. Plus, one thing Jeff and I love to do when we vacation is check out the local eateries. For a little town, Whitefish had lots of choices! We ate southern barbeque and cajun food, as well as yummy biscuits and gravy (they don't have that up in Canada) but our favorite was a little pizzeria called Jersey Boys Pizza. Jeff found the spot from his tried and true Urban Spoon app, and it did not disappoint! Also, Boone made friends with a few of the little local girls who were eating there that night! Like I said, people in town were very friendly!

Boone hanging out with Dad, while I grabbed a coffee!

The second day, we did a little shopping in Whitefish and Kalispell! On our way back to Canada, we decided to do a side trip to try and find a scenic lookout that I saw on a sign on the side of the road. It was quite an adventure. We drove and drove and drove and drove... and drove and we felt like we were in the middle of nowhere Montana! It was a crazy drive on a
gravel/dirt road, but Jeff was determined to make it to the outlook. The only thing that stopped him, was when we ran into a foot of snow and mud on the gravel road. But, he was bummed, so he said we should try and hike down to the creek since we were all the way in the middle of the woods! And we got a few pictures!

Boone looks horrified to be in the middle of Montana on a hike.

This was a good part of the road

Jeff took this lovely picture!

I'm still catching up with lots of our adventures! We are headed out to check out a part of Canada we've never been next month, so I still have lots to document on here!

Love,

Emily, Jeff + Boone

Mother's Day!

Boy, did I feel loved for my first Mother's Day! Jeff did such a great job to make sure I had a wonderful, special day! To start off, I decided to run the Calgary Mother's Day Race. It benefits the NICUs in Calgary, including the one that Boone was at in the Rockyview Medical Center. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to give back just a bit to a facility that did so much for our little guy.

Before the race! It was an early morning for everyone!

It was the first run I did since having Boone, so I was a little nervous. But I just made my goal to finish the race without walking and I did just that! It was great to have Boone and Jeff there with me!

Boone rode around in the hiking backpack so he could see what was going on!

The starting line! Someone said this was the largest number 

of participants the race had ever had!

Heading towards the finish line! 

I'm sure at this point I was thankful to almost be finished.

Boone had lots of love for me after the race!

My guys. Couldn't be more thankful.

Once the race was over, we headed home for one of Jeff's wonderful homemade breakfasts! He does a mean omelet or scrambled egg! :) It is becoming sort of a tradition to do breakfast one day each weekend! I hope it continues and it's something that Boone can look forward to as he grows up!

After that, we relaxed and played outside for a bit! Just had a fun day as a family. Couldn't really have asked for much more! And to top it off, Jeff had Boone "sign" a card for me and he let me book an appointment to get a pedicure when we headed to Montana the next weekend.

Being a mom is the toughest and most fun job I've ever had! It has already had many hard moments, but each day is filled with something that makes me smile. I'm so thankful that God entrusted me to be Boone's mom. It's a gift that is so dear and precious to me and each day I really try to not take it for granted at all.
                                                                                                         

And a little note to Boone if at some point down the road he decides to look through this: You are the greatest thing that has ever happened to your Dad and I! We love you more and more each day! I'm so honored to be able to say I'm Boone Robertson's mom and I can't wait to see all the amazing things that God has in store for your life!

Lots of Love,

Emily, Jeff and Boone-Man!

Marilyn... aka our guardian angel!

Sometimes in life, we can be so rushed and "busy" that we miss the blessings that God gives us. It's easy to forget that God is good all the time and we so easily miss Him in our day-to-day lives.

Well, I had a moment... or actually a day where God stopped me in my tracks and made me see a HUGE blessing that I know was from Him.

The morning that Boone and I were to leave St. Louis started out with some difficulty. We ran into some difficulty with the airline that hadn't been a problem leaving Calgary, but once we were through the ticketing counter and said our tearful goodbyes to my mom and brother, Boone and I were hours away from being back with Jeff (and hopefully regaining some normalcy of sleep!) I was one of the last people to board in St. Louis so I watched as all the passengers eyes quickly looked away as I walked down the aisle. I could tell everyone was hoping we were NOT seated next to them. When I reached my assigned aisle, I jokingly said to the twenty-something guy and older woman "Congratulations, you are the lucky winners! We are in your row!" They both smiled and quickly got up so I could climb into my window seat! As the young guy was helping me stow my carry on, the older woman smiled and said to me "It's ok dear, I'm on my way to Canada to visit my grandchildren, so this is just early practice for me!" "Canada??" I thought to myself. And I quickly asked her "Where in Canada?"

Without missing a beat, she said "Calgary!" No way.... God is so good! I quickly explained to her as I sat down and got buckled in that Boone and I were traveling to Calgary as well that day. Now, I have to explain: This is such a God thing. How many people are randomly traveling from St. Louis to Calgary on a random Tuesday in April. It's not prime ski season or Stampede time... just a random Tuesday. PLUS, we were connecting through Dallas. Not exactly on your way to Canada. And this sweet woman was seated right next to me. On a huge flight. I mean, what are the odds??? God is so so so good.

For the next hour and a half, the woman sweetly asked the young man on the other side of her, and myself all kinds of questions about us, our families, all kinds of things. She was just so nice and talkative and helped the flight fly by (whoa... didn't even mean that pun!) Turns out the man in our row had a little 18-month old girl, so he knew the drill with babies. He was so understanding and kind as well.

Once we got to Dallas, the woman, who I by this point knew as Marilyn insisted on holding Boone and then wheeling my carry-on bag for me.

"We can just travel together! I hate traveling by myself anyway," she said. We chatted on the tram and as we walked to our gate. Once we reached our next gate, she offered to bring me lunch and I watched her bag for her as she went and grabbed lunch. When she returned she had brought me some snacks because she just wanted to make sure I had enough to eat. We continued to talk and I learned that she was a believer, who had been divorced several years ago, but had met her current husband in a divorce recovery ministry at a local church. We talked about our faith and she encouraged me so much as a young wife and mother.

Once we got on our flight, we got the awful news that we would be indefinitely delayed due to a computer glitch that was all throughout American Airlines. But somehow, even after getting that news, the two hours that we sat on the grounded flight went by without much struggle with Boone. Marilyn checked on us several times and Boone mainly sat in my lap and looked out the window. And let's be honest, I'd rather be stuck on the ground indefinitely than be up in the air if the pilot doesn't have all the possibly information he needs to fly the plane safely to our destination.

Once we landed in Calgary, Marilyn and I had a fast goodbye as her daughter-in-law was waiting for her outside and I was still trying to round up all my luggage. I so wish I had asked her for an email or any contact info, but unfortunately we didn't think to exchange info. So, she will forever be remembered by me as my guardian angel that day. And I'm so very thankful for her.

Phew... that was wordy, but I just had to get that story down in the blog because it is such a special memory! And I'll throw in a picture... not of Marilyn (although I would have loved to ask her if I could take one of her if I hadn't thought that might be awkward!), but Boone the day after we got back!

Cheers!

Emily, Jeff + Boone