Hanging with the Boys

Our summers typically involve us holidaying in Canada for at least a few weeks, which we love (it’s great to see family, plus we escape some of the Bermuda summer heat!). This summer, however, we made plans to use our holiday time to take a big trip to Africa, so we couldn’t do our usual Canadian family vacation for the first time in about 12 years! With the kids getting older, finding camps and other things for them to do in the summer is getting tougher, so we got to thinking and it seemed like a great solution for everyone to bring the kids up to the grandparents for their own Canadian vacation. Jenn and I would stay in Bermuda to work, the grandparents still get a visit, and the kids would be back in Bermuda in time to leave for Africa… everybody wins! So that’s what we did.

I’m used to being ‘Dad Taxi’ for the kids, driving them to school and everywhere else under the sun… but for this trip, ‘Dad Taxi’ went next level as I took a few weekends to fly up to drop the kids off and then pick them up! The three of us flew up to Calgary on a Saturday, arriving that evening – we stayed in an airport hotel overnight and then met with G&G Boys for lunch the next day to pass off the kids. Then I spent the afternoon with my folks (they came in from Canmore) at my Uncle’s in Calgary, then flew back solo Sunday night to return to work on Monday afternoon. I came back a week and a half later on a Wednesday to meet up with the kids at my folks in Canmore (they were transferred to Nana & Papa by G&G Boys in Calgary the previous weekend), stayed a few days and the three of us flew back on Saturday night to be back in Bermuda by Sunday. (Then a busy week before leaving the following weekend for Africa!)

By all accounts, the kids were kept busy and had a great time with G&G Boys in Stettler. Jenn had arranged a few days of horse camp, which went down well – they even got some cowboy outfits (awesome!). I heard there were plenty of trips to Wal Mart and Dairy Queen while in town, too! The kids reportedly helped out with meals on occasion – Ryley loved picking Grandma’s tomatoes and arranging a veggie tray – and some time was spent with Grandpa doing some volunteer work at the Museum. They even got a surprise visit from Uncle Andrew, fiancee Sarah, and the kids’ cousins Denver and Madi, who made the drive all the way from Grande Prairie. Good times!

Nana & Papa on Duty

After a week in Stettler, they packed up and hit the road to make the transfer to Nana & Papa for the next week. They met up in Calgary, and their first order of business, after saying goodbye to G&G Boys, was to ‘hit the ground running’ and go see a theatre production of Aladdin (which was good by all accounts) before heading down the highway to Canmore that evening. The kids’ aunt Cass and cousins Cam and Scott were there and ready to party, too – the next few days they were all busy with mountain biking, hiking, frisbee golfing, baking, and of course Nana’s favorite game nights! Then I came up and crashed the party on Wednesday – but the fun didn’t stop! Golfing at Silvertip Resort, neon bowling at this really cool place called High Rollers in Banff, an escape room (we beat it!), more mountain biking, and of course more game nights! It was good for me to sneak in a few days with my family this summer, in addition to the kids being there for a week.

That was about it – uneventful trip back to Bermuda, leading into a super busy week with work and packing for our upcoming trip!

Huge thanks to all the grandparents and other family for hosting and hanging with the kids this summer, the kids definitely enjoyed their time with you all!