We arrived in Fairmont around dinner time on Monday, despite our best efforts to get there early. Good news. Benett's left hand made the trip too.

He has been very attached (pun intended) to it as of late and is constantly checking to be sure it is still there. We're kind of glad it's still there too.

Things were pretty much the same as I remember them some 20 years ago. I don't remember all the old people though! Wow, they were everywhere. They boys were admired from left and right, no surprise. But, everything was new for the boys (grown one included!).

This was the view from our villa, the 12th green.





But even for them, many things remained familiar from home. Including:

Temper tantrums

Making a mess

Lounging

Sitting on the kitchen table

Playing at the park



And eating out


There was also some new things, like Benett taking his first swim!

Do you like my skirt? I mean, my swimsuit?


Although we didn't get all the relaxation one would hope for on a so called holiday, we were thankful for the peace and quiet. No internet. No cell phones. No home phone. No interruptions, period. Just focused family time.

Unfortunately, we had some pretty crappy things to remember too. Both boys got colds. Jonah's was bearable, but Ben's was not getting better. Perhaps it was agitated by this:


That is his bedroom. We didn't feel comfortable with the boys sleeping in the bedroom next to the front door, so we all slept upstairs. Jonah got the master bedroom, we took the Murphy bed in the loft, and Ben was banished to the bathroom. Partly because it was the only window that we could cover with foil to darken it (the window coverings were so bad Jonah could barely nap with the day light). Partly because it had built in white noise from the exhaust fan. And partly because he was the only one the could fit in there.
Anyway, we are sure the fan didn't help with the already dry air and it irritated his poor throat. End result? This little boy

turned into this little boy.


We were up every 45-60 minutes in the middle of the night, 4 nights in a row. Unheard of for this little boy that normally sleeps through the night. Joel and I were beat.

Saturday afternoon we couldn't shake the nagging feeling that we needed to leave a few days early. We didn't feel right about staying, for Benett's sake. So, we packed up and left. In what is normally a 5.5-6 hour drive, we made in 7! That includes a stop in Banff for dinner, to feed Benett, and multiple potty stops for the J man. The little one, and the big one too I suppose.

Thank goodness we listened.


We encountered flurries on our way home
- and this momma bear with her two cubs -

finding out later that there was accumulation on the ground the next day. But what's much worse is that little Ben got home and proceeded to get the stomach flu. He threw up on me 3 times that night. It was awesome. I really hope you readers can sense my sarcasm.

So that was my birthday. Laundry, laundry, puke, laundry, and a sad baby. We've already decided we are having a re-do. It's just not an option.