Oh Canada: The Lakehouse Edition

October 9, 2015 By

How can you summarize a glorious week with family at a lakehouse tucked away in the breadbasket in Canada? You can’t, that’s why I prefer to document our family reunion on Okanogan Lake in pictures!

I chuckle when I see other family’s carefully regimented reunions, with every last detail planned. Their perfectly coiffed, matching family pictures. Ours is typical Borowski-style chaos. Wake up. Boat, kayak or SUP. Eat breakfast. Boat, play with cousins, eat. Boat. Eat. Cards. Games. Rinse, lather, repeat. Oh wait. Scratch that because the boys don’t shower.

What I particularly enjoyed about summer 2015 at the lake is the temperature–it wasn’t blazing hot 100+ degrees like last year. With temps in the upper 80s, I deemed it to be near perfect (for me, anyway; the hardcore boaters prefer scorchers). My brother Pat’s family is incredibly generous with their resources, time and patience bringing the rest of us up to their [trailblazing] speed.

A few of our favorite things:

Water play (duh)

Wakeboarding Hadley

Wakeboarding Bode

There’s never a dull moment with cousin Jaxson. Prior to tubing, we asked if he knew the hand signal for telling us he’s done (tapping the top of his head). “Sure!” And he proceeded to do the throat-slitting gesture. That works, too.

Driving to the West Side for our Annual Family Dive-off

Lakeside Movie Night at Todd and Kim’s

First Annual Stand-up Paddleboard (SUP) Competition

When you only have one paddleboard, you improvise and have timed races. Pat won. As always. But he’s almost 50 and we’ll soon dominate him.

Pat the soon-to-be dominated

Lots and lots of cards and games

Bode’s Birthday

DQ ice cream cake courtesy of Aunt Sue

My favorite moment: globe light + sparklers = a magical birthday eve

Davison Orchard Tours


And their best peach and apple pies. Ever.

A truly epic bike ride on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail

Everyone Flying into the Rooster Tail with Guns Blazing

Not pictured:

A lot of laughter, Jane’s delicious cooking, Emily’s addictive Greek bruschetta, bloodsport croquet (we broke Dad’s new mallets), Hadley’s first all-girl dance party on the boat, early-morning kayak runs, nighttime tales of the lake monster Ogopogo, Tim Horton’s Timbits, Rook tournaments, Screamers (half ice cream, half Slurpee) and the Borowski’s epic wakeboarding moves.

Jamie and I had a competition with my younger brother Jade in surfing (we called it The Worst of the Worst). I thought for sure I would win but after popping up my first try and successfully surfing the wake, I cracked and started regressing while Jamie and Jade got better, even dropping the rope and surfing on their own.

Near the end of the week, I’d only been out a few times and was downright frustrated until my sister-in-law Jane shouted out at me, “Do you know what your problem is? You’re not having fun!” She was right. I was so focused on surpassing the boys that my failures were getting the best of me. That very next attempt, I fought my way out of the water and had my best surf of the entire week. Turns out having fun IS the key!

I loved seeing my kiddos progress on the water–Bode popped back up on his wakeboard and Hadley started carving. She tried surfing by herself on the very first day and with Jane’s assistance in the water, was able to get up and surf a bit. She showed no interest in trying again until the very last night. When you have avid boaters, you have to be bold with getting your own time on the water so I asked Pat if we could do one last run before dark, which he kindly acquiesced. I had a great run and wanted to go again until Hadley asked if she could try surfing again.

This time, she said she wanted to do it completely on her own without Jane in the water and my gosh, if that girl of mine didn’t pop up and surf the wake. It was one of my proudest moments at the lake…and then a reminder that she’ll probably surpass me in the Worst of the Worst surfing competition next year and I’ll still be at the bottom of the bucket.

It’ll be worth it.

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In case you missed our other Canadian adventures this summer:

Oh Canada: The Lethbridge Edition

Oh Canada: The Canada Day in Raymond and Waterton Edition

Oh Canada: The Calgary Edition

Oh Canada: The Banff/Canmore Edition

Oh Canada: The Lakehouse Edition

Oh Canada: The Kettle Valley Railway Trail Edition

 Oh Canada: The Edition Not in Canada

Filed Under: Bode, Canada, Family, Family travel, Favorite Posts, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, travel

Oh Canada: The Banff/Canmore Edition

October 7, 2015 By

For three years, we’ve driven from Calgary to our family reunion in British Columbia through one of the most famously beautiful places on earth: Banff National Park. And for three years, I’ve said, “We HAVE to spend some time here” but when you have an eight-hour drive, time is not on your side.

Following my glorious ski trip to Banff in March, I vowed this year would be different and it was. My childhood friends Kristine and Paul have a cabin in nearby Canmore and they generously hosted our family for a couple of days. I haven’t seen either of them since high school and they have quite the random history. Paul: We’ve been in school together from the very beginning. Super smart, amazing runner and the two of us would always dominate our school’s Run For Your Life (though he’d always dominate me). Kristine: Became good friends with her in high school. Sweet. Funny. Was the envy of all of her friends with her cool white Jeep.

We lost track of each other after high school and though Paul and Kris were friends, they didn’t date until years later. She was in pharmaceutical  school and he was applying to med schools. Today, they’re a successful doctor-pharmacist team and as cool and down-to-earth as ever. As a bonus, they have two awesome kiddos, Andrew and Sarah, who got along splendidly with our rugrats.

Banff National Park

Hadley, Bode and I picked Jamie up from the Calgary airport and drove directly to Banff with the plan to meet Kris and Paul later that evening after work. Normally, Banff doesn’t disappoint but this time it did because it was completely overrun by tourists. We’d planned to canoe at Moraine Lake but the road was closed due to excess traffic. We kept going to Lake Louise and the nearest parking was a mile down the road (any excuse to hike, right?). Shortly after we arrived at this world-famous teal lake, it started raining. Hard. We hunkered down in the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, ate overpriced ice cream and then headed back to Banff where we hung out on Banff Avenue.

Hiking to Lake Louise

Lake Louise

Canmore

Banff National Park that day? Underwhelming.

Canmore, on the other hand? Completely overwhelming (in a good way) thanks to our awesome tour guides. I haven’t spent much time in this  expanse of provincial parks, wildland reserves, emerald green waterways and unspoiled wilderness near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park but I’m a convert.

Paul and Kristine’s cabin is tucked away in an idyllic neighborhood, a stone’s throw away from Quarry Lake (a haven for summer swims) and the Highline Trail’s extensive network of paths with crisp vistas as a backdrop.

Playing in Quarry Lake at dusk. Fully clothed, of course

Our gracious hosts decided a great way to acclimate us to The Canadian Way would be to kill us by hiking Ha Ling, a crazy-steep 8 km trek straight up to heaven. To put this beast into perspective, Hadley hiked her first 14er (14,000-foot peak) a month later and the pitch wasn’t remotely as challenging as Ha Ling (though the altitude was).

Bode is not known for his hiking chops but nobly pulled through. As my calves whimpered, I looked ahead to jackrabbit Paul who hadn’t broken a sweat despite already going on an early-morning run. As he left me in his dust, it was like our elementary school’s Run for Your Life all over again.

Side note: The next weekend, he participated in a 24-hour-long mountain biking relay (for fun?) while Kris had just completed her first marathon (not fun).

And then there was us.

The summit was a relief and a reward, all limestone, pine, restless aspens and the glacier-scoured mountaintops of Mount Rundle, Grotto Mountain, Lady McDonald and Mount Lawrence Grassi. Canmore loomed below, thickly upholstered in a deep green chenille.

But the adventure wasn’t over! We bulked back up that evening at Rocky Mountain Flatbread and the next morning, Paul took us mountain biking on the Highline Trail adjacent to the cabin. With Ha Ling’s rocky incline stretching skyward (the peak to the right in the picture below), we raced along single and doubletrack, crossed rivers, banked corners and had a blast attempting the terrain park. This moderate ride was one of my all-time favorites!

We could not have had a better time with our ageless, gracious hosts. They were the perfect travel companions and I only wish they lived closer so I extended an open invitation for them to visit us in Colorado.

We’ll have to make sure we’re in better shape in order to keep up with them.

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In case you missed our other Canadian adventures this summer:

Oh Canada: The Lethbridge Edition

Oh Canada: The Canada Day in Raymond and Waterton Edition

Oh Canada: The Calgary Edition

Oh Canada: The Banff/Canmore Edition

Oh Canada: The Lakehouse Edition

Oh Canada: The Kettle Valley Railway Trail Edition

 Oh Canada: The Edition Not in Canada

 

Filed Under: Canada, Family travel

Oh Canada: The Calgary Edition

October 5, 2015 By

The kids and I generally spend a couple of weeks in Calgary before our family reunion in Vernon, B.C. With the 2015 calendar, our lakehouse dates were moved up by a week, which prompted me to skip our fun 4th of July celebrations in Denver and enjoy Canada Day in the Motherland (read about that here).

Calgary is truly one of the great cities in the world and I’d move back there in an instant. We had a glorious couple of weeks spending time with my family at our favorites haunts that included biking with dad.

My own 30-mile ride along Calgary’s extensive network of bikepaths where I was thrilled to see many of the flood-damaged trails were repaired.

The charming Millarville Farmer’s Market, followed by a drive through the Canadian countryside to Elbow falls in Kananaskis Country.

The not-so charming mudpits.

And then cleaning ourselves off after in Fish Creek.

Followed by ice cream at Annie’s Bakery & Cafe at adjacent Bow Valley Ranche.

Pedicures with Grandma.

And, of course, the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth: The Calgary Stampede!

Their unique fair food makes headlines and some of our favorites were these Gourmet Ice Pops with delicious frozen dulce caramel cream combined with a mini donut. My brother-in-law Fred had the artery-clogging Deep Fried Donut Bacon Cheeseburger.

Good thing we were on the grounds playing for 12 loooong hours and worked (some of it) off.

But the real highlight of Stampede was that crazy girl of mine. We laughed until we cried at the hypnotist show last year so imagine my surprise when that brazen girl of mine volunteered! I’ll admit I’ve always been tempted but I embarrass myself when I’m fully conscious…why tempt fate?

Closer view:

In the end, she (and a few others) ended up getting sent back to their seat because she was only partially put under, which has given her a new goal for next year.

Heaven help us all!

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In case you missed our other Canadian adventures this summer:

Oh Canada: The Lethbridge Edition

Oh Canada: The Canada Day in Raymond and Waterton Edition

Oh Canada: The Calgary Edition

Oh Canada: The Banff/Canmore Edition

Oh Canada: The Lakehouse Edition

Oh Canada: The Kettle Valley Railway Trail Edition

 Oh Canada: The Edition Not in Canada

 

Filed Under: Canada, Family, Family travel, travel

Oh Canada: The Canada Day Edition

October 2, 2015 By

I have a ton of other projects I want to launch but I can’t get stared on them until I dedicate at least a few blog posts to the glory that was our Canadian summer.

So, where did we leave off? Oh yes, with Oh Canada: The Lethbridge Edition where the kids and I drove from Denver to southern Alberta where we had an absolute blast with my BFF Stacey’s sister’s family in Southern Alberta.  I published that post July 13; let’s just say I’m a bit belated on the follow-up.

The next day was Canada Day, the national day of Canada like unto the 4th of July but with a lot more maple leaves.  My mom grew up in Raymond, a dear town that was the center of all things Mormon and the setting of so many weekends and holidays in my childhood years. I can’t say I always appreciated this sleepy town (being the big city gal that I was) but I always treasured time spent on my grandparent’s farm and with them, truly some of the most caring and loving people I’ve ever met.

The Parade

I haven’t been back to Raymond since my grandmother’s funeral in 2000 and I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of emotion I felt as Stacey and I showed my kids around.

We started with the Raymond parade. We’re not parade people so my kids were less-than enthused about going but I promised the Raymond parade was different at it delivered! Do: Bring bags to collect the candy because almost everyone in the parade throw it. Don’t: Sit behind Stacey’s nephew (a teacher at the junior high) because you’ll get sprayed with water guns as his students pass by on the floats.

My family is deeply rooted in Raymond but sadly, I no longer have any direct relatives who live there besides my cousin who has been estranged from the family for years (I won’t get into all that drama, from which I stayed away). He inherited my grandparent’s farm and I really wanted to visit but even though he’s my only cousin on my mom’s side of the family, I knew we likely wouldn’t be welcome. So we snuck in. My beloved barn was torn down and in its place a lot more of my cousin’s toys. We didn’t hop out of the car because we saw all the threatening life-or-death trespassing signs (yep, he’s a gem) so kept right on going.

The Grave

As we were driving back to town, we passed Temple Hill and Stacey asked if I wanted to see if I could find my grandparent’s grave. Honestly, I’m not much of a graveyard person either so was reluctant but I’m so glad she pressed me to do it. Stacey’s dear mom passed away in our tweens so she went to find her, leaving the kids and me to stroll through the rows of graves until I found my dear Wallace and Virginia Wilde. And then I burst out crying because I realized I’d never seen their grave and what a beautiful flood of beautiful memories it evoked.

My grandparent’s home

Cooking in my grandma’s kitchen. Christmas mornings. Dirt biking at the farm. Strolling the coulee with the dogs. Summers at the Raymond pool but never being brave enough to jump off the high dive. Playing tennis with Dad. Hearing mom’s wild stories of her youth. Daydreaming under the backyard willow tree and picking pussy willows.  Grandpa’s boisterous laugh and how he magnetically drew people to him. My spiritual, sweet and loving Grandma.  Learning to fly.  ”Ever remembered, ever loved.”

 

My Favorite Place on Earth

Prince of Wales Credit: First Light.

We briefly crashed Stacey’s family’s Canada Day party and then her brother-in-law Will suggested we go to Waterton Lake National Park. It was only an hour drive from Raymond and brooding storm clouds kept the crowds away. I didn’t care because I was home at my favorite place on earth that borders Glacier National Park in Montana

The only time I’ve taken my kids and Jamie to Waterton was in 2011. I’d built it up so much in my mind and we were going to unleash ourselves on the lawn of the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel overlooking an eternity of water…only something different was unleashed: Hadley’s tantrum because the girl was out-of-her-gourd on Dramamine from the drive.

Fortunately, this time was much different! Even with the overcast skies, Waterton stunned.

We picnicked beside Waterton Lake, strolled Main Street, ate huckleberry ice cream and made the steeeeeeep 1-mile pilgrimage to the top of Bear’s Hump and just when I thought the views couldn’t get any better, they did.

If I couldn’t be surrounded by my beloved parents, grandparents, brothers and aunts to celebrate like the Canada Days of yesteryear, this was the next best thing.

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In case you missed our other Canadian adventures this summer:

Oh Canada: The Lethbridge Edition

Oh Canada: The Canada Day in Raymond and Waterton Edition

Oh Canada: The Calgary Edition

Oh Canada: The Banff/Canmore Edition

Oh Canada: The Lakehouse Edition

Oh Canada: The Kettle Valley Railway Trail Edition

 Oh Canada: The Edition Not in Canada

Filed Under: Canada, Family travel, travel, Uncategorized
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