We had a crazy weekend a little while ago and I kept meaning to post about it, but frankly, it was tiring and life just kept happening. So I didn't. But it was full of important events, so I'd better get it down before I forget all of the relevant details!
On Friday night, Stuart and I loaded up the car, coaxed in Ursa and hit the road for Edmonton. As is becoming tradition, we stopped in Red Deer for mushroom burgers at the Burger Baron and it was otherwise an uneventful drive, thankfully. Although we now get to start out in sunlight, it's still winter enough to be pitch black when we arrive.
Saturday morning, we left Ursa at the house and headed to Marghie's salon with Mom. Since Mom and Stuart only take about half an hour each and I was just getting my bangs trimmed, it was a short visit. I had thought to order some of the new shampoo and conditioner I liked, but it turns out to be stupidly expensive. No economies of scale, for some reason. Meg told me she found a sulfate free set she likes in the department stores, so maybe I'll try it.
From there, we went home to snag a quick lunch and then it was over to West Edmonton Mall, to meet Mike, Ang and the twins for our afternoon at the Waterpark. The rates have become outrageous, so I was happy that I'd found I could get tickets using my Airmiles. Being the Family Day weekend, it was pretty busy and as usual WEM's timing was off - the women's change rooms were closed for renovations, so we were shunted into the family change area. It's quite a bit smaller and the lockers were all full. I ended up bringing my stuff out so that Stuart could put it in his. Probably a good idea anyway, since lockers are $7 a piece. After all that though, we did end up having a good time. The adults took some turns staying with the kids, so we all got a chance to do at least some of the slides, to hang out in the wave pool and to warm up in the hot tubs. After 3 or 4 hours, we were all thoroughly wrinkled and ready to eat.
We all headed back to my parent's house, where we had a nice visit and Stuart's informal birthday dinner. Mom and Dad had done up scratch mac and cheese, a spiral ham, salad, potatoes and a pistachio and almond ice cream cake from Marble Slab for dessert. Oh! And the foccaccia that I requested, which went down well as appetizer, dipped in oil and vinegar. The Henders headed back to Stuart's parents' house for the rest of the evening and we took Ursa for a walk before bed.
The next morning was relaxed and we all met up, along with GG, for dim sum at the Unforgettable. We'd eaten there before and been impressed with the food - and this time was no exception. I don't think the boys were into all the strange food, but the rest of us had a great meal. And very timely too, since it was the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebrations. Yeah for the year of the Tiger - when both Stuart and I were born! Back at the house, I did shiatsu treatments for both Stuart and Dad, while Megan and Myles hung out with Grandma upstairs, working on dinner.
It turned out to be another great dinner, this time for Ella's birthday. She'd requested steak, carrots, dilled potatoes and salad, which was yummy. Since she doesn't like cake, Megan and Karen collaborated on a popsicle rocket, which is hard to describe. I'll try and attach some pictures. We also polished off a bit more of the ice cream cake! Geoff, Ella and Karen's niece had spent the day at the Waterpark, so they arrived in time for dinner, along with Karen and GG again. After dinner, Ella opened her birthday presents and then it was time for everyone to head back to their respective beds. I drove GG home while Stuart and Ursa went for a walk.
On Monday morning, Stuart and I packed everything up and hit the road for Westlock. We had brunch with his Grandma and a nice visit. She's settling into the retirement home nicely and she seems a lot happier now that her house is sold and she doesn't have that worry any more. We hit the road for Calgary a little before noon and got to the house with just enough time to feed Ursa, unload the car and change before getting back on the highway; this time to Banff.
As our private celebration of Stuart's birthday, Valentine's Day and our third anniversary, we had dinner at our favorite restaurant, The Bison Cafe. As usual, the food was outstanding, although our server didn't quite come up to expectations. We had baked olives, venison ginger wontins in pear reduction, pan seared salmon and scallop with mustard seed gnocchi and wilted spinach on celeriac mash, followed by double chocolate mousse and raspberry chantilly. It was quite lovely.
By the time we were headed home, as you can imagine, we were both more than ready for bed. It was a crazy weekend, but it was sure fun!
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