Canada Day 5 - Calgary to Vancouver
On day 5, we said goodbye to Calgary and drove along the Trans Canada Highway to Vancouver. The drive was filled with beautiful scenery the entire 11 hours. It started out rainy but we got to see a double rainbow, that ended in the Rockies. We stopped to get gas just outside of Banff at a place that just happened to be on Native land, which came with the fun surprise of free roaming cattle. It was wild to see cows walking around a hotel parking lot! Our drive took us through multiple national parks and just confirmed that we need to come visit again to explore even more of this gorgeous country.
Before reaching Vancouver, we made a slight detour to MacInnes Farms, the home of another one of our favorite TV shows, When Calls the Heart. We just barely made it in time for our tour of the Hope Valley set. It was amazing to see all of Hope Valley. We got to go into the buildings and see all the main sights like the row houses (there are only 2 in real life, the others are CGI in the show), the jail, the mercantile, Abigail’s cafe, the Queen of Hearts, the Coulter’s office, and of course the school. We also got to see the cabin in the woods, the kissing bridge and the mine, which was constructed inside an old milking barn.
After our tour, we headed to our AirBnB in White Rock, a beach suburb of Vancouver. As we were driving we noticed the sunset over the water and found a little park to pull off for some incredible sunset photos. Walking back to the car, I turned around to get some pictures with the boardwalk too and we had a bald eagle fly over us. Western Canada is just incredible!
Canada Day 4 - Heartland
Day 4 in Alberta was all about Heartland. And if we are honest, Heartland is the reason we started looking into visiting Alberta years ago. I fell in love with the TV show Heartland many years ago and DJ started watching with me. We’ve since gone back and rewatched it a couple of times since he didn’t see the beginning. It is definitely one of our all time favorite shows so we made a whole day out of visiting the filming locations. First up was High River, the setting for the town of Hudson. We started the day at the Museum of the High Country where we saw several costumes and lots of memorabilia from the show. The museum is also where they film the library scenes in season 18.
The museum gave us a map of all the filming locations in town and the areas around town. We walked down the street and as we turned the corner we saw the sign for Maggie’s Diner. It was so cool to feel like we were in Hudson! Maggie’s isn’t an operating diner so we couldn’t go inside but we got lots of pictures through the windows of the set. We also saw Jess’s art gallery, the street where they did a cattle drive through town, the gazebo where Amy graduated, the motel where Ty’s dad stayed and what I think is the bar where Ty and Caleb hang out. It was so fun to be in Hudson and see all the sights in person.
While in High River, we also saw the Wales Theater, which was named after HRH Edward, the Prince of Wales, and used in many movies. We also had lunch at Evelyn’s Memory Lane Diner, which is the inspiration for Maggie’s.
Next we drove to Diamond Valley to go to Marshall’s Country Store, which is owned by Amber Marshall (aka Amy Fleming)!
Our next stop was the Hudson Rodeo Grounds.
From the rodeo grounds, we headed to the super cute church where Lou and Peter got married.
The actual Heartland ranch location is not given on the map. However, with some digging on Google maps satellite, we found what we thought was the ranch. So, we decided to be adventurous and find it. It was worth the scrolling on google maps because we found it! And not only did we find the ranch, but we saw Caleb’s truck with a Heartland trailer, Lou’s Expedition and Ty’s blue truck, which might as well be a character in and of itself.
The final stop on our Heartland tour was Spruce Meadows on the way back to Calgary. This is where they film the show jumping scenes. There were events going on so we just drove by it but it looked really awesome. We had so much fun scouting out all the Heartland film locations and it was even more fun watching the newest season after being there in person! And it all truly is as beautiful in person as it is on the screen.
After dinner in Calgary, we took a little walk from our hotel to see the skyline. It is so cool to see the city skyline and mountains together.
Canada Day 3 - Lake Louise, Banff and Canmore
We headed back into Banff National Park for our next day in Canada. We started the day at the iconic Lake Louise. We had no idea it would still be frozen and we could walk out onto it! We missed the time when it was open for ice skating so we will just have to go back in the winter. We also want to go back to see it in the summer when we can canoe on it as well as drive or hike up to the beautiful Moraine Lake, which was still closed because of icy conditions when we were there. I could not get enough pictures of Lake Louise and the Fairmont Chateau. It was incredible to finally get to see this place that we’ve eyed on Instagram for years in person. Although, the theme of the trip was that we just want to come back in every season and see even more. Pictures just don’t do this place justice.
We spent the rest of the day hiking. First up was Bow River Falls. It was a nice hike along the Bow River to the falls. We got a glimpse of the Fairmont Banff Springs, known as the Castle in the Rockies and it was so impressive. As we were taking pictures of the falls, DJ noticed a plaque marking Queen Elizabeth II Commonwealth Sentier Walkway. It was my first Royal related sighting and I was thrilled by the surprise!
Our second hike was the Tunnel Mountain summit. This was labeled as easy but Western Canada’s definition of easy and the Blue Ridge Mountains’ definition of easy must be very different, although we can blame the altitude for some of the difficulty. The hike was worth the incline because the top was filled with 360 degree views of the Rockies and the town of Banff. We got a bird’s eye view of the whole area, including the Castle in the Rockies! It was incredible. We kept saying the whole time that our mountains back home will never look the same after seeing these mountains. The Smokies and Blue Ridge Mountains are beautiful but they just cannot compare to the Canadian Rockies.
We ended our day with some shopping in Banff then more shopping and dinner in Canmore. While in Canmore, I had to get a picture at the North West Mounted Police station in honor of Mountie Jack and Mountie Nathan from When Calls the Heart!
Canada Day 2 - Canmore and Banff
For our second day in Alberta, we explored the town of Canmore and Banff National Park. The drive into Canmore and Banff was beautiful with 360 degree views of the Rockies. Canmore is such a cute town surrounded by the Rockies!
The town of Banff and all of Banff National Park that we saw was absolutely beautiful. There were breathtaking views everywhere you looked. The town was filled with nice shops. Our main adventure for the day was a horseback ride along the Bow River. We loved our ride on Red (me) and Eli (DJ). The river is such a pretty color because of the glacier run off and the Banff mountains are just incredible. After horseback riding, we went back into the town of Banff for dinner and more shopping. It was a great start to our Western Canadian Adventure!
Peace out Chemo, Hello Canada!
After 10 rounds of chemo, DJ finished treatment in January 2025! We decided to skip the last 2 rounds after multiple conversations with his oncologist and lots of prayer. His white blood count was dropping lower than we’d like and his fatigue was getting much worse. His oncologist said that he had received the benefit of the chemo with the 10 rounds and that 2 more at a lower dose wouldn’t make much difference. The info that really tipped the scales was that a new drug was approved in the fall that specifically targets the gene mutation that causes his tumor. So, we know that if his tumor starts to grow again in the future, we have even more options to treat it. This was such a long and very hard journey but we are so thankful for how God sustained us all through it. We also could not have survived the cancer treatment journey without the help and encouragement of our family and friends! A huge thank you for all the prayers, texts, meals, babysitting and encouragement through this whole journey.
To celebrate the end of cancer treatments, DJ and I took a trip to Western Canada. This was the biggest trip we’ve taken since before Ava was born and the longest we’ve ever left the girls. Our moms took turns keeping the girls while we explored the beautiful Canadian Rockies, a place we’ve wanted to visit for many years. It was exactly what we needed after a very long year and a half.
We flew into Calgary, AB on May 4th. We had a very early wake up that morning because we had to leave for Atlanta at 3:30 am! So, we did not do much our first day in Canada. We spent our time getting settled in our hotel and planning out our week. I’ll break the days up into individual posts because I have so many pictures.
Easter 2025
We celebrated Easter with my family as usual this year. My mom, grandmother Aunt Kay and Uncle Ron all came over to our house for lunch and an egg hunt. The girls decorated eggs the day before Easter. This year, Ava didn’t want to hunt eggs but was happy to help hide eggs for Zoe. And surprisingly, we did not lose any in the yard this year. We had a great time celebrating the Resurrection with our family.
10 Years
April 7th, 2025 marked 10 years since my daddy went to Heaven. I cannot believe it’s been a whole decade since he was here on earth. So much has happened in those 10 years that I so wish we could’ve shared with him. I wish he was here to know Zoe and to see the girls grow up. Each year April 7th comes around with so many emotions. It hits different some years but is never easy. This year felt like such a huge anniversary and it was definitely not easy. I’ve heard it said that it hurts so much because of how much love there was and that is so true. I am so grateful we know that we will see him again one day. We miss you so much, daddy!
Zoe, your birthday is a hard day for me because I want to be fully present for you and to celebrate but I am pulled by grief. Your Grampie would have made sure you were spoiled on your birthday, and every time he saw you. It breaks my heart when you say it’s not fair that you never got to meet him. It isn’t fair and I hate that you don’t have memories with him. But, I pray you get to make all kinds of memories with him in eternity!
Zoe’s Popsicle and Painting Party
Zoe wanted to celebrate her birthday with her friends by painting and enjoying popsicles. I kept asking if she wanted any kind of cake or cupcakes but she said she just wanted popsicles. That made things very easy for me. She had such a great time celebrating with her sweet friends from church!
Zoe is 8!
I still cannot believe that Zoe is 8 years old! Each year now just seems so old! She is growing up way too fast and I wish time would slow down.
Zoe had her well check right after her birthday and she is right on track developmentally. She is a very healthy little girl. Zoe’s stats were:
Height: 50.2 in (47th percentile)
Weight: 54 lbs (40th percentile)
She is still petite (although I guess just slightly below average compared to kids her age) but she definitely had a big growth spurt. We really feel like she’s grown a lot in the past few months. She is wearing size 7 clothes and size 1 shoes. She suddenly outgrew all her shoes and I thought she would need 13s but when I pulled out some of Ava’s old shoes, I was surprised that the 1s fit her.
I continued with the annual birthday questions with Zoe this year. Like I’ve said before, I love being able to remember the girls at different ages in their own words.
How old are you?
8
What is your favorite color?
Coral and orange
She remains pretty consistent with this one. Although the pink has changed to coral.
What is your favorite food?
Pasta and rice
Pasta and rice are definitely staples for her. We try to make sure to add some kind of protein in but she would be happy to eat just plain pasta and rice. I recently found rice made out of chickpeas that she really likes, which makes me feel a little better since she is getting some protein with that. She also likes my gluten free pasta, which is better than just the plain pasta. She loves to have tomato soup, corn chowder or a chicken and tomato soup that I make with her rice and pasta. She still loves edamame beans and we still call them entamale beans like Bluey. She also loves roasted broccoli and brussel sprouts. She still loves bread of any kind but a recent favorite is biscuits. And she still loves her school lunches and says the crispy chicken sandwich is her favorite to get.
What is your favorite restaurant?
Tropical Grille and Mexican
These are our top choices in the house as well. We love the family meals from Tropical Grille because Zoe will eat on the rice and beans for a few days. It is one meal she cannot get enough of. She loves to order rice and beans at the Mexican restaurant too. She also still loves Chick-fil-a, Swamp Rabbit, Panera, and Eggs Up Grille.
What is your favorite outfit?
My romper
Recently, Zoe has become obsessed with rompers and overalls. She isn't into dresses as much these days, it’s all about the rompers. I think they may remind her of her footie pj’s (which she is so sad don’t come in her size anymore, or at least not until Christmas). She loves to pick out her clothes each day and is very particular about what matches…and her idea of matching doesn’t always line up with my idea but we just let it go because she is very opinionated about her clothes. She definitely only wants leggings or jeggings or knit shorts….the girl likes her comfort but I can’t blame her for that.
What is your favorite TV Show?
Bluey
Bluey is still a big hit for her. Some other favorites are Gabby’s Dollhouse, Ada Twist, Fancy Nancy, Ariel, Little Einsteins, Super Kitties, Eureka, Spidey, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Doc and Kiya.
What is your favorite song?
Let it Go
Disney music is always a favorite. She loves all of the Frozen music, Encanto music, Moana music, Spidey and Friends music and Desccendants music. She also loves Greatest Showman. She is still a big fan of Colony House, Toby Mac and Jamie Grace too.
What is your favorite book?
The Fairylight Friends books
These are books she discovered at school. They are early chapter books that are kind of like graphic novels too. She loved the fact that she could easily read it by herself and felt proud that she read a chapter book. They are cute stories about fairies too. She also still loves the Elephant and Piggie books and the Pigeon books by Mo Willems. Click, Clack, Moo books and Pete the Cat books are also regular series we check out from the library. We discovered some early chapter books called King and Kayla that are about a girl and her golden retriever that solve mysteries and she loves those. She is slowly becoming more confident in her reading and wants to read on her own. She has progressed so much this year in her reading and we are really proud of all the hard work she’s put in with her reading.
What is your favorite toy?
Melody
Zoe still loves her American Girl doll. I think she mostly likes dressing her up and accessorising her but she does play imaginative play with her too. She is still very into her baby dolls and is always wanting to play with her babies. It usually switches between the baby dolls though as to which one she is obsessed with at the time. Right now it is Lulu, her very first doll that she is super attached to. Speaking of attached, she is still very attached to Bun Bun, her stuffed bunny that she sleeps with. She loves him and her blankie so much.
What is your favorite thing to do?
Go outside and draw
These are definitely still her favorite activities. She has a playroom full of toys but she definitely prefers to be outside or crafting. She loves the trampoline and loves to practice her acro skills on it. She also still loves bubbles and sidewalk chalk. Now that the grass is growing and there are weeds again, she loves to go and pick all the clovers and wild violets. As long as her perfecitionism doesn’t take over, Zoe is probably happiest when she is crafting. She is so creative when it comes to projects. She is always asking for tutorials online for certain craft ideas but the end project is usually better when she just does her own thing. We recently discovered that you can download printable projects on Etsy and that has started a whole new obsession. She loves to look for projects and ended up with an Etsy gift card for her birthday. That means our house is now covered in craft projects. She just can’t get enough when it comes to crafting.
Where is your favorite place to go?
Disney World
We hope we can make that happen sometime in the next year or two but we will see. As Disney adult parents, we love that our girls share our love of Disney, just wish it was easier to go more often.
Who are your best friends?
Kolby, Jordyn, Camden, Evie
These are all friends from school. Jordyn has been her best friend since kindergarten. Unfortunately, they are not in the same class this year but they are still such sweet friends. It took her a little while this year to really find a good friend in her class. But, thankfully as the year has gone on she has made friends with the other 3 girls. She is still super extroverted and is always energized by people, something the rest of us in the house just do not understand. But, we love watching her friendships grow and her teachers always say what a sweet friend she is to the kids in the class.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Engineer
She is definitely still set on being an engineer of some sort. Her little mind can definitely picture things and then plan it out to create that just amazes us. She will usually say she wants to be an Imagineer and we love that big dream.
What do you hope to accomplish as an 8 year old?
Stop sucking my thumb
This was the same goal as last year and we thought we had the goal met. She stopped for a few weeks but when school was more challenging this year, she just couldn’t help but start again. We are really hopeful that this is the year she will accomplish this goal.
Zoe wanted to add another question…what’s your favorite flower?
Any kind
Zoe still loves flowers of all kinds. Although, she has said before that Dahlias are her favorite.
And another by Zoe…what’s your favorite sport?
Acro and I like to run
Zoe loves her acro class. She is in Acro 3 this year and is really working on perfecting her cartwheels (including the 1 handed cartwheel), headstands, handstands and back rolls. She is so strong and it is always so fun to watch her work hard at mastering these skills. She does love to run too and is really quick. She also seems to have endless endurance. Maybe she will run cross country one day.
Zoe still has such a big personality! She is still goofy and loves to make people laugh. She is also still a cuddle bug and still wants to be carried everywhere. I didn’t think I would still be able to carry her at 8 but I can, just not too far…and she may be the reason I go to the chiropractor. But she loves that touch and connection so we will continue as long as she needs it and as long as my back can hold out. She loves big and we are grateful to receive that love daily.
As I always say, we are so honored that we were chosen to be this beautiful girl’s parents. We know that choice was not made lightly and we do not take it lightly. As we watch her grow, we know there is someone so special that is missing out on these moments and I cannot celebrate Zoe’s birthday without acknowledging her. Zoe’s birth mama holds such a special place in our family and we can never express how much she means to us. We are so grateful for her and Zoe in our lives!
I still do not know how in the world Zoe is 8 years old. We cannot wait to see what all God has in store for her this next year! Happy 8th Birthday, Zoe girl! Mama, Daddy and Ava love you to the sun and back and the whole entire earth!!!
Happy 8th Birthday, Zoe!
Somehow, Zoe turned 8 on April 7th, 2025. It is crazy that she is 8 already (well, at the time I’m writing this she is almost 8 and a half). She is growing so fast! Her birthday fell on a school day this year but I picked her up early to get some ice cream for a special treat. Then we opened gifts at home and went out for dinner at Molina’s Mexican. It was a special day celebrating our big 8 year old!
