The Dudley Bunch: Ode to Waterton

May 2, 2008

Ode to Waterton

I love Waterton...I can't even explain how much I love Waterton. Being there makes me happy.

Maybe it is because that is where Tim and I met, where we first kissed, (okay it was all the same day...but?), and where we spent tons of time together before we got married. We even honeymooned in Waterton. Just saying Waterton makes my brain release tremendous amounts of endorphins.

Here are my top 10 reasons I love Waterton:

1. Love...it is "our place"

2. Hello...it is gorgeous. Some of the most incredible things I have ever seen have been things I have seen in or hiking around Waterton

3. It smells good all the time, (except when Glacier was burning...but even that is better than smog)

4. Bear's Hump: Where else can you get such a great pay off for such a short, though not effortless, hike?

5. Red Rock Canyon. It is so fun on a hot day to go play in the pools there.

6. Cameron Lake, Wall Lake, and and everything in between

7. Cameron Falls

8. Grizzly Bears... okay maybe that sounds crazy, but where else can you just drive around and see a mama bear with 2 cubs?

9. Marquis Hole...if you don't know where it is, I'm not telling

10. Tiger ice cream from the Big Scoop...and here I must digress and express my complete and utter disappointment with the change in recipe of all the tiger ice cream in Canada. As you know we can't get it here, and it was a serious highlight of my summer...and now the ice cream makers have changed it and it is not so tasty. Oh the horror...but there is always maple walnut....

6 comments:

jenniho ♥ said...: Kara - I'm glad you mentioned the smell of Waterton! We went there last summer and as soon as I got out of the car and took in a breath...it was sooo invigorating! It like a shot of B12 right in your vein! I love Waterton for most of the same reasons you do, (except tiger ice cream- Blech!) It's full of memories with Todd and especially full of nostalgia - my family used to go there all the time even just for a sunday after noon. Okay I better stop before I break out in song....memories, light the....; May 2, 2008 at 9:44 PM
Sweetarita said...: Waterton will forever be the BEST place ever!! I loved your Ode and all the pics to go with it!! and you are right about the Tiger icecream!! It's just not the same anymore-they must have taken the trans fats out like they did with OREOS!; May 8, 2008 at 8:39 AM
Anonymous said...: Love it! Waterton is so much fun! We try to go every time we're in "Oh Canada" Our kids love it there; we got engaged there; and I lived there for a whole summer in highschool! Great place filled with great memories!; May 11, 2008 at 8:51 PM
aubri said...: very cute!!!!!!!!
aubs; May 14, 2008 at 5:31 PM
Jaime said...: Kara,
I think you left out one magical story about waterton. The time you and Tim tried to drive home with Tiger ice cream starpped to the roof of your car. Needless to say it didn't quite make it.Tiger ice cream ...bad...caramellow and other canadian candy...good, which you can buy in waterton as well!! Add that to your list!! miss you; May 16, 2008 at 1:23 PM
The Dudley Bunch said...: In our defense, it was December and -30 when we left Alberta. But yeah the ice cream made it until Idaho and then it kinda got melted. It was a good effort though.; May 20, 2008 at 7:55 AM

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Our Story...the short version

Tim and I met in 1994, after his mission while I was in University in Lethbridge. After breaking and entering the Prince of Wales hotel that was under construction in the middle of February, we started spending a lot of time together. ( If you need more info about our meeting/breaking and entering...call me). Tim left that summer to go to Kansas City to take some science classes for Chiropractic school. While he was gone, he managed to get another girlfriend. Needless to say, we went our separate ways...and I was a little bitter. I guess he liked me best though, because for the next two years, he called me anytime he was home on semester break. Eventually he wormed his way back into my heart, and the rest is history. We married in October of 1996, and have been blissfully happy ever since. He is truly one of the best men I have ever known, and a great husband and father. That isn't to say he never drives me nuts...I am only human after all.

Family Vacations

There is nothing better than a family vacation. We have made it a huge priority to take vacations as a family. Not all of them are extravagant. In fact, some of our favorite memories are our trips to Alberta, or to the mountains a couple hours away. But one of our family's favorite destinations is Cancun, Mexico. What's not to love...the beach, ocean, food, and company is always outstanding. We went again last fall and had a blast. The kids were all at ages where we hope they will remember it. We had so much fun playing in the sand, and just hanging out together. The kids all got to swim with dolphins, and I was happy to be the photographer...in fact I may have gone overboard with my 500+ pictures. Here are a few of our favorites. Happy Memories.

Sisters

I have been blessed with 2 sisters. I didn't always think that was such a treat, but as I have gotten older and hopefully wiser, I have come to realize that sisters make the best friends. There isn't anything...(and I mean anything), I won't talk about with my sisters. A couple of years ago, we started having our "girls weekends", and let me tell you...that is fun. Undoubtedly someone is always nursing or pregnant, but it is still a blast. I was even lucky enough last year to be part of Kami and Tonya's births. I have always wanted to be on the other side of labor, if you will, and just be there as a support. Kami gave birth to Kiyomi in February, and Tonya to Walker in July, and I was there! They were both so amazing, and it was so cool to be part of it, and I am grateful I was in a position to go. Anyway...I love my sisters! Blood and all the others I have adopted to my heart over the years.

Family

Not only are Tim and I lucky to have our sweet kids, but we are blessed with great parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews. It is funny to see how big both families are getting. There are soon to be 24 grandkids on Tim's side, and soon to be 13 on mine. It is so much fun to get together with them whenever we can, and our kids have such fun when they are with Grandparents or cousins. It is a real blessing to have so many people who love you, love your kids, and are involved in helping them become the great people you want them to be. I don't think there is any way we can overestimate the value of such support. I am especially grateful that family is always there in the tough times, even more than when it is all fun. Just want you all to know how much we love and appreciate you all, even if we are too dumb to say it very often. There you go...a full serving of cheese. But I really do mean it all!

The Dudley Bunch