This is no longer a vacation. It’s a quest. It’s a quest for fun.
Clark Griswold
How do you follow up fabulous wedding?
A family holiday at my Sister’s with my WpgBesty!
Every year we try to get the 3 of us together.
We grew up together.
We are sisters.
For the past 2 summers we have met in Cochrane. Hopefully next year they will all venture out to Ticky Town and then the next year after that we can all go back home to Winnipeg for a vacation!
Fingers crossed LOL
This was a super special get together because I had not seen my WpgBesty’s youngest daughter since she was 18 months old… She turned 4 earlier this year!
All the kids played together so well! In fact the 2 oldest, HBear and BrookyBear were inseparable. When they first got to the door HBear ran up and was quite shy until I said, “aren’t you going to give her a hug?” And they took each other into their arms and didn’t let go for 3 days lol.
On our first day we went to Drumheller. Even though there were 13 of us, we were able to take 2 vehicles. All the guys and SweetPea went in the truck. The 3 ladies and the rest of the kids went in our van.
Enough said. Lol
When we first got there we had a lovely picnic. Sis and WpgBesty made brown paper bag lunches for everyone 🙂
The weather only called for high teens but it ended up being quite hot out LOL all of our sweaters, matching or not, left us a bit overheated. Damn Prairie weather! LOL
Everyone loved the Royal Tyrrell Museum! I had not been there since I was a young child and it was pretty awesome. HBear and BrookyBear were interested in everything! Little sponges!!
SweetPea is a definite scientist! She was so interested in dinosaurs and checking things out, she was on the move constantly hee hee hee.
LittleK really enjoyed herself too! I spent a lot of time with her, getting to know her and playing games with her LOL she’s a firecracker that one! She enjoyed touching everything and even when I told her to look at something she totally defied me until she thought I wasn’t looking!! Little Rat! 🙂
The next morning, Sis had to go to work so WpgBesty and I were brave and took all 5!!!! kids back-to-school shopping. Before we did that though we met my Cousins for breakfast! Dad flew back that afternoon so we thought breakfast would be a great way to get in one last visit. Little did we know we would have many hours to sit and chat LOL
I don’t know what it is lately but we have had some horrible dining experiences, this one may have taken the cake. We got there at 10 AM and our server didn’t come see us till 10:30! I had to go to the back to ask her to come out and take our order. Later, I had to go back and ask for more coffee. By 11:45 I asked to speak to the manager.
She told me the manager was busy.
!!!!!?!?!?!!!!!!
When the manager came over I asked her how is she was going to make this better? How was she going to explain the wait or the fact that our server had not smiled at us once, had thrown her tray and used profanities when I had asked for some service.
We ended up getting our food at a discounted rate and a lot of quality time with my Cousins, Dad, and 5!!! kids. Lol
It was quite funny taking 5 kids to a mall… After almost an hour we realized that we had been going in a very small circle… The food court the bathroom to Old Navy and back to the bathroom LOL.
We rocked it though and after the debacle that was school shopping, Marble Slab Creamery for all!
After shopping, we went to the park!
While we were doing that… This is what our husbands were doing,
Yeah, so when they got home at 8 o’clock at night the kids were fed, bathed and some of them were even in bed and we were ready for a girl’s night out on the town 🙂
On our last day together we all went to Heritage Park.
What a freaking awesome place!
It has something for everyone. My WpgBesty had found coupons on the Internet for buy one get one and every family used one and the admission included everything! The amusement park, a trip through the olden days, a boat ride, and even the train ride! Everybody had an amazing time and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.
It was a busy but wonderful 3 days.
I can’t believe we only get 3 days a year!
But, we sure do make the best of it! In the evenings we scarfed down my BIL’s famous homemade bagels, had some bevies, and played cards against humanity!
Man I love those guys!
You may think that after all that our vacation was over, but the next day we journeyed to Edmonton! More details coming soon 🙂
For dinner the other night I made this awesome chicken and rice dish! It definitely satisfied my takeout craving, it was easy, and it was ready in less than 30 minutes!
Sweet & Sticky Chicken and Rice
Adapted from Kitchen Sanctuary
3 chicken breasts, chopped into chunks
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons oil
1 onion, chopped into wedges
1 red pepper, chopped into chunks
1/2 cup baby carrots, quartered
1/2 cup baby carrots, quartered
19oz can of pineapple in juice, chunks
2 cloves garlic, pressed
½ teaspoon ginger, grated
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Cooked Rice
Cilantro
Place the chicken chunks in a bowl and sprinkle on the cornstarch, salt & pepper.
Heat the oil in a large pan on high. When the oil is hot, add in the chicken. Cook, moving the chicken around occasionally, until the chicken is golden on all sides.
Add in the carrots, onions and peppers, and fry with the chicken for a 1 minute.
Drain the pineapple (reserving the juice) and dry the pieces on a piece of kitchen towel.
Add the pineapple into the pan and cook for a further two minutes.
Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for a further minute.
Combine the reserved pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce and the tomato paste in a bowl. Mix together, then add to the pan.
Continue cooking on high, allowing the sauce to bubble and reduce down, stirring occasionally. It should take about 5-6 minutes on a high heat to reduce down and start making the chicken look darker and caramelized.
Sprinkle with cilantro and serve on a bed of rice.
