Scenes of Calgary

It was nice to get back home and rediscover the familiar places and activities we'd missed for so long. The last time Vivian and I spent a summer in Calgary was back in 2002, before we got married.
Mowing my parent's lawn on my first day back. Actually I enjoy doing this kind of gardening stuff
Driving back home towards the sunset. This was nearly 11:00 pm at night! The summer evenings last a long time in Calgary
The deck at my parent's house. This morning: sunny and warm. Afternoon: warm and breezy. Dinnertime: black clouds roll in, followed by a hailstorm with hail the size of marbles. Evening: the sun came out again
After the hailstorm. Clouds receeding in the east left a rainbow on their way out We took a walk on Nose Hill (Canada's largest metropolitan park) and enjoyed the view of the downtown highrises. I like how you can't really see the suburbs of Calgary from this angle, on account of all the trees there are
Roaming downtown Calgary, I snapped a close-up of the Calgary Tower
Street scene from Stephen Avenue Mall, Calgary's downtown pedestrian mall. This area has lots of nice pubs, patios, restaurants, shops and street life
Stephen Avenue is Calgary's oldest street, so there are several hundred-year-old brick buildings still lining the road. These ones have all had their façades restored
The wild rose, Alberta's provincial flower. It still says "Wild Rose Country" on Alberta license plates
The house we bought in February 2005. We're still renting it out, and we've been blessed with a good tenant. Due to Calgary's booming economy and real estate shortage, the value has gone up about $150,000 in the past year and a half

Flying high over the snowy peaks

One big highlight of our trip to Canada was visiting Windermere, the little town in BC's Columbia Valley where my uncle runs his motel. In nearby Invermere there is a company named Babin Air that offers short sightseeing flights around the area. We flew over over Radium Hot Springs, the Bugaboo Spires, the Hanging Glacier and other nearby attractions.

The plane: one propeller, room for just five occupants
The Columbia Valley stretching into the distance
...and up we go! Over the first layer of tall mountains
One of the Bugaboo spires. Hard to believe this is late June already. Looks like a winter scene with all the snow on top
Pilot lost, looking at map for directions.
Ah, turn left at next big mountain. That's the stuff
Approaching the massive hanging glacier and the large lake below
The hanging glacier up close. Big slabs of snow that looked ready to shear off at any time and plunge hundreds of meters down
Another large glacier nearby
Back in the valley, it was time for Vivian to fly for a bit

We flew over the little town of Windermere before returning to our original takeoff site. The Tilling's motel is to the left of the church with the red roof

Road trips to the Rocky Mountains

We took two trips to the Rocky Mountains this summer. The first trip was the three-hour drive to Windermere, BC to see Aunt Siri and Uncle Mike tilling. They run a nice little motel near the lake. The other trip was to Canmore and Banff with Vivian's friend Amy and her family.
Our chariot for the journeys: Dad's Jeep Cherokee
Castle Mountain from a distance
Crystal-clear mountain stream

Lichen and other living things cling to everything in the forest
A fellow traveler on the road, stopping for a snack. Though we butted in on his mealtime, thankfully he didn't repay us with the same gesture
Banff's Mount Rundle in the background
We climbed Tunnel Mountain and enjoyed this view of the town of Banff below
Also on Tunnel Mountain -- looking East towards the Banff golf course and the edge of Mount Rundle
A family picture in front of Bow Falls

Back in Calgary visiting the family三訪卡加立

This summer we had the chance to return to Calgary for a visit. It was nice to get back to summer in Canada and see Mum and Dad and Jane. We also traveled to the mountains to see the Tillings in Windermere.
今年夏天我們帶著孟田回卡加立去看爺爺奶奶。這是我第三次回卡加立，每次的心境都不同。第一次我只是女朋友，快要回台灣前，Gareth在八月的湖邊跟我求婚，才變成未婚妻。第二次去我們結婚兩年，我是媳婦。
這一次帶著孟田，已經是媽媽，責任越來越大。
卡加立的夏天很棒，白天最高30度，晚上較冷大約10到15度。非常乾燥。就算在30度的大太陽下走兩小時，也不會流汗

Mum and Dad enjoying the Calgary Stampede parade
爺爺奶奶也一起去看遊行

Auntie Jane and Fiona
孟田和姑姑
孟田註：不要笑我的紅襪子，媽媽出門前亂抓的一雙

In Riley Park, next to the paddle pool
爺爺奶奶愛死孟田了。對她的一舉一動都要發出讚嘆。
她在爬！她在說話！她在唱歌！她在我身上睡著了！

孟田很喜歡讓爺爺抱，應該很舒服吧

Grandma likes Fiona's white dress
孟田身上的白色毛衣外套是Gareth小時候外婆織給他的
奶奶留了許多Gareth小時候的東西，梳子、外套、毛衣、椅子‧‧‧

The family at the airport -- we said goodbye to Jane as she departed for Switzerland

Proud Grandma with Fiona... and her flowers!

Visiting Mum at work -- Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Elementary School
參觀奶奶的學校，這是她的教室，她今年教五年級

Visiting Auntie Siri and Uncle Mike Tilling in Windermere, BC
開了四小時的車去拜訪Gareth的表舅和表舅媽，表舅媽是泰國人，十分熱情。
他們在一個美麗的湖邊開了一間小汽車旅館，我們當然住在"高級套房"，連孟田也有自己的房間呢！

Grandpa was happy to spend time with little Fiona
看爺爺的笑容就知道他多喜歡孟田

What I really want to do is Direct

We have jumped on the video editing/blogging bandwagon, thanks to YouTube. Below are three short music videos starring our ever-popular Fiona.
I have also uploaded a bunch of older videos and slideshow projects I edited over the last year or so. You can see all of them on our YouTube channel. Enjoy!


Fiona's First Five Months


Fiona in April and May


Fiona's Adventures Outside