Moms & Babies

I had such a great long weekend with my mom and Willow. Jon unfortunately worked all weekend so I was super happy to have mom to keep us company. We went into town and visited a couple of shops and took in the beauty of the fog and rain hovering over the lake.

The next day I had to take mom out to go look for bears. I drove to the same spot where I saw the mama the day before and she wasn't there! So we drove to a lake to go check out their campground and take in the scenery. On the way back we saw the mama!! She was at the same spot just on the other side of the road... and she had her cubs with her!!! Our hearts instantly turned to mush, these cubs were smaller than my cat. We watched them play with one another and race up the trees as fast as they could. The mom just sat there eating while watching her babes learn and play. They went into the woods shortly after but we could still see them. The cubs were getting to good at climbing the trees and going up very high so the mom would climb up to try and bring them down. I was so nervous for her because she is so heavy and was climbing these tiny trees. But she is an old pro. She climbed a tree at one point to check her surroundings and make sure her cubs were safe. She did a good scan and her cubs quickly followed suit and were climbing all over her. I couldn't even handle the cuteness.

Warning: the following pictures will make you melt

I know, too cute for words!!

After that amazing morning we headed into town to do some more shopping and eating.

Such a fun day! Jon & I went to a social that night and danced up a storm while my mom babysat Willow. Thanks for the fun weekend mom! Love you.

Bison, Bears & Moose... Oh My

Jon took Willow & I down the backroads to go look for bears. His supervisor had seen a cinnamon bear and a black bear with cubs that day and Jon had seen a black bear with cubs, so I was so excited to go on a "bear hunt". We drove all the way to the bison enclosure and didn't see one animal besides bunnies and the bison of course. By the time we got to the bison the lighting was dreamy.

I love what the gravel and wind did to this image

It was such a sweet surprise to see some little babes roaming about. I made Jon drive us around some more because I was determined to see some bears. We finally saw one just when we were going to call it a night yayayayayyaaaaa. We are so lucky! After I saw the beauty I was hooked. I had to go for another drive the very next eve.

Willow and I hopped in the car and saw quite a few moose which I LOVE, but I have bears on my mind. It's so pathetic that I actually search so hard that my eyes get sore haha. 

The moose and deer are pretty skinny after a rough, long winter

I went to the same spot where I saw the momma bear the night before and sure enough there she was, chomping down pounds and pounds of grass. I sat and watched her for a good half hour until Willow decided it was time to go. I saw one of her cubs trying desperately to climb a tree but it just kept falling. So stinking cute. The momma would go up the hill and nudge the baby back down. I think it was bed time. She was such a good momma and would run to the top of hill at any little sound her babes would make. I was just mesmerized by her.  I didn't get a good view of the cubs as they were to high up.

I love when they sniff the air

I was so happy I got to see her again. As I was driving back home I decided I wanted to go and snap a couple of shots of the lake. I was just about to pull over when out of nowhere this huge monster comes barreling out of the woods.

I don't know who was more scared, him or I. I stared him down and grabbed my camera to sneak a couple of shots. When I went to drive off he went running off into the woods but kept his eye on me. Needless to say my lake shots were going to have to wait.

"Bear hunting" is my new favourite pass time. If I came across this big boy and the mama with her cubs outside of my car I don't think I would enjoy my hobby as much.

Dear Willow, (10 Months)

Dear Willow,

We feel this past month you have changed so much! Your mama started back at work a couple of times a week so you have been spending much more one on one time with dada. This past month the weather has been bonkers, one day we have snow, and the next we are outside with bare skin. Spring is finally here to stay now though (we hope).

At ten months...

- you are wearing 6-12 month & 12 month clothes

- You have been in size 3 diapers forever!

- You slept in until 9 a couple of times this month which was a total shocker and we were very appreciative!! 

- You are very strong

- You started crawling a couple of weeks ago

- You mimic everyone's facial expressions and sounds

-You put everything in your mouth. You are always trying to get to Lily's food before her

- Your favourite words are mama and dada, we LOVE that

- You have soooo many expressions, you are hilarious

- You don't sit still, we can't just plop you on the ground anymore. You are very fast too

- You have two bottom teeth and a couple top ones are trying to poke through

-  You felt grass for your first time

- You are very feisty. You know what you want, that is for sure

- You will eat anything, food is your most favourite thing

- You went to your first house concert last week

 We love you to the moon & back Willow Rae xoxoxoxo

Mac Mother's Day

ohh boy oh boy did I ever have an extra special mothers day! We started the day off with a beautiful brunch with the whole fam. I am so lucky to have such fabulous mothers ( Grandma S was missed) in my life and was happy we got to celebrate with them. I felt extra lucky to be able to call myself a mother this year to such a sweet little babe. Ooooh she is precious.

After we filled our bellies we hung out at mom & dads soaking up the sun and quenching our thirst with some adult beverages and playing toss the Willow. She is definitely not deprived of attention EVER.

We then were revved up to go to the FLEETWOOD MAC concert!!!

And let me tell you they did NOT disappoint. Lindsey Buckingham is a beast on the guitar. He had me shaking my head in awe during a guitar solo and he totally brought me to tears. I have a creepy school girl crush on Mick Fleetwood. During the entire concert I kept thinking about how I want to wear "witchy clothes" just like Stevie Nicks and do bad ass poses all around town. I think she should retire her heels though as the poor gal was hobbling around the stage. And John McVie is such a cool cat in the background, such a legend.

I hope all my fellow mothers had a lovely day!! xoxo

Say Hello To My Furry Friends

I was missing my Moose friends from Cape Breton in the worst way (I am still missing my human friends from there too). But I have been seeing so many Moose out here in Manitoba lately and am loving it! You could say animal watching is my most favorite hobby. Anyhow, I am so far ahead of Jon in our animal spotting competition it's ridiculous. Just yesterday alone I spotted 7 moose & 6 deer. Jon is 2 deer, 2 baby beavers, & 2 moose. He would say he won because it's pretty rare to spot baby beavers but I beg to differ. These two little beavers hang out just down the road from us and I have been down to visit them everyday. I still haven't seen their momma yet.

Check out these cuties I have "made friends with" these past couple of days.