OUR NEW HOME: THE STOVELL FAMILY IN HAMILTON (AND HOW THEY GOT THERE!)

This blog promises to be full of stories and pictures from our recent cross Canada trip.

FROM VANCOUVER TO CALGARY

Jon, Elena, and I left Vancouver on June 30 and travelled across BC and into Calgary, AB on our first day. We spent Canada weekend with our friends the Kern Family.

Elena enjoys seeing the mountains in Banff.
Wow, Daddy, those mountains are really tall!!
While in Calgary, the people at the table next to us at a family restaurant we were eating at decided to win Elena a stuffed bull "just because she is SO CUTE!" (they said). Here she is playing with her bull and eating lunch.
Here are part of the lovely Kern family who we visited for two days.
This was a common sight looking in our backseat. Elena loved her new carseat and slept fantastically (and she was so adorable!)
This was also a common sight: Our Happy Elena!
Elena had a great time playing with her Uncle Kevin. Kev is a friend that Jon and I made while at Regent. He now lives in Calgary where we visited him. Kev has been like a big brother to me.
After a while, Elena decided she had this whole driving thing figured out and she should take a shift! : )

ACROSS THE PRAIRIES

All of us really enjoyed our time in Saskatchewan. Here Jon and Elena take in the beautiful view from our campsite.
We were struck by the beauty of the expansive sky in the Prairies. In Saskatchewan, we had an adventure. When we went to set up camp at 9pm at night, we realized that we left our tent poles in Vancouver so we decided to sleep under the stars. That was just fine until around 3am when a storm blew in and almost drenched us. We took down camp quickly and decided to start our drive to Manitoba early.
We were one of the only cars on that Saskatchewan road at 4am! But, WHAT A SUNRISE!!
In Manitoba, the park we camped in had a beach right beside it so our little monkey Elena had fun learning about sand.
One morning Elena decided she wanted to sleep in and snuggle with her daddy. Jon was so happy that "it was her idea!"

NORTHERN ONTARIO

Travelling into Northern Ontario, Jon realized that we would be driving past his godmother's house in Sioux Lookout, ON. Jon hadn't seen Harriet since he was little. It was such a gift to be able to spend time with her and her family. Here Harriet holds Elena on her deck.
As we continued along our way in Northern Ontario, we found a beautiful little rest stop with rapids.At first Elena was afraid of the rapids, but after Mommy and Daddy showed her it was okay, she had fun splashing in them.

SOUTHERN ONTARIO (AKA VISITING WITH FAMILY)

As part of our trip into Southern Ontario, we took a chance to see the places that Jon grew up. Here Jon and Elena spend time at Boiler Beach in Kincardine, ON.When we visited another hometown of Jon's, Paisley, there happened to be a tornado storm that ripped through nearby and we caught some pictures along the way.
While in Kincardine, we stayed with friends of Jon's mom, Josie and Bill.
Jon's brother, David Noah and his girlfriend Chrissy were nice enough to let us stay with them at their new house in Welland, ON while we apartment hunted and visited family in Hamilton. Elena really loves her Uncle Dave!
Elena also loved spending time with her Aunt Chrissy.
Jon's Dad (Dave, AKA Grandpa) was very excited to see his little granddaughter and she was SO happy to spend time with him!
Jon's StepMom (Ovelina, AKA Grandma) loved playing with Elena and making her giggle and laugh.
Elena even got to see her GREAT Grandma Beulah!Elena also got to visit her GREAT Grandpa Bruce...
and her GREAT Grandma Gwen (Jon's maternal grandparents). We are so excited that we will be living so close to so much family!

VISITING NEW BRUNSWICK (AKA VISITING FAMILY)

From Ontario we travelled to New Brunswick to visit Jon's mom and brothers. Elena had fun learning how to swim (which for Elena meant splashing her arms and legs around and putting her head under water.) Elena had fun with her Uncle Zac.
Elena and her Gram (Jon's mom Debbie) had tons of fun swimming and playing together.
Elena was our Hawaiian bathing beauty with a flower behind her ear.
Elena's Uncle Nathan spent lots of time looking after her. Thanks, Nate!

COMING BACK TO HAMILTON

After our trip to New Brunswick, we returned to Ontario in time to visit the Stovell Family Reunion in Northern Ontario. We will add pictures of that event later (we haven't processed them yet). Then we spent a few days with Jon's step sister Crystal and her fiance Dave. On August 15, after a month and a half of travelling we finally moved into our new apartment in Hamilton. School starts in a few weeks as well as our new jobs. We have had a wonderful summer visiting with so many friends and so much family. We LOVE Y'ALL!! Thank you to everyone who provided us with a place to stay. We are very grateful!

We are looking forward to this new adventure here in Hamilton, but a little nervous as well. We will keep you updated as this adventure unfolds.