RCMP Museum Regina & QCE Parade

The RCMP Museum was very interesting with very cool artifacts and stories that you could read.  The kids loved the simulated crime that they had to try to solve.  Some of the things they had to do was identify possible clues, identify bullet casings, look at finger prints, compare shoe prints, determine counterfeit money, use different lightings to expose hidden clues, and read interview logs.  The kids did a great job and got their “man”. 

We took a tram ride around the training facilities where we got to see some of the different buildings and learn what they did there.  During this tour, we stopped to see the Sergeant Major’s Parade . . . I think Emma was a little disappointed because it was just a bunch of people marching around the Parade Grounds.  Jamie made the connection to the Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Richmond, Cenotaph.  They reminded him of robots all in sync as they marched.  Josh really liked watching a short film titled, Courage in Red, to end off our tour of the museum. 

Michelle thinks I look good in a uniform and flip flops

Attention!  Josh you are looking a little disheveled.

The kids were not too impressed with Grammy when she bought them some Beaver Droppings as a treat.
I believe they were maple and honey candies.

Emma found something she liked about the parade!

After dinner, we went into Regina to watch the Queen City Exhibition Parade.  We were told to go between an hour and an hour and a half early to get a good spot.  Well, we really didn’t have to get there that early, but we tried to make the best of it.  I think the highlight for Josh was while we were waiting, a guy who looked like a member of Duck Dynasty drove by in his beat up old car and yelled, “I am the parade!”  Josh had the giggles for quite some time.  Emma loved the different dogs, horses and music that went by.  Jamie liked the horses in the parade and especially the “pooper scoopers” (the people who cleaned up behind the horses).  Josh liked the Shriners and their little cars as they zoomed around.  Apparently, Regina needs to take some lessons from the Steveston Salmon Festival Parade because according to Josh he said, “This is junk!”  There was nothing wrong with the parade itself, but at the Salmon Festival they throw out candies and bubbles like it’s Halloween . . . here the kids got a couple of tatties, a pencil and two pieces of gum to be shared between the three of them.  This parade is like the guy who gives out toothbrushes on Halloween!!!  Come on Regina step it up on the free handouts!

Here we are an hour before the parade.  Hey look, I made the blog!  I'm the shadow taking the picture . . . Captain Canada would not approve!

Pictures

Fillings for our Waffle Cone S'mores!

Waiting for our tasty treats to be ready!

Yes, the mosquitoes can be bad around here.  Emma's mosquito repellant costume!!

The Comfort Inn?

As Michelle has renamed this RV park as the Comfort Inn, rather than the Comfort Plus . . . well, according to Josh this has been the best place so far . . . a swimming pool, pool table, shuffle board, playground, mini soccer field, mini badminton/volleyball court, basketball hoop, and quite a few kids to play with.  I must admit the kids have been quite busy by themselves, which has been a nice reprieve for Michelle and me. 

We headed out to the Regina Science Center today exploring all of the different experiments.  

I am the HULK!!!

Emma did a great job modelling the interior,
but Michelle was the one who put up all of the siding!
Looks a little drafty!!!

I've got the weight of the world on my shoulders!

Yes, Josh's wind powered boat beat mine in both speed and distance.
He went with a three sail boat, while I went with one sail.

Thata way!

They had a really cool bubbles section where the kids could make some huge bubbles that could surround them.  

The bubble boy!

I think all of the kids would agree that the Science of Cotton Candy was their favourite part.  They learned thing about the different types of sugars, who invented cotton candy (a dentist, yes a dentist), sugars give them energy to do things, and that cotton candy only contains about a teaspoon of sugar (I wouldn’t have believe it if I did not see it for myself)).  Now Josh and Jamie are going to try to convince us to buy more cotton candy when we go out since there is “little” sugar in it.  We even bought a couple of bags for the road trip home, which was a hit of course!

Sticky fingers and blue lips . . . priceless!

Finally, a field trip for Michelle and I.  Believe me . . . Starbucks is like seeing a ski hill in the prairies . . . a very rare sighting!  I plugged Starbuck's into my GPS and was willing to drive anywhere for it!  Luckily for us there was one only 15 minutes away . . . Dale says that there is only two in Regina.   Really?  

This was like standing at the gates of Disneyland . . . these went down way too nicely!

Time for a quick swim in the pool before dinner at the Comfort Plus Park. 

Pretty good air!  She must get that from her dad!

Love the facial expressions!

Looks like a future soccer goalie for Canada!
Great save!!

A Day of Art

As Josh put it, “the weather here is weird”.  One minute it is sunny, cloudy, a torrential rainstorm and then sunny again.  Today has been a little wet and Michelle saw signs to an Artist’s Colony . . . of course she did.  She can spot Starbucks and the word Art (or any other word that is related to art) from a mile away, but she can’t spot the lawnmower in the shed from two feet away!  Talk about selective vision, but I guess it is no different than my selective hearing.  We visited a couple of small huts in which artists rent out for a few weeks to a year as a studio space to showcase their work and to create.  One of the artists asked the kids what should she paint next and Jamie told her that she should paint a beaver den (we have seen quite a few of these in our travels on our way up here). 

At the recreation center, kids were invited to create their own art using acrylic paints on a canvas, colour for a colouring contest, and decorate a sugar cookie using sprinkles and rock candy.  It was a little awkward when Michelle, the crafter, mixed up sparkles and sprinkles and put the sparkles with the, decorate the cookie station.  One of the other dads even came by and said that there was much discussion at the other tables as to whether or not the sparkles were edible.  Michelle’s defense is that she blames her 10 year old son and claims that they are non-toxic.  I am sure that Martha Stewart would be proud!  Lets just say that there may be a few kids with sparkly poo in the morning!  My son included because Josh tried some as well.  Don’t worry folks there will be no picture of this in the upcoming blog post!  The kids were very proud as the same artist came to the rec hall and talked to them about what they did well. 

I love Josh's brush strokes in his sky.

Jamie's beaver den

Emma's tree

Today we also taught Grammy how to play Bananagrams.  We upped the ante by making each round worth a small prize.  Emma and I won the first two rounds and won a piece of gum and a marshmallow.  Josh won the third round and Jamie won the fourth round, each getting a marshmallow.  Sorry Grammy, but no win today . . . that is okay because Michelle has not won yet either.  Perhaps the two of you should take on Captain Canada!

Horseback Riding and Kenosee Lake

I packed up Emma’s bike and mine just in case as we headed to go horseback riding.  Our initial thoughts was that Emma would have to ride a pony around the stable with me because of her age, while the boys and Michelle went off on an hour long ride.  When we got there, I figured this is Saskatchewan, why not ask . . . and low and behold Emma was allowed to ride with one of us . . . this is Saskatchewan where there are no rules.  Emma rode with Michelle on a horse named Sailor.  Josh was on a horse called Smoke.  Jamie’s horse was named Chubby.  My first horse was named Tag and my second horse was named Bingo.  The reason why I had two horses was because when I first got on Tag the lady said to me, “Wow! You have short legs!”  My response was, “Thanks?!?!”   Sure, let the short guy go through the troubles of getting up on one horse and then have to get down and move over to another horse.  Could she not tell when I walked up to the horse or when I struggled to get my foot up to the stirrups . . . I think this is why they didn’t have cowboys in Japan.  So I hopped up onto Bingo.  You know she couldn’t just let it go because as I climbed up on Bingo she had to remind me of my short legs . . . “Well, this is as short as they get, will it do?” (referring to the length of the stirrups)  Not too sure how to respond to that one so I said, “will do”.  I guess my body isn’t cut out for horseback riding (HE HE).

Chubby is trying to get some snacks.

Pull Jamie!!

Josh and Smoke

“The trail was bumpy it had lots of bugs that would go in my ears, nose and mouth.  The trees were smacking my face.  I tried to sneak a few trots along the way by stopping Smoke and then letting Smoke catch up to Jamie, until I got busted.  The best part was when she started to speed up into a trot.  The worst part was when Jamie bent the branches with his horse and it smacked me.  The hardest thing to do was to not let Smoke eat along the way.”

Jamie and Chubby

“Chubby ate a lot of buttercups on the trail, but I pulled him back . . . it was not easy, it took all of my strength.  He got away with some food, but I pulled him back some more.  The funniest thing that happened was when our guide Cody did not know where she was going and I had to do a full turn.  The horse in front of me tooted too much, like it ate too much beans.  I was trying not to giggle.”

Emma and Sailor

“Uhm that it was awesome.  And because it keep on eating and you are not suppose to let it eat.  Because mom was trying to get away because Josh’s kept dumping and dumping and dumping.  The best part was when it was going really fast and it was hurting my cheeks . . . my bum.  Jamie’s horse did not understand because he had bum cheeks.  The best thing about my horse was that he was large and he went to the washroom very badly.”  (Emma talked to the horse the whole ride.  When her horse was eating she would say, “it’s not recess get back on the bus!”).

After a morning on the trail, we headed down to Kenosee Lake to hang out and relax.  The kids had a blast paddling around and testing their skills against a strong headwind.  I am always amazed at how quickly they pick up the paddling skills and can maneuver the kayak.  Some sand play and some one on one football to end the day off. 

Paddling upstream for the challenge and doing 360's on the way back.

Jamie thought that he could fly.  Do you see a resemblance to Michael Jordan?

Jamie was keeping Emma giggling as she made sand pizza's for him.

I think she gets her eyes from me!