A Little Trip to Fairmont

This year for Spring Break, we were lucky enough to get to go to Fairmont Hot Springs for a few days!  I used to go there sometimes as a kid, so I had good memories of it, and going back, it did not disappoint!  The weather was a little bit chilly, but warm enough to be able to do what we wanted, and it was nice that there was no snow on the ground.  We did lots of hiking and "exploring" with the kids and they just loved it.  Griffin called himself a "mountain man" and carried a backpack on his back and a little sharp piece of wood that he called his knife!  It was cute.  The scenery was just beautiful too!! Especially when we got to the top.  Lee decided the regular "trails" were boring, so he always led us up these steep hills and through the trees and brush and deer poop so that we could experience a "real" hike!  It was a bit of a struggle sometimes for the kids, but they actually did really well and besides being a little nervous that we wouldn't be able to find our way back, it turned out to be a lot of fun.  We also explored the natural Hot Springs which were pretty cool - they have a spot you can put your feet in while you sit on a bench, and there's another spot you can bathe in, but we didn't have our swimsuits with us!  It was neat to feel such warm water though.  We also spent a lot of our time at the Rec Center, mostly swimming.  The kids had a lot of fun there, playing together and sitting in the hot tubs. Scarlett loves the water.  Another thing we spent a lot of time doing was just playing family games.  We don't usually have a lot of time it seems to play games, so it was awesome to be able to sit down and have some good games of Monopoly with the kids! It quickly turned into Mason's new favorite game, and he continuously asks to play it again!  It was just fun to relax and be on our own, and explore what Fairmont has to offer!  One day we went over to Invermere, which is only 15 or 20 minutes away, and they had a Wall Climbing thing open at the school for just $5 per person.  We let the 3 older kids all do it, and they had a LOT of fun.  It was a good challenge for them, and was neat to see how well they did.  Dakota really is a natural climber!  Griffin didn't do so well though, he gave us pretty quickly... I think he was nervous.  But he did like the rope swing that was also set up!  He did it by himself and with Dakota and Mason.  Pretty cool.  We even went to church on Sunday which was a bit of an adventure in itself!  There are only 5 permanent members in the branch, and so one lady who was on a mission had to pretty much run the show!  She gave a 1/2 hour talk, she's the Relief Society President, and in charge of the non-existent Primary, which she had to improvise on the spot for us and the other visitors!  She put the parents in charge of the Singing Time and Sharing Time and filled up the rest of the time herself!  It was pretty funny. It made me grateful for our big ward with lots of people in all age groups and the fact that we only have to give a talk about once every year or so!!