House of the Friesiens

 This morning we woke up bright and early and waved the big kids off to school for the morning. They begged to stay long enough to enjoy a bit of pyjamma day, and it worked out perfectly. We were able to pack up some last minute things before picking them up from school. After packing the van with all of our gear, Christmas gifts, and food, Gramma and Grampa treated us to lunch at Mcdonalds. We left town right on schedule and met up with my parents just outside of Cochrane. We split the kids between the vehicles. Gramma was my co-pilot and Grampa drove with Mike. The mountains are my very favorite place to be and driving through them always fills my soul. Every once in a while Finley would call out from the back seat, "Mommy? Mommy, I love you." I couldn't get over the site of the snow covered evergreens standing so tall and true on the majestic mountains.

 Joe snapped pictures out the window on my cell and actually managed to get a few awesome ones! I moved his booster to the middle of the van because he and Finley wouldn't stop throwing cars at each other. The drive from Banff to our cozy getaway was long and tiring. The roads weren't the greatest and I was following car tracks through the winding, downhill pass. I was soothed by the orange reflection of the sun setting on the side of a mountain as we drove. It was so serene and peaceful.

We were all exhausted and hungry by the time we made it to Invermere. After listening to a cranky baby for the last leg of the drive, we were all pretty happy when we finally arrived at our home away from home for the next couple of days. We booked this cozy barn at the beginning of the year on an air bnb site. We were the second last ones to arrive, and the barn was already buzzing with excitement. I could smell the woodstove as soon as I jumped out of my warm vehicle into the cold night. We unloaded all of our gear into the front end loader of a tractor and he lifted it right up to the door in the loft for us to pull inside. It saved us many trips up and down the steep stairs.

The first thing that caught my eye were the wooden clogs lined up along the walls of the barn. The whole place was spacious and well kept. The kids excitedly ran to the bedrooms to pick out their bunk beds.

Ollie found himself a toasty seat in front of the wood stove.

Everybody tried out the saddles...

And the armor from movies and performances.

I fell in love with this adorable log crib! Ollie loved it!

The bunkbeds were a huge hit with our littles! The rooms were so quaint and simple. Exactly what they were hoping for. We had a late dinner and then tucked everyone in for the night while we stayed up waiting for the last three to arrive.