Posted by Karen
In recent times, Miranda’s had to have a bunch of appointments and assessments related to her Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva. This is all in connection with starting school in the fall. I know it’s all necessary, but I can see she’s getting really tired of it. Miranda’s just not cooperating as well with these things as she used to. It think it’s just been too much lately.
And so, vacation came JUST at the right time… Time to get away from it all, and forget about FOP complications.
We’re doing the same trip this year that we’ve done the past 3 summers in a row. Specifically, we got in the car on Sunday of this past week and drove to Revelstoke, BC, stayed overnight in a hotel, and then drove to Calgary, Alberta. My parents, sister, brother, nieces and nephew all live in Calgary, and a week in town with them is the biggest chunk of time we get to spend with my family each year.
We stopped at the railway museum in Revelstoke, and Miranda posed for this pic on one of their train cars.
Everybody was really excited when we arrived – and Miranda especially, because she gets to play with her super-outgoing and fun cousin Ella, who’s the same age. Miranda and Ella get along like a house on fire! What a great way to forget about FOP – playing stuffies/ponies/princesses/etc with Ella…
Today, all of us went to the Calgary Zoo. We do this pretty much every year, but it’s always fun. We walked through the dinosaur park, which has some very cool “animatronic” (ie, moving) dinosaurs, and then we went on to see a bunch of animals. Miranda and Owen were excited about the tigers, and the red panda (? not sure why). Also fun was the brand new carousel with zoo animals to ride on. They LOVED that part…
Here are me and Miranda with some long-necked dinosaurs...
After the zoo, we came home and had burgers and corn on the cob at my folks’ house, and Ella, Miranda and Owen played all around the yard, picking berries and doing games of hide and seek. Tonight, Ella’s going to try sleeping over with Miranda… I have my reservations about this, but maybe it will work out! (let’s hope, anyway)
Tomorrow: more dinosaurs, as we take a trip to the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller. After that, barbecue dinner with some old friends. Thursday: Ella’s 5th birthday party. So fun.
“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…”
