Banff

One of my favorite places in this world is Banff. If you have never heard of it, you should google it, you will be blown away by the pictures. It's a beautiful place, a wonderful place, a magical place. Steve, Dayne and I have spent a lot of time there. We always hit a few special places, Banff Springs hotel, a store that looks like a trading post and sells mostly native items and, of course, Welch's candy store. Banff Springs hotel has been a special place to me for longer than I can remember. I have spent countless hours wandering around the old hotel. It's so peaceful there.
It was for that reason that on the September long weekend of 2009, Steve proposed to me there. At the bottom of the stairs that lead up to the cascade ballroom. On stairs covered in rose pedals, I stood, in total shock as Steve told me how much he loved me and asked me to marry him. We didn't know it at the time, but I was just a few weeks pregnant with Alexandra.
Today, we went to Banff. We went to the hotel first, where I took pictures with Alexandra's treasure bean. We went to the trading post, where we bought Dayne a new toy, a wooden snake that moves around like it real when you hold it by the tail. We went to Welch's candy store were we bought candy sticks, salt water taffy and rock candy, like we always do, and before we left, we went to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory, our new tradition for Banff trips, this was the third time we'd gone there.
It was a special family trip. It was rainy and cold, but still special. I was sad that Alexandra wasn't physically there with us, but I do believe that she was there in spirit and I'm glad that we included her in our pictures.
I was thinking of her often, throughout the day.

Alexandra's treasure bean, outside Banff Springs Hotel

Alexandra's treasure bean, on the banister of the stairs where Steve proposed.