Lake Louise

After we spent a few days in Banff, we drove about an hour to Lake Louise. Lake Louise is a glacier lake, in the middle of the most beautiful untouched area of Canada. The lake is bright blue in the summer, melting from the winter freeze in May or June. Because we saw it in March, the lake was completely frozen and you could walk right through it. We stayed at the Fairmount right on Lake Louise, which was so so so beautiful. The whole area is just completely breathtaking, no matter what season it is. We got to do some really beautiful hiking through the paths, that were pristine and perfectly white from the completely unpolluted snow. One day we traveled to the Lake Louise ski slopes and Matt did some veryyy intense skiing, whereas I went snow shoeing! Snowshoeing was really fun because it gave those of us who are not expert skiers, the chance to ride the gondola up the mountain, enjoy the views and feel like we got to be a part of the whole outdoor mountain experience. Our guide told us that Kate Middleton and Prince William went skiing here a couple of years ago and stayed at a little hotel on the other side of the slopes that you can only get to by skies or helicopter! Pretty amazing. Matt and I are already talking about planning another trip back during the summer. 

Until next time Lake Louise :) 

Banff Springs

This past week Matt and I went with our family to Banff, Canada. We flew into Calgary and then drove about 2 hours to Banff to the Fairmount Hotel in Banff. Banff is located in Alberta, Canada and is a national park full of just jaw dropping mountains, glacial lakes (the glacier minerals makes the water bright blue) and springs. Sorting through all our photos from Banff was just completely overwhelming because I could have literally posted hundreds of beautiful photos from Banff alone, not even to mention the whole separate post I will be doing on Lake Louise! We spent two days in Banff and got to hike through the cute little town and on some of the hiking paths. The weather hovered around 35 to 40 degrees and once you put on long underwear was actually very enjoyable. It was just so fun to get the chance to enjoy the outdoors in a place where the scenery is so awe inspiring and untouched. Living in the city, it was so peaceful to be someplace where there was not a ton of different things trying to grab your attention. Plus it was so special to get to spend so much uninterrupted time with family. 

We spent one of the days dog sledding in town located in Banff, called Canmore. Dog sledding was one of the most amazing things I have ever done! It was a complete dream. The dogs were so sweet and the scenery was completely awe inspiring. We also got to dog sled through the only agency that allows you to drive your own sled! Matt drove our sled and I got to enjoy the scenery. Dog sledding was amazing because at one point they took you across this huge FROZEN lake where we had the most amazing views of the glacier mountains. We were able to go dog sledding for almost two hours! It was such a great amount of time because it really allowed you to get enough time to enjoy the whole experience and switch drivers if someone else wanted a chance to drive the dog sled. I would definitely recommend going dog sledding if you ever get the chance. 

 ^^ Exploring the hiking paths at the Fairmount Banff Springs 

 ^^ walking into the town of Banff

 ^^ Dog sledding out on the frozen lake! 

 ^^ at look out point, looking back at the Fairmount Banff Springs, which is basically a beautiful old castle in the hills!

 ^^ siblings jumping on the frozen lake! 

 ^^ our dog sled team :) 

 ^^ dog sled selfie! 

^^ My dad and sister enjoying some of the dogs from the dog sled team :) 

Flower Arranging with Christine Noelle Floral Design

Whenever I get really overwhelmed, I always tell Matt that I want to quit everything and make flower arrangements. So, for my 27th birthday Matt surprised me with a personal flower arranging class at Christine Noelle Floral Design studios with Christine Noelle, herself! It was so, so, so much fun! Christine is a true artist and expert about all things flowers. She taught me how to start with a base and then build out, adding different layers and textures. She had such fun terminology (like "bathing the flowers" and making sure my arrangement was "telling the right story") and really the class so informative and fun. I love the look of these new wild floral arrangements and it was so much fun to get to make one of my own! I would do it again in a second. You can take a floral design class from the studio for a Bachelorette party or birthday party! 

 ^^ Isn't he the sweetest??!