May was another super busy month, but jam packed with so much fun.
With full time school finally being done, I started working full time again at the beginning of May, as well as starting my online classes.
Not only that, camping season has come back in full swing and with the addition of a new trailer for us this year, we’re out almost every single weekend.
Saying this summer is a little busy is a bit of an understatement, and May definitely started out strong. But busy is fun and it makes me so excited to still have so much summer ahead of us.
Monthly Memories | May 2017
First Week of May – Back To Work!
May started out strong with my return to full time work as a labourer for the summer, as well as the commencement of my first online class!
I’m taking two courses online over the summer in order to stay on track with my program. This is in order not to overwhelm myself with a full course load during Fall and Winter terms.
On top of work + school, we did lots of camping this month! The first weekend in May we attended a baby shower for a family member and it was conveniently held at the campground we were already staying in!
It was so wonderful to see some family and it was an awesome weekend overall.
The first week of May ended with Justin and I’s fifth anniversary! We’re not ones to be big on celebrating our anniversary because our birthday’s are so close to it, but we rocked it in style by going out for brunch.
And by going out for brunch I mean going to McDonald’s and literally ordering breakfast and lunch and eating all of it.
Romance.
Second Week of May – Camping In The Rain!
Another work week down, another weekend out spent camping. This time we were super local and got to visit with some more out of town relatives.
The weather wasn’t really on our side this time around, but we made it work anyways. The property we were camping on had an empty sea can, so obviously we grabbed some chairs, lanterns and heaters and sparked up our new chill spot.
Because the five 30+ feet trailers weren’t nice enough apparently.
Third Week of May – My Birthday!
The third week of May started out wonderful because not only was the Monday a rain day at work (which means I got sent home), but it was my birthday! I turned 22 on May 15th, and yes, I am feeling it.
It was actually really convenient that I got sent home from work that day because I was home before Justin even left, and thankfully I was because his car wouldn’t start that morning and he needed mine to get to work.
So other than being stranded at home all day, it really was nice to be able to relax at home on my birthday.
Following in suit with last year’s birthday post, I threw together another birthday bucket list to finish in my 22nd year and you can find that here if you’d like to take a gander.
The week ended with May Long weekend, and we got to spend it in my favorite camping spot with my favorite people. The best surprise of all was seeing my mom and having her camp with us for the weekend!
Fourth Week of May – Banff!
In the final full week of May we were looking forward to finally getting a weekend at home!
Since we moved at the beginning of April, we haven’t spent a single weekend morning at home. Well, we still haven’t lol.
Friday night after work we went out for dinner with some friends and the topic of Banff came up and we somehow ended up booking a hotel and driving down there at 9PM LOL.
Now, that’s about a four hour drive for us. So we got there around 1AM, checked in and crashed for the night.
Check out our last Banff trip here!
Waking up in Banff was so fun and I was in such a good mood (probably too much of a good mood for people who aren’t morning people lol). We stopped for some breakfast and set off exploring for the day.
Banff is just the cutest little town to walk around in, and the prettiest views are just surrounding you.
We took a short drive to Lake Minnewanka and took in the gorgeous lake view.
We had to hike down the rocks to get to the water, which in flip flops is no easy feat. Managed without injury though, so I’m impressed with myself.
We found another cute little lake that had a ton of people out picnicing so we had a brief stop there to take in the sites. No one wanted a group photo with me…
We spent the afternoon touring Banff Ave, heading up to the Banff Springs Hotel (which is basically a castle), and getting lost on the trails lol.
Later in the afternoon we decided to take a dip in the hotel pool, have a quick snooze, and then head up to the Banff Hot Springs.
I’m gonna be honest, I was pretty underwhelmed with them. It’s basically a giant hot tub that’s absolutely packed. Yes, it’s a beautiful view of the mountains (but where isn’t in Banff), but it just seemed like an overcrowded pool.
I would still like to try another hot springs that is actually fully outside and feels more a part of nature. Let me know some recommendations in the Alberta/BC area!
Saturday evening was spent with an awesome dinner at Magpie & Stump, some darts and some dancing (and a few drinks).
The next morning we ventured to grab some breakfast and when we got back to the car, look who we found!
This cute guy was maybe fifteen feet from Justin’s car and was not scared of us one bit. So cool to see animals up that close
After our elk encounter, we were off on the long way home! We took Icefields Parkway home again, and it’s honestly so worth the longer drive. Just look at it!
The first stop still had a frozen lake and snow everywhere! Crazy when it was well over 20 degrees Celsius outside.
Chelsey didn’t feel like getting out of the car, but ya do what ya gotta do for the ‘gram! (don’t kill me for this LOL!)
Our next stop we hiked down to this adorable little river and the boys spent a solid half hour skipping rocks. Apparently it had theee best skipping rocks here.
Last winter we came across this lake and it was all the way up to the top. It was crazy to see how much the waterline dropped since November!
Banff and the national park is an absolutely incredible place to go, and I highly recommend making the trip if it’s feasible for you. I’ve only ever gone to Banff in the wintertime, so this was my first time going in the summer and it’s just as incredible.
So that was May! A super busy and adventure filled month, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
To keep on track with what I’m normally up to, find me on Instagram @jamienoonan!