24th December 2007
Today we have skied for about the 7th day, the kids have taken to skiing like a duck to water and today went skiing with Selena and completed all the blue runs on the mountain. Selena says they have been doing fantastic, I think they now have surpassed me. On Thursday we had the coldest day we have ever experienced, when it reached -18 Celcius and surprisingly it was not too bad. We skied and the sky was blue and there was not a cloud in sight – absolutely fantastic. Since we have started skiing we have had a variety of conditions ranging from, blue skies, a snowstorm, small hail in the snow, to powdery snow underfoot, when we received 18cm of snow overnight and each one requires the learning of new skills. Look, I still have not got over my fear of heights but have been able to go on the chairs with the kids and Janelle over the last few days, prior to this I had to leave it up to Selena or their instructors. We have also begun to ski down the slopes together without too many falls and even manage to spend the whole day skiing, needless to say we are in bed by 7.30pm and out until 6-7 the next morning.
It has been so funny, as Selena experiences the change that having 5 extra mouths to feed in the house, the amount of bread we have eaten she would not eat in a year. The kids appetites are unbelievable whilst we a skiing. The day we arrived at Selena’s we called into the supermarket to pick up a few essentials that we would need as the shops are about a 45 min drive into town. So you try not too have to go too often. Returned the next day when we had put together a list according to the kids tastes and we were recognized in the supermarket by the cashier- Selena said I have never been remembered in the 7 years I have lived here.
On Friday night we got to use the ice rink we had built a few days earlier when some friends of Selena’s called in and we had a skating party in the night under a full moon. Sinead and Kieran had a great time, Conor did not make it as he had fallen asleep by 8pm after the days skiing. It was great down on the rink as we took a thermos of hot choc for the kids and the adults had their own coffees with an addition of Baileys to keep us warm. Luckily we skated that night because later we had an 18cm fall of snow that completely covered the rink with snow and we have not had a chance to clear it yet. It is a big enough job keeping the deck and driveway clear of snow before or after a day of skiing - Good to improve our fitness anyway. The lake is absolutely beautiful to go for walks on, actually it is hard to believe it is a lake. The other day we went about a km downstream to see a bald eagles nest, which has been abandoned for the winter. During this walk the kids, Janelle and myself were a bit apprehensive as the snow was a bit slushy underfoot and you feel like the ice is going to collapse underfoot. The ice is rock solid but what happens is the snow after a while gets icy and slushy and it is this that cracks etc, anyway its not a nice feeling when you are not use to it. Learning new things all the time.
On Saturday night we went back up to Sun Peaks after dinner to go tubing with a friend of Selena’s called Crow and his daughter Ashley and see the Xmas Tree being lit. We all had a great time tubing. Tubing is were you sit in tyre inners and fly down specially designed slides, just like a water slide, however the slides are about 10m wide.
XMAS DAY – 25 December, 2007
All I want for Xmas is snow! Let me tell you we woke up on Xmas morning and it was everything that we all wanted. The kids couldn’t believe that they got a Nintendo Wii from Santa, and I couldn’t believe that it was snowing on Xmas morning. It certainly was different to a Xmas in oz! The day started with breakfast with friends of Selena’s. We had our first tasting of bear bacon (didn’t tell the kids we were eating pooh bear) and it was delicious. Then we headed off to do some skiing before dinner that night (check out the photo’s on blog). It was such a reversal of a mindset. Xmas day in oz can be spent down at the beach trying out your new boogie board or parading around in your cozies – in Canada it’s testing out your new snowboard and parading around in your new ski clothes. We only stayed on the slopes for a couple of hours as we needed to get ready for Xmas dinner. Ladies and gents generally wear something nice in clothing on Xmas day and I didn’t stop that tradition – I wore my best bennie to Selena’s friends house (Margit) who was having us over for dinner. Xmas Dinner was a traditional feast – turkeys, stuffing, mashed potato, peas, carrots and even a leg of ham for about 25 people. I have had to denounce myself as a true Australian – I couldn’t make a pavlova, several attempts were made with no success – some blamed it on the altitude. After dinner the kids went snow tubing with Margit’s kids, Cameron and Taylor out in their backyard where they had made a tubing run down the embankment. Check out the photo’s on the blog there are some awesome shots. And yes it was still snowing. The night ended with all of us sitting around the loungeroom fireplace listening to a couple of Selena’s friends play the guitar and singing. What an end to a beautiful Xmas Day. We tucked into bed relatively early as we were heading off for the next couple of days for a drive to Jasper and Banff through the Canadian Rockies.
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