The First Weekend of Spring

The first day of Spring, dawned bright and sunny! Still lots of snow everywhere and still cold, but at least it was sunny! We have a unique tradition that my mom started when I was a teenager and my sisters where very small. She struggled with the focus that everyone puts on Easter baskets and chocolate bunnies and Easter egg hunts when Easter is really supposed to be about Jesus and His resurrection. She loved all the Easter basket/chocolate sort of stuff, so she came up with the idea to indulge in all of that on the first day of Spring! With the exception of last year, I have adopted the same tradition with my children. I almost lost my resolve to celebrate Spring Day this year, with all the nasty cold and snow we've been having, but at 11:15 p.m. on Thursday, I decided to go ahead and put together the kids Spring baskets. (I had already bought all the candy and toys.) I loaded the baskets, filled the plastic eggs, and quickly decorated the house with my spring-y decorations!

I can't say that Spring Day was completely full of smiles and giggles and fun times. My lovely daughter actually woke up with a terrible attitude, which did not mix well with the fact that I slept horribly the night before and had a really sore neck. I felt sorry for Sky when he woke up! After a spanking a long talk with both kids, we finally were able to come downstairs and enjoy our Spring Day celebration. Here are the kids with their baskets. The smiles are a little forced!
There's one more chocolate bunny in there somewhere!Sky wasted no time in enjoying his chocolate!

Sara putting together the mini puzzle she got in her Kinder Surprise egg. (They do not allow these to be sold in the States, so look up the website to see what I'm talking about! They're wonderful!)I found these little "bunny blasters" at Wal-Mart. They look like baby nose syringe bulbs. You stick a foam "dart" on the nose part and squeeze the bulb part. I was surprised how well it worked! Those little darts can really fly!

After having fun eating candy and shooting darts, it was time to get busy packing. We headed out just after noon for our final ski trip to Jasper. Daddy wanted to take the kids to the mountains one last time before the end of the season. It's a 4 hour trip, so we were happy to eat supper and relax in our hotel room that evening! That night it snowed about 10 cm at the ski hill, so Joshua was super excited to ski on some fresh powder. Grandpa came along on the trip as well, so the kids enjoyed skiing with him too. We came home Saturday night, just in time to tuck the kids into bed right away. I must say, I'm glad to be done with skiing for the year.

How was YOUR first weekend of Spring?

The Sign On My Back Reads "Please Run Me Over!"

Monday was Family Day in Alberta (and Ontario). It's actually an official holiday, so Joshua had the day off! Since moving to our new home, we aren't as close to the mountains as we used to be while living in the Calgary area. It used to take us only an hour and a half to get to the closest ski hills. Now, the nearest one is in Jasper, 4 entire hours away! It makes the one day ski trip, either very, very long (especially for children), or it necessitates an overnight stay. Then, you're talking about major expense because lodging in Jasper doesn't come cheap. Joshua went skiing in Jasper once with his dad for one of those VERY long days (up at 4 a.m. and home around 7 p.m.) just after Christmas. Then, Joshua and I were able to go with Bryan and Karen two weeks ago. We were feeling badly that kids hadn't had a chance to ski in the mountains this year, so we decided to splurge and take them for Family Day. Joshua's dad also joined us in Jasper, so that took some of the pressure off me. For those of you who don't know, skiing is not really my most favourite thing to do. I tolerate skiing but, I do not LOVE skiing - much to the chagrin of my dear husband.

Here's picture of me, Dad, Sky and Sara (left to right) on our first run down the mountain on Monday morning. It was an absolutely beautiful day!Sky joined me after a few runs for a break and a snack. He wanted iced tea and brownies!Sara was not about to go inside, so she and Daddy headed up for another run!Now I must tell you what happened to me after lunch. My family convinced me that I should go with them to the very top of the mountain (instead of just the chair that takes you to about halfway). It involves taking two chair lifts to get there. After you get off the first one, you have to ski down a short "Blue" run (that's intermediate for you non-skiers), to get to the next chair lift. There hasn't been any new snow lately in Jasper, so there were some pretty icy spots on the runs. I was slowly, but surely making my way down, just trying to get that part over with. My little racing children had already disappeared with Grandpa! As I made another turn, suddenly, another less-than-confident skier, came right across my path and we ran into each other. She managed to stay on her feet (I found out later), but I lost control, fell backwards, and began sliding down the hill FAST! At first, my legs started to go in the wrong direction, but I somehow managed to get them back together. Now, my skis are pointed straight downhill, and I was still attached to them!! I had a lot of thoughts going through my head in the next 10 seconds, but my foremost feeling was anger. I was so incredibly angry with that woman for making me fall! I screamed my head off as I hurtled down the hill, desperately trying to make my skis go sideways, so I could dig in and stop! I didn't care what kind of a scene I was making - I just wanted that girl to feel REALLY bad for taking me out! I finally stopped, still in one piece, with a very painful spot in my middle back. Not to mention my extremely wounded pride! Joshua, who was right behind me, has dubbed me with "the most spectacular fall that anyone has ever made while I was skiing with them!" Oh yay! As Joshua helped me up and returned my poles, I demanded to know where the girl was who ran into me. I was informed she stopped momentarily, looked at me still falling, and proceeded on her way. Can you believe it??!! I was TICKED! If I took somebody out like that, I would not just ski away without apologizing and offering to help! It's probably just as well, though, because I was mad enough to beat her up! Karen, I told you I had a sign on my back! (A snowboarder ran into me last week, while I was trying to help Karen ski. Fortunately I was standing still, and didn't fall over. And I was glad it was me and not Karen!) Anyway, I finally made it onto the second chair lift and all the way up the mountain. I had a little venting/cry session on the way, which made me feel much better!

Here I am, with Sara and Sky ready to head ALL the way down the mountain! It was truly an incredible view! And I lived to see it! I also made it down without further tragedy! Sky went on a Blue run with Grandpa, and I went down the Green (easy) with Joshua and Sara. Sara was looking out for me the whole way and made nice, slow turns so I could follow her down. She's a sweetie!
Halfway down, I stopped for a break at the mid-mountain lodge. I enjoyed some time by the outdoor fire pit, drinking my Gatorade! This was my view as I waited for the rest of the family to ski some more runs. When they came back, the kids were glowing because they skied their first Black (expert) run! I was proud of them, but you'll never catch me on one of those!
We finally skied out to the parking lot and got comfortable for the long ride home. We stopped for supper and a car wash (yes, Karen, the same one!) and arrived home around 9:15 p.m. Then it was goodnight to another great Family Day!

Vacation Pictures!

We had a wonderful week with our friends Bryan and Karen! I don't think we could have fit in much more fun and activities than we did! They arrived Monday, February 2nd. We celebrated their arrival with a meal at a Japanese restaurant and more food than we could possibly eat! That evening and Tuesday were rest and relaxation days which gave Bryan and Karen a chance to get used to the 2 hour time difference.

On Wednesday, we took them to West Edmonton Mall, which is about 20 min. from our house. (This is the largest mall in the world.) The kids were at a friends' house so they wouldn't get worn out walking the mall. After exploring, shopping and lunch, we left to pick up the kids. We decided it would be fun to go back to the mall and play at the indoor World Waterpark. Our family had never been there (Joshua used to go as a kid), so Sara and Sky were super excited! It was tons of fun! Joshua and Bryan tried all the scary slides, Karen tried a couple of scary slides and I didn't try anything scary! :-) I spent most of my time with the kids in the wave pool or on the kiddie slides and that was just fine with me! We didn't remember cameras, but that's O.K. because we didn't want you to see us in our bathing suits anyway! :-)

Thursday we were up bright and early for the next stage of vacation. Grandpa (Joshua's Dad) came at 9 a.m. to collect the children. He took them out for a pancake breakfast, which they were pretty excited about! The 4 adults then packed up the car and we headed to Jasper, Alberta (about 4 hours away) for the next 4 days. Here are a bunch of pictures from all our adventures there!

The cozy Gingerbread Cabin where we stayed. Joshua and I have stayed here a couple of times for our anniversary, so it was fun to share the experience with friends!

Bryan and Karen at Maligne (Muh-leen) Canyon near Jasper. There is a river and waterfalls that run very deep through the canyon. In the winter everything is frozen, so it was very spectacular.

Joshua and I enjoying the view at one of the lookouts. Of course, the pathways were completely covered in snow and ice, so we had a VERY slippery hike! It was quite funny! We were all wearing running shoes, so none of us had any traction!


The guys slid down the pathway as fast as they could go. Here they are looking smug and laughing at us girls! Karen and I were just a bit more cautious and we clung to the handrails for dear life!

Here is one of the frozen waterfalls we came across. It was awesome! The picture doesn't do it justice - you can't tell how deep the canyon is.

Me and Karen taking a self portrait.

Karen getting her "ski legs" back after not skiing for many years! She did a GREAT job!

Joshua and I during lunch break on our first ski day.

At the end of a very snowy, windy ski day, the sun finally peeked out and treated us to this beautiful sight!

Jasper's downtown area with the beautiful mountains in the background.

This vacation was so needed and I'm so happy we were able to share it with special friends! Inspite of long, busy days and major sore muscles, we were refreshed. Thanks for coming, you guys! We couldn't have asked for a better time!

Warmth and Sunshine!

After a very cold 6 weeks, it has finally warmed up!! The warm air blew in on Friday, Saturday couldn't make up it's mind, but ever since Sunday it has been absolutely gorgeous around here! We went for a family ski day (+ Grandpa) on Sunday at Sunshine ski resort and it definitely lived up to it's name for most of the day! The sky was so very blue. Of course, I forgot to bring the camera! The kids did an awesome job skiing - they both successfully navigated a BLUE run during their lessons! (For those of you who don't ski, the colour levels go from green/easy to blue/intermediate to black/hard to double black/expert.) I've decided to only ski green and blue runs for the rest of my life, so the kids will soon be officially better than their mommy! They already go faster than me, but they do need to work on control a little more. Sara was in an all day lesson, so we didn't see her much. She had a great report card at the end of the day and she was absolutely exhausted! Sky skiied with Joshua and Grandpa and I in the morning. Then, he went to day care after lunch for a break and a one hour lesson in the afternoon. Sky almost had a run in with some trees in the morning. We yelled at him to turn, but after we could see he wasn't turning, Joshua pulled in beside him to block his path of destruction. They both fell down in the collision and Joshua fell right on top of our tiny little boy. It was not a pretty sight! Sky cried and cried and Joshua and I exchanged some words (I won't say anymore!), but in the end, everyone was O.K.! Sky's wrist was hurt a bit and he kept complaining and wouldn't ski after that. So, we decided it was time for a break and an early lunch. Joshua and his dad went off to ski a couple of more exciting runs before they joined us. Sky was really whining about the wrist, so I decided to take him to the first aid clinic just to check. After a thorough inspection, the guy said everything was just fine. I think he thought I wanted him to do something, but I assured him that all we needed was a second opinion. Sometimes our kids just don't seem to trust us when we tell them they're O.K.! After the way cool, Mr. Ski Patrol told Sky that his wrist was fine, we never heard another word of complaint!

Monday was Family Day in parts of Canada. Only 4 of the provinces have instituted it as an official holiday, but Alberta happens to be the one that started the whole thing 18 years ago! It was just their way of creating a long weekend in February. It's a very popular day/weekend for family outings, such as skiing, ice skating, hiking, swimming, fun fairs, etc. There is so much going on during Family Day that it's hard to choose what to do! And the crowds and traffic are insane! Since we were exhausted from all the skiing the day before, we chose to stay home and play together. It was so warm that we were all shedding our jackets when we were in the sunshine! We even decided to have a little picnic lunch on the sunny back deck! Tuna sandwiches and fresh veggies never tasted so good! The kids played with their friends outside until the sun started to go down. Joshua decided to play a little Paul Bunyan and do some tree removal in our yard! There were 6 young spruce trees in the backyard that we didn't really want there. They were just going to cause problems in about 10 years for a number of reasons. One of them being the power lines they would have tangled with eventually. So, while they were still small, Joshua chopped them down! He started with a chain saw, but after that broke, he cut down the other five trees by hand! What a guy! We're going to fill the empty spots with other types of trees and/or shrubs. Joshua's also building some planters in a couple of the spots, so I can plant flowers and herbs. I'm really excited to see how it all looks this summer! It was a fun, busy weekend and we made a lot of memories! I guess that's what Family Day is all about, eh?