Look closely. In Texas we usually had Red Cardinals joining us for breakfast. But in Canada it's falcons. I'm not sure if he's on my fence or the tree, but he's there all the same.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday Treat
Chocolate chip cookies with a little ice cream makes one yummy sand which. And one big mess.
Dumb?
Every Sunday Dinner we go around the table to take turns telling what we learned about at church.
London: "We learned about Sherem."
Mom: "What about him?"
London: "I think it's in Jacob 7. He taught people to not believe in Christ and asked for a sign. So he was struck dumb....that means he couldn't count."
Pretty sure that's not the dumb the scriptures were talking about.
London: "We learned about Sherem."
Mom: "What about him?"
London: "I think it's in Jacob 7. He taught people to not believe in Christ and asked for a sign. So he was struck dumb....that means he couldn't count."
Pretty sure that's not the dumb the scriptures were talking about.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Not So Clean Car
One thing that comes with snow is a filthy car. My van has NEVER been this dirty. Texas never had dirt like this. And if your car did get dirty down their, you'd just leave it out in the rain and it'd be perfect in the morning. Not here. Dirt, dirt, dirt. Yuck!!
And you can't even wash it at home because all your outdoor water is turned off in the winter. Have to pay stinking money at the car wash. So not fair.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
MIA
You'll notice no photos of London over this Valentines. He was not home this Valentines Day, or the whole week for that matter. The entire 6th grade went on a Camp Out to the Canmore YMCA Winter Camp. He got to sleep in cabins (heated thank goodness) eat in a mess hall, go on hikes through the snow and have one heck of a good time. They left on Monday morning and were back by Thursday end of school. He had so much fun. One of the boys he bunked with goes to church with us, so that made me a bit more comfortable. They got to pick their roommates and hiking groups and all in all it was a good trip. They even saw a bear on one of the hikes. So jealous, we never did cool stuff like this when I was a kid.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Valentines....Check!
Have to make our Valentines. I love Valentines. It's the one time of year when little boys are excited to receive something pink.
Even Daddy got in on the action. Sicily was giggling because he kept kissing all the Princess Valentine tattoos.
Even Daddy got in on the action. Sicily was giggling because he kept kissing all the Princess Valentine tattoos.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Ghost Lake
We'd promised the kids we'd go for a little skate after the Canmore Festival. We've wanted to for some time. So we stopped at Ghost Lake on the way home. Huge chunks of ice were everywhere, Sicily was collecting them until we told her they'd melt in the car. 
All 4 kids in a real shot. This is not photo shopped. This is Ghost Lake.
Crazy people were motorcycling on the ice. At least we thought they were crazy until we got a closer look at they're bikes. Their tires have 2 inch spikes on them. I didn't know stuff like that existed, you find crazy things with these winter Canadians.
Just a little ice fishing. This guy was really nice and let the kids hang out with him for quite some time.
His hole was drilled through at least 2 ft of ice.
And just like any Dad he was a sucker for our pink marshmallow, Sicily. She loved trying her hand with the baby fishing pole. The line was more than 30 ft in the water. But we didn't catch anything.
Eventually the skates came out. We all own a pair now thanks to the Second hand store. Sicily and London helped Mom and Dad have a race.
They pulled us a long to see who would win. Which by the way, "Girls rule and boys Drool!" Sicily and I won hands down. Pond skating is really hard, the ice is bumpy. No Zamboni out here.
All tuckered out from her race.
I thought these were boats frozen in the lake, because all you could see were the masts. But they're actually wind surfing boats made for the ice.
Check out the blades. I wish we knew someone who owned one of these. That would be some serious fun.
And of course you always find more crazy people, like those on the bikes. A left over fire out in the middle of the lake. I'm not too sure how smart this is.
I used Aspens feet as an example. You can see that crack below her, how deep it goes. This ice was way to thick to worry about.
At least in some places. The motorcycle people told this guy to not drive his truck out there because the ice was thinner. He apparently didn't listen. So glad we left our van in the parking lot. Not too sure if he got it out.
All 4 kids in a real shot. This is not photo shopped. This is Ghost Lake.
Crazy people were motorcycling on the ice. At least we thought they were crazy until we got a closer look at they're bikes. Their tires have 2 inch spikes on them. I didn't know stuff like that existed, you find crazy things with these winter Canadians.
Just a little ice fishing. This guy was really nice and let the kids hang out with him for quite some time. 
His hole was drilled through at least 2 ft of ice.
And just like any Dad he was a sucker for our pink marshmallow, Sicily. She loved trying her hand with the baby fishing pole. The line was more than 30 ft in the water. But we didn't catch anything.
Eventually the skates came out. We all own a pair now thanks to the Second hand store. Sicily and London helped Mom and Dad have a race.
They pulled us a long to see who would win. Which by the way, "Girls rule and boys Drool!" Sicily and I won hands down. Pond skating is really hard, the ice is bumpy. No Zamboni out here.
All tuckered out from her race.
I thought these were boats frozen in the lake, because all you could see were the masts. But they're actually wind surfing boats made for the ice.
Check out the blades. I wish we knew someone who owned one of these. That would be some serious fun.
And of course you always find more crazy people, like those on the bikes. A left over fire out in the middle of the lake. I'm not too sure how smart this is.
I used Aspens feet as an example. You can see that crack below her, how deep it goes. This ice was way to thick to worry about.
At least in some places. The motorcycle people told this guy to not drive his truck out there because the ice was thinner. He apparently didn't listen. So glad we left our van in the parking lot. Not too sure if he got it out.
Big Horn Sheep
Jared has the best eye for spotting animals in the wild. I think it comes from all those years of hunting as a kid. But even he was more than excited to see these. Real live, in the wild, big horn sheep. A whole herd. He'd never seen that before.
Curly horns and everything.
These Canadian Mountains are AWESOME!
Curly horns and everything. 
These Canadian Mountains are AWESOME!Railroad
So heading back home we took many a picture of the beautiful mountains. I don't know why but seeing the "Canadian Pacific" railroad cars always is so cool to me. I really do love them. I was lucky to get this shot.
Canmore Dogs
There were dogs EVERYWHERE in Canmore. Seriously, everywhere. We were all, even Jared, so sad we hadn't brought Beaux with us. He would have had a blast. But we did find this warning sign heading back to the car.
Too funny!
Too funny!Crazy Larry
I guess this guy is on Facebook. Super nice man, made balloons all day and would not accept 1 donation. He had a sign that told everyone he'd sworn off alcohol and used all those funds to buy balloons and make kids happy. Good man!
Sicily was very pleased with her butterfly. Made it easy for us to find her in the crowd. :)
Ice Sculptures
Coolest thing ever. At the Winterfest they were having an ice sculpture competition. I never knew there was so much involved in making these, always thought it was just a chainsaw and a block of ice. But there's a bit more to it than that. Saws, chisels, files and even...
irons. That's how they make them sparkle. Cool eh? This ones a bobcat with some bunnies.
There were a few dragons.
I liked the look of this one.
And you can't go wrong with a few swirls either.
First it was a horse, then he added the wings to make it a Pegasus, and the horn came last. "Glue" it all on with a bit of snow and water and you're set.
Jack and the Beanstalk was pretty cool.
But this was the best.
I'm not sure how they got the frosted maple leaf inside of the crystal one.
Absolutely beautiful.
Seriously, how do they do that?
We all had to check out how real it was. Phoenix was amazed.
And a little taste of the ice never hurt anyone. Well, actually it did Aspen. She actually licked the ice block and her tongue got stuck for a second. :)
They had some spare tools for the kids to try it out. It was harder than they made it look. Until they told me these tools are actually for wood, the ice tools are a lot sharper. Makes sense.
But still fun to give it a try.
irons. That's how they make them sparkle. Cool eh? This ones a bobcat with some bunnies.
There were a few dragons.
I liked the look of this one.
And you can't go wrong with a few swirls either.
First it was a horse, then he added the wings to make it a Pegasus, and the horn came last. "Glue" it all on with a bit of snow and water and you're set.
Jack and the Beanstalk was pretty cool. 
But this was the best. 
I'm not sure how they got the frosted maple leaf inside of the crystal one.
Absolutely beautiful.
Seriously, how do they do that?
We all had to check out how real it was. Phoenix was amazed.
And a little taste of the ice never hurt anyone. Well, actually it did Aspen. She actually licked the ice block and her tongue got stuck for a second. :)
They had some spare tools for the kids to try it out. It was harder than they made it look. Until they told me these tools are actually for wood, the ice tools are a lot sharper. Makes sense.But still fun to give it a try.
Cross "Country" Skiing
Our first every experience Cross Country Skiing was down Main Street in Canmore. They had free ski rental for half an hour so we took full advantage.
"Ahhhh! I've fallen and I can't get up." Dang ski's are too long.
Sicily, London and Aspen all in one shot.
This little boy was the cutest thing ever. He was so tiny I was surprised he could even walk, let alone ski. He's only 18 months old. Every time he'd come upon him, Phoenix kept expecting him to move out of the way. "Phoenix, he's little. You move."
My first time doing Cross Country. It was fun. Sicily had to make sure I was ok. She'd race along next to me wanting me to hold her hand.
She got a little pooped at the end of her skiing though and Jared had to pull her back to the start.
Phoenix got tired too. Sicily was all too willing to help.
"Ahhhh! I've fallen and I can't get up." Dang ski's are too long.
Sicily, London and Aspen all in one shot.
This little boy was the cutest thing ever. He was so tiny I was surprised he could even walk, let alone ski. He's only 18 months old. Every time he'd come upon him, Phoenix kept expecting him to move out of the way. "Phoenix, he's little. You move."
My first time doing Cross Country. It was fun. Sicily had to make sure I was ok. She'd race along next to me wanting me to hold her hand.
She got a little pooped at the end of her skiing though and Jared had to pull her back to the start.
Phoenix got tired too. Sicily was all too willing to help.
Dog Sled Races
Winter Festivals are so much fun. Any Festival is so much fun. But when you live in perpetual snow there's all sorts of cool things you can do.
We started off our Saturday watching Dog Sled Races. There were dogs everywhere. Not all Husky's though. They signed up kids to race on sleds about 2 weeks ahead of time. We missed out on that, but had fun watching.
At the end of the day they even hooked up the Mayor to a sled. Good times.
We started off our Saturday watching Dog Sled Races. There were dogs everywhere. Not all Husky's though. They signed up kids to race on sleds about 2 weeks ahead of time. We missed out on that, but had fun watching.
At the end of the day they even hooked up the Mayor to a sled. Good times.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Canmore Winterfest
The city of Canmore had the funnest Winter Festival this weekend. So get ready for some posts of our awesome Saturday.
"Romantic" Saturday Morning
I've been watching too many chick flicks and reading too many cutie books (1 to be precise) lately. This fact became clear to me this morning in my dreams. It was all about some lovie story of some handsome guy about to proclaim his undying love to some beautiful girl. As he opens his mouth to confess his feelings for her he says, "ASPEN I need some more toilet paper!" Not exactly the line I was expecting.
You gotta love having kids.
You gotta love having kids.
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