Christmas Day

The morning started of at a cool -26, but we were warm inside as Christmas Day was unwrapped before us by Heather and Finlay. Heather woke upto say that she had already gone down stairs and that there were no presents to see, must have been a really bad dream for her!!. However when they say the roomed filled with gifts they jumped around for joy and then promptly wanted to waken Granny and Grandad to tell them the good news. After a morning filled with unwrapping and building we went out for a walk and sledging while the Turkey cooked. The walk, as usual, turned into another of our adventures!!

 and ended up with some speedy refreshing action to work up an appetite for our turkey dinner.

The perfect Christmas Day, watching the magic of Christmas being unwrapped by the kids, a fresh walk in the snow with blue bird skies, family round the table and then a relaxing movie to complete the day.

Lake Louise

 James and I managed to take advantage of our live in sitters when we went to Lake Louise and enjoyed a XC ski round Fair View loop. The Grandparents enjoyed their time at the Chateau with all the Christmas decorations, the model train set was a hit with Finlay and of course they all enjoyed a hot chocolate. Heather and Finlay managed to convince Granny and Grandad that they meeded yet another soft toy...however they were very cute if I do say so myself. Penny the penguin and Tangled the dog!!!

 Once James and I returned we ventured outside to enjoyed some snow chutes and laughed as we watched other people attempt the renowned Canadian ice skates. Some people were gracefully skating around while others were slipping and sliding, holding tightly onto one another and others were not so gracefully sliding around on their knees,trying to get up. Granny and Grandad did not try the skates this day!!!

 However snow chutes and sliding on ones bum was a must for young and old!!

 Granny and Grandad then enjoyed a walk on Lake Louise which was probably unfamiliar to them walking on ice which is more than 6 inches thick and feeling quite safe as a tractor passes to clear some snow.

 All the cold activities were rounded off with drop by the Ice Bar by the side of the lake to enjoy more hot chocolate, this time with some added liqueur to warm the cockles of the heart, a fire pit to warm the tips of toes and fingers and maple taffy to entice the kids out from the snow drifts keeping us all very happy.
Maple Taffy is a tradition from Eastern Canada where they pour just the correct mixture of melted Maple sap from a Maple tree onto snow and then wrapped up onto a stick.

Winter Boot camp Canmore 2012

 Winter Boot Camp includes beautiful accommodation and an experience of winter experiences like no other!

 We settle into our lovely relaxing log cabin with comforting log fire and comfy beds to then bound into action with some great activities!!!

 Skating was first on the list as we arrived Heather and Finlay couldn't wait to skate on "Chad's Pad" and show Granny and Grandad their skating skills. Then the following morning they asked to go again. Grandad had told them stories of how he used to be  quite the ice skater and used to frequent the local ice rink in Edinburgh every Saturday morning and even subjected my Mum to a second date there to show off his skills, much to Mum's amusement!!!!!...Not!! So when our friend Chad came to ask what size of feet they were and announced that he was sure  he had skates to fit, off they went to attempt to skate. First of all Grandad slid off the bench onto the ice, Granny held on to dad's hand and everything seemed to be going well, but then Grandad fell in mid glide and landed on his wrist!!! Stating that it was harder without a side board to hold onto and must be the skates that have changed!!!...Ooh these hockey skates. So we iced his wrist that night and all was good the following day.

 Snow shoeing at Emerald Lake was also on the agenda. This was the first time for the kids as well as Granny and Grandad. It felt good to have feet firmly strapped in and firmly on the ground .

 Finlay tackling steeper ground.

 Head planting.

 Tricky business coming down.

 We started off to walk round Emerald lake and the scenery was spectacular, the weather was crisp...what could go wrong!!
We packed some snacks and a flask of hot chocolate to have on the way round for a well earned break and while turning round in some deeper snow we found Grandad bowled over again!!

After everybody had enjoyed the fresh outdoors we drove back to our cabin and enjoyed games and a warm fire.

Special visitors came to Canmore

It was a pretty magical time when Granny and Grandad came to Canmore for Christmas and the first time that Heather and Finlay have been able to share the magic of Christmas with close family other than me and James. Sleeps had been counted, bedroom had been made up, upstairs bathroom was near to completion and the Gunn family and Canmore were ready for visitors.

The weekend that they arrived was the weekend that the CX ski world cup was held at the Nordic Centre and there were 20 teams from all around the world here in Canmore so there was good reason to impress.

Downtown had an athletes village set up with outdoor screens showing highlights from the races, and then over the weekend they were showing screenings of classic Christmas movies, including Polar Express, the audience sitting on hay bales under warm blankets. With the temperatures being low, we gave that experience a miss!! There was warm food, open fire pits, a Ginger bread house shop set up for kids, where they could shop for gifts, all gifts under $10 and no adults allowed. Hot chocolate, music and fun and of course Santa  arrived on a sleigh being pulled by elves.

There were shuttle buses to take people up to the Nordic centre every 10 mins, so we all rode the bus to see the sprint races and watch how skate skiing is done by the professionals!!

Sunday, we had a relaxing day and went swimming at the Banff springs Hotel outdoor pool and a look round the beautiful decorations in the hotel, then up to the Rimrock hotel for a Bailey's and coffee by the fire.

 

 

So with lots of icing and many sweets, the construction began, after a slipping roof, a toppling Santa and Christmas tree and more than a few sweets in the belly, it was complete.

 

After easing Granny and Grandad into Canadian winter we decided to take them to try XC skiing . Getting started was a little tricky with a few backward spills, but after an hour of James' tuition and watching Heather and Finlay the grandparents were doing well. Mission complete with no injuries.

 

Another favorite activity of ours is sledging , here is Granny and Finlay enjoying a fast slide before school!!