the Scotties!

When you love curling as much as Aidan does, a little afternoon away from school isn't such a big deal right?  Right. And that's exactly what Brent and Aidan did this past Wednesday.  They made a little trip up to Red Deer and took in the Scotties Women's Curling.  What a fun afternoon!  So nice for Aidan to see everything up close and personal and to totally take in the whole experience in person. 

A long day, but oh so worth it!  Thanks Brent for making the trip with our little curler!

Winterfest in Waterton!

A bit of a drive...yes.  A gorgeous day...yes.  A visit to a beautiful place in winter....absolutely!  And that's just what we did for a day on our Family Day long weekend.  We went to Waterton!  This is the very first time we have ever seen this park in the winter.  We camp here every summer, but to see it in winter was truly unbelievable.  Snowdrifts stretching almost to the roof lines of the shops.  Snow banks that seemed to climb higher and higher.  The main street and shops all boarded up for the winter.  And the lake....well it was frozen too.  We were told by a local, that this year's snowfall was lower than most.  Really?  Now that is unbelievable! 
We spent the day wandering amongst all the winter activities and taking in some of our favourite "summer" sights, and as you can imagine, they all looked just a little different.

A frozen Cameron Falls.

A walk amongst the snowy streets.

The girl's tried their best to have a go at the playground...digging through the snow to have a ride on the slide, only to have it end in a snow drift.

We embarked on a sleigh ride through some of the back streets and were continually amazed at just how different the park looked.

The light snow that was falling set the stage for a perfect day to be down in the park.

A great day?  Well, yes.  Yes, it was.  So much so, that we plan on going down again next year.  This time we are making a weekend out of it!  There is a surprising amount of things to do in Waterton in the winter. That is...if you don't mind a little snow!

Happy Valentine's Day!

in search of snow...

As many of you may know, we have been having a very odd winter out here this year.  Sure there has been snow, it has been cold (oh, yes...it has) but it has also been unseasonably warm this year.  So warm, it has felt a lot like spring.  A little fed up with the craziness of our weather, and our lack of good snow, we decided to go in search of that elusive white stuff.  Thus...a trip to our favourite park was in order!  The truck was packed with sleds, snowshoes, snowtubes, and yummy food, and we embarked on a winter adventure into Peter Lougheed Park - my most favourite (next to Waterton of course) - and had the most fabulous time!

Aidan spent most of the day in snowshoes with me, and I tell you, this little guy has no fear.  He was venturing off the beat and path with not a care in the world as to how deep the snow would be after his next step.

Fantastic...but it often ended up like this...

Maelle hiked along side of us, staying on the path, while the littlest adventurers took a break from hiking, and embarked on a few downhill runs of their own.  The hill was big, and this time Jenna showed no fear.  Maybe it's that mountain air!

Along one of the trails (Penstock to be exact), we were treated with some amazing ice formations from the water pipeline that runs through the area.  Perfect way to keep the kids entertained and an unexpected bonus!

The day was absolutely gorgeous!  We celebrated over cookies in the Village and are already planning our next adventure to these magnificent mountains.

Did we find winter you ask?

Well, yes.  Yes we did!

she shoots....she scores!

Day by day, these ladies are getting more and more comfortable on skates.  Today was the first day that the girls were left on their own without one of us hovering (ok, that would be me hovering) over them.  They wanted sticks.  So...sticks they shall have!

The face off...

Bree shoots...

...and she scores!

A job well done!  Future hockey players?  Maybe.