ok let's begin.....Christmas!

Alrighty....here we go with the first of many updates. I hear there's a lot of snow falling in Winnipeg today, so how appropriate that I blog about my trip home! Wow, it's Jan 25 today...Christmas was a month ago already. Can hardly believe it!

At any rate, let's see what I remember! So I went home for a week. It was busy. I did stuff. Then I came back to BC. Ha, just kidding, i will give you more than that (though it is a fairly accurate synopsis...lol) Spent some time with a few friends, spent some time with family, spent a lot of time sleeping...and also spent some time skiing! It was a good trip, went by far too quickly, but here are a few pics.

Christmas morning...ahhh stockings that are too full and too heavy to be hung by the mantel with care...so are rather placed nicely on the couch. It was just myself and my parents again this year....brother and sis-in-law are expecting a baby in a few short weeks, so she was too far along to fly. So, just me and the 'rents. Ah well, more stuff for me :)
Christmas dinner wouldn't be complete without the crackers...because you NEED to wear the paper crown and get your little prize from within....it's just something that must be done!

Quality time with my dad included going to the Manitoba Moose game!!!!! The Moose are the Canucks farm team....and they were playing the Abbotsford Heat....(Calgary's farm team) so it was like my two rivals facing off....who would win? Winnipeg vs. Abbotsford....Canucks vs. Flames....who to cheer for?? Well, I cheer for the Moose, because lets face it, despite the Heat being Abbotsford's team....I just can't cheer for baby Flames....and lucky for me, the Moose won!

pre game warm up

game on!! (we're the white team)

And skiing! Ah x-country skiing...the amazing workout that I survive only by taking photography breaks the entire time :) I only managed to get out skiing 2x but it was still fun. I'm not gonna lie, the first day was much warmer, thus making the experience more fun. The second day, i thought i was going to lose some fingers to frostbite. But I didn't, and all is well. Anyway, here are some pics from the first day (the warm day) at Kings Park, near my house where I spent many of my growing up years playing soccer, baseball, walking, running, skiing, biking, sledding...etc etc. It's a fun place to take pictures too!

The sky was really cool....i don't think this pic does it justice, but it was the best I could get...i just love the depth of the prairie sky...

Red berries

Winter scene

Over the bridge (pretty sure trolls lived under these red bridges when i was young...)

Another winter scene....toboggan central!!

And now on to the cold day....my dad and I went skiing at Birds Hill Park. Here's my dad all bundled up....

Plane tracks through the sky...and love the prism colours the sun reflected

Animal tracks and the setting sun...we'd better ski fast!!The moon is out! love the trees

And this post would not be complete without a shout out to some great friends I caught up with while home. Had dinner with my friend Julie, whom I haven't seen in about 5 yrs! It was great to catch up, and meet her little bebe! Watt family! Doug and Beth are some of my favourite people, it's great to catch up, and try and sneak free photo advice from Doug!! And chill with their now-grown-up boys whom i used to babysit and now they tower over me! And dearest Anna, long time friend, with an adorable bebe, and essential member of "Kendel Family Fun Night" where we play Cranium and Anna and I SLAUGHTER my parents...it's an annual tradition, and I can't help it that we are amazing sculpters, eyes-closed-artistes and hummers :)

So there you have it...a run down of my Christmas....one post of many updates DONE!! I flew back to Abbotsford on Dec 30 and Pammer and I proceeded to catch a ferry that night over to Vancouver Island.....thus posts on New Years in Courtenay and my birthday in Ucluelet are upcoming.....stay tuned!!!