Christmas Part II -- Adventures in Pinawa

On Boxing day, we headed up to Pinawa to visit my aunt and uncle as well as my cousin Susan and her family who were also visiting for Christmas. Pinawa is a cute little town and i hadn't been up there to visit for a number of years so i was looking forward to it. The deer greeted us upon arrival...or should i say they wandered nearby, trodding down the streets and didn't really care to leave until they had found enough to eat!

As I mentioned, my cousin Susan and her family were also visiting for Christmas. Her kids are really cute so unfortunately for them that meant they were subject to impromptu photoshoots with me...but as you can tell from some of their pics, i don't think they minded too much!!

Erik (1.5 yrs) is a mischevious little thing that you need to keep your eye on at all times....

Alaina (3.5) (who you've seen in previous blog posts) probably has a larger vocabulary than I do...lol...we spent some quality time together watching Tinkerbell and Ariel dvd's...good times

And the main event of the weekend was cross-country skiing! Susan and I went skiing not once, not twice but THREE times, each day on a longer trail and by day three, did an 11km loop - add that to the first 2 days and we skied over 20km when all was said and done. Good job us!!! Here we are sporting our Cona toques...doing some free advertising for my cousin Karla (Susan's sister) and Brian

And what follows are a variety of photos from all three days of skiing (yes i had Rebs strapped to my back at all times!!).

Icicles on one of the warming huts

The skiing gang on day three (from L to R) Uncle Alf, my dad, Susan and Monty (in the front row)

The scenery was amazing! I almost fell many many times because I was looking at the wonderful scenery and not paying attention to where I was skiing...lol

My dad in action!

And to prove I was actually skiing...and not just making up stories...here I am with Monty

And here's my dear cuzzy

Some sunset shots taken from the car on the drive back to Winnipeg...the prairies are great for sunsets

And there you have it! A few days later I was back on an airplane on my way to BC. Time flies, but it was definitely an enjoyable time at home!!

Christmas in Winnipeg part I

Well, my time in Winnipeg is just about over (i fly back to BC tomorrow) but i suppose this first post about my christmas is better late than never!!! BC was blasted with snowstorms leading up to my departure date and I was lucky enough to be flying on the what may have been the only good day for air travel this christmas season. I flew out on Monday the 22nd. I love getting the window seat from Abbotsford to Calgary (well, on a clear day anyway) because the view is amazing. Rebs (my camrea, in case you didn't know) travelled safely stowed under the seat infront of me, and I couldn't resist snapping a few scenic shots. I think i`ll see if Westjet will buy this shot from me...lol

After a few minor delays and a chai latte in the Calgary airport I arrived in Winnipeg (man is it cold here!!) That first night I helped my mom decorate the Christmas tree (i made her wait until I arrived home...lol) and then found an old tripod so that I could play around with my camera in low lighting. I love how the christmas lights look!

Christmas morning was sunny and quiet, as it was just me and my parents this year (my brother and wife didn`t come home). We (well, I) slept in, then opened our stockings and presents.

Then the afternoon was filled with what have become my traditional Christmas day jobs....decorating the cake and the gingerbread men!!! Food coloring out, ready to go!!And the finished product!

Dinner table all ready to go for visitors

Dad hard at work carving the turkey

And before you know it, it was over! time sure does fly. And so to conclude this first part of my trip, here are some pictures of new ornaments we got this year that I really like, and capture well some important words of the season.

Stay tuned for Part II - To Pinawa, for skiing adventures and beyond...

winter wonderland and other such things

life has been hectic. and that's an understatement. i've been out every night in almost 2 weeks, and the only reason i'm home tonight is because we got a blizzard goin' on out there and i am STAYING IN!!!! Sad...because we were to have our bible study Christmas party and cookie exchange tonight (photo of my hard work to follow later in this post), which i was greatly looking forward to...but let me tell you, it's much warmer and safer at home. Thankfully, my workplace shut down early this afternoon; I was able to brave the roads mid-afternoon and made it home safe and sound....good job Mazzy (there are many cars in the ditch...).
I've been taking some random shots of the miscelaneties (is that even a word?)of the past few weeks, so let's start with those...and then some pics of the snow!!!
Here are some of my favorite decorations on my tree. The reason I took these photos was because I was experimenting with different camera modes and using my tripod...but more importantly, these 2 ornaments represent 2 of my great loves.....

Like I mentioned, tonight was to be a cookie exchange with my bible study ladies. 7 of us were in on it, which means that after all is exchanged, I will have a great variety of baked goods...7 dozen cookies, each dozen different...mmm....i made ginger snaps...

Again, a bit of experimenting the other night (it was freezing out, so i couldn't stay out that long). This picture didn't turn out the way I would have hoped, but i think it still looks kinda cool. this is the moon from my balcony

Pammer and I went to Vancouver on Sunday to see Jose's new place and also stop in at Mike and Jen's Christmas party. We got there just as the sun was going down and so I snapped this picture of one of Vancouver's many bridges...(i forget which one this is...maybe the Burrard St. bridge, or the Granville St. bridge....i dunno...)

And now...the snow. Like I mentioned, I got to come home from work early. Later this afternoon, i decided to bundle up and go for a walk to Mill Lake. Here are a few pics from my adventures in the snow

And now i'm hanging out with Pammer...we're watching the Canucks game, drinking wine and wrapping presents in front of the fireplace....and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a snow day tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!