When in Calgary...

When in Calgary, let's learn to ski!  We got back from our beautiful and snowy visit to Canmore and decided that it was time to give this "skiing" thing a try.  My lessons would be on Wednesday nights for 5 weeks (beginning on February 20th)...beginner class with all ladies.  My instructor, Alison, is 23 years old and has been skiing since she was 5.  Oh my!  Here I am after lesson 1...still alive and still smiling!  I'm definitely not a natural, but hope to have some fun!

Ben's lessons started on Sunday, February 24th.  Same deal as my lessons...90 minutes each week for 5 weeks.  Greg took him, and he had a great time!  He was so proud of his "pizza" (all you who ski should know what I'm talking about there) and loved the "magic carpet ride".  It's a busy time on the hill for a lesson...he's in the middle of these pictures with the blue jacket and orange/black helmet. 

Wish us luck!!  :)

Canmore

Greg and Ben both had Monday, February 18th off from work/school for Family Day.  You've got to love a place that honors families with a day off to be together.  We took advantage of the time and explored a little mountain town about an hour from Calgary called Canmore...

Up and out early on Sunday (February 17th) morning for Canmore.  Gray, cloudy skies, but at least it was dry.  The drive was nice...easy drive along the highway, and the sun even broke through here and there.  As we got closer to Canmore, we could see the Rockies!  We could also see some fog and snow ahead.  Before we knew it, the snow was coming down so hard that we could barely make out the outline of the mountains right in front of us!  Crazy, but expected in mid-February, right?

We arrived in Canmore around 9:30 a.m.  It was a busy weekend in town, so we were not able to check in to our hotel room yet, so we found the tourism office to get a map, then to The Drake Inn for "second breakfast".  We walked along Main Street for a bit and did a little shopping.  Also stopped along a bridge to get some beautiful photos of the snow covered trees near the water.

The woman at the tourism office told us that a winter carnival was being held at the little pond down the street.  Ice skating, hot traditional Belgian waffles, and maple snow taffy...lots of family fun.  We ventured to the pond and played in the snow for about an hour.  Nathalie loved exploring in the snow, Ben loved making a "snow chunk" family, and Daddy loved the waffles!  :)  It was a really sweet picture...lots of families ice skating, playing hockey, and just being together.  And, even with all the snow, the temps were actually not too cold, so it was truly enjoyable.

After the carnival, we drove to the Canmore Nordic Centre for sledding.  The CNC was developed for the 1988 Calgary Olympic games as the cross country skiing sight.  Today, the centre is a recreational facility as well as host for international cross country and biathlon events each year.  They also have lots of activities for families such as sledding, ice skating, and more.  After all that time outside, poor Nathalie fell asleep in the car on the way to the centre, but Ben and Greg were excited to sled!  At this point, the snow was really coming down!  They enjoyed the hill for almost an hour before coming back to the car with freezing hands...the temps had really dropped!  But, they loved it!!  Ben begged us to go back on Monday, and we thought that was a great idea so Nathalie and Mommy could join in the fun too!

We drove back to the hotel, hoping to check in and warm up a bit.  Alas, still no luck.  We drove around downtown a while, and then decided to have an early dinner at Grizzly Paw Brewing Co.  They brew their own beer, but they also make sodas that were so tasty!!  Fun spot to relax and eat. 

We made it back to the hotel around 5 p.m. and checked in.  We relaxed in the room for a couple hours and then got all suited up for the pool.  It was packed, and the water was freezing!  The kids didn't care, of course, and were having a fantastic time.  Until...a kid threw up in the pool about 20 minutes into our visit.  Ugh.  Obviously we had to get out and go back to the room.  Ben understood, but Nathalie was devastated!  Poor thing.  Hot baths in the room, Daddy ordered pizza, and we all snuggled up to watch The Amazing Race.  I'd say it was a great day!!  (PS, I think Nathalie ate about 4 slices of pizza herself!!  Where does she put it??)

Before enjoying breakfast at the hotel on Monday morning, Greg popped out to get some pictures of the mountains, now that the skies were clear and we could see them!  Love the sight of the sun kissing the tops of the mountains as it was coming up. 

The day's agenda included a small hike at Quarry Lake and then more sledding at the Nordic Centre before heading home.  With the sun shining, it literally felt like a visit to a completely new town.  There were mountains in front of us as we drove that we absolutely could not even see the day before.  We stopped along the same bridge as we had the day before for fresh pictures of the trees and the water.  Beautiful...

Then to Quarry Lake.  Quarry Lake is one of Canmore's favorite outdoor recreational areas, and it has spectacular views of the mountains nearby.  The lake is over 100 meters deep in some spots and is fed by an underground mountain spring, making it warm enough for swimming only in July and August.  We saw lots of people playing with their dogs (it's a popular spot for off-leash dog fun), hiking, and enjoying this gorgeous sunny day!  Too many pictures below, I'm sure, but I can't help myself...it was amazing!! 

Now it was time for some action!  We got all suited up for sledding and away we went!  I think Ben giggled the entire time, but Nathalie wasn't so sure.  She went down a handful of times, but preferred walking her "pet sled" around the park.  :)  We enjoyed the hills for a couple hours, and I snapped a picture of all the flags flying at the CNC as we drove away.  Cool place...I'm sure we'll be back!

We headed home around 2 p.m., but not without a few more pictures of the mountains as we drove.  The bottom picture is of "The Three Sisters" mountains, which help form Canmore's backdrop and skyline.  Individually, they are known as Big Sister (Faith), Middle Sister (Charity), and Little Sister (Hope).  Originally, they were known as "The Three Nuns" because they were thought by George M. Dawson (who named them in 1886) to resemble three praying nuns after a veil of snow was left on each after a storm.  He eventually changed the name to the The Three Sisters...more Protestant, I guess?  The peak of the tallest mountain is 9,634 feet tall, wow.  Simply spectacular, and a great way to cap off our weekend!

February Fun & Friends

Lots of fun in middle February!  Ben celebrated Valentine's Day at school on the 13th, because there was no school on the 14th or 15th.  He came home with quite the display of cards and candy - and is always so good about sharing with his little sister.  In fact, I think she swiped most of the candy while he admired his love notes...  :)

Happy Valentine's Day!  Lots of fun little presents for the kiddos.  I got my own little present...a night out for a haircut.  How romantic, right?  I had a recommendation for a salon, and the only night the stylist was available that week was the 14th.  I did stop by the Callebaut chocolate shop before coming home, and so Greg and I enjoyed some bubbly and seriously amazing chocolates once the wee ones were asleep.  

Our landlords had mentioned to us that the dishwasher may not hold out too long, and so by early February, we were kindly requesting a new one.  See the old one...even had a big chunk out of the handle.  Took quite a while for the plumber to shimmy the new one into that tiny spot, but he got it!  And, we've got a fantastic new dishwasher.  Yay!  (It's the little things in life sometimes, right?)

I had been dying to check out the Calgary Farmers' Market.  On Saturday, February 16th, we ran a few errands and then ventured to the market.  It is in the southeast, near Greg's yard.  It is incredible!!  Produce, bakeries, meats, gifts...not to mention all the yummy places to eat!  Greg and I shared a Greek omelette while Ben devoured a donut the size of his head!  Poor Nathalie...she fell asleep right before we got to the market and slept through the whole thing!  I'm sure we'll be back though, and I see many more donuts in our future!  :)

Some of you may remember "getting to know Amsterdam", right?  Well, here is a little "getting to know Calgary" lesson...

Nearly everything we see, especially when it comes to packaged products, is printed in English and French.  I love that Ben is learning Spanish so well, but it kind of makes me wish he was learning French...he'd be getting quite the extra credit!  Good refresher for me and Greg though from our high school and college days.  Here are just a few examples of what I'm talking about...English on one side, French on the other.

When we arrived in Calgary, the sun didn't rise until nearly 8:30 a.m. and set around 4:30 p.m.  Now, as of mid-February, it is light around 7:30 a.m. and the sun goes to bed after 6 p.m.  It is really pretty as we walk Ben to the bus stop each morning...watching the sun come up and seeing all the beautiful colors in the sky.  With being further north, I hear that we will have summer evenings like we did in Amsterdam...light until 11 p.m.  Oh my!

In Canada, their currency is the Canadian dollar.  They have quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies like we do, although the penny is being phased out of circulation as I write this.  They are starting to round up or down, just as we did in Amsterdam.  They also have one dollar and two dollar coins, also very similar to Europe.  The one dollar coin was introduced in 1987 and has a photo of Queen Elizabeth on one side and a common loon on the other.  It was nicknamed the "loonie".  The two dollar coin was introduced in 1996 and has a photo of the Queen on one side and a polar bear (named Churchill) on the other.  This coin was nicknamed the "toonie".  So, we were warned not to be offended when we hear talk of "loonies and toonies".  :)  Obviously, there is paper money too...

Lastly, I have just been amazed and grateful for the friendliness of the people of Calgary.  We've already enjoyed a lunch in the home of one of the women from my Bible study, and our banker has invited us over for pizza.  One of Greg's colleagues has invited us to his home for dinner, as have our landlords.   When I was picking Ben up from school (before his bus stop was included on the route), the other moms were so pleasant and sweet to ask about our move and how Ben was doing.  Now that he takes the bus, I pick him up right near a city bus stop.  The first few days, the city bus driver would stop, and I would shake my head that we were not getting on.  He finally figured it out that we were waiting for a school bus, but now we wave to one another every day...I love unexpected friends!  :)  Ben's school bus driver is so sweet, a kind and thoughtful woman who gave the kids cookies on Valentine's Day, and even had one for Nathalie.  At gymnastics, Nathalie and I have made friends with Robyn and her daughter, Isla.  Isla and Nathalie are almost exactly one year apart...Isla is a New Year's baby.  :)  Robyn's older daugthers attend Westgate school too; what a terrific coincidence!  I definitely see some playdates and hopefully some "moms night out" evenings in our future.  I am just overwhelmed with how at home we feel already, and how blessed we are that God has gifted us with such dear people to share our journey.