Holiday Break Happenings

Happy Boxing Day!  Traditionally, Boxing Day (December 26) was a day when servants would receive gifts, known as a "Christmas box" from their employers.  Today, it is mainly a shopping holiday in Canada, much like Black Friday or the day after Christmas sales in the States.  Greg had the day off, and we were determined not to spend it at a shopping center or even indoors...the weather was a fantastic 40 degrees!  We found a sledding hill not far from home, and enjoyed a couple hours of zooming down the hill.  Nathalie wasn't too sure about sledding last year, but boy, has that changed!!  She loved it, and of course Ben did too!  (Mom and Dad had quite a bit of fun too!)   :)

We certainly stayed busy over holiday break.  Ben had 4 days of very cold ski lessons.  I felt so bad sending him out on the hill for 90 minutes while Nathalie and I got to read stories and drink hot chocolate in the nice, warm lodge.  We even made some new friends...a woman from Texas who just moved to Calgary with her Canadian husband.  Their boys were in Ben's ski class, and we spent a lot of time chatting and comparing expat stories as they had lived in Europe as well.  I definitely see future coffee dates with Sandra and playdates with the boys.  Here is a picture of Ben's class taking a break from the cold...Ben is the helmet on the far left.  :)  We had friends over for dinner a few times, lots of movie nights, and ate way too many Christmas cookies.  A great holiday, indeed!  

On Saturday, December 28th, Greg took off for an all-day snowshoeing adventure to Kananaskis Country.  He met his guide and fellow "shoers" in the morning to drive to the Smith-Dorrien Valley to hike the Black Prince Loop.  As they got close to their destination, Greg had to slow down and swerve around the giant big horn sheep in the middle of the road!  He's already "one with nature" and they haven't even gotten out of the car yet!  The group strapped on their snowshoes and walked along a 5K trail that led them to a picturesque lake.  They stopped for lunch and hot chocolate, and then hiked back on a different trail.  Greg was amazed by the experience.  He was excited that he got to see so many beautiful landscapes that were only accessible because he had the snowshoes to walk on 3 feet of snow.  Here's gorgeous pictures he took of the trees and snow...