Cold in Canmore

On Monday, December 29, we headed to Canmore for some snow and ski fun.  It was a super cold day, but we were determined to stick to the plan and make the best of it.  The weather was overcast as we arrived in Canmore and enjoyed some lunch.  Once we finished lunch, the sun had come out and we were ready to try some sledding...
 

But, we soon realized we might be asking too much of the kids.  As you can see in the picture below, the weather was -17 degrees, and that's CELSIUS!  That equates to about 0 degrees F, and it was obviously bitter cold.  In all fairness, we did ask the kids what they wanted to do, and it was decided that we go for it.  Well, we went for it...for about 5 minutes.  By the time we got back in the car, fingers and toes were frozen and emotions had taken a drastic turn...  :(

No better way to cure the "it's way too cold" blues than getting on our swimsuits and enjoying the hotel pool and waterslide.  Here are my happy campers in the bath that evening.  I think this means Mom and Dad are forgiven for the day's earlier sledding torture.

On Tuesday, we attempted to get back on track with "the plan" to ski.  Beautiful sunrise on the way to the slopes, but the temperatures were another story.  As we pulled into the parking lot at Nakiska, our car said it was -14 degrees F.  Oh brother, we are crazy.  Nathalie was content as she was headed off to warm and dry daycare.  But, Ben, Greg, and I were not.  We made it two runs before poor Ben was sobbing so hard...and I wanted to join him.  We spent the rest of the morning reading stories and drinking hot cocoa in the lodge while Nathalie played at daycare and Greg would venture out every now and then for a run.  (PS, he's definitely crazy.)  Back to the hotel to enjoy the pool, pizza, games, books, etc.  Minus those moments of frozen fingers and toes again, we enjoyed our day.

Thankfully, things were looking up on New Year's Eve!  The temperatures were still cool, but manageable, so we ventured back to Nakiska for some ski time.  We had a super day, and all of this arctic adventure had caught up with Ben as he snoozed on the way home.  (This NEVER happens anymore!)  After getting unpacked and watching a movie, we all crashed - way before midnight.  Happy New Year!