Sunshine Village

No kidding, this is the robotic pose which I maintained for the entire descent when skiing for the first few months. No wonder I was stiff afterwards. Poles were the key to breaking the habit.  We have had wicked good weather this year in Banff. The best in 5 years some say.
I now have graduated to brave some black diamond hills, so I no longer refer to places such as goats eye mountain as the goat bleeper. That's not to say I won't end up with my skis stuck in deep snow from time to time. The plan next year is to try longer skis which will leave me back on Strawberry hill, sigh..

I remember when I began I had a serious hate on for snowboarders. They were always the ones to comglomerate like cattle in the middle of the run. Sean would come up behind them and spray them, scare them, prod them along. They did not question this large man in camo. Thanks love.

I watch Sean zigzag around and land jumps so easily, you know I had to try it out for myself. The outcome was similar to my debacle on the bike. Too slow in the approach... kerplunk. Nothing injured though. I think I will cut that out while I'm ahead.

I wish I had pictures of Tanya skiing here, she grew up in Riding Mountain National park limits, so she looked as if she came out of the womb with skis on. Did I mention she tans well too. You know I love you, but could you just fake being poor at something?

Welcome to Calgary Mom!

Mom brought out the tourist in us when she came to visit. We took a road trip to Drumheller to see hoodos and the Tyrell dinosaur meseum- she couldn't resist scolding the egg eating dinosaur as dad wasn't here to do it himself. The next day we were off to Banff. Those hot springs were calling after a cold day viewing the falls. Not to mention the "close call" we had with animals not seen but smelled and heard just off the track of the Banff golf course. Sean and I have a much different account of that trek, but let me tell my version, it is much more interesting.

bicycle, bicycle

There is a bike path along the river that leads to  family and friends. All I have to do is keep up to those long legs ahead of me. And not try his curb jumping trick...
He made it look so easy.


Looking back I think I was going only a fraction of his speed, so the little curb I was determined to jump stopped me dead in my tracks. Whoops. I blamed it on the bike..

Sandy, Alan, Kaleigh Sean and I headed to Banff to check out the Gondola. I saw the first snowfall of the season that day, even though it had most likely been snowing at that altitide for months. It was beautiful.

Boo!

Halloween night we were visited by a Ryan and Jenny and their children Jaqueline and Anderson. Sean asked Jaqueline "Do you like hockey or are you a Leafs fan?" to which she replied "No, I'm a unicorn"

Lake life

Sean has some getting used to in the midget world of Mel. He crammed his way into my tiny CRV. He also spent an afternoon with his knees to his chest in a paddleboat we borrowed. His payback came when finding home videos of mullet mel. Thats me above- left. Shannon to the right. A big thank-you goes out to auntie Donna who year after year kept us in style, I think?

Seans (hunting) trip

Unfortunately all the animals outsmarted Keith and Sean and stayed within park boundries. Not to mention they had their work cut out for them in the elements. The main roads out there looked more like off-roads from what it sounded like.
But boys will be boys and I know there is more fun in those trips than they let on.

hard at work

Tim: Some tool-men say "Why? ", this tool-man says "Why not? ".
Jill: This tool-man's wife says "Why me? ".

Sean and Al have fun, especially with power tools in hand. Sarah, her daughter Emily and I donned goggles to help them build a fence at their place in Exshaw, AB.

pictures of our place

Livingroom

Apollo in the back yard

Al in his man cave

Sean hard at work, spying obviously

moving in, one room at a time

 The house in Douglas Glen was a ghostly blank slate when we moved in, as most would be, I suppose. There are now skins on the walls, a nice cozy fireplace and books in the shelves.  I have learned to abandon the instruction manual when making assemble-yourself units and just wing it. This seems to be a universal law.

The basement has an area for each of us. There is a workout corner for me, work benches for sean and a media room for allen downstairs.  We all share a game of shuffleboard from time to time, just like they do at the seniors centre! Even Apollo has a place of his own outside, a mini replica of our house.  Apollo is the sweetest dog I will meet in my lifetime. He loves the ladies, when you talk to him his ears go down but he listens real well despite this. He is so smart he can switch off his instinct to bark when other dogs walk by and he will say I love you when prompted with his favorite food, cheese.