Touring in the Rocky Mountains again.

Hi all in the land down under. I believe you are having a very mild summer, we also are having a fairly mild winter, not to much snow, yet! We are in the Rockies with Tim, Kate Elijah, Josh and Jane. As you can see in the above photo there is plenty of snow here. This is actually a photo of Simpson Lake near the town of Banff. Every turn is a photo opportunity and a quite hard to describe. Photos don't do the magnificent scenery justice. The guys and Jane have got a fair bit of skiing in over the past week. The skied at the Famous Lake Louis ski resort and I think that was a high light for them. No injuries and lots of new skills learnt. Josh has been snowboarding and has mastered it quite well. Jim, Crystal, Erin and Carly joined us for the weekend which was lovely. Pity they had to go home and back to work and school.
This photo is taken in the Fairmont Hotel in Banff. I think this hotel is on every tourist brochure advertising Canada. How cute is Elijah. He has been so good it is really unbelievable. He is happy all the time and happy to go to anyone. He didn't like the snow at first but today he had a little play on his own in the snow. Maybe he did this because Phil and I wanted him to keep walking.
Yes you read this right. This was on the way to drop the guys of skiing in Lake Louise. Cold isn't a word to describe -30. It was a clear, sunny day and the skiing was fantastic, though.
While skiing was happening Kate, Elijah and Myself went shopping in Banff and had lunch at the spaghetti factory. Elijah was just a delight as the photo shows. I am going to miss them so much. We have had a great holiday and will never forget the beautiful mountains, frozen lakes and amazing picture opportunities we have enjoyed.

The girls also managed a trip to the Patchwork shop in Canmore. Didn't we have fun and I think they will have to restock the shop after we had been there. The shop is call the Sugar Pine Company in Canmore, take a look as it has some beautiful fabrics. We even got Jane interested and she brought some beautiful things.

Tim, Kate and Elijah go home on Monday and Clayton arrives on Thursday, I suppose I have to take him to the mountains as well. Its such a hard job!!!!
Well till next time, enjoy the warmth in Oz.

Lots of love Tina

Winter is so much fun

Elijah and Grandad (Phil) checking out the truck. What a great photo, not real clear but the moment was certainly grasped in the photo. This photo was ment to be last but Im still trying to sort out this blogging. So forgive me. The blog actually starts after the ice fishing photo. Ha ha

Hi to all in the land down under! I hear it is hot and that there has been a bit of rain in varies places. Fantastic!!!!

Tim, Kate and Elijah arrived the day that Kylie left. There were lots of tears at the airport that day. I am so loving having the kids visit, Clayton is coming on the 1st of February, how fantastic is that. I am already wondering how I am going to say goodbye to Elijah. He is so gorgous and so happy. Kate and Tim are having their 2nd baby in June. How exciting.

We went ice fishing last weekend. It was a perfectly beautiful day. Around -8. The above photo is of Tim drilling a hole in the ice and the black tent thingys is what you sit on top of the hole to see the fish swimming below, you sit in them to fish. Egg shells are put in the hole and as they sink you can see how deep the water is. The photo below is of the actual hole, as you can see the ice is around 12 inches thick. We were walking on a huge lake where we also went snowmobiling. Tim was so excited he got to drive a pick up truck on the lake.

What a beautiful photo of Jane with a fish she had caught. How exciting!!! No she didnt keeep it not quite big enough!! Jim also caught one, and has a "one that got away" story.

The boys and Jim's toy. Tim, Josh, Phil and Jim, next to the pick up Tim drove on the ice. What an adventure for everyone. The girls went home early to put Elijah to bed. He doesnt like the snow too much. It is like one big white beach to him and he doesnt like having to put on the snow gear.
Josh and Tim went skiing and snowboarding yesterday to keep there hand, or legs in for the ski trip to the rockies. Yes once again I have to sacrifice a week of my time in the Rockies, sigh. We are going to Banff for a week. Crystal, Jim, Erin and Carly are coming with us for the weekend. Which will be a lot of fun. Then we will stay on till the end of the week. We are all excited to have a week together in such a beautiful place. Phil has taken a week off as well. I am certainly taking time to smell the roses and am thankful for the days we can have together in such a magnificent place. God is so Good.

Well till next time. Enjoy the warmth and remember to smell the roses!!!

Im sorry to most of you that I have sent you Christmas cards and to some gifts, but it appears nothing has arrived in Australia yet. I sent some in early October but they havent even arrived. So hopefully you will get them before next Christmas. ha ha

Lots of love Tina

Happy New Year

Hi all in the Very Warm Land down under. Hope you enjoyed the Holiday break we were thinking of you as you greeted the New Year 18 hours earlier than we did. No we didnt stay up, we were too tired after our trip to Jasper.

The above photo is of Josh and Jim, yes we had a Barby in the snow. Delicous steak and salads, so we wouldnt get home sick. Josh even managed to share a beer with Jim, no ice cubes needed.
(okay guys I know you dont put ice cubes in beer but it justs adds to the story) After supper and a quick round of cards we headed off ice skating on the pond in the night time. Off course I didnt skate, someone had to mind the handbags. Everyone was quite good on the skates except poor "old" Phil, who hasnt skated for at least 15 years. Phil is the one on the ice it is called "bum skating" a new craze that he started. ha ha Actually he did fantastic and there was something special about skating in natural surroundings. It had snowed so that made it even more perfect.

Okay, this one is of the Kylie, Jane and Phil on there way up to a higher skiing hill. Note the amazing rockies in the background. Josh missed this ride. I warned them not to put their toungues on the metal poles. ( Tim we did remember that stupid movie). This is the ski hill at Jasper called Marmot.
Too many heads together doesnt make light work!!! They are trying to take a photo of a snow flake. Some of the flakes are as big as 10cent peices or bigger. They are standing on a frozen lake called Patrica Lake. I have photos of the lake on earlier blogs. It is so incredible to think this was a large lake and now people cross country ski and ice skate on it now. You can see the snow falling in this photo.
This is Athabasca falls. Well it is actually Athabasca frozen. Sorry bad joke. It was the most beatiful site I have seen. (well since the last one anyway). There is still a little water coming over the falls but the rest is frozen. It is almost unbelievable to think that a waterfall can freeze up so much. There are lots of stalagtites of ice, making a winter wonderland.
It is back to work for Phil this week after having 9 or so days off. Kylie has gone with him to experience the Truckie world. They are headed to Vancouver which is a breathtaking drive on the other side of the rockies. They will enjoy having this time together.

Josh and Jane are back to work this week. Tim, Kate and Elijah arrive on the 10th Jan. just half and hour after Kylie flies out. Really bad timing, but Edmonton airport doesnt give too many choices for available flights to the USA.

Have a great week and I look forward to sharing the hundreds of photos already taken just over the weekend.

See ya Tina

A Canadian Christmas

The Canadian Esky!!!!!
These are our dear friends Willie and Andy where we had coffee (imagine the Canadian accent) after Church on Christmas morning. What a beautiful photo. Kylie was feeling rather jet lagged at this point but we had a beautiful morning together.
At supper time we went to another beautiful family Bert and Hendrica. They provided us with a beautiful traditional supper which we shared with some of there family. Dave and Leanne have 5 children and it was such a pleasure to enjoy all there company and the children were just beautiful. What a lovely time we had. I made "traditional" pavlova which none of them had ever had, and ice cream, which we stored in the garage till it was time to eat. Bert had stored the turkey in the garage until it was time to thaw, how funny is that.

This is Kylie and Josh Christmas morning outside our Church, they had a beautiful ice sculpture done of baby Jesus in His manger and the Star of bethlehem, which is sort of in the background.

We had a lovely day together and were thrilled to share it with such beautiful people. Boxing day was spent in the Mall which was so busy it was hard to move.

Today we are having another Christmas night with Jim and Crystal, Erin and Carly. We are going ice skating on one of the outside dams then having supper together. Jane is working today but Josh is off. He brought himself a snow board and is keen to try it out. We are off to the Rocky mountains tomorrow for a few days before Phil has to go back to work. Oh no not the tour guide bit again!!! Guess I will have to suffer. It is snowing outside just a little as I write, how beautiful.

Enjoy the rest of the Christmas holidays and remember to take time to smell the roses.

Lots of love Tina

Thinking of you as you celebrate the birth of our Savour

Just thought I would throw in some more photos of the freezing Edmonton, while the Land Down Under is hot and wet, so we believe.
We went tobogganing for the first time on Sunday. We firstly had lunch and a game of cards with Jim, Crystal, Erin and Carly, then all of us ventured onto the slopes. Yes even I had several turns, but the hills seem much bigger here/or is it that I am getting older?
Josh and Jane also had some newly acquired friends come along so 11 of us enjoyed out doing each other, or getting as many to go down together as possible, races. Im sure weight has one advantage at this point because I reacon I go faster, or that is my story and Im sticking to it.

This photo is of Phil and Jim admiring the beautiful city of Edmonton. Phil went down the hill a few times head first and ended up with icicles hanging from his mo. Jim was the photographer and took some great shot of our adventures. I just have to learn now how to get them of the CD onto the blog page.
This is the city of Edmonton. For a city of nearly a million people there are not many high rise buildings. There are tunnels underground which you can walk to many places without getting out into the snow and that is fantastic as the weather gets down in the -20s during winter.

The Church we are attending puts on a nativity display for 3 nights this week. They display over 400 different scenes, and have different kinds of Christmas music ( choirs, pipe organ, recitals etc etc) playing. They offer free hot drinks and open the church up to the people of Edmonton. Folk from the Church welcome people in and are on hand to talk with the visitors. Thousands of people come to see the display each year. There is a street connected called "Candy Cane Lane" which has the biggest display of Christmas lights so people can park in the church car park and walk, then come in to see the display. Over the past years it has been a great outreach to families in Edmonton. Last year out of the 400 displayed there was only 1 with baby Jesus on his stomach. Interesting!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a great time with your families over the Holiday break. Take time to reflect on the Birth of Jesus and what He has done for us. Whilst opening presents and enjoying Christmas treats remember the greatest gift to us and remind each other and our children of the real reason for this Celebration.

Love to you all Phil and Tina

Walking in a Winter Wonderland!!!

Hi to "ye who is much warmer than thou". As you can see our -20 somethings have stayed most of the week. It is -22 this morning. Last night we went walking down town to the provincial building, which is a beautiful, old building where the city has put an amazing display of lights and ice sculputers. They also have choirs singing in the building for the next few weeks leading up to Christmas with free hot chocolate, with refills. The ice sculptures are just out the front and just amazing. I will have to learn ,when Phil gets home how to use the camera at night.
In Edmonton they have sleigh rides through out the city you can even take a sleigh ride to look at the street lights in different neighbour hoods. It is quite strange to be walking in the snow at Christmas time.

Josh is just sampling something "on the rocks". Josh and Jane both got work the first shops they walked into. Jane has been working in a costume jewelery/assessories shop since Wednesday. Josh starts work today in a Sports store selling skies, snow boards etc. Both are very happy and have easily ajusted to the jet lag.
We have Erin-May visiting till Tuesday, from Australia. She got stuck in Banff for a few days with a snow storm but has managed finally to get to us. What a great photo! The family who invited us to share the evening with them brought a snow mobile thingy???? yesterday, so that has created a fair bit of excitement in our household. We may get a go in the next few days before Erin-May goes. Phil will be home tonight (saturday) so that will also be fun to enjoy this beautiful weather with him.

I have finally finished all my Christmas sewing and card writing and now have to concentrate on packing, as we move next weekend. That also will be a first, moving in the snow. Once you get rugged up like the abominable snow man its not too bad out.

Have a great week, "and take time to smell the roses", maybe I need to change that to "take time to throw a snowball!"

Lots of love Tina

The kids have arrived just in time for Winter

Hi to all in the warm part of the world. Also I believe some have had some lovely rain, awesome!!!
Josh and Jane arrived from Australia on Sunday morning (2.30am) it was around -20. We were so excited to see them. The Christmas tree and moose was a display at the airport. It does seem strange to be going into Christmas with a couple of inches of snow on the ground. They had a good but long trip but seem to have managed the jet lag well. As for the weather we are all still getting used to it. (is that possible)

This photo was taken after a walk to the mall. They look kind of strange with all the layers on but they look no dofferent to anyone else. After Church on Sunday we went to some friends place for lunch and they gave us a heap of winter coats, which is fantastic. It really isnt bad in the snow if you are dress right. Im going to buy a set of long johns today because you legs get so cold below the coat line. We are expecting Erin-May from Newcastle (a friend of Kylies from Uni )she is stuck in Banff because they got a foot and a half of snow and need to clear the highway from banff to Jasper.

Our little flat is feeling the effect of have lot of people, moreso all the coats, scarves, touques and gloves everywhere. We are moving in 10 days or so to a house someone at Church has rented out to us. So that will be fantastic. It is about 20 mins from the Mall but will but much better with all the family coming. So if anyone is sending a letter or a pressy let me know so I can give you our new address. Letters are taking a little of 2 weeks to reach us now.

Josh and Jane both got jobs yesterday. Both of them got an interview straight away and got the job on the spot. So they will be busy before Christmas. They will be doing at least 40 hours before Christmas but they are flexable after Christmas to give them time for some tourist things. How exciting is that for them. The Mall alone is looking for 500 people to work there. There is such a job shortage.

I am managing the icy, snowy roads quite well. I was really nervous about it but by everyones standards I have done good!!! Phil has had a few slides in the truck and has seen a few accidents on his travels. He may be going over the rockies later on today so that might be a little more challenging. He has seen lots more snow than us and has had to drive in a lot worse than me.

We are all well and just trying to finish Christmas gifts and post them all. I made Jane a Canadian flannel quilt which I will get some photos off. I was pleased with it but it is so difficult to stitch things without all my proper "stuff".

Have a great week, remember in this busy Christmas season to "take time to smell the roses".,and remember the Lords birth and all that means to us.

Tina

Another adventure

These are just some random photos of our travels. Phil has made an inukshuk. These are scattered over all the tourist spots and can be brought in all shapes and sizes. It is to be the symbol of the Olympic games in Vancouver in 2010. It used to be a place where the Inuk people buried fresh meat in the snow to share with other travellers. It also pointed the way in which the travellers had gone. Now it represents friendship and helping each other. I am quite taken with them and we will buy one as a memory of our time in Canada. The photo was taken in october at the Athabasca falls. Which now would be covered in snow and possibly the water would be frozen over. This is a photo of the Columbian Ice fields. They had a small avalache and we just caught the after spray (if thats what you call it). We heard it before we saw it. Quite amazing. We should have a camera which you dont have to turn on and just knows when to be ready to take the right photos. Note also the amazing blue sky.
This was taken in the same week. Mark and Linda are behind the snowman with us. We brought a book about the history of snowmen. (snowpersons I suppose now) which is so interesting. This one was made by the staff at Meligne Lake. When we got there there was no one around, usually it is quite a busy tourist spot with cruises and walks. They shut the roads to Meligne lake when they get too much snow because of the narrow roads and I guess there are to many roads that need maintaining (snow ploughing and sanding) during winter that they only do the main ones. Some of the roads actually became cross country skiing paths, so you see road signs that are only for the skiers which is quite funny.

With the weather dropping to -19 today with a wind chill of -25 I now know why people wernt keen for winter to come. It snowed overnight and is snowing at the moment but not very heavy. It will be interesting for Josh and Jane, who arrive on Sunday morning (1.30am), to be in such cold weather. I think the excitement of the snow will outweigh the cold. (maybe) Starting from Sunday we will have all our kids over the Christmas holidays, yeh. Clayton is coming in February for a month and Gai is coming for a month at the end of February. So we will be busy, which will be fun. It will be so nice to get some snow photos and for Little Elijah to have some fun in the snow. He turned one last week. Time has flown. I miss the kids so much!!!!

Well have a great warm week and will update more snow photos soon.Mind you the camera gets so cold sometimes it refuses to work. Interesting!!

Tina

Winter is almost here!

Well another couple of weeks spend in the Rockies. How exciting. It has started snowing on the mountains and while Edmonton has had a few falls of snow it hasnt layed yet. It did snow a little on my birthday and that was exciting for me. Phil and I spend a few days in Banff with Gary and Merrie. There was a fair bit of snow around making driving a little hairy at times. The most amazing days were when we went up to Sulphur Mountain by Gondular and got the most beautiful clear skies and a 360 degrees view of the rocky mountains. Another amazing day was the hike up Johnson Canyon. I have been there a few times but this time some of the water falls and pools were starting to freeze. I know where they get the saying "Winter Wonderland" from.

This is a photo of a male Elk. They have amazing antlers which drop of each year. You see a lot of these guys and they are quite used to tourists stopping for photos. They can be quite aggressive and we are advised not to go to close to them. Notice the beautiful snow peaks in the back ground.
This is an office for the Johnson Canyon walk. It is a log cabin and just doesnt look out of place nestled in the mountains. In winter they have ice walks in Johnson Canyon where you actually climb up the frozen water falls and walk on the frozen creeks. Hopefully we will get to do that when the kids come over.
What a beautiful picture of this little deer. This photo really sums up the peacefullness of a snow fall in a Canadian forest. This photo was taken near Maligne Lake, near Jasper.
I just love this photo of the snow on the mountains, on a beautiful sunny day with a new sprinkling of snow on the mountains. In a week or so the stream will be frozen and all we will see is white. Canadians say that offen when it has snowed you get the most beautiful sunny days even though it may be below zero, around -20 it is still amazing.

Well a little over 2 weeks till Josh and Jane come to visit. Then kylie arrives on Christmas Eve, Tim, Kate and Elijah in January and Clayton in February. I am so looking forward to seeing them all. Gai ( from Tamworth) is coing for a month at the end of February. Yeha I carnt wait. I will be so busy I wont have time to get homesick. Our little 1 bedroomed apartment will feel the effects of being overloaded. But it will be worth it.
Christmas has come to Edmonton Mall and it looks brilliant. I was starting to wonder if Halloween would ever finish. Lots of stitching needed to be done and card to be made and sent, so hopefully I am going to be busy for a while.
Have a great week, and Dont forget to take time to smell the roses.

Tina

More new Photos Sorry!!!!!!!!

Wow what a day!! The rivers and lakes are starting to freeze as you can see in these photos. Someone said that running rivers and streams never freeze, well here is the evidence. It is so amazing to see how it changes even daily. It snowed overnight and at some points in our adventurous day it was -4 degrees.

The photo below is of a raven. We saw several of them today trying to get the tourists to feed them. I wonder if the cold weather makes them a bit lethargic or something, because they seemed to appear at all the parking areas and came very close to us.
We have had a lovely few days in the mountains and the snow is just a beautiful bonus. Most of the day we travelled in snow and the trip to Lake Louis was all snowy. Lake Louis wasnt as majestic as it is when there is no snow around. We spent a bit of time looking at the shops in the Lake Louis Chatae which is quite beautiful in side. Nothing though compared to the Banff Fairmont Hotel which is more like an old castle.
Thinking of you all as the weather is warming up and the cold is setting in over here.

Tina