Cold, so cold!!!

Well, I have spent many years thinking and saying that anything under 0 is cold, and it all sort of feels the same.

I was wrong!!!

In the week prior to our departure we had very low temps, the lowest of which was -27 with a windchill of -35. That was cold. So cold, in fact, that there was a frostbite warning of less than 5 mins!! Wow. Fortunately my friends thought of me and my walk to school to drop off and collect Liam and Kim very kindly came to the rescue until I organised to have the car.

Liam and Phoebe and I stood outside just to see how it felt, and it was, indeed, cold.

As our farewells began I had a great week out! Kim and I hit McCracken's for the Cactus Jack chicken burger and some keno while Michelle kindly looked after Phoebe who loved having a playdate with Morgan.

Later in the week Phoebe and I were out with Louise, Nico and Kim and Louise's friend Jane for a sushi banquet. It was very tasty!

On Friday night Frank was farewelled by his colleagues at Mike's place. It was a very big night that finished at 4am and had Frank lying low the next day!

On Saturday night we hit the Noble Pig with Cynthia and Bruce for a very pleasant evening.

On Sunday afternoon we returned to 'the pig' with Louise and Kim and families for an afternoon of beer and appies. What a great way to while away an afternoon!

So long, farewell....

And so we arrived to Wednesday January 25, the day it all had to come to an end.........

We farewelled Jennifer and David as they journeyed to Summerland to retrieve Brittney the dog. Frank headed to work to finish up and I did a final clean and pack.

A welcome distraction was Louise coming for a visit during the day, and then as soon as Frank came home it was all on. Geoff and Kenna kindly came to collect the car and change the plates. With that Mike was there with his brother's truck and we piled our bags and selves in and headed to the airport!

Some shuffling of contents and currency handling and we were checked in!

Farewell to Mike and then we spent some time with Al, Hana and Jesse and the Smits. (I think Nico wanted to make sure we were out of the country!!!)

Great flights home and Liam and Phoebe were AMAZING!!

Good looking cake!

Frank and Al

Frank and the Breville

Gift from the school

Frank and Mike

backyard play

With such a great lot of snow we hit our own backyard this afternoon. We had the sled and the GT Snowracer out and had fun making snow angels. The snow is too powdery for a snowman, but maybe it will be more suitable in a couple of days.

Phoebe

Liam was impressive going down the yard on the Snowracer, even right down to the back fence on which he was snared!! Unfortunately his final run was cut short by a submerged tree stump. His face plant was spectacular (for the spectators!).

Liam made it to the back corner!

Snow snow snow!

Yesterday we happily made our return to Harper Mountain for tubing with Louise and Nico and their family. It has been unseasonally warm, so there was less snow than last time, but we still slid superbly and enjoyed a weiner roast afterwards. On our return to town we adjourned at our place for some Blackwell Dairy Eggnog with spiced whiskey!!



Playing near the lunch area

Alison, Louise and Nico cooling down

Late in the day it started to snow, and when we got up this morning there was about 5 inches of snow on everything and it was still snowing! Later on I looked out the window to find our neighbour Gary on his quad bike with snow plough attachment clearing our driveway for us! We were most thankful!




Our deck.
The snow looks like cushions on the stools!!

Gary ploughing. What a great vehicle!!

The forecast for the week ahead is ominous, with more snow and maximum temps on Tuesday and Wednesday of -17 and -16!!

Moooooose (and other delicacies)

Well, it is now less than 2 weeks until we leave Kamloops and while we are still right into our regular life, packing is now on the agenda, and I wonder how I will get 11 cases worth of stuff into 8!!! We will see....

Frank is busy at work getting end of semester things finalised. Liam is right into school. The junior classes went to a brass performance at the Sagebrush Theatre yesterday and he enjoyed telling me all about the instruments. His reading is such that he passed a library test to be allowed to borrow from the 'chapter book' section. He borrowed a Pokemon novel (!!).

Phoebe has grown and her snowsuit is now too short in the arms and legs. Unfortunately we are in a cold snap, and she gets very upset if her feet are cold...... She is speaking really well. She was playing with a cup this morning and saying, "Upside down, upside up. Upside down, upside up!" I thought it was pretty cute.

We had a very pleasant and delicious weekend seeing friends and catching up on some things we wanted to do before we leave. On Saturday we brunched at Hello Toast before doing some final souvenir shopping at the gallery. That night we had a great beef roast at Tom and Teresa's place. Liam had a great time with Ian, Eric and Ben playing video games. Phoebe enjoyed feeding Millie (the dachshund) cheese!!

At Hello Toast

Tom, Millie and feeder Phoebe

On Sunday we brunched at Nico and Louise's. Nico does a great Sunday pancake brunch! We enjoyed our pancakes with a range of sweet and savoury toppings. My pick - home bottled peaches and cream. Nico very kindly offered to look after Liam and Phoebe while Frank and I did a Costco shop.





Nico on the bacon

Phoebe, Liam, Adam and Sean



At the table

We cooked up a moose steak last night! After some discussion with others I decided to marinate it in a homemade BBQ sauce (recipe courtesy of Kim) and it was delicious! Notoriously tough, the meat was fairly tender and the flavour was great! Liam was somewhat bemused at the idea of eating moose, but not put off!!! Next will be burgers made with another game meat that is in our freezer....we have forgotten what it is, but Frank thinks it might be elk.

Frank cooking the moose on the BBQ.
It was only 10 below!

The moose meal.

Happy New Year!!

We saw the new year in quietly at home....a Tia Maria at midnight and we were done!

On New Years' Day we were busy preparing for our drinks and appies scheduled for the late afternoon.


We were ready and relaxed in plenty of time and had a great evening! It was so nice to have our friends at home and we really enjoyed their company and had some good laughs!! Our resident photographer was so busy preparing drinks we only got a few photos!!

the end of 2011.....



Busy at the end of the first period

A chuck-a-puck puck

play in action

On Wednesday Frank, Liam and I spent the day out and about shopping and then joined Mike, Carol, Ken and Francesca at the hockey. This is the fourth time our family has seen the Blazers play and the first time they have won, so it was a good game! Our row won free ice cream, we were on the big screen, Phoebe was enchanted by the mascot, Digger, Liam danced in the aisles and after the second session we played 'chuck-a-puck'!! It was a full evening!

Chuck-a-puck

Phoebe and Digger

Liam grooving

After only 2 days on Kijiji (a local buy-and-sell site) on Thursday we finalised a deal on the trusty Dodge Caravan with a very lovely couple who happen to live in Barnhartvale! Kenna and Geoff are so kind we are even able to keep the car until the very last moment before we leave.

On Friday Frank was tidying up some things at work, packing and firing the kiln, doing some marking and preparing for the final 14 days of teaching. In the late afternoon we all went to Kim and Kevin's for drinks and appies. Yum yum. Kim is a great cook and an attentive bartender and it was a lovely get together. Louise and Nico also came and while the kids played we got stuck into Uno Attack again. I love the idea of 'drinks and appies' and look forward to doing this at home, too!




At Kim and Kevin's

Today is New Year's Eve. We are hosting a 'drinks and appies' ourselves tomorrow to thank the many people who have made our year here so fantastic. Today is prep day!!