24hrs In Calgary & BFBS Tournament...

Tegan finished school on Tuesday lunchtime for us all to jump into the car and drive to Calgary for 24hrs. Chris flew to England on Wednesday evening and as Tegan and Fraser's schools were shut for Remembrance Day on the Wednesday we decided it would be a good opportunity to leave the village for a night. So after the 21/2 hr drive we hit a few ski shops looking for our final purchases hopefully for the winter - skis for Chris and I. Unfortunately that night we didn't find any ski's but I did managed to find an awesome coat that should hopefully keep me very warm all winter along with a few other purchases of very necessary clothes! The plan was to visit the Calgary Telus Science Museum on the Wednesday morning but we did manage to find another ski shop on the way and hey presto we came out with skis and poles - phew. The remainder of the day was spent at the Telus Science Museum which is a great place for children big and small. Everything is 'hands on' which was great for 2 children who had spent a lot of time in the car. Fraser loved the aircraft simulator whilst Tegan was happy trying everything, they both even lay on a bed of nails - which individually were very sharp. I went on a 'G' bike - which was a bike that had been fitted with a motor that propelled you round a circular cylinder up to 5g's - a great experience although a little wobbly legs when I got off. Finally we had to drop Chris off at the airport and drove home.

Wednesday was game on - White Devils vs Icemen (which is the team that Chris will be playing for once his neck is sorted out). Happy to say the White Devils won 1-0 followed by a trip to the pub - it was a good night. I had made the decision at lunchtime to have my skates sharpened - I won't be doing that again on a game night as suddenly I was unable to stop, but I did manage to stay upright most of the time.

The big event this weekend in the village was the BFBS Ice Hockey Tournament - I did warn you that everything revolves around ice hockey at this time of year. Due to Chris being in the UK I decided not to play as although Tegan is fine running around the arena with her friends Fraser is a little more of a worry. But we did spent virtually all day watching all eight teams playing. The final was between the Chieftans vs Flames with the Chieftans winning 1-0. The BFBS tournament is an annual event sponsored by BFBS and run by the Devils which is a great fund raiser for the girls team. The day was finished with a curry supper and party this year held in the Sgt's mess. I was planning to wear a smart little outfit and then got told - no you wear jeans and your ice hockey top, mind you I did cheat a little and put a belt round my top as it is soooo big!

Sunday morning Fraser was invited to visit the helicopter hangers with his friend Harry. So with a very excited Fraser and not quite so much Tegan we set off to the hangers - Fraser although a little shy at first soon thought it was great - I have to say the helicopters were a little smaller than I thought. Fraser and Harry got to sit inside the helicopter and Fraser has since not stopped talking about it.

Chris is still in the UK returning to Ralston late Thursday night - I think we are having better weather here than the UK from what I can gather. Although we are still having very high winds and I am just waiting to see if the trampoline gets blown over again.

Bonfire, Black & White Dinner & Rememberance...

Thursday night was obviously Bonfire Night and we had a great bonfire and fireworks display at Fort Whoop Up in the village. The weather was perfect, fairly warm with no wind or clouds. So we all walked up to Fort Whoop Up ready for a night of ooooos and ahhhhhhs commencing at 6pm. With our chilli, hot dogs and hot chocolate in hand the spectacular display began and it was very good. Shortly after the firework display had finished and alot of families had started to walk home the bonfire seemed to be gathering momentum and getting bigger - in fact the prairie had been set alight by some of the fireworks and the fire was indeed spreading across the prairie. Eventually several fire trucks arrived to put out the fire much to Fraser's excitement - he thought that was better than the display. So we finally walked home with a yellow glow behind us.

Friday night friends invited us to a Black & White Dinner!! So with no more information than time and place we conjured up some fancy dress outfits - as you can see, and set off for dinner. I cannot give away the events of the night as it was unlike any other dinner that we have been to and would spoil the fun if we decide in the future to do the same and you should be invited! But our walk home was eventful as you can see - a full moon was out.

The remainder of the weekend was spent with skating lessons, driving in Medicine Hat for a little shopping and attending the Sunday Remembrance Service at our chapel in the village. We then went to the Mess for Sunday Brunch.

Halloween...

We have just had a very spooky weekend with Halloween being a very large event here in Canada. The shops were full of fancy dress, not only Halloween related but all styles of outfits. So with Tegan and Fraser kitted out in their new outfits the fun began. Fraser went to Little Gophers in his skeleton outfit for his party on Friday morning. Ralston School held a parade at lunchtime with all the children gathering in the school hall and parading round the room with all the parents clapping and of course the necessary photo taking - there were some great outfits, some a little too scary, Tegan went as a sort of vampiress. After a short rest after school Tegan and Fraser then went to another Halloween party organised by the Prairie Rose Club from 4-6pm. It was a quick rush home before Chris and I changed and went to a house party at Sam & Andy's. Sam worked incredibly hard all day and turned their house into an amazing halloween house. Everyone was suitably dressed in all sorts of spooky attire and with a pot luck supper there was plenty to eat and drink.

So with a small rest from dressing in Halloween costumes Saturday morning we were back on the ice with Tegan and Fraser having ice skating lessons. Both of them are doing really well and Fraser will no longer allow me anywhere near him as he 'wants to go fast'! thank goodness he has his helmet. Both of them can now skate round the rink unaided, although there are quite a few falls but they are really keen. After his lesson Fraser was off to a birthday party - more sweets and E numbers - a bouncing weekend for all children. Then by 6pm it was back into halloween costumes and round the village for more sweets with Chris trying to keep up with the very excited children. I stayed at home with my bowl of sweets for all the kids - all I could hear was the excited voices of the children as they ran from house to house.

I must apologise for the 2 week delay in updating my blog, I really don't know where the time goes. So in the past 2 weeks the following has happened. Chris finished his weeks skating school in one piece, they crammed a lot in as everyone else did it over 2 weeks. We are now a loving couple watching ice hockey together! we are even going to watch a Medicine Hat Tigers game on the 1st of Dec for our anniversary. The White Devils had a game against the Flames (one of the guys teams) and we won 2-1, followed by a trip to the pub. Jinx has her nose to the ground on all dog walks at the moment as the deer are coming into the village along with a coyote that we have seen several times on the prairie very near to the village. I was recently out on a run with a couple of girls when we saw 2 deer shortly followed by Jinx seeing them and the race was on through Ralston Village. After jogging in the vague direction and asking a passer by if she had seen a dog - her replay was "yes chasing a couple of deer - that's the one" we eventually caught up with her, luckily with no deer in sight but a very worn out dog.

We are slowly buying up the local sports store with all our kit - the latest addition was new ski boots for Chris and myself - very excited as we have never had our own boots and now I have really warm and comfortable boots. Chris has gone for a slightly more edgier pair - apparently go fast! Next on the wish list is ski for us all.