Leaving Whitefish...

Wed 22 Dec - Unfortunately our time in Whitefish was up and we had to vacate the house by 10am. So after saying goodbye to the Teskey and Dunn families, who still had another day to enjoy - which we were highly jealous of - we handed in our keys and set off for the 7 hour journey home.

The house that we hired was brilliant for 2 families giving us all plenty of room with lovely views from all windows and the best bit skiing from our back door. Not forgetting the hot tub which at the end of each day was so soothing especially with a pint of gin & tonic. Everything about Big Mountain was great from the slopes, lift guys, staff in the coffee shops and admin office. We had a couple of problems in the house when we first arrived and within 2 days everything had been mended or sorted.

So as we left Whitefish we passed a shop that sold wooden carved bears which we had seen previously on our trip to Montana. With a 'u' turn we popped in a bought a new addition to our house - large black hand carved bear to sit at the front door.

Our journey home to Ralston was great, yet again the sun was out making the trip so much easier. With one quick stop for lunch we were home by 5pm and collected Jinx shortly after who had been staying with friends in Ralston as we were unable to take her to Whitefish.

Skiing & Snow Mobiling...

Mon 20 Dec - We had a day of skiing with snow falling, so visibility wasn't great although not too bad. Fraser again went on the jump park for a while. All the time we have been in Whitefish the temperature has only gone to about -10 degrees which has been pleasant after living in Ralston where it is so much colder.



As we came home, skiing to our back door, Andy was on his balcony (2 doors down from our house) so it was game on for a snowball fight. This then progressed from the balcony down onto the snow with Chris, Fraser and myself against Andy, Mia, Francesca, Millie and Olivia - not sure who won as we started changing sides. Great fun with the light fluffy snow - however it is not great for making snowballs.





Tue 21 Dec - We were all up, dressed and up to the summit of the mountain by 8.30 am as we had booked to go snow mobiling for the morning. Unfortunately there had been an admin error and the guide was unaware of our booking so it was agreed that we would return that afternoon. However the benefit of being on the mountain so early was the amazing sunrise that we watched.

So after skiing for a couple of hours in the morning we repeated the journey again this time to meet our guide. After a brief introduction to the snow mobiles we jumped aboard and set off. The day could not have been more perfect as the mountains were in their glory of sun and snow. From the summit we dropped off to one side in order to take the routes designated for snowmobiling. The first section was a drop down bending round a couple of corners - I must have missed the comment on where exactly the brake was and therefore went whizzing past Chris and the guide with a look of horror on my face - I soon figured out all the relevant controls.

We got to see many miles of the mountains of Whitefish going at speeds of up to 60kmph much to Tegan and Fraser's delight. At one point our path was blocked by a fallen tree so with a small tight path to the side we all managed to get past and continue on our journey, however on the return leg I managed to sink my machine in the soft snow - it would happen to the girl driver!

It was a fantastic afternoon and such an experience for Tegan and Fraser. Towards the end both children were ready to go home as their feet and hands were beginning to get cold but after a hot chocolate and brownie they were more than happy.

Cafe Kandahar...

Sun 19 Dec - Noo, Richard, Chris and I went out for a very grown up dinner at Cafe Kandahar which we could walk to from our house on Whitefish Mountain.

So getting all dressed up - well as much as the Canadians do - clean pair of jeans, bit of jewellery and heels we stomped across the snow to the restaurant (obviously not in heels but snow boots).

Kandahar Lodge is the only hotel on Whitefish mountain and the restaurant has received fabulous reviews - serving out of the ordinary cuisine using very local produce, the restaurant even had white table clothes - not usually found in Canada/America.

So with pre-dinner drinks in the lounge we then took our seats in the restaurant for what was to be a 5 course dinner - thank goodness I had only had a bowl of soup for lunch! Between the four of us our choices of food ranged from pork belly, duck& liver moose, skirt of bison, asparagus & mushroom, rack of lamb, fois grais, scorpion fish, elk roulade, chocolate volcano & chocolate tasting plate - all of the food done in exceptional sauces complementing the different flavours.

Eventually we finished dinner and walked back to our house - very thankful for the walk as our tummies were groaning but happy!!

Snow Ghost Trees...

Sun 19 Dec - A day of glorious skiing with amazing scenery. Again skied from our back door down to the base lift, a quick warm up run on Chipmunk run and then off up the mountain. We skied several runs during the morning before stopping for a hot chocolate and bumping into Noo & Richard. Noo and I decided we would go up to the summit and ski one of the long routes down - this was Noo's first time at the very top of the mountain and she had a great time and did really well.




Chris and Fraser then decided to go off and do some boy stuff including going to the jump park - Fraser is loving his new found confidence but definitely pushing the boundaries of his ability.

Tegan and I took a couple of lifts up the mountain and then skied Home Again to our back door.

Tegan's 7th Birthday...

Sat 18 Dec - Tegan's 7th Birthday in Whitefish, Montana. Tegan started her birthday off with a breakfast in IHOP - International House of Pancakes where she chose the biggest chocolate pancake on the menu - luckily she couldn't quite finish it all. Followed by a little shopping in Kalispell and after dropping me back off at our house on the mountain Chris took Tegan and Fraser off to the cinema to see Yogi Bear. Whilst they were at the cinema I rushed around preparing all the food (with help from Noo) and getting the house ready for a 'surprise' party - that was really Tegan's only request for her birthday.



Luckily for Tegan a lot of her friends were also in Whitefish therefore we were having a party for 10 children. So with everyone here we awaited for her arrival, by which time it was snowing so the drive up the mountain took a little longer for Chris. The house that we have rented has a mezzanine balcony which was a great place for everyone to hide and then shout 'surprise' - Tegan's face was a picture. So with food, helium balloons and music the evening went great. All the children were happy playing so the evening continued with all the adults having a few drinks!

I even manged to get a fudge brownie cake made by a local coffee shop on the mountain and Noo very kindly did some icing on the cake - Tegan was more than happy and had a fabulous birthday - not bad for a 7 year old skiing in Whitefish.

Whitefish, Montana...

Mon 13 Dec - we left Ralston and drove to Whitefish, Montana, USA in 7 hours with a few stops on the way. The drive was fairly painless as the roads were so empty. We arrived at the house we have hired on Big Mountain at 7pm and friends Noo and Richard kindly had tea ready for us all. After a tour round the house, which is brilliant and very comfortable, we ate supper and jumped into the hot tub. The house has 6 levels going from the garage to boot room/den/bedroom/washroom to lounge/kitchen/dinning room to king bedroom to gallery & 2nd king bedroom - more than enough room for us all. Together with 3 balconies and small patio with hot tub where you can ski from our backdoor onto the slopes.

Unfortunately Tue was a day of rain so it became our admin day and food shop. Kalispell is approx 20mins down the road and has all the large shops that you need, along with Churches for every religion. Whitefish is also a lovely town with many boutiques and local small shops.

Wed we were up and ready for skiing, although the lifts do not open until 9.30am so a reasonable start to the day. We spent several hours on Chipmunk (green run) in order to get our ski legs back and then took several high runs including Home Again which took us to our back door - fantastic.

So we have skied Wed/Thu/Fri and the weather each day has improved - today we skied in glorious sunshine still with not many people on the slopes. All the lift guys are really helpful and friendly and the amenities are great, along with gorgeous scenery. Tomorrow it is Tegan's birthday so a surprise party has been ordered by the 6year old going on 7!!!

Dec 10 Catch Up...

Fraser doing a bit of surfing down the only hill in Ralston. Great fun going down shame about the walk back up the hill.

We are in full swing of winter with temperatures going from zero down to -24 degrees - your nose hairs start to freeze at this point!







SSAFA Christmas Fair - Father Christmas arrives by helicopter to the joy of the children.

The fair was held in Ralston's theatre on Sunday 28 Nov and was well supported by the community. It was fantastic seeing Tegan and Fraser's face as the helicopter landed and father christmas stepped out onto the snow. They both decided to whizz inside and get into the queue to see him - their quick thinking got them 2nd in the queue.

During the fair a raffle was held which we bought tickets for. The table was full of good prizes and amazingly we won a prize. Chris let Tegan go up to the table and pick the prize - luckily she chose a nights stay at the Copperstone Hotel up in Canmore - fantastic more skiing.

Treasure Island at Ralston School. The Missoula Children's Theatre came to Ralston School and gave the children a chance at performing. Tegan was picked from Grade 2 to take part - as a seagull. She was thrilled to be picked and thought her seagull costume was great. The children had rehearsals Tue - Thur and then put on 2 shows during Friday. So we all went to Ralston theatre to watch the performance which was surprisingly good considering the very short period they had to learn the play. Well done to everyone.

Canadian Pacific Railway Holiday Train....

Holidays are coming, holidays are coming...

Tegan, Fraser and I took a trip to down town Medicine Hat to participate in an annual community event tonight - to see the Canadian Pacific Railway Christmas holiday train, which visits over 140 communities along its network. This is a huge annual event with lots of locals turning up to the railway siding to witness the magical illuminated train with all its flashing sparkly lights. The Medicine Hat community provided free hot chocolate and cookies (as much as you liked much to the delight of Fraser) for everyone that came with donations made to the food bank. Noo, Lexi and Harry also joined us with all the children very excited, or was that Noo and myself!

After a short wait the train arrived much to our delight, just after 5pm. The main locomotive was lit up followed by four carriages carrying the Canadian Pacific name, two more carriages decorated with lights and then a carriage with a large metal section in the middle, this was positioned infront of the crowd. Then the metal side was lowered and there was Rocking Santa and his band. We were then entertained for 20 minutes by a brilliant band - Noo had a beaming smile across her face - this really felt like Christmas had arrived. Obviously we were standing on snow with temperatures about -15degrees.

At this point we were in high spirits and decided that we all deserved to go out for Pizza. So after a visit to Boston Pizza, which we all admitted was very nice it was time to drive back to Ralston with tired children, especially as it was only Tuesday night.

History:

The Holiday Train Program began in 1999 with a handful of communities and a few lights on a freight train. Today, with its hundreds of thousands of festive lights and a live show featuring well known performers, it's one of Canadian Pacific's main ambassadors in working with communities in Canada and the United States and is the only fundraiser of its kind for food banks in North America. Since the program's inception, more than 4.8 million in cash and over 2.3 million pounds of food has been collected in Canada and the United States.

Winter Has Arrived...

Mon 17 Nov - Chris left BATUS on Monday afternoon for a 1 1/2 week trip back to the UK visiting Engineer Regiments around the country.

Tuesday morning I woke up to hear a message on the radio announcing that Ralston school would be closed for the day. I then looked out the window to see a snow storm going on and 70mph winds, by which time Tegan and Fraser were excited about no school. Some of the day was spent in the gym and ice arena and then an afternoon at home, during which time the snow storm had not stopped and the village was covered in snow but also ice due to the high winds and low temperature. Needless to say it has snow for the last 6 days and it looks like christmas has arrived - or so says Fraser.

Each morning now begins 1/2 hour earlier in order to put on all our winter clothes, including Jinx with her coat. Instead of cycling to school we are back on the sledge. So with Chris in England and a broken arm shovelling the path is not much fun but Fraser does insist on helping - then I'm back to square one. Some of the days have been sunny which makes everything look beautiful, once the sun disappears it is time to hibernate.

BFBS Tournament...

Sat 13 Nov saw the start of a weekend full of hockey. All day Saturday the BFBS tournament took place in Ralston's arena which was hosted by BFBS radio and the Devils. The BFBS tournament is a big part of the season as all teams play against each other including 2 Devils teams. The first puck drop was at 8am (much to Chris's disappointment no lie in for him on a Saturday morning) with the Icemen vs Orange Oilers - unfortunately the Oilers won. However I have to say the Icemen played really well during the tournament probably helped by the brufen and beer in the changing room during breaks!

The Devils had a table full of fantastic raffle prizes along with an auction for several activities/donations given by other players such as sports massage, personal training, karate lessons, swimming lessons, brownies, photography and a cooked meal for up to 6 people. The tournament is a big fund raiser for the Devils so everyone helped out. The Wildcats (junior hockey) also had a table selling cakes and hot waffles which went down very well.

All the games lasted 20mins with a constant turn over of games. During some of the floods BFBS held games for the children including 'pass the parcel' and the best one - pushing children sitting on a tray down the ice, not sure who had more fun the children or the adults pushing. Picture Fraser 2nd from left.

The final game took place just after 5pm with the Flyers vs Black Oilers. They had a great game but unfortunately it came down to penalty shots. After both teams scoring 1-1, then both missing the tension was great, finally the Flyers scored.

That evening we all got dressed up - well put on a pair of jeans and our respective hockey tops and went to party. So along with lots of drinking, a good curry, disco and Sam T doing the auction it was a fantastic day. Chris and I left just after 1.30am.

Sunday Tegan and Fraser had their skating lessons after which we jumped into the car to go and watch the NHL Oltimers vs Med Hat Fire Brigade ice hockey game in Medicine Hat.

The Oltimers had two Hockey Hall of Fame members - Bryan Trottier and Glenn Anderson. The rest of the team was Bob Bourne, Dave Ellett, Jimmy Mann, Warren Skorodenski, Thomas Steen & Jack Valiquette. They were all amazing skaters and such good entertainers especially considering they were in their 50's. Game play consisted of 3 x 20 mins and inbetween 2 figure skater girls came on - also very good. The other highlight was a group of junior hockey players (aged approx 4-5 yrs old) who came out to play with 3 of the oltimers, the guys were so good with the boys and it was very funny. The final score was 14-7 to the favourites, a great Sunday afternoon. Tegan left with a loud mini horn and Fraser bought a signed mini goalie stick.

Remembrance Day...

Wed 10 Nov Ralston School held an assembly for Remembrance Day.

All pupils attended along with parents and invited guest from the military. Pupils from Jenner School also attended as they are located fairly near to Ralston and only have about 14 pupils.






All year groups either sang a song or Kindergarten recited a poem whilst holding pictures of poppies. It means a lot to the children of the school as most of the pupils come from a military family, either British or Canadian and are aware of the current wars. It is also good that they learn the history of previous wars.








On the day of the 11th Tegan, Fraser and myself wrapped up warm and set off to attend the official Remembrance Day service at our own cenotaph in Ralston. Luckily the sun was out but the temperature was fairly cool which was not good for the children standing around, or adults. Tegan joined the Brownie group as they all sat together. There were many representatives from the local community, military personal from BATUS and CFB Suffield and guides and scouts. As always the service is very touching especially when the helicopter flew overhead at 11am and dropped hundreds of poppies onto us all below.

Foothills Brass Band...

Thursday 3 November Ralston School had the Foothills Quintet Brass Band visit the school for the day. Each grade had time with the band and got to learn all about music especially the sounds made from the brass instruments. The members of the band were extremely good at explaining music in the form that children could understand and kept them entertained.

A friend called me to say parents could go up to the school at 2pm to listen to the quintet along with the whole school in the gym. So on with my coat and off I went. It was lovely listening to them play Star Wars and Harry Potter along with many other different tunes. A great experience for the children to be so near to the instruments and players.

Brownies & Halloween...

Wednesday 20 October Tegan took her Brownie promise and is now a member of the 1st Ralston Girl Guides, previously she had been a Spark (the Canadian equivalent to Rainbows).

Mums and dads were invited to go along and watch them say their promise. So Tegan now has a new t shirt, scarf and toggle to wear each week.







Halloween weekend was a busy one. It started with the MFRC (Military Family Resource Centre) putting on a haunted supper so Tegan and Fraser got dressed up in their first set of costumes.

Friday lunchtime Ralston school had a halloween parade in the gym where all the children could show off their ghoulish outfits.



That evening it was my turn to dress up as it was John's birthday and Sam D had decided to throw him a party. Sam worked all day and turned their house into a haunted house of horrors, it looked amazing with coffins, grave stones and a smoke machine in the front garden. Inside there were cobwebs, spiders, dead people, limbs lying around and pots of 'blow your head off' chilli, even though one pots was supposedly mild! Everyone that came looked fantastic and it was eventually time to go home, the signal was Sam asleep whilst sitting on her dinning room chair.


Saturday evening Tegan was invited to Holly's Halloween party - another outfit - and again had a great time playing games and eating things that were orange. Fraser and I tagged along much to Fraser's enjoyment.

Halloween night finally arrived. The weather in Ralston was dry but getting a little cold not that the children cared it was more about how fast you could run from one house to the next and hold on tight to your ever bulging bag of candy. People in Ralston had made a brilliant effort with many of the houses totally decorated. Chris managed to get home in time to walk round with us. The evening finished with visiting the fire engines that had come down from the base. So with all their loot Tegan and Fraser checked out what they had and I finally managed to get them into bed. Fraser wanted to know if he could do 'trick or treat' again the following night?

Sheila & Alex's Wedding, Vancouver... Part Four

Sunday we were up fairly early to say our goodbyes and off to the airport. We had a chance to catch up with some of the family over breakfast - Trevor with his hangover was going back to bed. It had been a fantastic opportunity to see so many of Chris's family especially the ones that live in Canada, and the fact of us living in Canada we were able to attend Sheila and Alex's wedding. Vancouver is certainly a place I would like to go back to with all its water, bridges and lovely parks and amazing buildings.


Pat & Rick came to the airport with us as their flight back to the UK was only a couple of hours after ours. As always it is sad saying goodbye to family but we had all had such a fantastic time together and we would be back in the UK next summer. So with hugs and kisses done we waited in our departure lounge for the flight to arrive, much to Fraser's enjoyment at plane spotting.

Our flight was on time and within 1hr 5mins we were back in Calgary collecting cars and driving back to Ralston.

Another adventure over - until next time.....

Sheila & Alex's Wedding, Vancouver... Part Three

Friday night Rick kindly looked after Tegan and Fraser whilst I went out to dinner with Patsy and Kim - fab night at Earls.

At midnight something crawled into my hotel bedroom - Chris had finally made it to Vancouver. Up to this point Chris had still been out on the prairie working but his boss had agreed to let him have the 36hrs in Vancouver for his cousins wedding (thanks Stuart). I have to say it made my weekend not only to have Chris at the wedding but more help with my broken arm.


Saturday morning Tegan and Fraser came bouncing into my bedroom to jump all over daddy, Chris thought he was going to catch up on some sleep!!! We opened the curtains to a beautiful sunny day - just what you want for a wedding. Breakfast was great as Chris got to see his family and especially his cousins who live in Canada. For us the morning was a slow start, however Tegan had to join Sheila and the bridesmaids to have her hair and makeup done - very exciting for a little girl. Picture right - Sheila's mum and sister - getting ready.
After 'sushi' for lunch as previously mentioned our hotel was surrounded by Chinese and Japanese restaurants it was time to get ready and make our way to Queen Elizabeth Park and The Seasons in the Park restaurant. To our surprise a limo had been arranged to take us all departing from the hotel to the wedding venue - the kids thought it was great.




Sheila and Alex had organised a series of family wedding pictures to be taken in the nearby gardens, much to the interest of all the tourist people walking around, many of them Chinese who then started taking pictures of the wedding party - very odd.


After all the photos were taken we took our places inside for the wedding to start at 6pm. Sheila and Alex had kindly asked Tegan to be flower girl and she knew what she had to do during the
ceremony but we were still unsure of Fraser and if he would carry out his Ring Bearer duties. Just before the wedding ceremony started Sheila gave Fraser a silver badge to wear on his waistcoat - it was in the style of a sheriffs badge with Ring Bearer scrolled on it, I can't believe Sheila remembered it with so much going on, but it did put a big smile on Fraser's face and he loves it.

A little after 6pm the ceremony commenced with the 2 bridesmaids and flower girl walking in to take their places, followed by the guys (Alex's 2 brothers) and Fraser (so far so good) and finally Sheila and her dad. Sheila looked fantastic and her dress was absolutely beautiful. The wedding ceremony was lovely and with approx 50 guest it was very intimate and such a beautiful setting overlooking Vancouver.

Happy to say Fraser stepped upto the mark just at the right moment handing the rings to Sheila and Alex. After the ceremony we had a fantastic dinner and the wine flowed very happily during the speeches. When dinner had finished we all went down a spiral staircase to a dance floor and the night was carried on with a disco. With 2 very tired children it was time to leave. Alex and his family were wonderful and we all had a great time together getting to know new people, always good fun. As far as I know Sheila and Alex's big day went without a hitch and they both smiled all day and night, many congratulations to you both.