Bowling and Ranchmens Party...

Firstly I must yet again comment on the crazy Ralston weather system that we seem to have all to ourselves. So we have gone from sunshine to snow back to sunshine and now gale force winds and rain which makes the prairie extremely boggy. Last week Chris's TSV has got stuck out on the prairie with several other vehicles and the season hadn't officially started (1 May) so at this rate they could all be stuck in mud! It also makes walking Jinx hard as my boots get so caked in mud you can hardly walk although it doesn't slow Jinx down. As I am writing this blog (Mon 3 May) we have just been told to expect 100km hr winds due tonight and snow!!!! What!

Two weeks ago we had a Ranchmen's Ball/seafood night in the mess. The Canadian's don't really appreciate getting 'dressed up' hence the western theme for the night. So with Chris and I appropriately dressed in our cowboy boots, shirts and hats off we set for a night of yee hi. The seafood night has always been a big thing in the mess but due to several reasons it was slightly downscaled this year but saying that the spread off food was great and much enjoyed by Chris who could eat lobster and prawns until he could eat no more. A group of ladies had come up from Medicine Hat to teach us all line dancing which was very entertaining followed by a brilliant 3 piece band who played until 1am when we had to go home.

As the boys were working on the Saturday Noo and myself took our children (5 in total) into town for lunch followed by bowling. Noo has found a great little bowling alley which is 5 pins with small wooden balls which means the kids can manage them on their own - great. All the kids had a great time and by the time we had driven back to Ralston the day was over. Lots more trips like this will be planned over the next 6 months whilst Prairie season is on.

Last week was Education week at Ralston school which commenced on the Monday morning with pancakes for breakfast. Tegan has already become a teenager and doesn't get out of bed on a school morning but Monday morning she was up and dressed and ready to be at school for 8am - to ensure she got her full share of the pancakes and sausages. Obviously Fraser was more than happy with his change in breakfast - beats cereal! The school also held a 'volunteers appreciation lunch' which lots of us were invited to on Thursday. Finally on Friday there was a 'soc hop' for all the kids - disco. Tegan chose her party dress finished off with her Spanish red and white polka dot shoes - looking at Grade 2 and above I am going to make the most of 'party dresses' as I don't think that will be her choice next year. The kids had a great time dancing and Fraser loved running around with his mates Cameron and Harry. The parent council provided a bbq for all the kids which I helped out on. Chris managed to make it up to the school just in time to see the older kids arrive for their disco - he was amazed how girls dress sense changes so quickly with age, I think he wants to keep Tegan aged 6.

On Wednesday night the Sparks and Brownies had a trip to the BATUS Fire Station which is located at the entrance to camp. I volunteered to help!!! of course I also had to take Fraser along who thought it was great. The guys were really good and showed the girls all round the 3 engines that they have letting them climb over them and press the siren button. We also got a ride on one of the engines through camp and over to an open piece of ground where they demonstrated the fire hose. All the kids loved the visit and camp home with stickers, hats and books.


So with Chris definitely out on the prairie all weekend plans had to be made. Saturday was a friend Zoe's birthday so Noo and I organised a birthday lunch for Zoe and all the kids and we even got to sit down and watch a dvd (PS I Love You) a good girlie film, obviously interrupted a million times by one or several of the children, but it felt very decadent for a Saturday afternoon.

Sunday I was brave and took Tegan and Fraser to Medicine Hat leisure centre swimming. We had a fab time with Tegan now jumping in and diving under water - such a change from a year ago when she wouldn't get water past her neck. Fraser - well he just wanted to do everything, including going into the big pool and jumping off the diving board - no fear, as I am treading water ready to drag him to the side. The pool is great as every so many minutes the waves start up along with a whirlpool section and all sorts of floats to play with and cheap $16 for a family of 4 (approx £10).

I am trying hard not to ask Chris when he thinks he will be home as the Medman exercises have started there is no hope - he is currently starting work at 5am and straight out on the prairie all day - but I think he loves it - much better than sitting in an office. Hopefully I will get him to make an input to the blog soon.

Where has a month gone?....

Where does the time go and I thought I was going to be so bored living in Ralston - on the contrary. So here is an update on all our goings on since the middle of March to date, hope you are sitting comfortable.

Tegan returned to Sparks after our Florida holiday on Wednesday night and upon leaving was given a box of Girl Guide Cookies to sell - each box contained 12 boxes. Normally this is not a problem however Ralston is only a small village and with all the Sparks, Brownies and Guides all trying to sell their boxes you do get a little inundated with cookies - however they are very nice. So as we left Sparks we walked across the road and into the ice arena to watch the Iceman play and she manged to sell 8 boxes to unsuspecting spectators. It must have been the big brown eyes looking up at them, reminds me of the cat in Shrek! She subsequently managed to sell the remaining boxes during the happy hour at the mess - she is great a sales.
Ann-Marie who was our body pump instructor has been posted back to UK so for her last class we all dressed up in 70/80's kit - I'm at the back with a big black wig!

Within our first week back at school Tegan and Fraser only attended for 3 days before the schools shut Thursday and Friday. So Sam and myself left Ralston at 8am with all four children and headed off for Hiddden Valley which is just over an hours drive, the other side of Medicine Hat, for a days skiing. It was my first visit to Hidden Valley and what a great place to ski especially for the kids as it only has a handful of runs. After 3 runs we stopped for a rest at which point it had started to snow a little, but back out we went for another couple of runs then lunch. Tegan and Fraser both skied well although as usual Fraser decided he did not want to turn at any point but ski in a straight line down. Sam was great and encouraged him to turn and some of the time he did. By the time we had lunch the snow was much heavier so we only completed another 2 runs after lunch and then decided to head home. Not long after leaving the car park Fraser was asleep, a great day out.

On the Sunday we returned to Hidden Valley along with Chris as it was the last day of the season for the mountain and they had their annual 'Slush Out'. A slush out is where a large long deep pit is dug and filled with water with skiers/borders skiing down the mountain and trying to get across the water without falling in. Prior to the slush out many skiers/borders were doing tricks which we watched in the sunshine whilst eating our picnic. We briefly left to take Jinx for a walk at Elkwater (just round the corner from Hidden Valley) and returned just in time to watch the comedy of skiers falling into the slush pit. Some skied in normal clothes while others dressed up to take the plunge, one skier came down in just his boxer shorts - cold!!

A couple of other minor things that have happened: Whilst Chris watched 3 games of rugby I took Tegan and Fraser bowling along with Sam D and her 3 girls (Sam's husband John was with Chris for a boys afternoon of rugby, beer and pizza). After finishing the bowling we decided to feed the kids at Sam's house as we didn't think the boys would appreciate 5 kids interrupting their viewing. Finally I had to take Tegan and Fraser home for bedtime as it was 9pm. I had a bunch of girls round on the Monday night as a Book Club has recently started in Ralston and it was my turn to host. So we had a couple of glasses of wine, discussed the chosen book - Birth House by Ami Mckay and then discussed all sorts of other things. On Wednesday I help out with selling daffodils for Cancer around Ralston village, Noo and myself went to Ralston school as the children had all brought in money to buy a bunch - we even sold out and had to get another box.

The last weekend of March was a busy couple of days. Thursday night started off with a happy hour in the mess (4pm) with friends Mike & Karen wetting the babies head for the birth of their little boy Gregor. So after a glass of champagne we had to leave (5.30pm) as we also had to go to an Italian supper which was being held in the village. After feeding the children I had to be on the ice at 7.30pm for the White Devils final game of the season. Chris decided at 6.45pm that he would play for the Flyers (the blokes team we were playing against) so I luckily found a babysitter, rushed home and got Tegan and Fraser ready for bed then rushed to hockey. It was a good game with fairly matched teams unfortunately the final score was 3-2 to the Flyers, however I was awarded another gold star for having a good game and being in the right place for the position I play - I might have finally learnt what the game is about!

Friday night was the Devil's girls' night out and we were all off to Ralphs in Medicine Hat. So after jumping on the coach we set off at 6.30pm to Ralphs Texas Bar and Steakhouse for a night of dancing and drinking, duly dressed in our Red, White or Black ice hockey tops. The early part of the evening all dancing was the 'two step' with a live band on stage - very entertaining to watch. Much later in the evening a disco took over. I was conscious that Saturday was the BHL (Batus Hockey League) final and the Icemen (the team Chris plays for) were on the ice at 8.30am which I wanted to watch - so I caught the transport home at midnight - however friends Sam T and Sam D along with some others partied on until very late. So we were all up early Saturday morning and over to the arena - bacon & sausage sandwichs for breakfast. The Icemen were bottom of the league partly due to the age of all the players and the high number of 1st year players, so their chances of winning and playing further games were slim. However the game was amazing and they won - I nearly wet myself with all the excitement and shouting. I might add that the Icemen have had the strongest and loudest support from their wives throughout the season however there were only 4 of us there for game 1 - I think the rest were just getting into bed! The Icemen went on to win their next game and after a few beers (it is still AM) and brufen (good combination!) they were ready for their third and fourth games - unfortunately they lost and therefore out of the finals. That evening we had a party in the Sgt's mess where all the awards were presented along with a curry and disco - another good night. Sunday Chris bbq a leg of lamb for lunch and Andy & Sam came round for lunch - a good lazy day after several busy days and nights.

A group of girls who are on the SSAFA committee were invited to a trip onto the prairie to see what goes on out there and I managed to jump aboard. We had 2 TSV's (big white trucks) meet us on camp and after signing some necessary paperwork and donning our helmets off we set across the prairie. The prairie is vast and undulating more than I had expected, i thought it was just flat as the surrounding area is around Ralston village. Our first stop was at Excon - this is a structured building where all the briefings take place, theatre and computer simulations. They were also in the process of delivering all the containers where Chris and prairie staff sleep for the season. From there we drove to Hettar which is a mock village where some of the Medman exercises take place, all very realistic, along with a smell machine. We were provide with a lunch box (the same as the guys get) which we ate on the back of the TSV's by this time the sun had come out - quite a nice picnic really. Dave then drove us around the prairie visiting several other landmarks that they use for the exercises, there are a lot of realistic buildings together with a Shell petrol station! As there are no rivers on the prairie which are needed for the guys to practice crossing there are dry river beds dug with signs saying 'river' - this made some of us laugh. We had a great time on our visit and it was a brilliant insight into what Chris and the guys all get up to and where they are.

Right nearly at the end of my catch up month. Last week was a full packed week. It started off with our friends Paul and Jeanette inviting us round for a curry night, they have had a posting to Nepal and therefore make amazing curries - needless to say we had a fantastic night along with other good friends. On Easter Monday we were back round Paul and Jeanettes as it was their daughter Molly's 4th birthday and they had a bbq and easter egg hunt for the kids (Tegan and Fraser have lived on a diet of chocolate for several days now) - the weather was great nearly summer like! Wednesday night Paul managed to get tickets to see the Medicine Hat Tigers ice hockey match - they were in the play offs so it was an exciting game to watch against the Calgary Hitmen . The atmosphere was brilliant and the speed at which they play is so fast - I would still be at the other end of the rink. Unfortunately they lost 4-1.

Friday night was a surprise party for Jeanette as it is her 40th birthday at the end of April and Paul decided a party was in order. Noo and myself gave Paul a hand in organising it. Noo is great at design and therefore transformed the Jubilee Arms pub (the pub in Ralston village) into pink and black theme with homemade chandeliers and a balloon tree the pub looked great and we all had a fab night.

As it is the month for 40th bithdays we had a girls pot luck lunch for Jo (Woods) who's birthday was on Monday - there is a common theme in Ralston - eating and drinking.

Finally on the eating, drinking and socialising side of things I was out for a girls dinner Wednesday night at Zoe's house who cooked a lovely dinner and again it was a dinner for Jeanette's 40th birthday - this girl is having a month of birthdays!!! Chris was also out having a few beers with the Icemen.

Well I think that has caught with the last month. Chris is now on a different time schedule from the rest of us in the Leonard household as Prairie Season is about to commence - roll on November! Oh yes nearly forgot the amazing weather that we get in Canada - last week we were having bbq's and this week we have had snow storms with the schools closed and snow up to my knees and today the sun is shinning again.

Mother's Day - 3on3 Tournament

We left Florida under a very big wet black cloud on Thursday it didn't stop raining all day however we managed to pass the day before catching our evening flight back to Calgary. Due to our late landing time we booked into a hotel nearby to the airport getting into our bed just before 1am. Both Tegan and Fraser were great on the flight and travel really well. To Fraser's delight the following morning he could look out the bedroom window and watch the aeroplanes taking off and landing - easy entertainment. Our 21/2 hr drive back to Ralston was fine however we were very to surprise as all the snow had disappeared. This weekend has been lovely blue skys and good temperatures.

Before leaving for our holiday I signed up to play in a 3on3 ice hockey tournament on the Sunday and friends kindly invited us round for dinner on the Saturday night. Both events seemed a good idea however we totally forgot that the clocks went forward and therefore lost an hours sleep, already still a little tired from our Disney holiday. So Saturday night we had a wonderful evening round our friends Noo and Richard's house for dinner, Noo is an awesome cook and made a fantastic supper. Before we knew it the clock was saying 1am which of course was 2am so with a sharp exit and into bed to try and get a few hours sleep before I had to be at the ice arena for 7.15am. The tournament was made up of 6 teams with 9 players in each team including at least 2 girls. Although I was a little apprehensive due to playing with predominately guys who can skate considerably faster than me and have more expertise I had a great day, especially as I managed to score 2 goals for my team, one of them in the last few seconds - a great confidence boost. We did make it into the semi final but unfortunately got knocked out So Mother's Day didn't really happen in the Leonard house as again we forgot due to being away but also the Canadians celebrate in May - so there is hope! Chris and the kids came along to the arena to support me which was great, both Tegan and Fraser are very happy playing in the arena with all their friends.

So fingers crossed the weather will remain good this week, so much so the gophers are making a reappearance - which is a little early in the year due to the good weather. Tegan and Fraser have a short week at school this week as the school is closed on Thursday and Friday so I need to find some activities to keep us busy.

Disney Animal Kingdom....

Tuesday was the day we visited Disney's Animal Kingdom and saw some amazing animals in very realistic environments. On entering the park we hot footed it across to the other side to go on Kilimanjaro Safaris, passing by the Tree of Life, which I did briefly believe was a real tree to Chris' amusement. We jumped aboard an open air safari vehicle which took us on an exciting expedition through an African-style savannah where giraffes, gazelles, elephants, rhinos and lions roam freely. On the safari vehicle, which had us all bouncing around in our seats, we were guided through the safari with comical commentary and drove very near to the animals whose habitats were extremely lifelike and plentiful. After going to several parks throughout the week we have got used to planning our routes in order to see the things we really want to see or experience as the day goes so quickly, especially with 2 small children. It was particularly important here as the Animal Kingdom shuts at 5pm in order to allow the staff time to care for the animals. We also visited the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail where we got to see several gorillas including a mum with a 2 week old baby - Fraser was very interested.

During the day Tegan and Fraser also had their faces painted - this was one of the best examples I have ever seen. We then caught the Wildlife Express Train over to the conservation station. After eating our lunch we went to the petting area or as called in Disney the 'Affection Section'. Tegan saw a handler holding a Rose Boa snake and was quite happy giving it a stroke and asking questions.




The next big thing that we did was to watch 'Finding Nemo The Musical'. This was a 45 minute production taken from the original musical - an amazing show to watch. The actors danced not only on the stage but came out into the audience and one of our favourites, Crush the sea turtle, appeared regularly saying - 'hey dudes'. By the time we had watched the show it was 4pm so with only 1 hour remaining we went into the Dinoland section and let Tegan and Fraser run around the Boneyard which is a play maze build around fun dinosaur fossils.

So with our final day at Disney parks over we headed back to the hotel for a quick swim and an early night to bed. Both Chris and I said we have loved visiting all the parks but we have had enough of being herded like sheep with the several other thousand people - dare I say it we are actually craving the prairie or better still Canmore and the mountains!

Today was a day of eating indulgence as first thing this morning we headed to IHOP (International House of Pancakes) for breakfast. This is an American institution by the looks of it as the restaurant was packed with everyone's tables fully loaded with pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs and many a heart surgeon nearby no doubt!! Tegan was sensible and only ordered one pancake - however it was chocolate and even she couldn't finish it. Fraser went for the 5 pancake option - baby size luckily but again once covered with maple syrup even he didn't quite clear his plate. Chris went for the combo option - 2 pancakes, bacon, hash browns and scrambled eggs, most of the plate was left empty. I however went for the entirely healthy option blueberry pancakes - however 4 enormous pancakes came out loaded with blueberry compote and once I added some maple syrup was a truly awesome stack and yes somehow I did manage to eat all of them!!! We promptly paid the bill and went to play mini golf - phew some exercise! After a week of playing golf in Phoenix recently Chris had to lower his expectation levels and played crazy golf with the family. Once again like everything Disney, its built with quality and entertainment in mind - it was great fun. Needless to say with his recent intense golfing practice Chris won (and was the course leader that day he wanted me to mention!), both Tegan and Fraser loved it.

After a quick stop at an outlet mall to purchase the last few remaining items that we 'really' needed the remainder of the afternoon was spent in the swimming pool at our hotel along with a couple of Mojito's in the jacuzzi.

Tomorrow afternoon we leave Florida for our journey back to Canada after having experienced a really great holiday at Disney and Florida.

Disney Magic Kingdom...

Sunday was spent having a lazy day by the hotel swimming pool in an attempt to miss the big crowds. Thankfully the temperatures finally got better. The hotel has an activities room for children with everything from a pool table, ping pong table (Fraser's ball direction wasn't so hot), bank of pc's, Wii console, and lots of small activities for children. Outside nearby the swimming pool area there is a great climbing frame. So after spending a couple of hours of playing we finally jumped into the swimming pool. Although we didn't leave the hotel we still didn't return to our room until around 6.30pm.

Monday off we went to Magic Kingdom with beautiful blue sky and warm temperatures - shorts were the order of the day for Chris and Fraser. Thirteen years ago Chris and I went to Magic Kingdom on our honeymoon and one thing particularly disappointed me; it was one of Disney's anniversarys and instead of the beautiful blue castle it was covered as a pink cake - today I was happy to see the castle looking great and back to its original best.

As we arrived all the Disney characters were putting on a show in front of the castle which was a great start to the day which both kids really enjoyed. Throughout the day we worked our way around the park from Adventureland, Frontierland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland, Mickey's Toontown Fair and finally Tomorrowland. We went on lots of rides and saw many shows which were all entertaining. The whole Leonard family went on Thunder Mountain Railroad which is a runaway train rollercoaster, Fraser was even holding his hands in the air although the expression on his face said "should I really have my hands up Dad?".

The day passed far too quickly and we felt that we had only managed to see half of the park. Dispite being out of the supposed busy season there still seemed to be an awful lot of people there. We were quite happy therefore not to be visiting in the heat of the summer, as queuing would have been a bit grim. The day was ended by watching the amazing fireworks display which even Fraser agreed he enjoyed (normally he doesn't like the loud explosions of fireworks). Leaving the park with the other thousands of people was a lot easier and smoother than we had thought it was going to be. We entered the park via the monorail and left by boat. Chris and I both agreed that you could easily go back to the park and still not see everything as there is so much there. A great day out.

Cocoa Beach and Seafood...

Again we headed East out of Orange County to Cocoa Beach for a day of sea and sun. We had the sun but the temperatures were still too low for Chris and I to go into the Atlantic sea, however it didn't stop Tegan and Fraser who had a great time. After changing into their swimmers they ran towards the sea, Fraser ran in and promptly ran out, after a few more attempts they both acclimatised and we couldn't keep them out. Then we began building sandcastles, shortly after which Tegan decided she would wrap herself up and do a spot of beach snoozing! To Fraser's delight we built the sandcastles and he destroyed them - sounds like a Royal Engineer in the making!

After a couple of hours on the beach we headed to the 'Ron Jon Surf Shack' - the biggest surfing shop in Cocoa Beach. This was clearly a surfing 'mecca' with everything in the store being very 'cool' - so we promptly left with a couple of purchases.

We finished off the day driving to the marina for dinner at Grills Seafood Deck and Tiki Bar. For those of you who have ever been to El Sids in Mojcar Grills was the Floridian version, but we have to say better. We had a fantastic seafood dinner where Tegan ate a 1lb of shrimps to herself. Finally we have arrived back to our hotel once again late in the evening.

Epcot...

Today we visited Epcot and what a great day we have had. The weather still could be a little warmer as we had to wear jeans and sweaters but we had a blue sky and sunshine.

For the first part of the day we stayed within the area around the famous Epcot golf ball - well it looks like one, not sure if that is its official title. Our first stop was the Seas with Nemo and Friends where we boarded a 'clamobile' and set off on a quest to find Nemo and pals, all very entertaining. Then we went into an auditorium to have a 'Turtle Talk with Crush'. For those of you who do not know who Crush is, he is a friend of Nemo's and is a very friendly turtle who has a lot to say for himself; he also says 'dude' a lot which Fraser now emulates with regular prompting from Chris.

Then it was off to the 'Land' attractions. This included a great ride called 'Soarin' which simulated free fly hang gliding adventure over the west coast of the States; luckily Tegan and Fraser were both tall enough to go on this ride which although a little tentative they did enjoy! After Soarin we went on a boat ride which looked at 'Living with the Land' which took us through a greenhouse with ultra modern farming techniques (well it is Epcot!) and a fish farm where Disney are developing different methods of growing vegetables, fruits and herbs - all very educational.

After visiting 'Reimagined - Spaceship Earth' which is located in the parks icon, we then went to meet some of the famous disney characters including, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto which brought a huge smile to Tegan and Fraser's faces.

Much later on in the day we eventually started to walk around the world showcase visiting all the countries. Chris first of all had to have a pint of Guinness in the Rose & Crown Pub in the English sector which apparently was very good. Then shortly after we entered Germany so decided to reminisce where Chris had a weitzenbeer and bratwurst whilst Tegan and Fraser had a preztel; we decided we need to go back to Germany as some point.

Our final destination was the Test Track ride. This is where you board a GM mock car on the longest, fastest attraction in Dinsey history; again Fraser was tall enough so off we all went. We boarded a racing car style ride which went through some of the tests that new cars go through, bumpy surfaces, up hill, quick stops, round corners, and finally outside on a test track at 60mph - Fraser loved it, Tegan not so sure.

We seem to be getting back to our hotel later and later each evening. To finish off our day today we sat on the sofa and watched the Epcot fireworks from the comfort of our hotel room. Tomorrow maybe a visit to the beach and a fairly relaxed day. Tegan has done a great job walking many miles with the aid of ice cream!