24.12.09

merry christmas from lethbridge!

we have escaped chilliwack's brutal 3 degrees and sunny in favour of the more seasonal -11 and snowing of lethbridge. here in southern alberta we have enjoyed the hospitality of both kylie's mom and my parents and done all the things we like doing at christmas (although kylie has unfortunately missed out on the more athletic endeavours).

first up was a family xc skiing trip to cameron lake. i don't need to spend much time on this as it has been well documented by julie.

she did however miss the cattle drive we encountered around Mountain View, on the way out AND back. memories of africa and SE asia.


an impromptu christmas gathering spawned organically in my parents' kitchen involving the likes of chris, katherine, fraser, kevin, joanna, lisa and shareen.
my mom was overjoyed to come home from shopping and encounter a party in her kitchen. we overheard her telling her sister on the phone how much fun it was. it's wonderful to have a mom who is so flexible!


that evening entailed a christmas party with kylie's dad greg and her brother brad (a professor at the college... honestly).
the turkey loaf was glistening and the conversation was scintillating.


with all the snow falling, fraser and i had to get out to castle mountain for our first DH day in 2 years. the snow was perfect and the lift lines were nonexistent. on dec. 22nd! the joys of a local hill. castle offers steep bowls, tonnes of tight tree skiing and almost no green runs. kylie made me buy a helmet, but no one was hurt. i was amazed to see well over half of the people on the hill wearing helmets, kids and adults alike. what a cultural shift.

fraser did use his helmet as a contact surface with the snow on two occasions but kept his neck and brain intact.


finally yesterday we made gingerbread houses and did some caroling.
julie showcased her proprioceptive persistence to create this decadent dollop of dental destruction.

family friends amy and jen came over to contribute to our cul de sac. gingerbread houses not being a big deal in china, they had never made one before. we were impressed with their performance (i think they were happy as well).

i think julie is the reason there is a national shortage of these mitts.
merry christmas everyone!

2 comments:

Lowell & Julie said...

I would love to have a professor with facial expressions like Bradley!

Katherine said...

It was great to see you guys, even though it was brief. Let's do it again sometime.