23.1.16

Manning Park 2016

 for the second year in a row we packed up the family and drove 90 minutes to gorgeous Manning Park for a few days.
 ty fully engaged with skiing this year.  his lift ticket is still free, and i have access to free tickets as well, so he got out on the slopes 3 days in a row, lasting longer each time.

 we were blessed with a few cm of new snow every day.
 ty did so awesome on his first chairlift ride ever.  a clean exit and not at all scared of the height.  he was just wondering at the views of the mtns and skiers and trees all around him.



 right outside the resort are a multitude of snowshoe and xc ski trails.

 we have a german student kathe staying with us for a few weeks.  it was great to take her out and show her around our area, and also great to have another adult along so that kylie and i could get out for time by ourselves.



 there was so much snow up there!


 if ty's thing was skiing this trip, levi's was tottering along in the snow.  he was happy to fall on his face repeatedly and DID NOT want to be picked up.


 zeke's thing was def. toboganning.  a nice amount of excitement for him.  he enjoyed varying the rides from kathe to me to "by mySELF" and was shockingly fastest on his own.
a good time was had by all.  playing in the snow all day, pool and hottub in the evening, a home cooked meal and do it all again tomorrow.  this is our kind of tradition!


3.1.16

Walking in a winter wonderland

 we havent mentioned it much on our blog this year, but i have been spending a lot of time in the eastern hillsides above chilliwack in the community forest.  some have referred to it as my playground, and that is pretty accurate.

 with the help of the city of chilliwack, our church and many local community volunteers we have been able to transform a 130 acre forest into a community wilderness park.  its not officially open yet, but many people are using it and it is beautiful in the snow!


 today the vanderkwaaks surpised us up there, catching up to our family mid hike.
 they came at the perfect time.  having kassi and james around gave ty and zeke a burst of energy just as they were starting to fade.
a gorgeous spot, a four minutes drive from our church.  a lot more to be done there in the spring!  good exercise and great fun for the whole family.