The latest race

At Sunshine, where there was less than 5 minutes of sun all weekend, Sarah improved her Giant Slalom performance, with finishes in the top 30 again. She's going to need to set new goals.....

The cloudy course...



The girls' Lake Louise team, minus one. Aren't they cute?

Happy St. Paddy's Day

From a cute little leprechaun....

Revelstoke

We had a fabulous weekend in Revelstoke. The Western Championships were a great experience. Sarah finished every race and had only one disappointment when she slipped and had to hike back up to a gate. Unfortunately, too many people were shouting instructions at her, which was all very confusing, but she made it down, and then had a great second run. So - a learning experience!

I'm exhausted - Revelstoke is a 5 hour drive away, and since Bob was out of town, it was me, 6 pairs of skis, two kids and a dog. The skis were probably the most helpful items I brought along, at least until Bob joined us the 2nd night. These are photos another parent sent to me as Sarah still hasn't unpacked her camera from her ski bag!




Racing fans, grabbing the best seats in the house to watch the ladies' race.


Sarah's last race was through pea soup. That really is her coming down!


Sarah's teammate, Emily, won the overall ladies' championship medal. She's a great kid, with a fabulous smile, and is an incredibly supportive teammate.



Drinking hot chocolate while waiting for the awards ceremony.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

That is the sound of Sarah screaming with joy. Alberta Alpine announced the Alberta team for the K1 Western Championships, and our girl qualified!

She can't wait to get to training to squeal some more with her club mates!

Here she is at the Frozen Moose Cup in Grande Prairie on Sunday. She and the other kids on the Lake Louise ski team have a lot of fun together, as you can see.

Crazy Hair Day

Speedy Sarah

Just got back from a provincial ski race in Edmonton where Sarah totally turned it on. She's in the top 30!

Too proud for words.... Here's some photos.

You know what would be fun?

If me and my dog went outside to play in the snow.

Alison

Alison is prone to making profound and hilarious statements. I'm sure I've posted some of her classics in the past: like when we got the first snowfall and she thought aloud "Yesterday the world was gray, but today the snow has lit up the earth," or when she told me she would like to learn about how they design jails because kids don't usually get to see that stuff. She's been really bored in school this year, so we are looking at options for her. I met with her teacher the other day and the lady doesn't seem to see it.

So I asked Alison if she could think of ways to let her teacher know how smart she is.

"No," said Alison.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because I don't want to."

"Why not?" I asked again.

"That way I can slack off."

Racer

We are smack-dab in the middle of ski season and most of our non-working time seems to be spent on a ski hill (or preparing to go, or driving..).

Here's a couple of shots from Sarah's first race of the year.

Getting dressed beforehand...


At the end of her last race. Since Sarah is in her first year of K1 racing, her name was put in a draw with all the other first-years. She has no luck though, since she drew last, 3rd last and 2nd last for each of the three races that weekend. Oh well, she finished better than that.

Happy New Year

Things are still looking festive around here!