Kicking Horse

Both girls were training with their teams, so the grown-ups got to try out a new ski area. Here we are at Kicking Horse, in Golden, B.C., up above the clouds. Or is it the ocean?

Training

If you ever wondered, "Does Sarah actually enjoy the countless hours she spends training for ski racing?" I think this picture will answer you.

Jasper

Alison had her first race as an official racer at Jasper's Marmot Basin at the end of January. She had a great time!

"I have enough fingers!"

to count her position in the Alberta Alpine K1 rankings. Our girl is 9th on the list of the top female 11 -12 year old ski racers in the province. Woo Hoo! Sarah is very excited. We are all very proud.

Speed Camp

Sarah had an opportunity to train for the Super-G this past weekend. Yep, going really fast on long skis, including jumps and rollers.

It's hard to get good pictures when they go that fast, so here's one of her friend Alex (the only one I managed to get in the air off the jump) as well as team shots.

WooHoo!!

Two top-ten finishes for Sarah this weekend. I only have video of her zipping down the course, but here are photos of her in her well-drawn bib (2! The course is perfect if you draw 2!) and collecting her ribbon for her 6th place finish.



Way to go!

Happy New Year

I was going to try to catch up on missed posts. But the fact of the matter is, we've interrupted skiing with very few other activities in the past month.

Here's a couple of shots from Sarah's birthday party. She had some friends over for a Wii Fest and pizza, and managed to bite her own tongue. She is 12 now. Maybe she'll learn how to eat now.


Bob got a camera for Christmas. We took a picture of the fantastic blueberry pie Alison made for Christmas Dinner dessert. She's been watching the Food Network lately and she's inspired.



But mostly we've been skiing. Here's a shot in the lodge, where only part of the fun happens, and a shot of Sarah receiving her First Place cookie for her victory (over one competitor) in the Candy Cane Challenge. Woo Hoo!

Santa Update

If anyone out there is curious, Alison sat down with Santa for a little Q & A session today.  She had wondered if he had any peanut allergies and if we could offer apples to the reindeer instead of carrots.  Santa confirmed that peanuts are okay, and the reindeer do enjoy fruit.

He also told her to clean up her room.  I like this guy.

Band Concert

Sarah, seen here as 1st clarinet in the grade 7 band, performed at a large church in northwest Calgary on December 10. They performed a couple of numbers, including a selection from The Nutcracker. It was lovely (except for those squeaky oboe players!)


Here's our girl:


The critics loved it!



I'll add video later.

Alison's birthday party

I know these are almost a month overdue, but they are funny. Just like Alison.

For her 9th birthday, Alison and 9 of her friends went to see Fantastic Mr. Fox, and then to a party room for food, presents and ... cake.

The cake eating was a highly creative event.