Winter Vacation 2011

The usual MO around here is to flee to somewhere warm sometime during January and February. They are darn cold months around here and the warmth of tropical sun and sandy beaches are a nice alternative to frozen eyelashes and possible skin freezing. But not us. Nope, we headed East. Well, okay we went to Winnipeg and to the cottage at Lake of the Woods. Definitely not tropical sun, and the sandy beach was covered by two feet of snow. We did have a good time though.

We spent two nights, one on each leg of the trip, in the new family home in Winnipeg. David's parents sold their house of 38 years and are moving into a home which they will share with Adam, Kristine and Matthew. They will have their own living space in the house, but for the moment, they have it all to themselves. That is until construction for their part of the house starts. But that is another blog.

Then we made the trek to the cottage. The whole family spent two and a half days together. It was great. It even warmed up enough to play outside. The kids had a great time. Sophia tobogganed, skating, played and rolled around in the snow. Jacob even got into the action. He got to accompany cousin Matthew in his nifty Chariot which has go-go gadget skis. I wrapped his cast in a plastic bag and lots of packing tape, and the little guy got to spend time walking in the snow. He quite loved it, even if he had no traction.

The adults got the chance to be together, enjoying good food and card games. And we got to enjoy being a family together, watching the kids play and be kids. It was fun.




Matthew and Jacob hanging out together in the Chariot. About two minutes later, Jacob passed out and spent the entire ride sleeping. Silly boy.




Out cold. No, I didn't mean "out in the cold". The poor kid is fast asleep.



The snow is REALLY deep. Really, really deep.





Trying to get unstuck. Until there were paths of packed snow, getting around was tricky,



Some indoor robot building. David spent a little time working on his Makerbot Thing-O-Matic




See "go-go gadget" skis. And a people harness for toddlers who want to get around in winter style.




Peg leg waling with Grandpa




Skating in the boat house (because it is protected from the wind and shifting ice, it is the smoothest place to skate)



A daddy and Sophia moment.




Snowshoe queen! I hadn't snowshoed since I was in Girl Guides. I loved it, and now I want my own pair.




Why Yes, Jacob was having a great time. Can't you tell?




Heading out over Blueberry Island.




Kids and entourage. Out on the middle of the lake.




Family time!



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