High On Ice

This weekend is the High on Ice Festival here in Fort St John. This is an annual event which has done quite well in attracting lots of spectators and competitors. The big thing is the ice carving, similar to the sand sculptures in Parksville but (obviously) done in ice! This year they were able to harvest the ice from local lakes (because it was sooooo cold) so there was an added element to the event.

The theme this year was "The Ice Age" so there were carvings of dinosaurs and fossils

There were also quite a few carvings of the characters from the movie "Ice Age" The kids particularly like any that had the squirrel in them!

Apart from the carving competitions there were also an ice fishing derby. They also have lots of kids activities like toboggan races, horse drawn sleigh rides, crafts and this amazingly awesome ice slide that they made for the event.
The ice slide was probably the highlight for my kids, I am hoping we get a chance to go back this evening as the slide had Christmas lights frozen inside it which would look very cool and all the sculptures (which should be completed this afternoon as they are still working on them when we were there)

This sculpture of the characters from the movie is still under construction...

had special lighting. They also built an ice chimney which they will light a fire in to end the event.

This is the chimney that they will be lighting up tonight

Quite a fun way to spend the weekend anyway, something unique to the North!

Even the concession stand was made of ice!

Home

For all of my complaining (so sorry, I looked back and realized I was complaining a lot recently!) I have also realized something the other day which shocked the heck out of me.

This is home.

I didn't expect Fort St John to feel like home so quickly, I almost wondered if it ever would. I don't know if it was having Christmas here, or the friends that I am making, the way my kids are blossoming and doing so well, or if it is being able to see the Island through my eyes that are no longer rose-tinted (it is still beautiful, but it isn't perfect!) Maybe it is all of those things.

The winter is damn cold and well, damn cold. But it is beautiful too. The trees twinkling with the frost and ice, the beautiful sunrises and sunsets that colour the entire huge sky, the wildlife (we have seen loads of deer, elk, some moose, an ermine and a fox! Not to mention Buffalo, horses, donkeys and cows!) The people are really good too... they are different from Island folk, but they are good.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to live through a "real" Canadian winter, I have never experienced one before and they truly are a wonder. I still haven't seen the Northern Lights up here... but I will. From home.

Where for Art Thou... Mexico???

I am soooo ready to go to Mexico. I think I have a mild case of Seasonally Affected Disorder, or whatever SAD is. We had a few bright blue days and I felt so recharged and ready to go outside, but it has been snowing again for the last few days (week?) and I am tired of it... Although it is starting to warm up, a bit. The damn weatherman keeps promising temperatures right around zero (which would be great!) but we are still around -17 to -20... sigh.

On a positive note, we got some work done in the house, since we were stuck inside. I think we have officially unpacked more boxes in this house than we did in the entire time we were in Saltair!

Mike did a great job on cutting the mats to fit

Mike and I attacked a room that had been a stash place for "stuff". The room is now empty, completely. In fact it echoes like crazy and the kids love to play tag in there, which is great since they can't really run around outside. This room was used as a billiards room by the previous owners of our house - for us it is known as the "Wrestling Room". Although exercise room might be more apt. We are getting a treadmill so we can get our blood moving from its current frozen state. I had plans of getting into cross-country skiing, but apparently I am too wimpy to brave the cold. Also a place for the kids to run wild and bounce on the bouncy castle thing... We have a big house, so we are taking advantage with a completely frivolous space. I just need to do something about that echo... any suggestions?

I Need to Thaw

That isn't snow on the trees... it is frost/ice

Happy New Year! We have had a very nice winter holiday and thoroughly enjoyed some time off, but man... this cold snap has got to break. It has been between -25 to -40 for weeks now it seems. I know that the weather has been nasty everywhere, but I am just about frozen right through.

The view out Maria's bedroom window!

Even the people who were born here are complaining about it, so it isn't just me! In all seriousness though... it is too cold to go outside so we are probably suffering from a bad case of "cabin fever". I think the cure is two weeks in Mexico...

Check out Hubby' eyelash extensions! Again that isn't snow on him, it is ice from shoveling the driveway!

It's a Marshmallow World In the Winter...

But it is too cold to go outside and take a picture... no really it is, my camera doesn't like to take pictures outside, it freezes (literally) up! Yesterday my van was showing temperatures around -34! It was so cold that when I started to drive, my tires were frozen in the shape they sat at all night and it took a little bit for them to "round up" again and stop thumping.... I thought I had a flat, but it was just a square!

Michael's union put on a Christmas party at the gymnastics club. The kids had a blast, they got to do gymnastics, have pizza and goodies, sit on Santa's knee AND get a present from the big guy too!

We have been having fun though. It is hard to not get into the Christmas spirit when you are surrounded by winter everywhere you go - so we have been busy with Christmas parties, skating parties, Christmas concerts and all other Christmas preparations! We had a nice evening the other day... Maria's school had their winter concert and Maria did a great job and we enjoyed watching the show. Upon arriving home we had the pleasant surprise of finding three deer in our front yard, eating what is left of our trees and garden (and maybe a few veggies that found their way into the garden after we had been seeing the deers hoofprints).

This is the best picture I could get as the camera wasn't doing that well outside and the noisy kids were scaring the deer away!

Chances are I won't be on here again until after Christmas, so I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

The kids are in hyper-active mode now that the countdown to Christmas is on!

This was one of the healthiest and nicest Poinsettia's that I have ever seen...

at least it was in the store! After I bought it and brought it straight home in -33 weather it wasn't so healthy looking!

You know you are talking to a "true" Northerner when...

Well first let me fill you in...

It has been a busy, but fun, week around here. Maria has been over to a friends house and has had a friend over here. We have made plans for Allan to have a little friend over too, so the kids are happy. On top of that, Maria has two birthday parties this week (one for twins!) as well as a skating party for all the grade ones in her school and the kids Christmas party put on by Hubby's work! My kids have a social life that puts most adults to shame!

Anyway, getting back on track... the other day we had one of Maria's friends in our van and Maria was telling her stories about how on the Island the snow didn't last very long and how last year she only got to play in a bit of slush...

Her friend laughs for a moment and then asks Maria "What is slush?"

The Days are Getting Shorter

Last week, I was telling myself that I needed to bring the camera along with me on the drive to take Maria to school in the morning. There were some of the most amazing sunrises that I have ever seen - and I have actually seen a lot of them! The entire sky was orange with pink clouds and a vibrant orange sun...

However, today I took Maria to school in the pitch dark. The sun finally dawned after I dropped her AND Allan off. A few more weeks to go until the winter solstice... how dark will it get?!?

On a side note... we had a funny conversation with Allan the other day. Allan was trying to describe one of the kids in his class and he was having trouble telling us what colour his hair was until finally he thought of how to describe it "it is the colour of a sweet potato!" A very accurate description actually! Much more so than "red"!