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I hate to jinx myself, but I have to say that we've definitely had one of the nicest winters that I can remember. Other than a couple weeks of really cold weather, it has been gorgeous (for Canada, that is ...). Mark's youngest brother, Thomas, just returned from his two year mission for our church in Australia. The poor guy got home right in the middle of a brutal cold snap and definitely has some adjusting to do! He left the Australian weather of +34 degrees, with 100% humidity, to come home to -41 degrees, with a freezing wind chill. I remember returning from my mission in Panama in the late spring and I still took at least a few months to adjust. I was decked out in a hoody or sweater all summer long! Needless to say, I feel for the guy!
We've really had a great time catching up with Thomas. Zach was only 4 months old when he left, so he has been especially excited to get to know his uncle.We prayed for him every night while he was gone (although I think Zach thought we were praying about Thomas the Train ...), so now he's finally been able to see who the real Thomas is.
It was so fun to welcome him at the airport ... although we missed him by a couple minutes! How embarrassing!! Here we are waiting for his luggage to arrive off the plane. Zach loved his wheels! Last weekend we ventured out in the cold to attend the Ice on Whyte Festival. Sadly, Mark was on call, but some of his family was able to join us. Zach did awesome and Blake slept in the stroller the entire time. I admit that I wasn't really looking forward to being out in the freezing cold with my kiddos, but once we got there and I saw how excited and mesmerized Zach was, it was all worth it!
Check out one of the many beautiful ice carvings - AMAZING!! Poor Thomas is still adjusting to the cold weather, so he preferred to spend a lot of the time next to the warmth of the fire pit. He was so good about taking Zach on some of the slides for me though. What a great uncle!! Brielle was so bundled up with her daddy and all you could see were her cute little eyes peeping through. That's a true Canadian right there!! I was a little nervous to let Zach go on the slides, but to say he loved it would definitely be an understatement! He was literally jumping up and down and probably would've lasted a couple more hours if we'd let him. We did take a short hot chocolate break, but after one small sip he was ready to head back to the slides. He even wanted to go on the really big slide and was still all smiles! Zach and I enjoyed a very quick rest on an icy bench ... I definitely should've worn snow pants! Brrr! They even had an ice maze and all sorts of fun! Zach was loving it all! We checked out a few more ice sculptures before heading home for the night. We're most definitely coming back here next year!! Earlier this week Mark was able to get off work a little earlier than usual, so we decided to hit Snow Valley for a couple hours of skiing fun. It was Zach's first time and he can't wait to go again. We weren't sure how he would take to wearing ski boots, but other than having a difficult time walking, he didn't seem to mind them. He did so awesome and I was sure a proud momma watching my little guy come down the ski hill!! He had no fear and kept asking to go by himself. Blake and I had a fun time watching from the sidelines. I have a feeling my sons will be surpassing my level of skiing in no time! Posted by The Corie Clan at 8:28 PM The Corie Clan
