It's Australia Day

Today, we saw the weirdest sights up on the mountain.  Those crazy Australians are insane...they think it's barby on the beach weather!  Their mascot Boomer was out skiing his favourite run...kangaroo, followed by a whole host of supporters wearing next to nothing, except the Aussie flag...they must have been freezing!

 Boomer in his ski boots!

 Going down his favourite run...kangaroo!

Don't know who these people are, but had to take photos as evidence!!

Later in the day we saw 2 girls who had just got off the chair lift in bikinis!  And is was -10 today!!

Super Hero Day

Here is Lucy dressed up as Claire the Super Hero Cheerleader from Heroes... she's only got one dressing up outfit so I had to think of a super hero to fit the outfit! She's with her lovely Freeride instructor Fi who we have known for 3 years, and who will now have Lucy every Saturday.  She took Ned down the cliff 2 years ago, and he has never forgotten it, he will always have a bit of a soft spot for Fi!

Messing about at Apex

On Friday, some of Ned and Charlie's Freestyle team mates were competing at Apex, another ski resort just south of Penticton which sits at the other end of the Okenagen Lake.  We left first thing on Friday morning and drove through the most beautiful countryside, up through an ancient First Nations reserve, along winding mountain paths to Apex, an old gold mining settlement.  It's history is pretty well hidden as now there are just some ski chalets nestling in the forests, and a couple of hotels, its much smaller than Big White and more quaint. We got there about 10 just in time to watch the Big Air competition....skiing off a jump and doing tricks and of course landing it!  Most of the children can do 180's and 360's but there were the more adventurous ones who attempted 720's, with mixed results!  It was amazing to watch and something for Ned and Charlie to aspire to.  After lunch, we all went for a ski, it seemed a shame to go all that way and not explore the slopes.  We were warned that it's locally known as Scrapex and when we got to the top we found out why, blowing a gale so you could hardly move and the snow was all blown off exposing the ice beneath...very noisy! The boys became fiercely loyal to their own mountain and made some pretty rough comparisons about how it wasn't a patch on Big White, so when the lifts closed back home we came.  As we drove up the hill, Big White looked so glamorous compared to Apex, we definitely chose the right mountain!        

 The view down the valley all the way to the Lake.

 This is Ned's friend Lewis launching himself off the jump, my camera was too slow to capture him in mid flight but I did manage to get the landing!

                      

Lucy's 7th Birthday

I can't believe our gorgeous daughter was 7 on Monday, so to celebrate, we took her, the boys and 2 school friends to EnergyPlex in Kelowna and then out to dinner to Red Robin where they make you stand on a chair for a birthday song in front of the whole restaurant...highly embarrassing...unless you're Lucy!

 She had about 5 goes at this climbing wall, each time getting closer and closer to the top, but finally...

And here's the certificate to prove it...

Off to Red Robin..

Happy New Year

Gorgeous bluebird days since Christmas and surprisingly no new snow!  We skied on Christmas day looking for Santa and have been enjoying the sunshine ever since.  A last minute offer to have the children on New Years Eve meant that Jamie and I actually went out and enjoyed a drink with some mates, followed by the Big White fireworks...lovely.

 Searching for buried skis on Christmas Day!

Above the clouds 

Charlie and Lucy on the T-bar