Dancing Queen take the trophy

Two seasons ago Frank started a fantasy football league with the sole intention of getting our children interested in football (and with the added benefit that maybe they would want to watch football with him.)  We got the Rehagens on board and added Mimi and Wowa to round out the league.  Year one Mimi, owner of the Ball Carriers, took first place.  Here's the trophy:

This year Olivia, owner of the Dancing Queen team, won the trophy after beating Chris in the championship game.  We had an official handover after Christmas:

The whole "get the kids interested in football" thing has worked pretty well.  Emily now LOVES Drew Brees, Olivia pays attention to her team every week, and Marcy recognizes some team and player names.  (Madeline has a team but did nothing with it the past two years.  Mark will inherit her team next season.)  They still don't really like to watch football but if one of their players is on they'll pay attention for a little while.

Sledding Fun with Friends

 It's been so long since I've been on the blog and they have added new features and changed the way to insert pictures.  I think I am going to like it but will have to play with it a bit.  Unfortunately, still having trouble accessing the blog from home.  Can get it at work so I'm sneaking a little personal time in the library to post a few entries.

More fun from Kimberley.  Chris E. took a snow shovel out to a decent sized hill by the condo and dug the kids a sled run.  The kids then dug themsleves a few snow caves and had some fun hiding out and flying down the hill.  I went out with my camera on the tail end of the action so only got a couple shots but the one of Emily coming down is pretty good!

(Not sure how my child managed to get away with sledding without a helmet.  That can be just as dangerous as skiing.  But, she was done by the time I got there.  I had to convince her to do one more run so I could get a picture.)

Skiing Fun with Friends

We did lots of skiing with friends this Christmas. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera along after the first couple of days out. It was just too bulky in my coat and too cold on my fingers. So, I only got photos of Olivia and her friends

Olivia and Mirabelle at Kimberley

Olivia, Jaydene and Mirabelle at Panorama

Olivia, Jaydene and Mirabelle in the giant chair at Panorama.

(I love this photo. They all look so tiny!)

Wish I had taken my camera on the other days as well now that I'm finally posting pictures. Thanks to the Everetts, Lairds, and Agnews for coming out and enjoying the slopes with us. Send me your photos if you have any and I'll post them here!

Ho Ho Ho

Northstar Mountain Village hosted a visit with Santa for all the kids staying at the complex on Christmas Eve. While the rest of us went to Lake Louise for the day, Frank and Pop-Pop took Marcy and Emily to the party. We haven't had Santa pictures in a couple of years - a sure sign of how old the kids are getting.

Another sure sign of how old the kids are getting is the fact that Emily wouldn't even sit on Santa's lap. Too cool for that!
Santa also showed up on the slopes with his team of sled dogs. I guess sometimes the reindeer need a break. So, after a couple years of no Santa photos, Marcy got two this year. Good thing since there probably won't be many more.

Santa also showed up at Panorama ski resort while we were there. I tried to get Olivia and her friends to pose with him but they absolutely refused. Even after I begged. The Santa photo era is nearly over. How sad!

Swimming Fun with Friends

On our overnight stay in Calgary we invited friends to visit with us at the hotel. The girls had a very LOUD party at the swimming pool. I think we were lucky not to be kicked out of the hotel since they could be heard all the way in the lobby. Emily had a bunch of old Fury soccer friends come over. It was like a mini-reunion since not all the girls are playing together now.

Marcy had a couple of soccer friends come as well. They were a much more subdued little bunch but Marcy was very excited to see them.

Olivia had some friends from school come over as well but 13 year olds are not very receptive to taking photos while hanging out at the pool. I enjoyed the company of many of the parents for the evening while Frank lamented being stuck in Frankfurt due to flight delays. Madeline spent the evening with her friend Pam from school. Pam met us at the airport and we didn't see Madeline again until it was time to drive to Kimberley the next day.

Hockey Fun with Friends

We had all kinds of fun in Kimberley for Christmas. Emily, Marcy, and Frank spent part of one day playing hockey at the skating pond with the Everetts. They shoveled the snow off and had a rousing game of kids vs parents. You'd think that with Chris being a former minor league player that the parents would win but I guess Frank playing goalie in boots with a snow shovel didn't cut it because the dads lost 10-9.