Fun winter weekend!

Before I start, these pictures look really tiny, but if you click on any of them, they become huge and you can even watch them in slideshow format!

It finally warmed up by the end of the week!  We've been having temperatures of -30C to -35C or colder... and with the windchill it was sometimes -47... so we were not that excited about going out and doing winter activities...

... Until this past weekend!

We drove up to the cottage!  It was -6 which felt absolutely balmy in comparision to the entire previous month.  We had to dig in to our yard to park the van...

Then we had to heat the place up by getting a good fire going and putting some heaters on... it took hours to warm up, but then it stayed quite nice and was even a bit too warm at night!

Once it there was some heat, we went off to the community centre area where there is a hill, a skating rink and what I think is supposed to be a cross country ski trail but it doesn't look skied on... instead it looks like people walk on it.  So, the boys did a bit of sledding...

... then we snowshoed through the trail for a bit.  It was so beautiful in there!

In the evening, we watched a movie (Mr Popper's Penguins), ate leftovers (we have no water after Thanksgiving, so getting too many dishes dirty is not so fun... so leftovers are the way to go).  After the movie, we played cribbage.  First time for the boys!  Great game for kids - lots of adding practice.

The next morning, after a pancake breakfast, we went snowshoeing down our back lane to the beach...

 Again - super pretty!  Today it was only -1, but -10 with the windchill.  I decided I would focus on the -1 part of the weather report... until we got to the path to to the beach.  Every step felt colder and colder.  By the time I was at the top of the stairs it was very windy and unpleasant. The kids and Kurt were down on the beach waiting for me.

I asked them if they really wanted to stay down there and walk around or anything but Kurt said they didn't care and really wanted to go skating back at the rink.  So, I said that they could come up and I wasn't going down!  Too cold!  Kurt took pictures on the beach for me.

So!  Off we went to go skating!

Then, more sledding...

Then back to the cottage to clean up and leave.  On the way home, we went to the cross country ski trails at Grand Beach.  Wow!  That was a great idea!  There are several lengths of trails.  We went on the shortest one, which is 2.6 kms and was just perfect for the end of the day, and for our new little 7 year old skier.  He's been taking skiing lessons with Red River Nordic Club, which has been a great way to get him positive and confident about skiing... they play great games, and work on balance and posture.  He was so positive and energetic today!  We were so proud of him!  And Mr. 10 year old?  Wow!  He has a great stride... so smooth and calm.

We all decided that was our favourite part of the whole weekend!  This weekend is going in the jar of good times for sure!

What I love the most, and we spoke about this on the way home, is that we have always hoped we could gently influence our kids by modeling our love of nature so that they would love it too.  We keep seeing great weekends like this where the kids just love being outside and are really appreciating how pretty it is, and enjoying noticing things around them... So grateful that they love to be outside with us, and to be active.

Makes me think of the song I sing to them (either on a recording I made for them, or live) every night.  The poem, called "For a Child" is by Fannie Stearns Davis, and when Kieran was born I made up a melody for it and sang it as a lullaby... then a few years later I recorded it for them so it can play for them whenever they want:

For a Child

Your friends shall be the Tall Wind,
The River and the Tree;
The Sun that laughs and marches,
The Swallows and the Sea.

Your prayers shall be the murmur
Of grasses in the rain;
The song of wildwood thrushes
That makes God glad again.

And you shall run and wander,
And you shall dream and sing
Of brave things and bright things
Beyond the swallow's wings.

And you shall envy no man,
Nor hurt your heart with sighs,
For I will keep you simple
That God may make you wise.