Brrr! Snowshoeing in Kananaskis Country (-35c with the windchill?!)

Enjoying winter...?

The snow has made its way to Calgary as well, and today it is sunny but cold (-15c)...very pretty though!

Our front yard (with the Subaru)
The back yard
Just a picture of our living room for fun: I love when the sun is streaming through the front window...

Enjoying the snow at Lake Louise with new and old friends...

Yesterday we headed off to Lake Louise for a ski/snowboard day with new friends Joe and Natasha (Dave's bike racing partner and his wife), their friend Karen, and old friends Sean and Lauren. It was a nice day on the hill, with Dave trying out his new skiis (yes, he has converted from snowboard to skiis), and the rest of us trying out ski-legs that hadn't been out for a while. We were lucky enough to stay at Karen's parents place in Canmore, which is another beautiful, but ridiculously outrageous "vacation home". (I'm not sure how we keep meeting people with such great connections, but we're not complaining!). It was a nice night of good food and chatting with new friends.

The crew: Sean, Dave, Lauren, Joe, Karen and Natasha at the "vacation home"
Canmore: a beautiful day!
Outside Karen's parents place (I'm still wearing my pj pants)

January Update...

It seems it's that time of year when everyone is feeling a little "ho-hum": the holidays are over, winter is still here--and not leaving any time soon--and we are half-heartedly thrown back into the everyday routines of work and "after work" chores and activities...That being said, we have a lot to look forward to in the next few months, so I know the time is going to fly by, and we are trying to enjoy this time of just taking it easy a bit...

Dave took advantage of some new snow at Castle Mountain last weekend and did a day on Saturday with his biking partner Joe, and his wife Natasha. I enjoyed a weekend of reading and relaxing, with some swimming and yoga to keep me from getting too bored.

We are both back into work busy-ness, with Dave having many ongoing projects that had slowed down over Christmas coming back in full swing now that everyone is back from holiday mode. We had his work post-Christmas party on Friday night, which was a nice opportunity to meet all of the "important people" he works with day-to-day. I (Beth) still have a hard time keeping track of all of the new healthcare initiatives in the Region, but it definitely seems like an exciting place to work, and an exciting time to be here.

At my work, this starts to be "crunch" time for parents who are now realizing that they will need to be making decisions soon about where their child will be in the fall (many are moving on to Grade 1 in the public school system), and thus dealing with all of the "transition planning" that goes along with that. We have "IPP Meetings" (Individual Program Plan) coming up in a few weeks, which is always a busy time.

One of the nice things about living out west is that the winter brings with it lots of snow and thus fun things to do in the mountains, but so far very little snow in the city (great for driving)! So we have lots of weekend "mini-vacations" to look forward to: we are off to Fernie in a few weeks for Dave's Christmas present of a Cat-skiing weekend; followed by Family Day weekend in Invermere, and a visit from Karen and Blair the following weekend.

Finally, we booked our "Spring Break" trip this weekend to Costa Rica: we are leaving March 20th, just before Easter, for a week on the beach with some surfing and hopefully a bit of "sight-seeing" as well. It's been a long time since Dave and I have done a trip like this, and we are so looking forward it!

Just a few "updates" from us this time of year--nothing too exciting I guess: We continue to go to our regular classes at the "Talisman Centre"; Dave is still in hockey a couple of nights a week and has now started in a Volleyball League on Wednesdays. I'm a faithful member of my "Book Club" as well as Yoga and the gym. I'm starting to feel a lot more like my self lately--building a bit more muscle back I think and having a lot more "good days", so that is promising.

We hope that 2008 has gotten off to a good start for you as well, and look forward to hearing "updates" from friends and family (if you're still out there?). Feel free to email us any time: bethanyjanette@hotmail.com
Happy New Year!

Dave's new toy

Dave is registered to compete in the "Trans Rockies Challenge" mountain bike endurance race this summer, which travels from Panorama BC to Fernie BC August 10-16th. A few of the guys he rides with have done it before, so this seemed like a good motivator to train over the winter...hence: Dave's new toy--a brand new stationary bike! I've only tried it once, but it's nice to have an option to get a little bit of exercise without having to leave the house on these cold winter days. For more info about Dave's race, see: www.transrockies.com and click on the mountain biking option. Here he is modelling his new race jersey from Mom and Dad Brewin...

More from Tara and Joe's wedding

Here are some photos of the New Year's party/reception that followed the ceremony...Everyone had a blast--the whole family was out on the dance floor until they kicked us out! Happy New Year!

Tara and Joe's New Year's Wedding

Dave's sister Tara and our new brother-in-law Joe got married at the Ancaster Old Mill on New Year's Eve. It was a beautiful ceremony at a perfect location, and we all enjoyed the party afterwards as well. Here are a few of my favourite photos from the day...Congratulations Tara and Joe and welcome to the family!
Tara looked gorgeous, as always...
The ceremony in front of the fire...

Barrie and Tara (always one of my favourite parts of any wedding)