Banff, with pics

I've been a bit negligent on the blog lately, I suppose. Part of the reason is because we had a lovely weekend away last week and I don't like to post about it until after we're home so that I'm not announcing to the world that our house is empty! :-) The other reason is that I wanted to attach pictures with this posting and I always dread that...it seems to take so much extra effort. :-)

Anyway, we have gone to Banff in November almost every year for the last four years with my wonderful friend, B, and her family. She happens to have three girls who are all the same ages as our girls, and amazingly enough they actually all ended up in the same classes this year, which is pretty cool considering there are three classes for each grade level.

It STILL had not snowed yet at home, but we were hoping to catch some snow in Banff. Sure enough, on our way there, we saw small amounts of snow at the side of the road at Mebira nearly gave us a heart attack each time she saw some. She would yell, "SNOW" at the top of her lungs.

(Below) We stopped for supper on the way and there was actually some snow there. Mebira whipped out of the car as soon as we stopped and rushed across the parking lot to the ditch. It was cold, but she had to play a bit before she went in.
(Below) Here is a picture of the six girls together. It was like a sea of pink everywhere we went.

(Below) You just can't shop on Banff Ave without warming up with a good Starbucks afterward. Mebira had her first hot chocolate and LOVED it!

(Below) We stayed at a great hotel (Douglas Fir) which has its own play place. The kids loved playing there with their friends, and we loved sitting and watching them, talking or reading. :-)
(Below) G in the play place.
(Below) Mebira climbing up and around.
(Below) Elizabeth and Mebira planned to wear these shirts when they heard there would be snow in Banff. They co-ordinated jeans, shirts and boots as well. :-)
(Below) My beautiful GEMs!
(Below) This animal was right outside our window for most of the weekend. It was pretty cool to watch him. We had debates if he was a caribou or an elk and after using google images, (thanks, B) it was determined he was an elk.
(Below) Another cute pic of the six girls.
(Below) We ended up staying an extra night in Banff as we had to head to Calgary the next day to get Mebira's US visa. After our friends left on the Sunday we took a drive to Sunshine ski hill to show Mebira lots of snow. There is a beautiful path that we walked on for awhile. If we didn't have the kids we for sure would have walked the 5km uphill to the ski hill, unfortunately, the kids got tired after less than a km. Fortunately, there was enough snow to play for a bit.
(Below) A beautiful winter wonderland.
(Below) I'm not sure what they were making, but they had a blast! After a little while Mebira started complaining about the cold. For weeks she kept telling me how she didn't like hot but liked the cold. HA! I knew she would regret that once she experienced it. :-)
Well, that pretty much sums up our trip. We got Mebira's US visa in Calgary on the way home, then the girls had two days of school and then they were off for two. I've had a four-day weekend with them and it feels like it was shorter than a regular one!! Good thing Christmas (and a real break!) is coming!