Welcome to 2015! It seemed to have appeared when I was catching some much needed sleep. We had a marvelous International Christmas, with guests from Iowa and Washington states, and Yorkshire, England. 

Our home was the "quiet retreat" for the grandparents, but the days were filled with adventure. 

Two day trips were taken to the mountains. Fifteen of us traveled in two vans to Lake Louise so the grandkids could skate on the lake, and tour the Chateau. On the way, we stopped at the Ridge Cafe in Canmore for lunch, leaving only three empty tables for other diners. We had an ideal view of 'The Three Sisters' mountains that is a well-known landmark for postcards. The second trip was to Banff for a swim in the hot sulphur swimming pool, a ride on a gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain. We also made a short stop at the Banff Springs Hotel to enjoy the view of Bow Falls and a delicious cup of hot chocolate. A tour of the town, a visit to the Candy Store, dinner at a Sushi Restaurant, and a climaxed with a slow trip home in a 'white-out' snow storm, causing most of us sleeping longer that night and having several naps during the following day. The university student from Iowa placed this caption on a picture she took during the storm, "Mom was panicking, Grandma was watchful, Zach was sleeping, and I was giggling. That's a different kind of scared."

Our daughter and family from Washington were with us for a week, and it was a rare treat to have them come to Canada as a family. The three grandgirls were so wanting to experience 'real' winter for Christmas. They were with us until New Year's Eve. Our British relatives left this afternoon for Toronto, to fulfil a 'bucket list' wish to visit Niagara Falls. We miss all of them already!

Now, it's back to our routine! The 'ordinary' becomes a welcome and familiar stage of life. Time to be thankful for the small and familiar blessings; time to catch up with local friends and neighbors; and time to get back to The Hill. So... brace yourself, I'm back!

Tags: Christmas Travel Family Adventure