Look At Me. I Can Stand!

Skates. Check.  Snow Pants. Check.  Gloves, helmets and skates. Check.  After counting down the Saturdays,  Skating Lesson Saturday had finally arrived for Peyton and Jonah.  Both kids were super excited to get on the ice and felt they were ready to become "the best skaters ever."

Well, after only a few moments after getting on the ice it was very clear that it would be awhile before either child would be proficient skaters.  Especially Peyton:(  The great news was that there were no tears although there was a lot of 'I can't' coming out of Peyton.

I have to be completely honest and admit that I was a bit flabbergasted with the fact that after a half hour lesson Peyton's biggest success was to stand up with her instructors help and stand without falling for a total of 30 seconds.  But... there wasn't any tears and she is looking forward to her next lesson.  So I clearly have to accept that while Peyton isn't going to be doing figure eights anytime soon, she may one day.

Jonah had a bit more success on his first lesson.  He actually made it across the ice in a step like fashion.  And grinning from ear to ear,  he was very proud of himself and rightfully so.  

 

Kamloops And Back In A Day

It was a whirlwind of a start today.  Get two boys off to school.  Pack snacks, clothes, movies, blankets, gifts and more snacks for my trek to the BC Interior with my girls.  Drag Peyton and Ava from their sleep long before they were really ready, with the promise of a Starbucks stop. Load them and everything else into the Acadia.  

Our first stop.  Starbucks.  Coffee for me and oat bars for the girls.  Then some gas for our ride. And just like that,  my co-pilots and I were off on our little one day adventure.  The roads were dry and the temperature was just right.so there was little worry about dangerous road conditions. Something that my hubby of course would be thinking about.   And, with the new speeds of 120 km it was a fairly quick trip up the Coquihalla and into the BC Interior.

The reason for our little winter road trip was two-fold.  I have some friends in Kamloops I really needed to see again. And  some key suppliers that I wanted to connect with and treat to a nice box of chocolates as a little thanks for another supportive year.

 So business and pleasure  into a one day trip made perfect sense.  Not only that, I really just needed a day away from emails, telephone calls and this was just as a good excuse to avoid it all as any.  No cell phones while driving!

Our first stop was the Tim Hortons in Merritt.  The girls needed some Timbits and I needed my second coffee.  Then it was off to a couple sawmills.  The first of which was NMV Lumber.  A small sawmill managed by a Dave and his son, Harry, and daughter, Parveen.  We've been talking to each other over the phone for a few years now but have never had the pleasure of meeting each other in person.  Their business industry is very different from our, but yet they are similar in that both our businesses are family businesses built on a similar value system and similar challenges and successes. 

After a much longer visit than planned at NMV, we travelled on to our next sawmill visit and after a short stop, we headed out for lunch at the amazing Perry sisters home in Kamloops. These fellow Chicks That Kick soccer teammates are so amazing and have left a bit of a whole here in Chilliwack.  They are certainly missed for there inclusivity, kindness and encouragement.  Thank goodness Kamloops isn't too far to go to get in a bit of a Perry Power Pow Wow:)

After a wonderful visit it was time to head out to our very last business stop on the way back home.  By this time I thought for sure Peyton and Ava would be a disaster.  But these littles were blissful and giggly all the way home and without even a complaint.  Kinda makes me want to do this again soon.  Well... maybe in the spring:)