Winter activities.

I'm watching the Opening Ceremony for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

i say watching.

i'm catching glimpses.. and listening to my t.v.

i love the Olympics.

the hard work and dedication that people pour into a sport they love.  

a lot of times they started out loving it as a young child, 

and had the gift and talent to go big within the sport.

when i see the countries walk into the ceremony with one or two athletes i actually get teary 

(not so much when i'm only listening) 

the drive, the dedication, the passion of those individuals speaks so loud. 

i'm a sap.

it makes me remember what can be exciting about the winter.

the sports, the activities, you can do.

Last week (and weekend) i enjoyed the winter.

individually, with a friend, and with my little family.

Date: Wed Jan 29

time: 11:20am

distance: 5K

temperature: -14*C

weather: snowy. very snowy.

the snow was blowing in my face the whole run out.

i could barely keep my eyes open.

the way back was great though.

Friday:

Jan 31.

i went snowshoeing with my friend down main street.

that's right.

i said down main street.

our little town held a Winter Comedy Carnival.  

they brought in loads of snow to cover a section of main street.

there was snowshoeing, nordic skiing, fat bikes.

but friday morning it was quiet on the street.

we had fun racing down the middle of it in our snowshoes...

(i won...until my snowshoe decided to come undone and fall off)

Saturday Morning.

i went for my run.

after this guy got home.

(my encourager, my inspiration, my trainer, my running schedule maker)

date: Sat Feb 1

time: 8:45am

distance: 6K

temperature: -12*C

enjoyed this run...a little sore, but the weather was beautiful.

i couldn't complain.  my husband just ran 11K, i was only running 6. 

Saturday right before lunch we headed into town to give the kids an opportunity to see downtown.

we didn't end up eating lunch until around 2:30.  

they wanted to enjoy all the activities.

free trial of nordic skis, snowshoes and fat bikes.  

Look! there's the boy trying Nordic Skis for his first time.

his dad teaching him.

our girl running in snowshoes to see them.

he loved it!

he actually asked for some skis of his own so he could go with his dad again.

the girl and i went and got her face painted.

she has never let anyone other than me paint it.

she loved the pegasus she got.

thank you Painted Kids

then onto the Burton Riglet Park.

learning balance for snowboarding.

i don't know how many times the boy was pulled around.

he loved it.

the AO employee who took him around, again and again, gave him tips too.

there were other activities to enjoy.  

these were just the things we did.

when we got home the boys of the family went out and started digging out our quinzee.

what a great weekend.

great time of year.

so many people were frustrated with winter, with snow.

but the temperatures were spectacular.

and even though it snowed on the saturday, everyone who was there actually enjoyed it. 

it made sense to have a winter carnival with it snowing.

i sure hope they do it again.

 *all photos taken by me.

with Gertie.

edited with adobe photoshop

See what main street looked like the first time they covered it with snow: HERE