Christmas 2007

Christmas this year was full of mini Christmas Miracles! Sean & I headed up to Slave Lake right after work on a non-stop flight on Friday Dec 22.

Christmas Miracle #1- No flight delays- no air related problems- a nice change from our last years Christmas flying fiasco!

Christmas Miracle #2- We rented an economy car on priceline (non-refundable) back in August, thinking it would be sufficient to hold us and our luggage. Well, plans changed and we all decided to go Snowboarding in Jasper- meaning there was no way all of our stuff would fit in the little Haundi Accent we’d rented. I tried to upgrade the reservation prior to our arrival, however, it was going to cost an additional $700 to get an SVU- no Way- We’d make it fit! Then, the nice ticket agent just asked us if we wanted a mini van because they had so many of them, and they didn’t have very many small cars left. I jumped for joy inside and knew that someone was looking out for us.

Christmas Miracle #3- The roads to Slave lake were clear, no ice, and the weather was fantastic. We saw 3 huge moose along the way, and thankfully we did not hit any of them. This was like a little wildlife excursion for Sean- he’d never seen a moose before this trip, and in just 2.5 hours, he saw 3! We arrived safely to Slave Lake around 2:30am.

Saturday Dec 23

Saturday was a fun filled day. First we all went to Tim Hortons for Breakfast, and met up with Danielle & Shawn along the way. Timmy’s is Slave Lake’s newest hot spot with the drive thru line winding along the entire parking lot, and a priceless sign that reads, “ We’d like to serve you better, however, we are in need of additional Staff. Should you know anyone who is interested please refer us to them”. Slave Lake is a booming Oil/Lumber town, so its really hard to find minimum wage service industry workers, even at $13/hr starting wage.

We visited with the family for the morning, did a craft with Abby in the afternoon and then drove over to Danielle’s house for a visit. She and Sean have the nicest home- I cannot wait to have my very own house someday. Although, at the rate we’re going, I’ll probably be too Old and Tired to care about decorating, and we’ll have to get a single story as I’ll be in a walker by then. Boo Hoo! Kaleb is so grown up! Hes really a nice boy.

Mom made Christmas dinner, after which we opened our presents. The majority of which were for Abby and Mena. However, I think Abby wanted more as she kept opening up my presents! I guess I’m still a kid at heart bc I wanted to open my own presents- but how do you say no to a 3 year old without looking selfish? Mom loved the Hawaiian Moo- Moo I got her. Bright blue flowered print synthetic silk- just up her alley! Betina got me this fantastic MEC bag. I’ve been wearing it all week, and I love it! Sean got a cool Oilers hat from Keith, and Dad got a lot of socks. Overall, I think everyone was happy with their presents.

Sunday Dec 24

We all went to Church to see Mena get blessed. Dad gave the blessing and Sean stood in the circle. Sean didn’t bring a white shirt, tie or church shoes (packing space was very limited)- luckily, Dad buys size 10 shoes even though he’s actually an 8.5, and has an abundance of white shirts and ties. The blessing was really nice- it was nice to see my dad give one. Growing up my grandpa did all of the baptisms and father blessings were not the norm in our house, so I’ve never really seen my dad use his priesthood. You’ll be pleased to know though, that he can still give a good blessing 

I love going to church in SL because it just feels so much more comfortable than church anywhere else. I get to see most of the families I grew up with and chat with all of the ladies that were my teachers over the years. Plus, Lindsay Leishman is engaged!! She brought her fiancé to church- so I got to meet him as well! I really miss feeling normal at church. I always feel so inadequate at other wards bc it is such a molly Mormon fashion fest. Who cares if I wear the same skirt to church every Sunday? Not Me!

After church we met up with Danielle & Shawn at BP’s for lunch. Its tradition to go to BP when in SL. Its my favorite SL restaurant. After which we headed off to Jasper.

The drive to Jasper was BEAUTIFUL. We saw more moose, deer, elk and mountain goats. It was the most relaxing 5 hour drive ever. I really miss Alberta driving. Its so stress free and enjoyable. I wasn’t looking forward to all of the driving we’d be doing this trip, but it actually turned out to be really great. We listened to all of our new CD’s that we got for Christmas and stopped in Swan Hills for a potty break. That was defiantly a culture shock for Sean who did not believe that the place only had ONE gas station. Oh dear Seany Sean… life is different in small town Alberta.

We got to jasper around 6pm and checked into Maligne lodge. This is the same hotel we’ve always stayed at for our annual spring skiing Jasper trip growing up. I have very fond memories of this place, and was very excited to share it with Sean.

Christmas Miracle #4- We were booked for 3 rooms to accommodate everyone with a bed to sleep in. However, the nice counter lady gave us a poolside suite instead, saving us $300! The room was perfect as the pool and hot tub were right outside our room (no running across the frozen parking lot in our skivvies!) We all had a bed to sleep in and there was a huge Kitchen for us to do all of our cooking (re-heating) in! We got to hang out together for 2 solid days. Everyone was in a good mood and we had a fantastic time.


Monday Dec 25- Christmas Day

We woke up at 7:30am and opened our stockings together at the kitchen table. Sean got me such a great stocking- loads of my favorite gum (ice breakers), Christina Argularia tickets and awesome earrings that I’ve been eyeing at Target! Thanks Sean- you did great!

Mom loved her stocking too- VS perfume, giradelli and See’s chocolate, Slippers from the London Marriott, a walmart gift certificate, an earing/necklace set and another gift certificate from timmy’s! She was in heaven. Dad got a lot of Socks in his 

Christmas Miracle #5- We got to the slopes at 10am- and they were PERFECT. I have never seen Jasper so empty! It was 0 degrees celcius outside, the sun was shining and there was fresh powder everywhere. It was some of the best ski conditions I have yet encountered. Sean was super impressed too!!

We all took the first couple of runs together- and Sean was doing surprisingly well. Its his 5th time snowboarding and he has the basic carve down. Anders is an AMAZING skier! He spent most of his time on the double blacks in the trees. Not something I attempted, as my snowboard just doesn’t have the turning radius for the trees. I always crash and get stuck- not fun. So, Patience and I explored the various black diamonds- which was super fun. I love having someone at my level to board with.

After skiing we ate a lasagna dinner (courtesy of M&M meats) and went in the hot tub. Mom and dad forgot their swimsuits though and all of the stores were closed. I love the outdoor hot tub at Maligne…. Its sooo nice! And it helps the soreness in your muscles to loosen up.

Tues Dec 26-

Our 2nd (and final) ski day in japser. Again, another beautiful day skiing. We skied solid from 9am to 12:30- when we met up in the lodge for homemade sandwichs and poutine. Poutine is a Payne ski tradition as well. We only get it when skiing as it is death on a plate, but boy oh boy is it tasty. We took a quick lunch today in order to get back on the slopes.

On the way to the ski lift, sean fell- a silly fall, but he sprained his knee in the process. I went up once more to the top with my dad, and then skied to the bottom to see if sean was ok. I really wanted to keep boarding, but I knew that if I were hurt, sean would have called it a day and comforted me. I think Sean is just a nicer person and I  Dad checked out his leg and was 90% certain is was just a sprain. We ended the day a little early, as Sean could no longer board, and patience was really nice from her hard partying th night before (jk).
Our drive back to Edmonton was again Beautiful and relaxing. We arrived at Iris’ apartment at 5pm, took showers, repacked and then went to Joey’s Tomatoes for dinner. The perfect end to a perfect Christmas Vacation.

Wed Dec 27-

We flew back on our non-stop flight- again no long delays.

Christmas Miracle #6- My boss gave me 3 days off without taking vacation, the 27, 28 and 29. Ive had a VERY relaxing time chilling out at home, watching movies and cuddling with my Seany Sean.

Merry Christmas to All!! I will post some Christmas photos tomorrow.