Christmas 2008

Owen looking "serious"

This is an overdue post.

I do hope everyone had a wonderful festivities with the family with lots of eating and jolly making. We certainly had.

We were up in the mountains with 1st SIL (and family) for 4 days at ski station called Super-Besse, central of France. This winter we're having (and are still having with minus temperature now) plenty of snow fall. Basically ski stations were open weeks before the full swing of Christmas holidays. As we drove there from our place, it took us about 5 and half hours drive - which is about the same time as to Paris. We initially thought that it'll take us longer with the snow and all but thank goodness the roads were cleared and it was a pretty good day for driving.

SIL's family rented an apartment for a week (Sunday to Sunday) and we arrived on Christmas eve. The place was basic but clean and we even have small (small as in only 1 person could stand there) kitchen smack in the middle of the already cramped apartment with 4 adults and 3 boisterous boys aged 6, 2 and 1 and half!! I still shuddered when I think about it and plus this is not having another nephew aged 8 (another hyperactive boy) that could have joined us!!!

The kids were having loads of fun from the time they wake up in the morning till late at night, when they drop like flies! LOL! We brought all of them up for sledding and the eldest of them for ice skating once and skiing. This time, its my 3rd try at skiing my entire life. It wasn't as bad as the 1st time. Not much "casualties" to report except the tumble and rolling on the a slope at 1800 meters!!

Hubs actually brought me up to that level (a blue or intermediate slope) where else I'm suppose to be on the green or beginner slope with the 4 or 5 year olds!! Ya, trust the men to protect me.... NOT! Whenever I fell (visibility was low in the early morning with fog, wind and snow!) , he got angry and finally left me half way down. Well I got so angry as well at him the entire time I was up there!! AAARRGGHHHHH..... But still I made it down in once piece and alive! THANK GOODNESS!

I actually quite enjoy skiing later on as I was on the green slope with the kids. I think I'll do it again this winter or the next but I'm going to buy my own boots. Rentals have weird fitting. And guess what I found out later in the day as I came back to the apartment after the whole day (well 9am till 4pm skiing time)? Hubs actually fell on the last lap, hurting his left wrist - which BTW swelled up within the hour as he's going down too fast!?!? I mean the whole hand and wrist looks like a ballooned prune like colour.... Serve him right to bring me up on the blue slope, expecting me to learn ASAP and then leave me when I slowed him down! HA!

Besides the skiing on Christmas day, Christmas eve dinner was Chinese fondue (YUM!) with the family. Then it was bed time for kids as they were really anticipating Santa early on the very next day. It was "VERY IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO SLEEP", as we adults told told them... hehehehehe.... This is ONE way that we could finally sit down in peace and have some wine together! The very next day, they were up and thank goodness we're on the 1st floor! The noise they created was enough to wake the entire building!!! LOL! Owen got a musical book, really colourful toy cars and a wooden rail toy. Nephews got Transformers, Hot Wheels and some Batman gear.

The entire trip was fun but on the day that we're all pack up, it was still kinda sad to leave. The entire mountain and its valley below was really beautiful and picturesque. It still takes my breath way every time I look at the pictures we took up on the slopes. We hope to go up the mountains once again soon.

Pictures are here for your enjoyment!