Update #13 - Tea House Climb

Our eyes opened with excitement before the sun was even up and before long our backpacks were stocked and we were dressed. We quietly kissed the kids good-bye while they slept knowing they were in the safe hands of their grandparents. As we drove towards the Rockies the sun rose behind us slowly revealing the rugged ranges before us. We chatted with anticipation at the day that lay ahead of us. The Tea House Climb had been one we had both wanted to do but were unable to as it was too difficult for the children... and here we were driving towards Lake Louise about to live a small dream. Looking out the window our eyes feasted on the many changing colours of the trees, the odd bit of snow melting and even an elk.
Our arrival was a stark difference to our previous visit to Lake Louise. Being early in the morning, only a few cars scattered the car park. As I stepped out the car, I was hit by the crisp cool air and quickly added another layer of clothes.

And so began our journey....
From the lake you could not see the tea house as it was tucked away up in the ranges only accessible by foot, horseback and in emergencies, helicopters. The journey, although only 3.4km to the top was a tiring one as it only seemed to go up in a steep sort of way. As you walked, you kept hoping that it might just for a moment change gradiant but this was not to be! Despite our puffing and panting (well actually I think that was just me - Howard's fitness is much better than mine since he's been riding to work and back) we continued to talk. Being the only ones on that path and being in bear territory we had to keep the conversation going. A great way to get couples to talk! We finally caught a glimpse of the teahouse (see photo 2 - Look very closely just to the right of the waterfall) as the trees began to clear. Along the way we stopped at "Mirror Lake"(photo 4) which is at the base of the "Beehive" (photo 3). Another kilometer or so and we ahhhed at the waterfall (but could only capture a tinee bit of it on film) and then climbed many a stair and finally the little house stood before us.
Discovering it was not open yet (nothing seems to open in Canada before 10am!) we happily sat on the lake's edge and caught our breath. 

Finally a chap in dreadlocks who looked like he hadn't bathed in days appeared on the balcony and asked if we'd like to order. He was a backpacker from Australia who had been there for the past four weeks. They stay in the cabin and literally earn their bread and butter. We had a good laugh with him and he was very excited to hear a bunch of Aussies. The tea was served in an enamel teapot with a cracked stained old coffee cup. The cake, a bit stale but it all added to the atmosphere. Although, I don't think the two Japanese tourists to the left of me quite had the same sentiments. The decent was a lot easier than the ascent although a bit rough on the legs. We often passed a couple or two and the question was always the same, "(puffing and panting) Is it far to go?" Except one guy had us in stitches with, "Is there (puff) a (pant) doctor (puff) up there? (pant)" He then smiled.
By the time we returned to Lake Louise, it was swarming with tour buses and people. We walked towards the car, our experience almost a dream - although my aching legs reminded me otherwise! It had been a wonderful day.
I've decided to keep our other happenings till next update as I really wanted to be able to share the joy of just that one precious day.
God bless you.
With love,
Howard and Shona Eban.

Update #12 - Folks Arrive

Well this week weather wise has really been like living in Melbourne on steroids! We've gone from the children being amazed that they can make steam come out of their mouths while walking to school all rugged up, to being in shorts and t-shirts, to having rain bucketing down and of course we can't make it through the week without windburn as well! :)
The week has been filled with routine stuff but the highlight by far was the arrival of Howard's parents, Eion and Rosa from Australia. I wished I had captured the moment on film. There were hugs and kisses and more hugs and "I've missed you sooooo much" and more hugs and kisses and boy did my kids talk their poor grandparents' ears off!!! This morning I had to use all my mummy power to keep them out of their grandparents room but eventually I gave in. All you could hear was chatter chatter chatter giggle giggle chatter chatter. Let's hope the novelty wears off or else their grandparents might wear out before their stay is over!


Other news this week is that the kids had the Terry Fox run and we were very proud that both Laura and Nathan managed to run nine laps in the given time. We even had a "Jack Rabbit" join in the run (see photo two). He's often seen hopping about on school property. The jack rabbits are unique in that they turn white in the winter time so I'll have to see if I can snap him again in the colder months for you.
Well it's a short one this week as I have some lovely people I need to be with and Daniel was full of "quotes" this week, so I'll leave you with them.
All our love,
The Eban Clan.
Danny's Quotable Quotes

"Is this how big a stick would be if it was a toddler?"

"I need a healthy breakfast. Is this cereal low in sugar and high in fibre?"

"My hands are sticky. Good thing I'm not driving."

"They call tissues Kleenex's here. Is that cause they make your nose clean?"

Update #11 - School

Dear friends,
Well we survived our first week of school and in the process learned many a thing. When you make a mistake while writing, you must ask for the eraser NOT the rubber and if you need to visit the little room down the hall (toilet) you ask to go to the washrooms. School is also very different as it is all in one building. As you can see from the photos it has a series of halls with rooms attached. Apart from the playground every room is within that buildiing - toilets, I mean washrooms, the library, office and even the gym. The kids eat their lunch in the gym and if it's too cold to go outside (that would be colder than - 20'c!!!) they play in the gym. Oh, and if they want to come home for lunch they can. You have indoor and outdoor shoes which you are constantly changing in and out of and coats are a must. Otherwise, school is pretty much the same. The kids are settling in and even starting to make friends, although I think it will still take awhile to fully adjust. We love the weekends and Saturday (today) is always an adventure somewhere. Today we rugged up and did the Fenland Trail which is in Banff. A fen is like a wetland area and we were suppose to see elk but Danny was in a very happy mood and kept bursting into song! He wasn't too preturbed as we had seen deer on our way to Banff (photo 3 - they're the tiny dots by the lake!) and aren't elk just like deer anyway mum?


The weather is cooling down a bit more each day and the snow is no longer a light icing on the Rockies, but more of a coating. I was sooo cold on the walk today and we haven't even reached zero degrees yet! Oh boy, oh boy!
I'll leave you with some funny quotes of the week. Otherwise, hope you are all well and thank you for your emails.
Love from your adventuring friends,
Howard, Shona, Laura, Nathan and Daniel Eban.

Quotable Quotes for the week

Nathan: We learned all about the Terry Fox Run today but I don't know what his name was. It's about a man who had cancer and ran across Canada but then he died!

Laura: It's very different in Canada mum - my friend eats Toadfood (tofu). Why would anyone like food made from toads?

Nathan: Oh look! What's that?
Mum: A cow.
Nathan: Is it a wild cow?
Mum: No, just a regular cow.
Nathan: (disappointed) Oh.

Update #10 - Spray Lakes

Dear friends,Today we left our house, backpacks in tow, for Laura and Nathan's first day of school (see first photo). Nath was so excited and would have been there before the teachers had even arrived if I had let him. :) We set out by foot and it almost seemed surreal that we were off to school. There were no uniforms and no school traffic - didn't feel like a school day at all! Yet as I waved them good-bye at their classes it hit me. My heart sank and I prayed that they wouldn't feel as nervous as I felt for them. I remember sitting at my desk as a nine year old on the first day in a new school in a new country looking around the class wondering if any of these faces would one day be a friend.
The day has slowly moved along. I have quickly discovered that I do not play "goodies and baddies" as well as Nathan and when it comes to "plans" in the backyard my creativity is no match for Laura's. Daniel just shakes his head and says, "Can we go get them from school yet?" It's going to be a long day!

On Satuday we visited Kananaskis (another part of the Rocky Mountains). I can't say I enjoyed it as much as previous trips as Howard decided to take the gravel road and there comes a time in the drive when "Ten Green Bottles" is no longer enjoyable to sing!!! However, the highlights along the way made it worthwhile. We spotted a mother and baby moose (see second photo) in a clearing. At first we thought they were horses but on closer examination realised they were definitely moose. You will also notice that the mountains look as though they have been sprinkled with icing sugar - yes the cold is on its way. 
Later we found a lovely spot to picnic (third photo) and as we were munching on our sandwiches realised we were not alone (fourth photo). We're still trying to find out whether they were gophers or ground squirrels or something else. They had Nathan in stitches and Laura would have loved to have shrunk and become their new friend. As for Daniel, he thought the game was to try to catch them as they popped up out of their holes!
Speaking of that little bundle of energy - he requires a lego buddy to construct with... now that I can do (well I think so anyway!).

With love from your friends in Canada,
Howard, Shona, Laura, Nathan and Daniel.

Update #9 - Heritage Park

Dear friends,
Today is dark and overcast with the chill of winter on the way. You would never have guessed that yesterday was such a beautiful sunny day - but then that's Calgary and what's expected when you're living at the foot of a mountain range.
You'll see from the first photo that we found yet another amazing part of God's creation - Johnston Canyon (situated just north of Banff). I could have sent you a dozen more photos from that day - it took all my strength to hold me back!!! The photo attached is of the lower falls and if you look at the bottom right hand corner of the photo you will see that you had to walk through a little cave to finally stand in the spray of the falls. We ventured to the upper falls and were very proud of our kids who made the 5.4km walk on their own legs. Once again the walk was full of breath taking views and the kids enjoyed the walk as much as we did. It was only Daniel who we had to hold a cookie in front of every now and then to keep his little legs moving!
Yesterday, I took the kids to Heritage Park which is an historical village set about a century ago. From a teachers point of view, it was a wonderful hands on teaching experience. The children had vast amount of experiences ranging from attending school, to being put in jail, having to do washing, pump their own water, learn how to make butter and see how newspapers were printed. They talked to a variety of people who were "playing the role" and found out amazing things like;
bankers were allowed to shoot dead anyone who attempted to rob the bank
mounties (police) were not allowed to be married for their first five years of work
female teachers were not allowed to be married and were not allowed to leave the town without permission from the community
boys and girls were not allowed to play together at school
Nathan decided he was very happy that he lived in the century we live in, but I think I could have left Laura there for another week. She was so in role and I'm sure she thought she was either Laura from House on the Praire or Anne of Green Gables. The apple does not fall far from the tree! :)
It looks like we'll be stuck indoors today - still don't have the appropriate winter gear to venture out on a day like today. Problem is we keep adventuring on the days that we should be shopping for essentials.
Hope this finds you all well.
Your friends,
Howard, Shona, Laura, Nathan and Daniel

Update #8 - Drumheller

Dear friends,
Howard had today (Friday) off of work and so we ventured out to the "Badlands" of Alberta (see first photo). Having little geological background, my mind was curious as to how it acquired such a name. In years gone by it had been a coal mining town, so maybe I presumed, it had developed a reputation for a rougher element.... you know... the big, the bad and the ugly. However, after googling it I discovered "badlands" actually refer to a type of arid terrain which have been extensively eroded by wind and water leaving canyons and other such geological forms. DAH!
Our primary objective in visiting the area was to see the Tyrrell Dinosaur Museum. Can't say I was hugely excited by the thought, but the boys certainly were. I mean, when in one's life do you get to climb up the tallest dinosaur in the world!?! (see second photo) and look at bones and fossils and what more can I say?!?!
Actually, I must say it was an amazing exhibit and I even learned something! Did you know there is a dinosaur called the Albertosaurus? Obviously it is found here in Alberta (see third photo) AND it is a smaller relative of the Tyrannosaurus. So there you go.
As we drove home, we passed canola field after wheat field after canola field after wheat field after canola field...It was pretty at first but we soon grew tired of the scenery. Laura popped up with, "It should be called the boringlands not the badlands!" which made us all giggle. At one stage, we pulled over and let the children have a close up look at the wheat (see fourth photo) . As adults we forget how fascinating it can be to discover something like a wheat plant. The kids were engrossed and Nathan exclaimed, "So that's why Weetbix is called wheat bix!". Ahhh, another life lesson and another wonderful day.
With love your venturing friends,
The Ebans.
P.S. Once again just to make you feel better, we never ventured out last weekend as Howard had a heavy cold. It's not all bliss here. :)

Update #7 - Lake Louise

Lake  Louise

Dear friends,
I'm under strict instruction from many of the males out there (including my husband) not to make this email all dreamy and "skipping through the meadows" like the last email so it's all facts and no mush. :)
At 7:00 hours the Eban family packed their supplies and drove for two and a half hours to Lake Louise. Lake Louise was named after Princess Louise, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. Hence, the glaciers above it are referred to as the Victoria Glaciers.  

From observation, one will note that the water of the lake is almost emerald in colour. This is due to the rock flour being carried into the lake by "melt-water" from the glaciers that overlook the lake. Although the views were breathtaking, the lake was swamped with tourists which took away from the natural beauty. Hussle and bussle mixed with nature don't usually go hand in hand.
Our return drive was on an alternative route which was very scenic. We stopped to do the odd small walk which was nice as the tourist species was no where to be seen. Wildlife spotted included a coyote, two deer and a chipmunk. The children were most disappointed that we did not encounter a bear. Their mother on the other hand was quite relieved. We've drilled them all in what to do if we encounter one as it is known for bears in that area. Last week a lady was actually attacked by one just near where we were walking. (A little unnerving as a mother!) The chances are rather remote as it is recommended when walking to make a bit of noise to scare the bears ahead off. 

My three do that with out even being asked to! Howard thinks he might buy some bear spray anyway just in case. At least you don't have to worry about snakes. :)
We returned home at 18:00 hours quite exhausted but very content.
Here ends Eban Update #7. hee hee
Your friends,
Howard, Shona, Laura, Nathan and Daniel Eban.

Just to make all of you feel better out there, I would like to make a note....
Despite our delightful weekend adventures, Monday to Friday is jam packed with office work, cleaning, washing, mowing, grocery shopping, dishes, settling sibling disputes and other boring tasks. :)