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. :)

Update #6 - Banff

"I lift up my eyes to the hills...."

This past weekend we took a day trip to Banff which is a little ski village in the Rockies. We did the touristy thing and took a gondola up the mountains (well Sulphur Mountain to be precise). Breathtaking just doesn't begin to describe the awesome views. Psalm 121 kept playing in my head and I stood astounded by the majesty of the mountains that surrounded me... huge chiselled rocks with their story woven in their layers and the dark brooding clouds covering them like a blanket.
From the top of the gondola ride you continued to walk along a path to the top of the mountain. The air was crisp and the view spectacular, the children excited but almost subdued by the beauty that surrounded them. It was one of those moments which is so perfect and you wrap it up and store it away in your heart because you just want to cherish it forever.
It is when you stand admist such beauty that you realise truly how big and how awesome is our God. Your worries fade away and you almost feel the arms of God holding you.
As you can tell we had a FANTASTIC day. We spotted mountain goats and the kids just loved the ground squirrels. There was one particular squirrel (see photo attached) who was an absolute character and had the kids in stitches with all his antics. They could have watched him for hours.
Following Sulphur Mountain we returned to Banff for lunch and then went for a walk along the Bow River (see pictures attached). It quickly changes from serene, crystal clear waters to a fast flowing river with rapids! Boy did I keep an eye on Danny!!! Once we returned to the serene waters, I could relax a little and watch as Laura collected wild flowers and the boys threw sticks into the river and ran alongside the banks following them. 
Just as our day was coming to an end, Daniel of course had to fall into the river. Please remember that the water flowing is from the melting snow, so you can imagine the expression he had upon his face when it occurred! Of course he was not happy and kept declaring that it was not his fault, but the fault of the river bank which just broke! I on the other hand had to try to contain myself from laughing hysterically as life sometimes can teach us so much about the importance of listening to one's mother!!!
Well that's another week from us. Hope we didn't make you too jealous. :)
Love from your adventuring friends,
The Ebans.