dec 18th
sang picked us up and we all went to the bus station to find out about busses and trains to vancouver and onwards. we then went to the science museum to educate robin, but we all had great fun as it is a very hands on place. jim is made up because on one of the experiments he beat me and robin but i do not think the machine was working properly (otherwise he would not have beat us, he would have lost!!!)

we went up the calgary tower in the afternoon, has fantastic views but should have gone up a bit earlier as the visibility had deterioted during the afternoon. we then went with sang to see madagascar 2 at the cinema. it was really nice of sang to drive us about for the day, it was such a good day. we ate at tony romas which is the same chain as in california...

Dec 19th
up early, did washing andemailing. Woke Jim who phoned david. Then Sang took us to chinatown for dimsum which was lovely though we were not sure about the chicken feet.. afterwards we went to the museum of calgary and were quite impressed by their war history. for me the letters written home by soldiers in ww1 and 2 were really interesting. it was very sad that some of them never came home but it was lovely to hear how the ones that did come home spent the rest of their lives.
the rock/crystal collection was awesome and the native indian exhibition good but they had filled one room with the marilyn munroe collection and i personally thought 'what a load of rubbish'. should have used that room for something else. went out in the evening with sang again, great company good food, we rolled home stuffed and content.

Dec 20th

Went to the greyhound bus station, bought tickets to banff and queued up. sang had collected us from our hotel and stayed with us until bus came. unfortunately when the bus did come, late we were taken out of the queue (we had been near the front) and told to wait. Then the bus went without us. we were all quite upset but we got our money back and sang drove us to banfff, checked us into our hotel and then took us to the supermarket so wecould fill our fridge then dropped us back at our hotel. sang was fantastic he has given us such a good time in his city and nothing has been too much trouble.
Our hotel is luxury. robin has his own room and we have a kitchen. was in swimming with robin when jim got a text to say the weddding party had landed so we got dressed and went to wait in lobby. It was lovely to see everyone after soo long. Sooooooo exciting. Had bit of a drink in *peppers* while they ordered food. great to chat in english and have englidh dpokrn all around . did not realise had missed english so much. feel really relaxed. so good to see them all.

Dec 21st
Noisy breakfast, absoutely great, everyone talking laughing and catching up, then off to the ski hire shop!!!!! Did 1/2 days skiing at sunshine, lovely to be on slopes again but very very cold. Hot tub great in the evening!!!

Dec 22nd
full day on slopes, so good to be with everyone again.

Dec 23rd
breakfast buffet with everyone, then into car to lake louise, checked into fairmont and dressed for wedding. ty and david looked stunning and the venue and views out of the picture windows were unbelievabely fantastic. everything went brilliantly and then they were husband and wife. they were both so happy and it was lovely to share that happiness with them. dinner was great sand then the announcement that they are expecting, it was so lovely and everyone is so happy for them, it was very emotional. they are going to be three, one small but very very happy family.
A wedding and a baby, how great does it get,how great life is.
we all enjoyed the enterainment, the band was good and trevor brilliant!!!! we danced and sang and talked and had a great time until late when i had to put robin to sleep but jim stayed till the end and had a fantastiv time.
really brilliant day

24th dec
up late as everyone was a bit hung over...had breakfast with yvonne and family then vacated rooms and gathered in lobby. santa came by the treee and gave presents to the kids and they also had carollers which was lovely. then we went back to banff and toboggening, fun with ellie and lou. Ate at yvonnes met up with others in ty and davids room. had lovelyh evening and to bed early so santa could visit.

Dec 25th
++Went skiing at sunshine. its getting warmer and skiing was great and its nice seeing everyone in between the skiing. I feel homesick and tearful as i am missing the girls soooo much. Also felt a bit bad cause i had told robin that we would be getting a computer for xmas, a family gift that was being delivered. i should have bought one in calgary but didnot know it was not arriving till i got to banff. robin was great about it really fantastic and he loved his ds game and his books but i felt bad. what a good kid i have all he got from santa was one game two books and some pokeman cards and he was happy.
Had a lovely xmas dinner with everyone and had a bit too much to drink afterwards. It was great just chatting to david and chris and jim. missed everyone else, thought they would join us as they finished dinner but i think everyone was tired. robin played on his game and was really good. I walked robin home, just the two of us and he shed a tear, and i had a lovely cuddle. \he is such a good boy we are so lucky to have such a great kid.

Dec 26th
Had to say goodbuy to Yvonne, trevor, louise and ellie today. Will miss them loads. \its a bit of shame for us they had to go early. it would have beenlovely to have had the new year with them too. went to norquey to ski but it was very busy and the skiing. wasnt very good and very very icy. we are all going to lake louise tomorrow, cannot wait. came back from norquay early and went in hot tub then just chilled and watched tv etc. lovely day