Thanksgiving in Vermont

After Kade's cross country race in Copetown, we carried on down the highway headed for Vermont.  We often struggle with the decision about whether to make the trek or not. It is a long drive for a short time away. But we LOVE Vermont and we LOVE spending time at Dan and Sarah's and we LOVE seeing our kids connect so easily and so well with their cousins. Yes that is a lot of LOVE and that I guess is why we just bite the bullet and decide to go for it!

Sarah is a wonderful host and she keeps us busy and makes sure that every calorie we gain with her fantastic cooking and baking, we burn off soon after with her hikes up monster mountains!

Kevin taking Konnor for a little jaunt down the driveway.

We arrived Friday night around 8pm and first thing Saturday morning (after breakfast) we headed for Mount Killington. We were originally going to watch the sunrise from the top, but after doing the math, realized we'd have to be up at some unearthly hour like 4am.  So we went for the relaxed approach and headed out when we were ready.  Kevin and Kade stayed behind with Konnor, Josh, and Jacob and the rest of us headed out and up!

This was a tough climb! We went up that ski hill in the picture above. It is steep. 

I definitely needed to stop and take pictures every once in a while.  The rest of the troopers were patient with me :)  

Thankfully we had a few rests as we journeyed to the summit!

This is the method of transportation that everyone else takes up to the top. Smart people!

The views as we clambered up and along were amazing. Colours were definitely at their peak and it is hard to imagine not believing in a Creator!  The heavens really do declare the glory of God!!

Kylie and Josiah made it to the top long before the rest of us and when we all got to the top and went in the restaurant at the top, we were referred to as "those crazy people who CLIMBED up!" The restaurant was amazing with glass walls all the way around. The views were splendid. 

A camera never captures it like it really is, but as usual, being at the top was well worth it.

You could just look out and see mountain range after mountain range filled with so much colour!

Vermont in the Fall is something everyone should experience!

There was about a 10 degrees drop in temperature when we reached the top. There were a lot of winter coats and hats up there.  Being that we just exerted ourselves, we were warm . . .but we cooled down quickly with the temperature drop and the wind.

These two are so fun together. Kylie is the only girl of the 10 kids, but she has no problem with that. She loves to hang out with Josiah and though he definitely doesn't like girls, he does "tolerate" her quite well :)

We did snag a ride down on the gondola which was a very nice way to go down :)

Later in the afternoon we went to one of Sarah's friends house who has all sorts of "boot camp" obstacles set up in her yard. The kids and adults had fun trying out the obstacles. I realized that I actually am very weak and lacking in upper body strength. 

Kylie looking her best!

We attempted family pictures after church on Sunday.

The four wheeler was a major attraction for the boys. Kevin and Kade spent a lot of time bombing around the farm on it.

After lunch on Sunday it was time for mountain number 2.  This was "just a little one". 

Needless to say, resting spots were still very welcome. We strapped Konnor on to Sarah's back in order to slow her down a bit.  It only worked a tiny bit.

Beautiful views again from the top.

Our wondeful hosts.

Konnor enjoying breakfast.

Josiah and Kylie doing some early morning colouring/drawing.

Monday morning we awoke to COLD!!! It was slowly cooling down as the weekend progressed, but Monday morning was downright chilly!  Out came the winter coats! Though it was thanksgiving in Canada, it is not in the US, but Sarah let the kids stay home from school for the morning so the kids could visit for one last morning.

We went out to one of the other farms where they are putting up a new barn.

The kids enjoyed seeing the cows and tractors and life on the farm.

One last ride . . .

Our last stop was visiting Jacob's maple syrup operation. Jacob and a friend are working together to set things up to produce maple syrup in the spring. They have worked hard and invested time and money and it should be very exciting (and busy) for them in the Spring when things start flowing.  They are very enterprising and hard working boys!

Then it was time for good bye.  Never our favorite part at all, but we needed to get on the road and they needed to get to school! 

Thanks again Dan and Sarah for such a wonderful weekend. We are so spoiled when we visit and we really enjoy the adventures you take us on.  Though we wish you lived a lot closer, we are thankful for the opportunities to visit you and enjoy another part of the world and we are thankful for the "one on one" time we get to spend with your family. Thank you!

Cross Country

Kevin joined the cross country team at PRC once again this year. Though he doesn't always enjoy running, he does well at it, and the team he is a part of is filled with great people!

He had two meets - the first at Springbank Park. He had to run 6km this year and finished it in 23:53. This placed him 52nd out of 107.  There are a lot of amazing athletes running in this race and it is fun to watch some of them. They make it look so incredibly easy!

It was a coolish day with bits of rain thrown in too.

Then the team went to Waterloo the following week to participate in the Christian Schools race.  This was a lovely day for running and watching!

This is how PRC warms up for their races. It is a slightly different technique than some of the other schools!

Kevin ran 5km this time and finished in 19:56. This is a much smaller group racing but a much harder course with big long hills. It is tiring just to watch them run up the hills multiple times. He came in 6th in this race and ran very well, passing a lot of people. He felt he started out too quick in his London race, so this time he didn't come out very fast.  We were a little worried for him, as he was near the end of the pack for the first 1/2 km, but slowly and steadily he passed runner after runner as he ran his race. 

Kade also did cross country - all the Grade 7 and 8's must participate.  They practiced for quite a while at school, but the course they run is a really hard course. It is just over 3km, but it is a hilly, tough course. I did it once, but never again. (well, I shouldn't say never, but it would take more than a lot of persuasion to convince me!)

The girls run first, so the boys have lots of time to watch and be nervous!

Like I said . .  it is a hard race. Who says running is fun?!This is Kade on the home stretch - fighting hard through a bad cramp.

He ended up coming in 37th with a time of 15:55.  

Since we were on our way to Vermont and had Jonathan and Kevin with us, we thought it would be a good idea for them to run in the "teacher/parent" run.

This is Kevin's moment of pride - He is the one in red and Jonathan is in the green.  Yep. Kevin beat his ol' Dad.  He told Jonathan that he wouldn't tell anyone if he didn't want him to 😊.

They came in 3rd and 4th and we were proud of them regardless!

Jonathan gained some sympathy for these students who have to run this trail. He is used to trails and used to longer races, but he admitted that it was tough. (if excuses are allowed, he was coming off a week and a half of being sick and therefore hadn't practiced for a while, but he did say it was hard anyway!)

Then! On the road to Vermont.