So apparently we are supposed to be keeping this thing updated. Even with the best of intentions, we have been remiss and well... its now February. So in one (hopefully not too long) post, I will try and squeeze everything in.
Firstly, Europe was amazing. Check out the photos on Facebook to see where we went. From Bristol to Bath, Paris, London, Oxford and all the other random places in between we had a blast. The trip culminated in James planning a very romantic night in London - a suite at The Savoy, dinner at the Royal Opera House and a performance of Swan Lake. Needless to say we cant wait to go back.
When we got home, it was straight back to work for James. There was spraying and haying to be done
which the rainy July weather had put on hold. I was looking after Cody & Kristine's kids for a few weeks which was a lot of fun. Less than a month later we were heading down to Lake Koocanusa in Montana for a few days on the lake with Cody, Kristine & kids. Long days that didn't get dark till well after 10, spent sun baking and jet skiing and fishing on the lake.
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| On the Lake |
September quickly came around meaning my birthday was here. September is Harvest time in Canada so we had dinner and cake in the field. James sent me flowers at work and bought be a beautiful Jewelery box. This was also when I started my new job - Accounts Analyst at Bank West in High River. It is a fantastic job and I absolutely love working there.
October came and Harvest was well over halfway done. The cooler weather was arriving along with the beautiful fall colours. James and I celebrated our first anniversary towards the end of the month with a beautiful dinner and stay in Calgary. (if you can't tell by now - James spoils me A LOT) We also saw our first Halloween, with all the cute little kids coming trick or treating. I felt sorry for their parents when I saw the size of some of their hauls - entire pillowcases full! One of our friends told us about one kid that came to his house. He commented to the kid about the amount of candy he had to which the kid replied - 'this is nothing, we haven't even hit up the good houses yet'.
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| Harvest |
November and December were quieter months for James, with mostly grain hauling and shop work. Winter had arrived and we had seen our first snowfall on October 31. It snowed on and off throughout November which meant that we had to get all the winter necessities including emergency kits, winter tires, hand warmers and thermals. Driving in the snow is something very interesting and I now understand why everyone drives so slow after doing a rather spectacular spinout on my way to work. James uses the loss of traction to his advantage to turn around in the mornings. We also celebrated another milestone with James having his 25th birthday on the 12th of December. We had a nice dinner and John Deere cake for him on the weekend. Not to be outdone, I got him a Marlin 30-30 rifle which he was very happy with.
December came around far quicker than we expected and all of a sudden, James parents Richard and Suzie, were on their way for Christmas. It had been consistently snowing throughout December, so there was a beautiful white covering all over High River until about a week before they got here when the cold weather decided to take a break. The whole time Richard and Suzie were here it didn't get below -15, even in the mountains. That is t-shirt weather to us but I suppose that is as cold as many Australians would like.
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| James and I at the Ice Bar having Hot Chocolate |
We finished work on the 23rd and drove up to Lake Louise on the 24th where we stayed for three nights at the Chateau Lake Louise. It was absolutely amazing, with an ice castle on the lake, ice skating, a frozen outdoor bar, sleigh rides, frozen waterfall and a stunning hotel. True to form, James spoiled me again, getting me a Macbook Air, a Fortnum and Mason tea set and a set of pearl earrings. And to top everything off it was snowing on Christmas! The hotel was done up in a spectacular fashion and we had a wonderful Christmas dinner. After that, it was on to Banff for 2 nights, including a day of skiing at Norquay.
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| On the Staten Island ferry |
On the 29th we headed back to High River for one night before we flew out to New York the following morning. We spent 7 nights in the city that never sleeps and had a fantastic time. We stayed in an apartment two blocks from times square which is like dusk 24 hours a day. And it is true that everything is open all the time - we were wandering around till 4 in the morning and all the shops, bars and restaurants were open and full. Throughout the week we went to Saks, Bergdorfs, Macys, Bloomingdales, Tiffanys, the Empire State, Statue of Liberty, World Trade Center Memorial, Central Park, The Met Museum, Wall Street as well as wandering all over the UES. I had my hair done at Bergdorfs and we had dinner at the Metropolitan club on 5th Avenue overlooking central park.We spent New Years at The Australian which was full of English people.
James parents went back to Australia on the 9th and we were back at work that day. January flew by and we only had one week of -40 which was PAINFUL. The weather forecast is predicting lows of about -5 for the next two weeks so fingers crossed no more -40!
Well thats all for now - we will try and not cram so much into the next post. Hope everyone is great - we miss you all!!!
James & Jess
