Quebec Trip Recap

We set out for our annual ski trip last Friday, the 7th, after school let out.  We decided to go back to Mont Tremblant Quebec for a few days of skiing, but did not plan to spend the full week.  We went back to Le Grand Lodge, where several other families that we know were staying.  The last bit of our drive was on country roads and it was dark and icy in some spots.  I happened to be the one driving and I did fine, but it was not my favourite drive.  We got settled into our room and got to bed before 11:00.  

As is our practice, we aim to be on the first shuttle to the hill at 8:00.  We made some breakfast in our room and went down to wait.  Dave sitting in the lobby for a few minutes. 

On the bus.

We got our tickets at the base.  M bravely wore this Maple Leafs jersey on the slopes.  Being in Quebec, and surrounded by Montreal Canadien fans, he got a few comments, but they were all good natured and ultimately we could all agree we were on one team - Team Canada :)

In the Cabriolet on the way up to get the gondola.

It was going to be a chilly day, as usual for Tremblant, the wind was brutal.

We were all quite cold in the morning and decided to eat lunch in the village.  Q was a bit upset by how cold his hands were. After lunch Dave bought him some new mittens, we re-bundled, and were ready for the afternoon.  It was a bit hectic at this time and we didn't get any photos of our lunch.

Luckily the sun came out and that helped with our spirits as well. 

A little après at the summit.

Beer by the fire, yes please!

Q actually fell asleep on the table, he was worn out!  It looks like Dave is sleeping here too but he was just looking down when I took the photo.

Views for days!

It was the best part of the day, but it was time to head back home.

Our room was situated in such a way that it made more sense to walk outside to get to the hot tub and sauna.  It was refreshing. 

We had these nice cozy robes to use.

On Sunday morning was rinse and repeat to get back out for the first shuttle - we were first in line.

We were in a snow globe for most of the morning which made for great conditions, and there was less wind than the day before.

We met up with the rest of our friends that morning, as they had all arrived on Saturday.

Best lunch - chili with all the toppings, a few bites of E's poutine, and a beer.

The sun came out in the afternoon for a group shot.

We had dinner reservations in the village that night, at Le Q.G.

Attempt at a group photo.

We walked around the village after dinner before heading back to the hotel.

Monday was a bit warmer, but sort of grey. There had been some fresh snow overnight.

Mid-morning we found the Refuge du Trappeur, a little cabin that serves food, including hot soup.   It's one of those "if you know, you know" places, and last year we didn't know.  You have to go a bit uphill to get there from a blue run, or go down a black run.

The beef stew was perfection.

We coordinated to meet with most of our group at the same time.

We went over to The Edge which is all black diamond trails, but I was fine there, and did some of the blue glades.  They were so fun. 

We didn't want to leave but had to make sure we got on the hotel shuttle before 5:00.  

Fun in the sauna.

That night we ordered pizza and invited people to our room to watch some of the Go Pro videos we took.

The next day we were checking out of the hotel.  We weren't sure if we would ski that day, and the forecast was calling for rain and a temperature of plus 9 degrees.  I decided not to go skiing so I could pack up the room, but Dave and the boys went out.  I checked the webcam to see if I could see them in the gondola line and I did!  Dave is right in the middle with an orange stripe on his hood, and E is to the right of him beside the kids in the orange jacket.

They did Expo, which is a pretty tough one.  Good work dads!

Meanwhile I was able to have a slow morning, got the car packed, got gas and then headed to the village to meet them for lunch. 

They went up to finish their day, and I did some shopping in the village and had a coffee. 

A successful ski holiday!!

We got on the road by 2:00 and were driving into the city before 9:00.

Our original plan was to come home on Tuesday, work for two days, and then go up to Huntsville for the weekend so Q could participate in a ski race at Hidden Valley.  However we decided to cancel because it was going to be warm and rain all weekend and it didn't seem like it would be great skiing.  It was the right decision, we got a lot done at home instead. 

Prayers on Thursday

It’s time for some prayers, I am always praying but I like to take this opportunity to write them all down here.  

Thanksgiving

That I am Canadian

That I am healthy and active

That we have means to travel

Petitions (for specific people)

Those who are being treated for cancer

Those who have lost a pet

Those who need to worry about their house - repairs, renovations that aren't going to plan, selling in this market

Those who have a tumultuous relationship with their children

Those who are recovering from illness

Those who are waiting for a diagnosis

Mark Carney, our soon to be new Prime Minister

Intercessions (for the wider world)

Ukraine 

United States

Lord, hear our prayer.

Let's Look - Sunday Reset

Linking up today with Shay and Erika for today’s Let’s Look.

There have been a few topics in these link ups over the years where I just don’t have anything to write about, and this is another one.  Am I the only person not resetting on Sunday night? 

There are a few things that we do to keep our lives as organized as possible each day and evening, but it’s not a concentrated effort on Sunday night to “reset”.  

Dishes - we definitely get the dinner dishes cleaned up for the night before, however we don’t always get the dried dishes put away or empty the dishwasher.

School Bags - If I can remember that the kids need something specific for their school bags, I may put it in their bag the night before, but usually it’s in the morning. 

Breakfast/Lunch Prep - Occasionally I will make Overnight oats for our breakfast, but most of the time all of this takes place in the morning.  I used to make lunches the night before but I find that I am often making something for the thermos or a toasted bagel, so it has to be done in the morning. 

Meals for the Week - On the weekend, I will usually put together our meal plan for the week so we have an idea of our dinner plans. And if I am super organized we will have our groceries purchased by Sunday night, but with ski season taking up our whole weekend, groceries may not happen until Monday or Tuesday. 

Clothes - Laundry is usually done throughout the week, but I will remember to set out my workout clothes the night before so I can get up early on Monday to exercise.

So just like when we wrote about How we work on our marriages, if you’re like me just trying to get through each day, without any formal plans, know you’re not alone :)

How We Do Ski Trips

We are at Mont Tremblant, Quebec, this week for March Break.  This is our fourth ski trip to Quebec and I think we are experts enough to allow me to write this post.  You can check out our ski trip recaps Here. When we went to Bromont we rented a house and drove to the ski hills.  At Tremblant, we are at a hotel outside of the Village and take the shuttle to the hill.

We get our skis tuned up.  Dave bought all of the tuning equipment and can do it for us.  It is nice to know that everything is waxed and sharpened ahead of our trip.

We are up early and at the hill for opening time. We find it best to get out there early and get some runs in before it gets too busy.  Then we can break for lunch around 11:00 or so and anything we do after lunch is a bonus. Skiing in Quebec and other regions is a lot different than Southern Ontario where we ski every week.  The runs are longer and more challenging, it is usually way colder.

We eat breakfast in our hotel room. This helps with getting out of the room and onto the hill quickly.  Cereal, yoghurt, English muffins/bagels, egg bites, and coffee.

We bring a backpack to the hill. Since we don’t really have a home base like we do at our regular hill we like to have some water, snacks, and our Go Pro equipment. Sometimes Dave skis with it, sometimes he leaves it in the lodge. 

We bring the Go Pro and take lots of videos of the kids skiing.  The kids can wear it on their helmet or Dave holds it.  It’s always a fun evening activity to go through what we did that day.

We hot tub.  I don’t love a hot tub, but I do love it after a day of skiing. Our hotel this year has a sauna and an outdoor fire pit, it’s all very festive.

We buy our lunch.  We spend all winter bringing our lunch to the ski hill (with a few exceptions) but on these trips we eat at the lodge cafeteria or a restaurant in the Village. Beers at lunch are also not out of the question. 

We (mostly) stick together.  We go on this trip to ski as a family so we don’t do much splitting up.  That means I need to keep up, and the kids sometimes need to do a green/blue as a break.  They can do black glades, but I can ski in an adjacent trail and meet up with them. We are fortunate our kids are good skiers so they can go into the glades on their own and we trust them.

We keep as organized as possible.  With four people’s ski stuff and regular clothes, it can be a little chaotic.  We need to dry out the stuff from the night before, but also be efficient with our morning time so things need to be ready to leave early. Our room isn’t entirely tidy, but it is an organized chaos.

We go out for dinners and eat in. After a full day of skiing, not everyone wants to be dragged to a restaurant for dinner.  It’s sometimes better to put on a movie, make something in our room, or order something, and take it easy. But a night out in a ski town is also fun, so we do a mix of both.

Every day when we are on these ski trips, I start out my day wondering if I will make it, meaning the conditions are tough, or my legs are sore, or it’s too cold, but every time I make it through the full day with whatever my family is skiing that day. 

If you have any questions or want more tips about what we do, let me know!