You see that spec.......

Yeah that spec waaaay off in the distance? Thats Neil. He's snowkiting ( zipping around on a snowboard propelled by the force of the wind against his giant 12 metre kite). I would've liked to get a closer picture but I was on a frozen lake in temperatures of minus a billion (without factoring in the windchill) trying to amuse a 3 and 5 year old for the about 3 hours. They refused to move closer. 

I've zoomed in on this one for you as much as I can but it's not much better really. You'll pretty much just have to take my word for it.....that's Neil and he's snowkiting.

While he was off doing that, we just hung around on the frozen lake. It was weird actually, even though it was flippin freezing, at one point I felt as if I was lazing on a beach. I was sitting there taking in the scenery and trying to keep my eyes on Neil over in the distance while the kids played in the snow as if it was the sand. It just reminded me of similar days in Tofino without quite so many layers :) Weird sensation but quite nice all the same. 

We cleared patches of snow to get a better look at the ice.

Then we tried to dance on it as if we were figure skaters.

Then we cleared even bigger patches so we could check out the cool patterns and see if we could see any thing stuck in the ice like fish or  mermaids.

We got a bit cold so we cracked open the thermos for a hot drink.

We were still getting colder, especially Bel, she's got very little meat on her you see, so I put her in Neil's kite bag to warm up.

She liked it in there and asked me to zip it up.

So I did.  

She was happy for a while but them she started to cry so I sent Seb off across the frozen wasteland towards Daddy with a walkie talkie and the giant (for him) bag over his shoulders while I picked up Isobel and hiked back to the truck with her crying all the way. I didn't have my snowshoes and believe me it's hard work to walk through thick snow carrying a three year old in distress. As we passed the trees we saw the same Mamma and baby moose from the previous time. I guess this is their favorite spot too. I checked back over my shoulder a couple of times just to make sure Seb was headed in the right direction. He made it to Daddy but apparently had a hissy fit on arrival so Neil's hike to the car was no better than mine in the end. Once the kids were strapped into their car seats all warmed up and happy (thank goodness for the in-car DVD! It can change a situation from chaos to calm in no time! ) Neil and I got to sit and enjoy a hot drink on a snow bank out of the wind without any crying or shouting in the background and he told me all about the fun he'd just had with his kite :) 

Sometimes it's hard work to get out and do things with little kids but in my opinion it's always better to give it a try than not to bother at all. We were all ok in the end..........

.....except for Neil who suffered frost nip in a few fingers ( silly boy was so excited about kiting, he forgot to put his gloves on until his hands went numb). Not to worry, it's been a week now and he's got the feeling back in all but one finger tip!

 If you ask him, he'll tell you it was worth it. 

About the big trip....

 We tent camped for 12 nights, stayed in a beeeautiful rented house in Tofino for 3 nights and hoteled it for the last two nights in Banff mostly because our camping stuff was by this stage so disorganized we couldn't face the thought of trying to sort through the mess crammed into every available nook of the truck to find what we needed to camp for just two nights. We camped through southern BC and Vancouver Island including Clearwater, Goldstream Provincial Park, Bamberton Provincial Park, Nitnat Lake Forest, Sproat Lake Provincial Park, Mussel Beach and Kekuli Bay. We also spent time visiting the city of Victoria, the lovely Cowichan Valley, Port Alberni, Ucluelet, Revelstoke, Merrit and Tofino of course. In Tofino we met up with Neil's Mum, Dad, Aunt and Uncle and other than one more night back at Nitnat, convoyed with them for the rest of the trip. Most of the campsites we stayed at were BC provincial parks and were really lovely. Plenty of space and tons of trees for privacy along with nicely looked after facilities. Goldstream Park had hot showers and proper toilets and I would highly recommend it for camping with young children, a beautiful park full of tall trees and only 20 minutes from the centre of Victoria. A highlight of our stay there was seeing Neil emerging from the tent all dressed up in his business suit ready for his interview, I've never seen someone look so out of place in a forest before :)  Bamberton was beautiful too, our camp was right by a pretty beach and surrounded by Arbutus trees, common on the Island and coastal southern BC, they have reddish curvy trunks and really pealy bark which makes them look a little tropical. Nitnat lake was pretty special, it's remote, like really remote. To get there you have to drive to the middle of nowhere, then drive for a good couple of hours more down some hairy logging roads. The dust cloud we created was pretty horrendous and little did we know was seeping through the gaps of our trailer and into every bag of stuff we carried. Our clothes, food and even toothbrushes were literally caked in brown dust upon arrival at the lake. Nice. The campsite at Nitnat is run buy the local First Nations on behalf of the BC Forest service and facilities are limited. There are a couple of seriously stinky pit toilets and that's about it. There was no water so we had to haul in whatever we needed. The lake at Nitnat and the surrounding forest is stunning. Neil spent the day Kitesurfing (Nitnat is a kitesurfing mecca with some of the most consistent winds in North America) and the kiddies and I hung out on the beach climbing giant tree trunks and picking wild salmonberries. We were warned to be watchful for bears and other big critters such as wolves and cougars, all common in the area so we kept the kiddies close at all times. Thankfully the only bear I saw was from the safety of the  truck although Neil did spot one on the shore while he was kitesurfing, apparently it was standing on it's hind legs watching him with great interest. There were so many amazing parts of our trip it's hard to choose my best bits, obviously seeing Grandma and spending time with family was lovely especailly as we got to share with them the wonders of Tofino. For Neil the highlight was without a doubt Kitesurfing at Nitnat. For me I loved the Cowichan Valley. The rolling hills of forest and farmland, pretty lakes and seaside towns. It's a foodie paradise with small organic farms tucked in amoungst vinyards and orchards. My favorite outing was a sunday evening spent at Merridale Cider House sitting on their orchard terrace with a band playing, sipping cider and eating pizza fresh out of the wood oven. Hehe, it really was as good as it sounds! More amazing times were had at the Ucluelet Aquarium ( I LOVE that place), magical Mussel Beach and strolling around beautiful Banff with the family. 

I would love to post every single photo for you to see  everything full size and beautiful but it'd take forever and your finger might get sore from scrolling down so here's a slideshow for you instead......