Wonderful Wintry Weekend

Last weekend we went to our church's Winter Retreat. Dave and I were both happy to get a few unexpected hours off on Friday afternoon so we could drive up while the weather was nice. Friday night, we got a huge dump of snow so Saturday was a winter paradise!

Rachel was excited it was "packing snow" and she could make snowballs!

 

Dave and I went for a meandering walk in the forest and it was absolutely lovely!

The retreat happened at a camp a few hours north of us, near one of the Great Lakes. This is not the Great Lake (we never found a time to walk there) but it is a lake at the camp.

The kids were taking full advantage of the packing snow and made snow forts...

 

...snowpeople (one of which was HUGE!)...

...and a creative group even made a snow truck, complete with windshield wipers and a hitch! Sam was a part of this group.

Such a fun morning of everyone enjoying the snow in their own ways.

In the afternoon, some of the dads organized a snow football game! One of the things I love about our church retreat is that the kids spend a lot of time with their friends and other grown ups doing their own things.

The outdoor pizza over got fired up and we made beavertails for an afternoon snack.

Mine had butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon and was absolutely delicious!

I did get to enjoy some cross country skiing as a friend loaned me her boots, skis, and poles, so I could ski for the first time since high school. I went with two friends for over an hour and we had a really good time! And boy, could I feel my legs and arms for the next three days! Hahaha!

 

Sadly, I had a headache for most of Saturday so didn't enjoy hanging out and playing games as much as I would have otherwise. I went to bed early on Saturday so I didn't even get to experience the sauna -- although Rachel went with a few friends that night.

 

Our drive home on Sunday was scary as there were whiteouts and we ended up driving in a caravan with three other families. I was glad that we were all looking out for each other and everyone made it home safely, despite the whiteouts and some road closures.

I don't know if you can read the sign in the above picture but it says, "Sorry, there is not an app for shovelling snow. Enjoy living in Canada." While there are downsides to winter (shovelling, cold, whiteouts, icy sidewalks, etc), there are definitely benefits and our fun weekend of Winter Retreat is definitely one of them!