hockey games + birthdays

This past weekend, we went to stay with the Cleghorn-Moores in Villars-sur-Ollon where they are taking a "Year off the Back".  Click here to see their blog - http://ayearofftheback.ca/  They very kindly offered to put us up in their chalet so that we could spend the weekend together without having to stay in a hotel or holiday apartment.  Their kids were also on school holiday and we were all looking for something to do.

There is something so lovely about spending time with another Canadian family while living "away".  There is a built-in comfort level, a feeling of familiarity, even if you don't see them very often at home.  Greg, Andy et al were fantastic hosts and we spent the weekend bowling, biking and scootering at the Gryons park, eating, hanging out + the highlight - watching the Villars Hockey Club smoke the team from Bulle-La Gruyeres.  The Villars HC's home ice is an open-air pavilion of sorts.  There is a roof, but no real walls to speak of.  It's indoors, but outdoors and it is very cool.

Our only real tactical error all weekend can be chalked up to a rookie mistake.  On Saturday night, before the game, we went to Villars' take on a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  At The Gringo, you can have anything from fajitas to hamburgers to cheese fondue (of course).  The food was great, but when we arrived at the game, we discovered that there is a restaurant/bar along the top of one side of the "arena".  Being Canadian hockey fans, we re-named it the Hot Stove.  Here you can dine on cheese fondue and drink till your hearts' content, all while staying warm and watching the game.  Despite our being bundled in long underwear, toques, mitts and down jackets, we were chilly outdoors and were frequent visitors to the Hot Stove in search of hot chocolates and other libations.  After all, even if you're freezing in an outdoor arena in the mountains on a cold late October night, what's a hockey game without a few beers?
 

dinner at the Gringo

Yesterday was Jeff's 46th birthday.  Wow!  That means that I'm going to be 43 soon.  Time is literally flying by and birthdays kind of force us to pause and take stock, if even for a moment.  How did we get here?  It really doesn't seem that long ago that we met in a northern Ontario tree planting camp.  Our wedding was merely a few years back.  Kids?  They just arrived on the scene.  Now, here we are living in Switzerland, about to celebrate our 14th anniversary.  We are lucky enough to be spending many of our days hiking and biking and soon, skiing.  We are learning some languages, meeting new people and experiencing a new kind of life, different than the one we know.  We are spending lots of time together, as a family.  This is a gift.  We are learning together how to enjoy the glorious moments and how to help each other through the tougher times.  It's all good and Jeff and I, in particular, feel incredibly grateful and blessed.  Happy days....