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Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Vacationing at Lake Louise

Last week my girls had mid-winter break, so we took the opportunity to vacation somewhere we have never been before.

Nope. Not Photoshopped... that's a real place!
If you have never visited Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada and you enjoy being outdoors, it's a Bucket List must. We stayed at a hotel next to Lake Louise and our week was full of snowshoeing, skiing, ice skating on the frozen lake, and hiking with crampons attached to our snow boots (I might be guilty of laughing at the name "crampons").

Lake Louise Frozen Over
As much as I love Seattle and generally like the weather (yes, even the rain... I love the rain), I was hoping to escape to someplace warm for the week. Hawaii is a direct flight from here, but the prices were outrageous this time of year and the hotels were mostly booked already. Instead of heading south for warmer weather, we made the decision to embrace the cold and head to Lake Louise, which is a little less than a 12-hour drive from us.

Despite my best intentions of keeping with my normal training, I fell off the wagon and didn't run at all on vacation. No treadmill. No yoga. Forget the normal workouts. Instead, I spent everyday outside trying new things.

Don't let the confident smiles fool you...
I'm not a real skier, but James isn't too bad at it.
I have only skied once before and the girls were brand new to the slopes, but we managed to have a wonderful time. Skiing has always scared me because I'm a giant chicken who is afraid of heights, speed, and losing control. I dislike being afraid and anxious, so I looked that fear right in the eye and told it to take a hike. And guess what? Not only did I survive and enjoy it, but I learned that I'm not too bad on a set of skis. All that yoga and dance balance work seemed to keep me on my feet and off my rump.

A family of adventure-seekers!
While skiing and other snow sports aren't really a big deal to a lot of people, I have to say that I feel very proud of myself for trying something new. It's easy for me to get lost in my regular routines of life, and stepping out of my comfort zone is always a wonderful reminder that opportunities are endless and worth seeking out.

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