Cousin time!

Assembled before a few early Christmas presents

Thanks Auntie!

 I'm dreaming of a gray Christmas.

Skating with the S'tooners

Uncle John made his annual ice rink.  Since it was Saskatoon, not Sherbrooke, the neighbours didn't complain.  In fact, they loaned skates of all sizes so that visiting cousins could skate.  Nice job John! 

 I think Christmas vacation is tiring for everyone.

Capturing it for posterity.

A Winter Wonderland

When we arrived in Regina there was ice fog, somehing that usually only happens when it's -25.  This time, however, it was barely below 0.  Every tree in the province was beautifully frosted.

We stopped at Girvin, about halfway to Saskatoon to take a couple of pictures.

 I tried to coach Emma on how to frame the photo.

Saskatchewan Ho!

My little hockey fans settled right into air travel like they'd been doing it their whole lives.  Even after a long day of school our flight to Saskatchewan was a breeze.

We had a stop in Toronto with just enough time for a smoked meat sandwich.  Santa and Mrs. Claus had parked the reindeer and also had a hankering for a pre-Christmas snack.

Finally in Saskatchewan with Grandpa and Grandma!  I admit, we were all pooped.

The Wall

Oscar played in a hockey tournament today and did me proud again.  Emmanuelle and I, along with the rest of the Lynx supporters, were cheering him on during an 8-1 rout of the host team Napierville.
He had a couple of notable moments during the game.  First, he showed his usual defensive prowess. In the video, you can see Oscar at the far end of the blue line.  He keeps the puck in at least three times.  In fact, at ~30 seconds in, you can hear one of the other dads comment "C'est un mur!" ("He's a wall!").  The puck only leaves their zone when the other team heads up the near side of the ice - Oscar can't get over in time to cut off the play.

In the second video, Oscar (the one with the stickers on his helmet) comes over from the far side of the ice to carry a loose puck out of the zone.  What I'm most proud of is that he actually skated it out, which is a huge improvement over just a couple of weeks ago when he would have just shot it blindly.  A few seconds later he passes to his teammate, Yan, who scores.