Anastasia Chomlack's Blog

There are many signs in Whistler to tell us Spring is near… the meting snow (and all the surprises found underneath:)), the street sweepers, the goggle tans, the melting lakes, the puppies, easter eggs in the snow, and snowboarders biking to the mountain…. in full snowboard gear!

Spring for me is an exciting time… I love winter and snow… HOWEVER  the call of the lakes, biking, slurpees, sun, parks, skateparks… it’s all calling my name!!

As spring is here… that also means that this is my last blog post for Whistler Blackcomb…. it has been so fun to document my weeks surviving and celebrating the snow with my boys!

If you would like to stay in touch, or continue to follow my journey as a Whistler mom…. you can find me here: MY BLOG, MY PHOTO WEBSITE

XOXO

It’s the Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival… WOOT WOOT!

Whistler is amazing and alive right now… http://www.wssf.com/

There is so much going on, so much amazing music to listen to… and so many shows to see!

You must experience this Festival!

As a mom it is amazing with kids… they love to walk through the village. They love to collect all the samples… gum, lollipops, axe body care, and chocolate milk! We try our hardest to stay away from the condoms and lately have been trying to deter them from the “Axe” as really… little boys should not smell like men! LOL

The shows at night are too late for little kids…. but there is still lots of other things that they will enjoy. A few of our favorites and Must Sees:

BIG AIR

DOGFEST

FREEZE DANCE

For Adults this is a absolute MUST!

PRO PHOTO SHOWDOWN

Enjoy it and hope to see you around town this weekend! XO

We were in the city the other day and there was no snow! Not only no snow but also…. people on bikes…

So I should not have been surprised when we came home and the boys started talking bikes…

It is hard for me to think about summery activities when there is still a lot of snow all around us…. but the truth of it is…

It’s Spring!

and… slowly but surely the snow is melting.

And so… it was with great excitement that my boys brought their bikes out when they were recently invited to go play with friends at the AIRDOME!

You need to check this out… so fun…

I am sure we are about to frequent it more often as we move towards summer!

xo

My boys are getting to that magic age where the possibility of them going up with friends by themselves is getting closer to our reality.

And I need to ask myself what have I taught them… what am I instilling…. and how do I feel about this?

A great starting point for teaching mountain safety is here.

A few things I have been trying to drive into my boys brains are:

1. Know how to spot moutain personel… ie: green jacket- ski instructor, red jacket- ski patrol, or yellow jacket- mountain host

sometimes while we are up with friends we play “i spy” with the jackets- and the winner gets a special treat at lunch!

2. Have a meeting spot on each mountain (ours is the furry bear in the roundhouse on Whistler and the Peak to Peak on Blackcomb)

3. Being able to read/ and acknowledge the mountain signs- especially OUT OF BOUNDS!

Honestly… I am not sure I will ever be able to let my kids on the mountain by themselves… but in the same breathe I know that when they are 40 years old… They will really not want to ride with me anymore!!! Gotta let go at some point… at least I know they will be safe.

xo

this is my little ripper on skiis… he is in his 4th year and is amazing…

but this year he wanted to learn how to snowboard… a few days on the magic chair and we were both feeling confident to head to the top…

but when you are 6 and you fall a lot… on your stomach and head and butt… you then decide maybe you should just lie down and cry in the snow.

and when you are a mom… tired from the week… you sometimes think that maybe lying down in the snow next to your kid and having a few tears yourself is maybe a good idea:)

and so we did… we had our little breakdown… feeling a little overwhelmed about how we were going to make it to the bottom of the massive mountain…

and then… it came to me…

SKITTLES…

they are always the answer for us…

so i looked at my little ripper and promised skittles… gave a little coaching about toe side balance and we were off…

we made it to the rendevous… bought our colored friends….

and you know what?! we went for another couple runs!

by the time we made it to the bottom of the hill… my skier… was a snowboarder:)

xo

One of my most favorite things about living in Whistler is the amount of time we get with our boys… just being outside.

Here are just a couple photos snapped after lunch at Dusty’s and before a dad and son date to take on Lower Insanity….

Don’t forget that this month is Whistler Family Month at Whistler Blackcomb!!

i love this photos of J with the shark airhole!

I wanted to do a quick blog post to you to tell you about the upcoming TWESTIVAL here in Whistler!!

Thursday 24 March 2011, 7pm

Location at the Whistler Brewing Company

http://www.whistler.twestival.com/

tickets are $10.00 and all proceeds are going to ZERO CEILING

SO…. if you TWEET…. then come and see us, support a great cause and have a lot of fun….

and introduce yourself… I would love to meet you!

TWITTER: @anastasiaphotog

oh my goodness…. SO FUN!

now… let’s get real the temperatures were not ideal! -17 and -21

but we made it work!! we chose to be positive and had fun!

The Pan Pacific was perfect for a family hotel. The rooms are huge, and an absolute must for me is the double room so that after the kids go to bed you can still stay up and watch movies or spend time together. We had a queen size bed in one room and then a kitchenette and living room with a pull out couch in the other room! The staff is super friendly, everything is clean and the location is ideal. And breakfast is yummy, and complimentary…. they have fruit loops which is like Christmas for my kids!

It was cold and so we watched a few movies. Again the Pan Pacific is perfect because it is right in the village. We stocked up on treats at the Grocery Store just a couple minutes walk away!

My husband and I also stocked up on books from Armchair books to help us get through some of the “kid” movies! LOL

We then ate. And ate. And ate more… because we were on holiday and because Whistler has yummy restaurants!

In 2 days we hit:

The Dubh Linn Gate

21 Steps

Nochi Restaurant

Earls

The Mix- Ric’s Grill

For activity we hit the amazing swimming pool at the Pan Pacific… the wind was so crazy that our hair would freeze… that entertained us for way to long to mention!

And we headed out to go Ziptrek Ecotours. We bundled up…. and had so much fun.

My youngest is 6 and I was a little worried about him being nervous about the heights but the staff was so amazing and friendly and great with kids that we had nothing to worry about. He loved it! We all learned a lot about sustainability, and the forests we are surrounded by, the animals that live here… it was amazing. This company is so committed to the community it was hard to leave feeling like we did something good for the world by just having fun!

All in all a wonderful “staycation” …. already planning the next one! There will always be something new and exciting in Whistler! xo

We are home from our STAYCATION….

and still talking about how fun it was! Even in FREEZING weather… wondering around the village, going ziptreking, eating A LOT… movies in the Pan Pacific hotel…. the hot tub…. spending time as a family, meeting up with friends… it was great!

Whistler is an incredible place to rest, and play…. to explore and to learn…

We would for sure plan another “staycation” in whistler….

I WILL POST ALL THE DETAILS AND PHOTOS OF OUR TIME TOMORROW…..

but for those of you traveling from other places to here…. I wanted to quickly post this:

72 hour sale…. Don’t miss this chance to save BIG on your stay with our participating partners in Whistler for March and April 2011.

Enjoy planning your dream vacation!

xo

just a couple quick snapshots from last week!

you would be crazy to not be skiing this weekend…. it is absolutely stunning out and everyone is uttering that perfect word in the mountains… “powder”

but i get it… after a couple days of mountain time… your legs are sore… and you need a break…

(please tell me it is not just me:))

also… if you are surrounded by little ones… they too need a break!

how about a little culture?

warm up with a warm drink and a walk through some of our amazing art galleries.

this is one of my kids favorite things to do… they always think it will be boring but once we start they love looking at the art/ sculptures/ photos… they ask a million questions and really get to experience the artwork. i also notice that they chat about it for days after… the creative resonates in them!

here are a list of galleries:

http://www.markrichardsgallery.com/

http://www.plazagalleries.com/

http://www.blacktusk.ca/

http://www.pathgallery.com/

http://www.whistlerart.com/

http://www.mountaingalleries.com

and my boys favorites:

http://www.haydenbeckgallery.com/

http://www.blakejorgenson.com/

http://www.adelecampbell.com/

and a special this weekend is at the Adele Campbell Fine Art Gallery…. an in house artist: