Trains 2025-26

Trip to North Dakota, travel hockey, and general over-scheduling could have cancelled trains ... but we powered through. 

Day 4 of setup

Julia helps with track cleaning (RJ did a lot of the wiring this year)

Doug's grandmother's train was rolling this year

Ceramic village, street closures and backup

Whitetail mountain took on new life this year! Big parking nightmare.

Arial view

Skating with Amelia

Julia wanted to go skating ... so we picked Saturday at 2pm on a holiday weekend. Yes ... there were a few people there.

Julia and Amelia before skating

End of session - Julia is the one pointing in the middle with pink helmet. 

Doug managed to get some skating in as well. Sadly he was the the 'self-declared' best skater on the ice.

Hockey week in Canada

Sara and RJ headed to Niagara Falls for a weekend hockey tournament. Julia and Doug stayed home and tried to save money by eating stir-fry and leftovers.

All aboard the UA puddle-hopper

Nice ... room overlooked Niagara Falls

Opening Ceremonies with pin swap

Opening ceremonies were long but kids got to swap pins with other teams. 

Weather was warmer than it looked!

Crossing back-and-forth between countries (did not require the notarized form)

RJ and Hudson at the Sabers game on the last night

Hockey Results:

Well ... 0-4 sounds pretty bad ... but each game was a 1-2 goal affair so there were not any blowouts. RJ had a goal and got to play center because some folks didn't make the trip.

Julia and Doug got some quality time with Legos and some household stuff

New Year at Whitetail

Fireworks at 10pm and uncrowded slopes made Whitetail a good way to ring in the new year. Kids friends were all there to add to the fun.

9:30am ... where is everybody?

Getting the new year off to a good start!

Sara kept the streak of one of the family being sick on New Year's Eve alive. She got a doozey of a sinus infection.