"The Christmas Letter" 2011

Well here it is that time of year again already.  We once again decided to post up our Christmas letter, rather than sending out all those pieces of paper to some who might not be interested!  But, you are here, so read on...
2011 has been another busy year - so much so that apparently there's really not time to keep up with this blog... 
So what have we all been up to?


Matt has continued enjoying his work with Shaw, and got a new position this fall which he has been enjoying a lot.  He is now a network architect.  He likes the position and his new team a lot.  An added bonus is that he is transferred to the NE offices, which means he no longer has to drive or carpool downtown - making his day a lot less stressful.  His hours are more flexible too which will be helpful to our family life...  Matt coached the U8 girls soccer team again this spring which was nice for him and Jaina.  He went to lots of Stampeders football games this year, having bought seasons tickets at a good deal with guys from work.  He still enjoys going to the Flames games, although due to time commitments etc he and our brother-in-law Chris sold off quite a few of their tickets this year.  He kept his favourites though and looks forward to those games. He's been keeping busy with a few projects around the home and yard too, finishing off the final touches (such as stairs) to our deck.  We enjoyed using it this summer!
  
I have been busy at home and with Girl Guides.  I have been a Brownie leader for the past year and a half and planning meetings, activities, and camps certainly keeps me busy!  But Jaina is still enjoying it and so am I. I enjoy working with the girls and also have become good friends with the other ladies who are leaders in our group.  I've also enjoyed volunteering my time in the preschool and Grade 2 classes last year, and now the kindergarten and Grade 3 classes this year.  I've been doing stamping and card-making a little bit, and still intend to get to those digital scrapbooks sometime!  I also started curling on a friend's team in a ladies league and that has been a lot of fun.  Currently I am looking into going back to work part time in the new year, I'm in the process of applying to the substitute teacher list.  Matt's flexibility at work would allow him to do kindergarten drop off and pick up, while working in between, so we decided that I could try to get on to sub a few mornings a week this year.  Hopefully that will all work out in the new year.  


Jaina's now in Grade 3 and is still enjoying school and doing well.  She's also busy with Brownies, gymnastics, and occasionally a round of swim lessons.  She loves to read and is becoming a real little bookworm.  This summer she really enjoyed spending a week on her own with Grandma and Papa in Lethbridge.  


Lewis started kindergarten and is having lots of fun.  He's trying french immersion also and has really picked up on it, not surprising to those who know how much he likes to talk!  He started Beavers (Scouts) this year, and has lots of fun at his weekly meetings and has already been to a camp along with Dad.  He's also been taking gymnastics which he still really enjoys.  


With our kids in Brownies, Beavers, gymnastics, and school this year our house felt virtually like a little shop for a while in the fall - thanks to all those who bought cookies, popcorn, coupon books, chocolates, and Christmas wrap to support all these organizations!  


Besides sales and marketing (ha ha), what else have we been up to the past year?


We had a fun-filled summer, camping with some friends and also family.  It was the first year we've really gotten out and camped with the kids, and we had a lot of fun.  We enjoyed a camping trip to Mount Kidd in the Kananaskis with some good friends.  In August we made a trip out to the Okanagan to camp and visit cousins that we really enjoy spending time with.  The trip was a lot of fun as the campground ended up being very nice (a place we'll visit again!), we even ended up with a campsite that had a trail down to our own little private beach area, and the cousins ended up being able to camp out a few nights along with us.  This summer we also enjoyed some visits to Lethbridge to see Matt's parents, and to Edmonton to meet our new niece Charlotte who was born in July.  


May was also a busy month for us and our Relay for Life team.  We again had a very successful garage sale, thanks to the contributions from many friends and neighbours and help from the team.  Thanks to that and the fundraising events of other family team members in Taber, our team Bev's Babes was the top fundraising team at the Taber Relay for Life this year, raising over $15 000 for the Canadian Cancer Society.  HUGE thanks to our team members, and everyone who donated funds/items/time to help us reach that goal!  Our team is already signed up for the 2012 Relay, and we plan to do yet another garage sale in the spring.  

Fall has been busy as usual with almost everyone in our house having birthdays (except Michelle), Thanksgiving, Halloween, and the start up of activities.  We've been to Brownie and Beaver camps in October.  My sister and I also enjoyed a nice girls' getaway weekend with our Aunt to shop in Great Falls last month.  Now we are fully into all the preparation and excitement of the Christmas season.  


We hope this past year has been filled with love, happiness, and good memories for all of you, our wonderful family and friends.  We are glad to have seen those of you that we did, and value keeping in touch with those of you who we may not have seen in the past year.  We love hearing from you whether through phone calls, emails, or on Facebook or Twitter.   


We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, safe and happy holidays, and all the best for 2012.  


Love,
Michelle, Matt, Jaina and Lewis

Spring Has..... "Sprung"?

We are all anxiously waiting for Spring
to truly begin here.  But for the past month
or so, we've tried to make the best of the
weather, at least it has been warm enough
to play in all the snow and not -20. 
All  of the above pictures were taken over
the past 3 weeks, on 3 different April
"Spring" days. 

Those Winter Days

So I've again resolved to keep up more with the blog.  But it always falls off to other more immediate priorities.  Anyways, thought to post a short blog about how we've been spending these cold, wintery days since Christmas.  The kids have spent much of the really cold days we've had so many of in Jan and Feb playing indoors.  The current favourites are lego, playdough, trains and "school".  We've also been out sledding and skating a bit.  What else have we been up to?  


Attending the outdoor WHL game on Family Day:  

Building colourful snow forts and snowmen:  

Excavating t-rex bones (or at least pretending to!)

Doing I'm not sure what?!?:

2010 Highlights

2010 Our Year in Photos

"The Christmas Letter"

Well, 2010 has flown by, with many activities, travels, and the kids continuing to change faster than we can believe!  Matt is still working for Shaw and enjoying some of the challenges of his position.  I am still wearing many hats here at home, and wondering how in a couple more years work will fit into my life!  Fortunately for now I am still able to be home with the kids.  Jaina is now in Grade 2 and Lewis started preschool this year. Some of the highlights from our 2010 include:

February:  Matt's parents took us and his brother's family for a family trip to the Mayan Riveria, Mexico.  We enjoyed some beach time and some good fun family times together.  Our kids are really enjoying all their cousins now that they are all getting a bit older, they have so much fun together!

March:  We celebrated our nephew Tim's first birthday!

April:  We enjoyed spending Easter weekend with family in Lethbridge.

May:  A very busy month!  Jaina finished Sparks and advanced to Brownies.  We attended Spark camp and also a rally downtown celebrating 100 years of Girl Guides in Canada.  Our Relay for Life team hosted a very successful garage sale to raise money for the Cancer Society, and we participated in the Taber Relay for Life again this year, in memory of my mom  (and, thanks to an end of May blizzard, got to do the relay indoors this year!!).

June:  We celebrated our neice Lucia's first birthday.  More fun with cute little ones!  Both kids also played soccer this spring, Lewis enjoyed it a lot and made a friend who he still plays with.  Matt coached Jaina's team and they both liked this, he may do it again this spring. 

July:  Jaina went to a 4 night camp at SABC, and asked upon pick up to stay 5 nights next year!  Obviously loved it...  We finally got the kids out tent camping down in Taber, which was lots of fun once we managed to get the wet wood lit thanks to the help of some friendly neighbors with a welding torch!  They enjoyed roasting hot dogs and making smores.  Matt and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary, he planned a trip to Quebec City for the two of us for a week.  It was a beautiful place to visit, we enjoyed many beautiful historic sights.  (and I enjoyed practicing my questionable French skills, even if just a little bit - next time we're bringing our daughter!!!)    I'm sure we walked the equivalent of a couple marathons (uphill) while there, but made up for it with all the good food and drink!  A highlight was seeing a free street show of Cirque du Soleil, so good that we bought tickets to see their show "Totem" the same week.  While we were gone, Grandma and Grandpa O took care of the kids here at our house.  They really enjoyed their time together, playing lots, visiting fun places around the city, and taking a trip to the Tyrrel Museum to see the dinosaurs. In the summer we enjoyed our outings to the Zoo, Heritage Park and Calaway Park.  The kids practiced riding their bikes a lot more this summer, which was fun.  A family bike ride is coming closer within our sights! 

August:  The kids enjoyed swim lessons, and Jaina and a friend went to a week long day camp at Heritage Park, where they got to experience life as a child 100 years ago.  They were thrilled to get to dress in period costumes for the camp (and to do the chores...!)  At the end of the month we celebrated Lewis' 4th birthday.  He finally got to have a "birthday party" with 4 little boys (out in the backyard, thank you weather fairies!)  and we also celebrated together with family and cousin Oscar who turned 3 the same month. 

September:  Jaina started Grade 2.  Lewis was beyond thrilled to finally start preschool.  He goes just twice a week and loves it a lot.  He can't wait to go to "Jaina's school" next year for kindergarden.  Jaina also started Brownies (myself and a few friends got "promoted" to Brownies too, and it has kept me quite busy!).  She has also continued in rhythmic gymnastics and perservered with swim lessons until passing the level she'd been working on.  They both love swimming.  Lewis has also been participating in gymnastics and a preschool floor hockey activity class which he likes.

October:  Jaina and I attended a District Girl Guide camp, which included 8 units and had girls ages 5-18, from ours and nearby communities.  It was my big fall project since I was heavily involved in the planning, being the "Responsible Guider" doing a lot of the planning and organization for the camp, and earning a Girl Guide camping certification by doing so.  It was lots of fun but I was glad to move on to other things afterward!  We celebrated Thanksgiving in Edmonton with family, the cousins enjoyed some more time together and we all enjoyed an outing to a pumpkin farm.  Just before Halloween we celebrated our little girl's 7th birthday!  She is certainly looking like a seven-year-old, with both her front teeth missing for now.   Matt's been going to see the Flames play still quite a bit, and I learned to curl this fall.  I'm not very good yet, but it's lots of fun, and a friend's team lets me spare for them on occasion...

November:  We took the kids on a much anticipated trip to Disneyland for 5 days.  For myself and the kids it was our very first visit there ever, and Matt hadn't been since he was younger.  We had 5 full, busy, fun days of rides, shows, sights, and meeting our favourite characters.  We are already looking forward to returning some day!  And a week after arriving home we celebrated Matt's birthday.

December:  Has been busy getting ready for Christmas!  The kids will attend the kid's party from Matt's work, which is always great fun.  I am very fortunate to get to spend a week in Mexico (again, I know, spoiled is maybe the right word??) .  This time I am going sans kids or hubby, enjoying some family time with my stepsisters, stepdad and a couple others from that side of the family.  I am experiencing a bit of "mommy guilt", but am looking forward to actually relaxing a lot on this trip! 


We feel very fortunate to have had such a wonderful year, and hope that all our beloved family and friends have had a great 2010 as well.  We love you all, love hearing from you, and wish every one of you all the best as we begin 2011!

Love,
Michelle, Matt, Jaina and Lewis

Back from the Beach again...

We are feeling more than a little spoiled this year but once again we got to take a little break from this:

To enjoy a little more of this:

We were very fortunate to enjoy another family trip to Mexico.  Matt's parents took us and his brother's family to the Mayan Riviera.  The hotel and the location were beautiful.  The weather was a bit windy and it rained a few times, but we got our beach time in!  It was wonderful to spend a week with family making some memories together.  The kids had a great time playing on the beach.  We had a wonderful time too, talking, relaxing, eating, and exploring together.  

Here are a ton of the pictures from our trip:

2010 so far...

Well, we're almost two months into the New Year already.  Every year by the end of the holiday season I look forward to the "quiet" month of January, but it turns out life is just as busy as always.  Ah, but we love (almost?) every minute of it.  Here's what we've been up to so far in 2010.  Well, ok, actually we'll start with the end of 2009 (does that make sense?  maybe I should just go to bed...  I'll just post these few pics first):

We celebrated Christmas a few times with various family members (I have yet to see the movie Four Christmases but someone told me about it and it sounds like one we should see).  Here are the kids with their cousin Tim, and with their cousins Oscar and Lucy:

 

 

While home for Christmas we took the kids and cousin Oscar sledding at the infamous local "Sugar Bowl":

The second last night of the year we had a visit from some long-lost second cousins (actually, they're not lost - we know where they live...)  We are all kind of hockey fans:

We had a fun fondue New Year's celebration here at our house.  Then soon it was back into the school routine, but I guess Lewis was still tired out because he fell asleep in the sled one afternoon as I was dragging it across the bumpy field on the way to school:

 We've had lots of snow in the last couple of months.  Lewis "helps" me shovel the walk and the kids like to build snowmen when the snow is just right (I think the accessories may still be out in the yard under some more snow...):

 

 

While his sister learns at school, Lewis has been busy trying out all his Christmas toys.  

He was especially proud of the Tinkertoy "scarecrow":

Jaina loves to participate when she's home too:  

We got to get up a little bit earlier one January morning and go to watch the Olympic torch relay, which practically went right past my friend Rachel's front door...

And, most recently, someone got his first pair of "real skates" and loved the test run:

And now, spoiled lucky ducks that we are, we will again be escaping the winter weather for a week, on a family trip with my in-laws!  Photos to come shortly (?) upon our return!  
 

"Christmas Letter" 2009

Merry Christmas to all!  The season is here again.  Once again we realize that while we are busy living life, another year has passed!  We would like to share some of the highlights and other significant events with you...

Matt is still enjoying his job at Shaw.  Aside from that, he's been keeping busy going to hockey games to watch the Flames play, and with odd jobs and renos around the house.  Even though we very much like this house that we moved into a year and a half ago, the list is long - it seems like as soon as one item is crossed off, another is added!  We put a swingset in the backyard for the kids this summer and inside we are enjoying some updates to the bathrooms, basement, paint, etc.  There is much more to do in the yard but that will have to wait until Spring now, since (a lot of!) snow has fallen and the ground is frozen.  Some of his fall work plans were put on hold after his carpool was rear-ended on the way home from work one day and he suffered some minor whiplash, minor but still painful enough to throw off any plans of heavy lifting or building this fall.  He's feeling fine now though after a few months of physio.  We are still loving our neighbourhood, it is very friendly and we have gotten to know a few more of the neighbors through walks to school, barbeques, a summer block party, and Christmas parties.  It is a very friendly place and it is nice to know we can help one another out too when needed.

I am still enjoying my time at home with the kids.  Aside from cooking, cleaning, organizing, laundry, playing, trying to work out, scheduling, driving, shopping, reading with the kids, helping with homework, gardening, laundry, volunteering at school occasionally, pretending to scrapbook, making a few cards, laundry, playing with my camera and, I admit, wasting time on the computer and watching tv...  I have also continued on as a Sparks leader in Jaina's group.  It was lots of fun last year and I really enjoy being part of an organization I got so much out of when I was growing up.  It can be busy at times but well worth it.  Some of our highlights from last year were a sleepover at the Zoo and an overnight camp in May.  This year my sister and I and other family and friends participated again in the Relay for Life for the Canadian Cancer Society, in memory of my mom.  We participated in Taber this year and it was a lot of fun at the smaller venue.  We were proud of our team's fundraising achievements, many thanks again to all of you who supported us and the cause.  (And watch out!  We'll be bugging you again soon as we plan to participate this year too.)  I've really been missing my mom a lot this year, day to day and especially at this time of year which was always such a fun time together.  Its still very hard not having her here with us. 

Jaina has started Grade 1 and is still enjoying French immersion.  It is amazing how much she has picked up now that she is in school full days.  She turned 6 in October and also lost her first tooth!  It was very exciting and we are amazed at how she is growing up seemingly so quickly.  She enjoys going to Sparks, swimming, and decided to try rhythmic gymnastics this year which she likes very much.  After much begging this fall she is also signed up for a session of "real" gymnastics this winter.  She enjoyed playing soccer this past spring too. 

Lewis turned 3 in August.  He is quite happy being at home, playing toys, drawing and colouring, playing playdough and having stories read to him.  He is now out of diapers (which, for the most part, is great!) and soother-free. He has a couple of friends on our street who are just a year older than him so he also enjoys playing with them.  He is also doing gymnastics which he really likes too and he wants to take swimming lessons like his big sister.  This fall we attended a 6 week session of storytime at the library which he really liked. We've managed to keep him out of too much trouble this year, not having broken any more teeth, narrowly avoiding stitches on the other side of his forehead and surviving a sprained foot... 

Some other major events of the year were:

A new nephew and new niece in the family!  My sister and husband welcomed their first child, Tim, in March.  They are in Calgary too so we get to see him often (but not often enough, he's such a cutie pie!).  Matt's brother and his wife welcomed Lucy to their family in June, and we are thrilled to have a niece.  They are in Edmonton now so we enjoy seeing them more often than we used to.  

Celebrating my granny's 90th birthday in May.  We had a wonderful gathering of family and friends for a dinner, and a tea at the manor where she lived,  and she loved every minute of it so much.  It was great to see family from farther away.  It was wonderful to celebrate her many years, together with her.  Sadly, a month later, she passed away shortly after falling and breaking her hip and having surgery.  We were so thankful for the opportunity to celebrate her 90th birthday with her in good health and great spirits.  We'll miss her very much.

A fun-filled summer, including taking a family vacation.  Matt, the kids, and I drove out to B.C. to visit some family.  We stayed with his aunt and uncle who live near Vancouver, and had a wonderful time visiting them and sightseeing around Vancouver.  We then visited with some of our favourite cousins who recently moved away from Calgary to Kelowna, first in and around Kelowna and then out to their family cabin near the Shuswap for a weekend of swimming (and some magnificent forest fire watching as well...) .  It was nice to get away this summer after the stresses of last summer.

Taking a family trip this fall (again) to Puerto Vallarta with my stepdad and stepsisters.  We all took him as a birthday gift as he celebrated his 60th birthday this year.  It was a great week of fun and relaxation in the sun.  The kids had a blast swimming and playing at the beach and we enjoyed spending time with everyone. 

We will be enjoying Christmas and New Year's with family and hope that all of you enjoy this time with your family and friends as well.  All of our family and friends will be with us, if not in person then certainly in thought, memories, and the spirit of the season.  We love you all very much and wish you a happy, healthy and safe holiday season and year.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Michelle, Matt, Jaina and Lewis

Mexico Trip

I'm not sure that it will be an annual tradition, but we took off to Puerto Vallarta again in November with my stepdad and stepsisters. This trip was to celebrate my stepdad's birthday, we all took him. It was a great week of sun, fun, family and relaxation. The kids, being another year older, had lots of fun. Happy Birthday Steve! Here are some photos:

Boo!

Fall Flies By...

As I mentioned last post, the kids seem to be growing up before our eyes. This is just some of what's happened this fall:

1. Jaina started Grade 1:

2. Lewis turned 3:

3. Jaina lost her first tooth:

4. We finally broke Lewis of his soother habit (because "the dentist said so" - its amazing how much pull people other than mean ol' mom and dad can have...). It was not traumatic for him in the least, but now he has started to drop his afternoon nap many days and he now has much difficulty (and us much frustration) settling at night.

5. Jaina had her 6th birthday:

It is certainly amazing how quickly they are growing up. Sometimes it makes me feel like this too: