Christmas Fun!

December has been a mish-mash of lots of Christmas fun!  This is my first year where I have actually started to feel a little overwhelmed by the kids' schedules with all the Christmas programs.  It's been a busy, yet fulfilling month thus far.  The boys had their school Christmas concert last week.  Jackson was one of two narrators in a play (out of two Grade Two classes).  And Joe and I were bursting with Pride.  You would think he had won a Grammy or something.  But hearing his little voice in that microphone go up and down with all the dynamic he could muster just filled my heart to the brim.  And Noah sang right in the front row for all to see while he played with his belly button between giving us thumbs up or a wave just to remind us that he was there.  Cutest boys ever.

Going to a Christmas Dance program was a new experience for me.  We got there on time, which meant we sat on the second last back row.  Ha!  Ellie is the youngest in her ballet class, and their group was the youngest class out of the program, which means it was the cutest and had the most mess-ups.  Ha!  Oh man.  Those little girls had no idea what they were doing, but I loved every minute of it.  And Ellie is happy because she got to keep the mittens AND she spent the entire rest of the evening dancing in the aisle with her new little best friend, Emily West.  Those girls are such cuties!  The boys did an awesome job on their hip hop dance.  Noah is in the red shirt, far right, and Jackson is in the middle, green shirt.  Those boys worked so hard on that dance, and it showed.  Noah.  Oh man.  He is just too cute to watch.  Every step is very "enthusiastic" and almost on beat.  Haha!  The highlight of the show for me.


Christie and I were invited to an Ugly Sweater Christmas Party at Aimee Vlietman's. It was supposed to be couples so we decided to go together since our husbands couldn't go.  I am very disappointed with my sweater, as all I did was try to dress up one of my already Christmas-y sweaters with nasty bows and frilly things.  Don't judge me.  Last year's sweater was so much better.  But Christie was the real winner, as she went the "witty" route and dressed up as an "ugly sweat-er".  Haha!  Well done Christie.  Refreshing to have a night out with adults, YET be silly like little kids.

Zoe.  This girl!  Her personality has really come out.  And it has come out in her wardrobe.  It is safe to say that I think she enjoys dressing up.

Joe had his work party in Calgary, so we decided to take the whole family out for the afternoon with Sarah and Joe and their girls (his work party was in the evening).  There was this cute little town just outside of Calgary with such fun little activities like hayrides, cookie-painting and crafts but most importantly, Santa was there!  Jackson is getting to an age where he recognizes that not all Santas look the same.  This one had glasses so he must not be the true Santa, just his helper.  Haha!  We also got to visit with Elsa and Olaf.  Ellie was the shyest I have ever seen her.  Ever.  She almost couldn't stand beside Elsa.  Haha!  Oh, it was cute.  Jackson was too "mature" or too much of a "manly-man" for Frozen.  But Noah was not above a picture with them.

Last night we sang one of my favourite carols, "Silent Night" as a family at the Red Deer Stake Christmas Musical Fireside.  Getting the kids to practice anything musical is like pulling teeth.  (Speaking of which Noah lost his other front tooth yesterday).  "Kids!  Let's go!  Get in here please.....  Now!  Do you want me to count?  Okay good, we're all here.  Noah, turn around.  Ellie!  Stop bouncing.  Jackson, don't touch her.  Stand still!  Okay.... here we go....  Noah, you were supposed to sing here.  Let's start again....  Stop groaning or we'll be here all day!"  And more groans.  Haha!  Yup.  Pretty standard.  It's funny because they love the end product.  They love getting up in front of people, not an ounce nervousnous.  But it's the getting there that's the REALLY fun part.  I was planning on having Ellie just sing the first verse because the boys were at school all day, and I have Ellie all day (and she was the one person this week that wasn't sick---until she puked this morning).  Well, when Noah heard me say that I planned to have Ellie sing the first verse he flooded with tears.  "I NEVER get to start the song!  Jackson got to (like in a song we did almost two years ago) and Ellie got to (again about a year ago), and I NEVER!"  Well.  Someone's keeping track.  This was news to me that he even cared considering how much he "loves" practicing.  It's not about him singing a solo and having his own line, it's about starting the song.  Well, this made me nervous because this was going to be a lot more work than Ellie just singing the first verse (which I had already been practicing with her).  But I could see Noah's point and I wanted him to feel special too.  So.  Sigh.... I let him sing the first two lines of the song.  Why is this a lot more work you ask?  Well, Noah is the one during rehearsal time that is the least concentrated.  Believe me when I say that there were multiple times that I had to remind him that he was supposed to come in first, even though that was the very thing he was complaining about wanting to do!  Haha!  Oh dear.  Between school, kids and I having the flu and Jackson's baptism weekend, practicing this song was maybe not one of my greatest joys this season, but singing it last night as a family at the musical program was.  Hearing my kids little voices in the microphone is just the sweetest feeling as a mother.  And then seeing peoples faces wet with tears because they felt the Spirit of the song was another really great feeling.  Hopefully one day we will actually get to a point where we enjoy gathering around to practice, because I know that part won't deter me from signing us all up again so we can continue to have these wonderful "end-product" experiences as a family.

So far this season has gone by very fast!  I don't think it helps that we all got hit pretty hard with the flu this week.  In fact, we finally made plans today for the first time as an extended family because pretty much everyone was finally feeling well enough and up to it.  And then Ellie puked this morning.  Our last one of the bunch to get the flu.  I thought maybe she had escaped the clutches of this nasty bug.  The lucky one.  Well no.  She just had terrible timing.  So here we are, another day just stuck at home until another child gets feeling well enough to go swimming or sledding, etc.  Sad.  At least I can count my blessings that this isn't Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.  Those are the days that count the most!  So at least we can all look forward to that!  But, honestly the way I feel is I want last week back.  Last week was the week that I wanted to decorate cookies and make gingerbread houses and enjoy eating lots of food and junk.  On the upside, I lost enough weight to feel like I am allowed to gain a few this season, so I'll take it.   But on the downside, I kind of missed that window to do all of these fun and necessary Christmas activities unless I want to cram it all in tomorrow when Ellie SHOULD be feeling better.  The day before Christmas Eve.  We haven't even gotten pictures with Santa yet!  Yes, we saw Santa, but I usually do the Mall Pictures....  Where did this month gooooooooo?!  Enough complaining.  We've had lovely weather, which means great roads for driving and even though we've all gotten sick, at least everyone's been in pretty good spirits considering.  I am sure there will be more Christmas posts from me.  For now, I wish everyone a lovely and hopefully sick-free Christmas!

Eight is Great

Yesterday was kind of a big deal, not only was it the last day of school before Christmas, and not only did the boys party all day at school, but it was also Jackson's birthday!  Initially we were going to have his school friends come over to the house and play in the back yard and do other traditional activities, but pretty much everyone in the house was sick (including myself---ain't nothing like the cold AND flu all in one week).  So!  New plan.  Joe took Jackson and his friends sledding and then he treated them to BP's for some pizza and cake and opened his presents there.  It was weird to not really be a part of his birthday.  I didn't make a cake.  I didn't organize anything.  It was kind of nice actually (other than the flu part).  I showed up for a little of the sledding bit just so I could snag some pictures and because I have major FOMO (driving and Gravol, probably not my smartest).  Jackson was happy about his day, and honestly I think it was a lot more fun than what I had originally planned anyway.   Dad's are the best!  When I asked Jackson what his favourite part of the day was, he said sledding.  Even Ellie tagged along (just for sledding) and you could hardly tell she was there (she only cried twice!).  Actually, she kind of surprised us all.  Even after a few crazy wipe-outs and a lost boot, she was still just as pumped as the boys to get back on that sled and keep going.  Who is this girl?  And although I was sad to miss it, I am glad that Joe got to treat the boys to BP's.  They had an awesome time.  A skateboard from us, a Lego Starwars mini-movie, a Baptism book from Grandma and Grandpa Ord and a lot of money!  He was happy about that.
(L-R: Mac, Noah, Jackson, Colton, Kayson).

Although yesterday was kind of a big deal, today was an even bigger deal because Jackson got baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We have been talking about this day with Jackson for quite some time to help him understand and prepare him for what this day is really about.  He may be young and still a child in many ways (thank goodness), but when it comes to Spiritual things, Jackson is quite mature and in tune.  He was very excited for today.  Joe and I got him his own set of scriptures that I hope he will mark up and use well.  In fact, we got to the church a little early to set some things up before the baptism, and I was looking around for Jackson only to find him in a room with his scriptures open.  "What are you doing Jackson?"  "Oh, just reading my scriptures."  Um.  Who is this child?  And how did I get so lucky?  The program was really nice.  When we asked Jackson who he would like to speak, he said his friend Jill Cosman and his cousin Taylor Strong.  I loved hearing the words of God come out of such young and sweet children.  Kind of a nice feel to the program.  I wanted to be involved somehow, but kind of not, ...but I did!  N't.  Ish.  So Joe signed me up as the opening prayer.  Harmless you think?  Well.  That was a mistake!  I could barely talk.  This is my first little boy going through this incredibly important day and yeah... I couldn't contain it.  Nor did I think I could.  I did not even try.  But Joe was no better.  When he was baptizing Jackson he started to get choked up and cry (and we wonder why our kids are so sensitive?).  Actually, after Jackson's baptism I had a little moment with him letting him know how proud I was of him and when I asked him what the most special part of his day was, he said, "Well, I noticed that Dad cried when he was baptizing me."  He knew that his Dad was emotional because he was so proud of Jackson and because he knew how important this day was for him.  Jackson wanted Grandpa Burnham to bless him with the Holy Ghost, so that was really special and quite a beautiful blessing.  As a mother, hearing these words about your first born son and who he could grow to be is a very beautiful thing.  For the musical number, Jackson, Noah and Ellie sang, "When I Am Baptized" and on the second verse it was just Jackson until the chorus.  Each time we practiced this at home I teared up.  Hearing Jackson's sweet little voice sing, "I know when I am baptized, my wrongs are washed away, and I can be forgiven of the wrongs I do each day..." was just too much.  And of course I felt that way again as I heard him sing those words today.  Just watching Jackson the rest of the day after his baptism, I could sense him standing a little taller, inside and out.  He is proud of his decision (as we all are as a family).  He is wearing the name of Christ.

Here are a few pictures that I snapped before the baptism.  I meant to take some family group pictures afterwards, but too many people had already left before I remembered to do so!  Thank you to those who travelled to be here to share in this special day with Jackson and to those who gave such generous gifts!  It was lovely chatting and catching up with family members that came.  What a lovely day!       

Free Time

For a while, Joe and I have been feeling that the kids have been monopolizing all things technology. We would constantly be finding them on the computer or on an iPhone or iPad or watching TV. They are definitely in bad habits. I was too sick with my pregnancy earlier this Fall to care and then after I miscarried, I was too sad to notice how bad it was getting. So, we talked about it for Family Night with the kids and came up with a solution. They could have two hours a day with any technology they wanted (which sounds like a lot, but sadly isn't really that much, especially for ones that are not in school all day), and if they wanted to earn more time, they would have to read a book or practice piano, etc, to earn more time. I have actually found that because this rule has come into play that they kids are way more imaginative, they don't immediately go to the computer (except for Ellie who sneaks it in every chance she gets---just now Joe caught her stealing the iPad to bring with her to bed!), they read more, they colour and draw more, they play with their toys more. Fancy that! And now when the boys come home from school, I find Jackson going straight to his room to read a book or practice his piano, or Noah plays with his Lego and other toys. Ellie has re-discovered dressing up, and Zoe is discovering it for the first time. I feel like we're all becoming a little more human again. And it feels good. A few weeks ago (before all the snow), to spice things up we had the kids draw targets, set them up outside and then Grandpa and Joe showed them how to shoot at them with a BB gun.  We are not always this creative with our free-time, but it sure was fun so I pulled out the camera of course.  One last hoo-rah before all the snow set in.  I even took a "shot" at it.  Perfect stance.

The Sisterhood of the Montana Road Trip!

The title of this entry should really be, "The Scariest Road Trip Ever!!" We had been talking about doing a sisters trip for a few weeks and we had been looking forward to it, and the weather had been pretty mild.  Or at least the roads were mild.  UNTIL the night before we left!  It snowed 15 cm.  The roads weren't ploughed.  Cars were in the ditches.  Apparently it was clear just past Olds going South.    I had to drive from Lacombe to Olds where we would switch cars and Jenny would drive to Calgary where Sarah and Karen were waiting and we would switch cars again and finish our trip straight down to Montana to hang out with our parents.  Well.  What was supposed to be a one hour drive turned into THREE!  I wasn't twenty minutes out of Lacombe before I saw a bunch of people breaking in front of me---which, by the way, is the scariest thing for a person who is driving a car that has bald Summer tires.  I slammed on my breaks, which did nothing.  It was like slow-motion.  I knew I was going to hit that car in front of me if I didn't do something fast.  I could either drive into the ditch or chance that the other lane was open.  I did the fastest shoulder check in the universe and made my way into the other lane, stopping just in time.  Oh my.  I was so scared.  And I got to hang out there for an hour and a half without moving.  Sarah called me just as we were about to get going again, so I had her stay on speaker phone and re-route me because the highway was closed.  CLOSED!  Aaaaaahhhhhh!  Someone did NOT want me to go on this trip!  I almost didn't make it off the runway because the turnoff wasn't ploughed and I almost started crying several times because I kept ALMOST getting stuck.  If I stopped, there would be NO WAY I would have been able to get going again.  After I finally got back on the highway, it wasn't so bad.  There was talk of another collision and the road being backed up around Gasoline Alley, but it wasn't.  I did a great big long sigh once I passed that exit and the rest was gravy.  Well, not really.  Everyone was going 80km/h on a 110km highway.  Including myself, happily.  I finally got to Jenny's and was completely wiped out from all the stress.  I told her there was NO way I was driving to Calgary.  She had to do it!  Well.  Jenny is the person who has never driven on a road trip with us even during the best of conditions, so the understatement of the world was that she was scared to bits.  We squealed a few times together and she went very slow claiming every once in a while that she was going to barf from anxiety (they lied about the road conditions getting better after Olds).  As soon as we reached the South Side of Calgary it was as if we had dreamed it all up.  The roads were fine!  The drivers around us were zooming by! I finally felt like I could breathe once we got to Sarah's.  Sigh.  We made it.  And we took Karen's car, which was quite the step up from both of ours.  I called dibs on the back seat because I didn't want to see how bad the rest of the driving conditions were going to be.  We still had to get through the mountains!  Eep!  Which were nice and foggy.  Poor Karen got to deal with that, while Jenny helped us picture a freaky killer burying his victims on the side of the road in these conditions.  It was seriously THE worst day to go on a road trip.  Thankfully, all that being said, I can honestly say the trip was worth it, knowing in the end that we did not die tragically in a car accident (although I will never drive in those conditions again!!).  As stressful as the drive was, I laughed so hard that night.  And the whole weekend.  We played MASH in the car.  "Isn't that a game that teenaged girls play?"  Yes.  Yes it is.  "And aren't you all married?"  Maybe we are!  But we choose themes, ...like Disney Princes or BBC Period Dramas involving Mr Darcy and such.  You know, men that aren't real.  Honestly, the funnest part of the game is after you've chosen your three desired fates, the rest of the car gets to pick your last fate per category and make is as mean as possible.  We usually get to a point where we are so delirious that a "car" would actually be a large butterfly and you have to drive the butterfly with all of its butterfly babies fluttering all around your face (Jenny hates butterflies, so this is usually a great weapon).  Or for your job, you have to clean all the chamber pots, but you don't have a rag, so you have to scratch off the nasty parts with your finger nail.  You know.  Mean stuff like that.  I've learned much about my sisters from this game.  I discovered that Sarah hates things that snag her feet (that is also another great weapon), and that Karen loves conveniences, so sending her deep into the mountains to "live" with no neighbours ever and it's cold all the time and your husband is always gone too, is a very mean thing to do.  I guess I would hate that, too.

Anywho, once we got there I thought we would all drop.  But we visited and laughed until way too late.  But it didn't matter because we all got to sleep in and had no responsibilities the next day.  That is exactly why I love these kinds of kidless-trips.  They truly are a break.  Kind of.  Until you have to drive home and you are so tired from the late nights and it's all catching up with you and then you have to play catch-up the second you get home with laundry and emails, etc.  Oh, but it's worth it.  Jenny and I shared a bed for the first time ever!  Sarah and Jenny always bug me about being the snuggly one.  Which I like to play up because that usually means I get my own bed because no one wants to sleep next to me!  Well, Jenny didn't have a choice this time.  And I found that I was the one begging Sarah to trade me so I could sleep with Karen!  Haha!  Jenny was keeping me up by making me laugh so hard.  She kept talking about a ghost child named Jane who pranced around on toots (which meant she was around Sarah a lot), singing, "Tra-la-la!"  Who comes up with these things!!??  Jenny.  That's who.  She was on fire all weekend and I found myself laughing a lot.  My fav was all day Saturday she kept singing, " and I'll say it again, I'll say it once, twice, three, four, five times, not six, but seven, eight nine...." and she'll keep going on in a gospel-sing-song type of way/partially Hillbilly-Country and she kept finding ways to sing this over and over, adding an occasional, "Can I get an Amen?!"  Oh man.  If Joe were there.... let me rephrase that, if ANY of our husbands were there they would have thought we were all oh-so-very obnoxious, but I loved every second of it.

Since it was Black Friday, we shopped.  Way too much probably.  But my Christmas shopping is DONE y'all.  And we celebrated Thanksgiving with leftover turkey sandwiches (and by making not one, but two, not three, four, five six, seven stops....  Okay, two stops at Bajio's.  My fav restaurant in Montana.  Thus far anyway.  I always get the pulled pork salad and I never regret it).  We also managed to squeeze in a movie, Part One of "Mockingjay" which is fitting because I read those books with Sarah and Jenny, and Karen and Mom had also read the books too.  I loved it, and Part Two had better have some romance in it or else!  At least more than the book did for heaven sakes!!  We also managed to rally around the piano (surprise, surprise!) for a little bit of singing.  I almost have all of the songs from my musical scored, so I printed a few and we sang some.  I almost got emotional hearing my Mom play the piano (it sounded professional and almost difficult, ...and I can't believe that came from me), and my sisters are all such great singers.  It meant a lot to me that they would take the time to do that.  It felt good to share, and I'm grateful to my Mom who especially made the effort because she knew how much it would mean to me.  
Above, Jenny is showing off her mad photography skillz on my camera. Thanks for getting such a great shot of Sarah and I.  Below, Sarah and Jenny were playing a 1-2-3 and turn around game to try to make the other laugh first by creating the ugliest face possible.  There were many ways we entertained ourselves like this all weekend long.

I had to document our late night movie watching, too. This weekend was the time to get in our chick-flicks.  The cheesier the better.  Or the BBC-est, the better too!  (Jenny and I have twin Pop-eye faces.  Freaky).  Moms are the best.  Each night she would lay out a spread for us!  "Okay girls, I have pumpkin pie, ice cream, apple crisp, chocolates..." and on went the list.  Yes please!  All of it.  And thank you.

And before we knew it, our trip was over. Check out the back of the car. Yeah. We bought stuff.  We were determined to enjoy our trip to the bitter end by trying to keep the energy up (I totes fell asleep), and thankfully our drive home was much more tolerable and way less stressful than coming in.  I included a Browning picture.  Because you just have to.  It's tradition.  And yes, ...it snowed that much.  I feel for that garage-less car.  And I also decided to include our MASH fates from our way home (partially because Mr Tilney from "Northanger Abbey" is my fav Jane Austen character).  I decided to draw each of us in period-drama dresses.  No they don't look like us, but I haven't drawn in a long time so it was kind of fun (and the road was bumpy so don't judge me).  Jenny also drew a picture of me as she unfolded my fate in MASH.  I daresay, there is quite a likeness, wouldn't you agree?  Apparently, she didn't like that I made her a servant girl with Jane Eyre hair.  Haha!  Now that I am home and don't have a trip to look forward to, I am sad and miss my sisters and my Mom.  These trips are never long enough.  I feel like I blinked and it never really happened.  Good thing I took pictures for proof that it actually did.  There was talk in the car of one day making our trips a little more elaborate, like Vegas or New York.  Um.  I wish.  Maybe someday that reality won't seem so far away.  Miss you girls!  And Mom!  I had so much fun!!!!  ...Now back to real life.....  Waaah-wahhhh!