Christmas Season 2014

 Enbridge puts on a great kids Christmas party. Rented out Galaxy land, Santa, balloon artists, airbrush tattoos. Stella LOVED the rides!

 Wyatt and I went on a celebratory date to the Keg. Another fantastic report card. He wanted crab from the Keg- who am I to deny that sweet face.

 Christmas concert for school. Isla had a little concert for preschool too. I didn't get a photo of her, just video. It was very casual.

December 20th morning I went for breakfast with my dear friends Elesa and Rhiannon. Great food, Great company. I love Christmas because we make extra effort to see the ones we love.

 Fixsen Christmas was the 20th. Heather and Mike hosted brunch. We spent the whole day hanging out at their house visiting. Just missing Clay and Julia's family. (these housecoats were gifts. We were all clothed for brunch :)  )

 Church a few days before Christmas. The girls wanted to match, and let me curl their hair. I love having little girls.

Missing a picture from the live Nativity we attending in Spruce Grove. I love this tradition. Lots of friends, family and delicious Thai food.

 Growing up my family had a tradition of going skating Christmas eve. My brother decided it was a good year to rekindle that old tradition. So we went skating on the little pond near my house. There is a family that lives right on the pond that maintains a rink and sets up spot lights. They saw us using their rink and flicked on the lights. The kids didn't last too long, but it was fun to be out and active before heading home for new pjs and a movie night.

 My parents came to skate too. Unfortunately at the last minute, Kevin and his girlfriend Ashley had to go visit a very sick family member so they missed the skating. There is always next year!

 Christmas morning!

 Brunch at my parents on Christmas morning.

 Tired mom and baby at Christmas dinner at my sisters.

Boxing day we headed to Canmore with Jeff and Jaima's family. One cold day the big boys went skiing and the littles stayed home with me. We bundled up and headed to the candy store on main street. Nothing was keeping these kids from their candy.

Today is January 1, 2015. I'm caught up. We had the Drever extended Christmas dinner with Brett's aunts, uncles and cousins on his moms side. Always nice to see family, but we are ready to finish the busy Christmas holidays and focus on a great new year.

Winterstart Race

At the beginning of November we trekked to Banff for their annual Winterstart 5 Mile race. This is the 2nd time we've done this, and it's a fun excuse to "run" away for a night with fantastic company. I love these ladies!!!

In high school there were 6 of us that were tight friends. Some of us go back way farther, but 5/6 of us happened to be in Banff that same weekend. A quick breakfast with friends before church was a fun reunion.

Winter Fun.

We decided last winter that if we were going to stay in Canada during winter we needed to embrace it for all it has to offer. We thought that if we picked up some winter hobbies that it might make the snow and cold easier to survive. We chose skiing/snowboarding. I used to LOVE snowboarding in high school and my young adult years. Then we got married and had kids and it was MUCH harder to get to the hill. I always thought I didn't mind giving it up, that is, until I got back on the hill. I remembered how much I enjoy doing it, and so it has been exciting to do it again.

 Isla is fearless. She just cruises straight down the bunny hill, and miraculously weaves between any possible obstacle. It's hilarious.

 Lake Louise with my littles. It was a hard day for me. Reality of skiing with young children. We spent the morning on the bunny hill, and then had booked the little girls into daycare for the afternoon. Turns out the mountain was a little too advanced for Wyatt and we spent most of the afternoon walking down the whole hill. After returning him to the bunny hill, Brett sent me on a solo run and it made up for the frustration of missing a great day of snowboarding on my favourite local mountain.

We figured that buying a family pass at sun ridge would be the best way to go this year. We can go as often as we want, for as little time as we can handle without worrying about getting our money's worth for the day. We are also so blessed to fit into some hand me down equipment from family this year.

After a semi tragic trip to Lake Louise a few weeks ago, I was so lucky to get a whole day of snowboarding with one of my bestest friends. No kids! Huge thanks to Brett for taking the littles swimming while I had solo fun. I feel like after such a great day it won't be as hard to stick on the bunny hill with my kids. Every year they will get better and better, and that is just exciting!

Family Photos 2014

Feeling blessed to have such a beautiful family, and a brother who enthusiastically shares his talents with us. 

Work

I am one of those people that really enjoy working. I LOVE spending time at home with my kids too, and I'm so blessed that I don't HAVE to work, but a day or two away a week is really good for me as a mother. I feel very blessed to have the education that I do, that allows me to work in a flexible environment as a substitute teacher. It really is the best for me and my family right now. I try to find jobs a least a day in advance so I can mentally prepare myself for getting my three kids in a couple different directions. I have amazing teacher friends that trust me to fill in for them. I'm learning new ideas and techniques from all the teachers in the city I've subbed for, that I will be able to use one day I hope. If my kids are sick one day, I stay home and care for them. If there is something important going on in the lives of my children, I stay home. It has been perfect. I also have a few great options for childcare, which makes me feel more comfortable while I am away.

Canmore

Brett's aunts and uncles have co-owned a condo in Canmore for years. There is 5 shares, and this past year two of the share owners wanted out. So, knowing this opportunity would not come again anytime soon, we took the plunge and purchased a "shared" share with Brett's brother Jeff and family.

I am a very cautious person, and this made me nervous. So far we have been to Canmore 4-5 times since May and have spent amazing time with family and friends. 

 My sisters inlaws also own a condo in Canmore, so one of the weeks we spent there matched up with a time Kim and Chris were able to be there too. What fun! Any old activity feels spectacular when surrounded by mountains.

 The Hatch family also came for a stay. First and definitely not the last time! Our kids get along so well, and Sheri and I even ditched everyone for a ladies night out.

 We invited my parents to stay with us for a few days as well. Quality time with grandparents means lots of fantastic memories of time away in Canmore.

 I have always enjoyed INDOOR rock climbing. I'm definitely an amateur, but it's been fun to go with Brett and Wyatt and use the auto belay system at Elevation place. Wyatt made it all the way to the top even.

 I LOVE that my kids will grow up going to Canmore.

 Another fun friend visit. The monteleones were sweet and added another day or two to an already long holiday just to spend some time with us.

 Scoopin' Moose! Best ice-cream treat!

 Prepped to be ski bunnies. We took the kids to Lake Louise and we bought a family ski pass to Sunridge in Sherwood Park so we can get some extra practice.

Grassi Lakes Hike. My kids are troopers going up the "hard" path.

We are looking forward to more time away, and more friends to come stay!

Dearest friend.

This post is dedicated to a dear friend that keeps my in line. She is a fantastic example, and I want to be like her in so many ways. Many days I receive random texts to remind me of great things I wouldn't want to miss, warnings of potential threats, good vibes for good luck on monumental days. She remembers big dates for me and my family, and is ALWAYS the person I run to when I need advice, or just need to tell someone. The best part of telling her things is that we are literally two peas in a pod. We tend to share very similar opinions (good and bad), and I know she is always interested in the little mundane things I NEED to tell her. We check in with each other on a regular basis to make sure we are surviving motherhood, and although we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like, we pick up like no time has passed.

Today's text from her involved a sweet reminder to blog. It has been months. I know it's going to be painful to update you all (or the few that read this) but because I trust that she knows best in most instances, and that I know I'll regret not having some record of my little family, I'm making an attempt.

So here it goes...