Full Weekend with My Family!

Another selfie because I am loving this haircut! So easy to do and is different from how I always wear it. This is me, at almost 29 years old. 

We met Grandpa and Grandma for breakfast on Saturday. They had Jace and Rayne the night before so they came too! Quinny was so cute when she saw Rayne... she wanted to sit right beside her and just loved her. She has loved Rayne since the minute she met her! I love how so much time goes by (a whole year in this case!!!!) but she still just knows, even if she doesn't totally remember.

We spent the afternoon doing some shopping and driving all around, going to soccer games! When you watch one, you need to watch them all! And I had a whole year of catching up to do, and I love to watch my cousins doing things that they love. At one point we got stuck behind this massive train, and it made me laugh - welcome back to the prairies! The sound of the train is so comforting to me, it sounds like home. And look at that blue sky - it might be cold (REALLY REALLY COLD) but man oh man, do I ever love that blue sky and all that sunshine. I am soaking in all the vitamin D I can before heading back to the island!! It's been so dreary there lately, and I notice a big difference seeing the sun.

We ordered Rossco wings in for dinner that night (best wings ever, hands down) to celebrate Grandma Doris' and my birthdays. Maggie is really really sick and so is Tigger, so Neil decided with the vet that it was time to put them both down. Maggie has been around for so long - her and Archie were really the last reminders of what mine and Brandon's childhood was like, with mom and Neil together. Archie died two years ago, and now Maggie was the last string of that chapter of our lives. It was hard to say good-bye to her. But it was time for her to go. She is such a pretty dog

My little animal lover gave Maggie lots of love that evening, being so gentle and petting her carefully

All through dinner she kept asking when she could give Great Grandma Doris her present, she could hardly wait! She is such a sweet girl, so giving and excited for others. Her and Doris giggled lots together that night, they were pretty cute.

We sent this to Brandon and told him we missed him!! Can't wait until he gets here too!!!

Neil even had a birthday cake for us, in Christmas colors because he knows how much joy Christmas things bring me! So thoughtful. And delicious. Grandma just turned 84

I love being home with my mom because we spend the evenings playing cards or blokus together. We both really love playing games, and its nice to just sit together and talk. It's been a rough go lately, and she just brings me back to my roots and she makes me laugh. Sunday morning we got up early and went to the hockey rink to watch Gabriel and Lucas play, and then went over to the Rahn's for brunch. I really love brunch haha. Gabriel is SO GOOD with Quinny - he lets her boss him around and he plays whatever she wants. He is growing into such a kind, mature 10 year old. I've missed these boys!!

Ack! They are soon cute!!!!!! The boys just love her, and call her their niece (which she is, kind of!). I wish we could spend more time with them. These are the moments that my heart aches that we live so far away, and don't have family in our everyday life. I could get used to doing Sunday brunch with these people! We had such a good morning together.

Then off to Grandma's with all the grandkids for cookie decorating! The only ones missing were Brandon and Jenna, who both come home in a few days. So we were mostly all there! This Christmas eve will be so good - everyone is home this year!!! It made me laugh watching my Grandma - my entire life, she has decorated cookies with us, and she always does the icing, and then hands out the cookies and everyone gets to decorate them with the different sprinkles. Watching them, I can see that they have all grown up, but its like time has stood still, with Grandma still doing the same traditions. So much laughing around this table as they argued over sprinkles, and whose cookie was better, and sneaking bites when Grandma wasn't watching. This is family. This is what draws me home, this sense of closeness and love that exists here. Oh how I love these people!! I can feel inside of me already that it is going to be hard go for me when its time to leave to go back to the island.

Grandma fills all these little bowls with like 8 different types of sprinkles and there is about a 100 cookies to decorate. And this is just one out of probably 12 desserts she has spent time making for Christmas. She is amazing.

Quinny was attached to Alexis as soon as she saw her. So was I for that matter! Her and Brooke are having a rough go with the stuff with their parents these days, so it was really really good to see them and hug them tight and then laugh together and just be.

Love you Brookie!!!

Grandpa disappeared for a while and came back smirking his silly little grin and I knew he was up to to something. He is always such a jokester. He sat like this and then called Jon into the room so he could see his socks. haha!

You can't see Rayne very well, but she is in the fort with Quinny, who made yet another fort haha! Rayne is also so good with her and plays with her non-stop.

The girls told me that I need to start using snapchat more often, and so they sent me a whole bunch of funny ones. I told them I would, just to check up on them haha!

Grandma cooked us all dinner and Brooke and Alexis stayed the longest, playing cards with me and talking about what's going on with them. I mostly listened and realized that they don't talk much to the people around them and that they were trusting me with their hearts. I need to come back during the year and not stay away for as long, if possible, to be there for them as this all goes down. My heart hurts for them, I just love these girls so much and would do anything for them. After they left, we stayed and had a sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa. They have this cucko clock (I have no idea how to spell that) that Q has been crazy about ever since she was baby. The whole night (and next morning!) she kept running up to it on the hour and yelling excitedly, wanting to see the bird. Funny! She went to bed and we stayed up way too late, playing Wizard with the grandparents. Grandpa gets so funny when he's playing games... well actually he's just funny all the time. It was a really good night. Grandma made us a big, delicious breakfast the next morning and we just spent a few hours visiting. I love this one on one time with them. 

I did a ton of shopping this afternoon for stocking stuffers/dutch shoes (we are starting the dutch shoes tradition this year!) and then we headed to Courtney and Fleming's house for dinner. Court had a miscarriage about two months ago... and the weird thing is that we hadn't talked in probably about 3 months at that point (besides the odd text here and there), because life gets so busy, and I called her one evening out of the blue just to say hi, and it happened to be the day of her miscarriage. So over the past two months we have been talking a ton, as she processes all her emotions. So it was really good to see her. I hugged her tight and we both cried, and then spent the evening talking and chasing kids. She is such an excellent mom, I love seeing her with Easton. 

He just turned 2 a few days ago! Time really does fly by. It's so nice to see them, because Jon and Fleming get along so well, so it makes for a fun evening for everyone. Quinny was pretty tired because she didn't sleep great last night and didn't nap for long today, so she hit a wall and that was our cue to leave ha!

As I sit here reflecting on our past few days, I am struck with how jammed packs our days are, but how life-giving the time is. It is time well spent, and I am so grateful for this break. I am also grateful that it warmed right up today and was only -5! I no longer feel like I am going to die when I go outside haha. And the sun was shining, such a lovely, bright day! Soak in that prairie sunshine while I can!!

Alberta Bound!

Calea and Aimee are all settled into their cute little new home, and they wanted to show off their Christmas decor. So we stopped by for a quick visit the night before we flew out. Quinny put on a ballet show for us, and her Auntie's got in some last minute cuddles before we leave for a few weeks!

Officially Alberta Bound early the next morning! Q got a window seat and loved staring out the window

The very best travel partners I could ask for.

She really is such a great little traveller. We had a layover in Vancouver and she walked the whole way pulling her bag, like such a big girl. A big change from when we used to only travel with the Ergo or Tula! I realized at the Vic Airport that I forgot to grab the Tula... turns out we didn't need it! I was very impressed with her! And she looked totally adorable with her side pony and vest, dragging her suitcase along.

Almost there! She watched a movie and ate snacks and the trip went very smoothly.

We were above the clouds on a very cloudy day, and it looked so crazy! Quinny thought that was snow below us and could not grasp that it was clouds. So beautiful!

Wearing our winter jackets, since it was -30 in Alberta! (-45 on our first two nights here with the wind chill!!!!) WHAT THE HECK! SOOO cold. I cannot handle it. It made me so grumpy haha! That is too cold! Q doesn't even own a winter jacket or warm shoes, so my mom and Grandma went shopping the day before we arrived and got her a winter jacket and boots, and sent them along with Neil so she could wear them as soon as we got off the plane.

We drove the 3 hours with Neil home, and it felt so good to be there!! It is so nice that Neil always comes to get us with no questions asked. We are very lucky! Jon took this after we had been home for just a few hours.... my mom and I shopping in Walmart haha! Welcome home.

First night there, and she already had a fort built and convinced Grandma to come lay in there with her. This girl and her forts! We are so happy to be here (cold weather and all).

The next morning she woke up and immediately wanted to go see Grandma. She went and woke up my mom and climbed into her bed and snuggled for a bit and watched some Paw Patrol. My mom loves these mornings with Quinny.

Jon and I left for Lethbridge that morning for the day - Coralee bought me a hair cut/color for my birthday, at Jenna's salon! Jenna often talks about doing my hair and so we decided to make it work and I came to see her. I am so proud of that girl! It was awesome to see the place she manages and has built a thriving career at. Well worth the 1 hr 45min drive each way. Quinny stayed with Mom, and they spent the morning at Grandma and Grandpa's, baking sugar cookies

The look of joy on her face when I told her she could cut my hair shorter was hilarious. She was very excited! I told her she could do whatever she wanted, cut and colorwise, because I trust her and knew she would pick something that would suit me. It was so lovely to spend those solid two hours together, talking and catching up. With the issues with LeeAnne and Larry, we had much to discuss and dissect. There is something about cousins that is just the best. I really hope Q has this kind of close bond with her cousins that I do with Jenna.

And here is exciting news - Jenna and Pablo are back together!! We are VERY happy about this news!!! They have both grown so much in the past two years, and discovered who they were separate of each other. Life has brought them back together and they have worked extremely hard in the past few months to rebuild a relationship that is solid and strong. Again, just so very proud of her. And we love Pablo, so yay! We had a late lunch with them and then headed back home

Painting with Grandma! When we got back, Brooke was over hanging out with Q in the fort haha. It sounded like she had a great day without us!

A terrible selfie, but this is my new hair! It is short, but cut well so I can style it quickly and easily (which is what I need... anything that is going to take longer than 5-10 minutes is way too long for me). Thank you JennaBear! I feel like a whole new Mama!

She is soooo long and when I watch her sleep, all peaceful and calm with her legs all tangled up and her lips slightly open, it just melts me. I hope I am soaking in this time and remembering it. It is flying by! Her babies all perfectly lined up beside her also made me laugh when I went to bed (she is sleeping on the floor at the foot of our bed) - what a funny girl.

Brunch

Although holidays have officially started for Jon (YAY!!!!!), he left Monday morning to go into Chemainus and help out with Project Breakfast, since they were doing a hot breakfast day. I think he really misses doing that, and connecting with the high school kids before school and feeding them. It's pretty sad that our church hasn't kept up with this minstry... but we are really glad that Laura and Alycia are partnering together to keep it running! While he was out, I was cleaning the house and starting to get ready for us being gone for 2 1/2 weeks, and I turn to go upstairs and I see Quinny sitting here, quietly talking to Henrik. I snuck a picture and a short video before she caught me... but she was telling him "Henrik I am so proud of you for not hissiling so much at Dani anymore. You guys need to get along because if you don't, Mama will get rid of our new kitten and we don't want to her go away. I love you Henrik and I love Dani so much too, you can be best friends! I will help show you how". She said other things too, but that was the gist. So adorable. She loves her cats so much! We are all pretty happy that they seem to be getting along so much better these days! I think it's wild what she absorbs and takes in. She is so tender hearted.

 More packages! It's been fun, having the packages come in slowly, a few each day! We get very excited when a new one arrives! haha

 Raquel is a packing Queen. It is amazing what she can fit into these boxes! We tried to convince Quinny to spread out the presents over Monday and Tuesday, but she wanted to open them all immediately. Since we are leaving Wednesday, I caved, so that she could have time to enjoy her new things before we have to leave

 Hugging her new game, and trying on her new towel! I LOVE how excited she gets over everything. She kept saying "oh this is the best present!" to every one haha!

 Jon and I got packages too! His big present is a new, sweet quad helmet!! I am VERY happy that he now owns a helmet... keep that head safe! He was pretty pumped about it too, he wore it on his head for a while... he also got pj pants that he put on immediately and ditched the jeans, and wore the PJ pants all day long haha. There was a new hat in there also to add to his large and growing hat collection

 New slippers and a new apron! Pretty cute! To go along with the apron was her own tupperware kid set of mixing bowls/measuring cups/spoons and a spatula/roller for her kitchen to play with! But since its real, she can also pull them out and use it to help me bake! She played with that all morning long! She also got this cd player and disney princess cds - the player has this microphone attached so she can sing along. And sing she did... very loudly for a long time haha!

 Linda Kerr at church gave her a new tiny nativity set that she doesn't use at her house anymore. Quinny set it up and kept re arranging it. She said to me here "Mom! Now I have 3 of my own Away in a Manger sets (ever since learning that song, thats what she calls nativity sets), so I have lots like my Nannie does!" It kept her busy (along with her other new things!) pretty much all day while Jon and I cleaned and re-organized our house!

 Fort building with Dad! On Sunday night Jon went out for a beer for a while with Jacob Dorian and then on Monday I went out for coffee with Dana, Dixie, and Mary. I like that we each have very close friends who we confide in and can enjoy spending time with and who encourage us, pray for us, and love us. It was time well spent, and its nice for each of us to go out and come home after bedtime is done, to a quiet home where we can just then hang out with each other for a while.

This cookbook was in my present box! YAY!!! Beyond excited about this! Gilmore Girls is so much about food, thats part of its charm. Each recipe talks about the dish and which episode it came from, and whose kitchen it was prepared in. It's so fun! We had a brunch planned for the next day with the Eassons, and I immediately started flipping through to find Sookie creations that I could make!

 

I baked muffins - these apple spice ones were UNREAL! So so good. I also made double chocolate chip muffins. This brunch is going to be awesome

 

We got up today and set the table with Nana's dishes and made it look all pretty and festive. We were having "community family Christmas and Mel and Andrew's birthday" brunch to celebrate! Along with the muffins, I also made french toast with croissants instead of bread, and topped them with a caramel sauce with bananas. Thank you Gilmore Girl cookbook!! Jon made sausage, bacon, and scrambled eggs, and the Eassons brought juice and fruit. It was a feast! And the company was the best part. We had such a great morning together.

The girls put on 'shows' for us - singing and playing guitar. It was pretty cute. I love this stage of life, with all the performances.

Sweet baby Holly! She was wearing all clothes that were Quinny's - onesie, sweater and pants. I love that all three of the girls have worn these tiny outfits! She is such a content little baby. That could definitely change, but its so fun to see her and get to know her. I could snuggle this little face all day.

Love love love these people. I am so glad that they are our people, and the ones we do life with. We could not have lucked out more in the friend department! We had such a great morning, easy and lovely, full of laughing and honest conversation. My favorite kind of day. We gave the girls their gifts, and they gave Quinny a blue (so it looks like a Elsa Frozen one) tutu that she can decorate herself!! It comes with jewels and ribbon and sashes... all sorts of things that we can glue on! It was perfect. She is so excited to make it. I love that Mary combined Quinny's love of princesses with her love of crafts. So thoughtful! (part of Ady's gift included a giant box of Lucky Charms, because she's never had them before... pretty sure the girls ate all the marshmallows out of the top half before they even left, and Ady was already asking for more... win! haha!)

Snowtime. We still have a decent amount at our house - the rest of Crofton has pretty much melted, but because we are up higher, ours has lasted longer.

Quinny loves snapchat. She's always asking to look at "the funny faces". 

Tonight I stayed home from youth group because I was feeling pretty awful. Jon went, and her and I made hot chocolate and watched The Grinch. We tried to watch it last year a few times, and overtime she could say that it was pretty scary. I figured that she was bigger now and could see more of the humor in it. We talked about the Grinch is actually very funny and not scary and how he is nice at the end... one scene still resulted in this face

I couldn't help but laugh, the poor girl! I LOVE The Grinch, its one of my favorite Christmas movies. She has to like it! But I'm not heartless, so I asked if she wanted to turn it off, or cuddle and keep watching. She wanted to keep going and cuddle. So we watched majority of it like this

And by the end, this was her big smile! She said "Okay Mama, I do like The Grinch. He's just a little scary when he yells at them a lot. But he is also silly. I like when his heart gets bigger" So it was a win! Yay! Despite not feeling good, it was a nice, quiet night together - our last one of the holdays! We leave tomorrow for 18 days, between Alberta for Christmas and New Years with the Lampards afterwards! It is going to be so busy, but so fun. I cannot wait to see my family.