Live it!

A Birthday and Blue Hair?!

Shaune turned 38 last week. We had a quiet celebration at home complete with homemade chocolate cake. Mom made the cake for me... she makes the bestest chocolate cake EVER and I decorated it with chocolate curls. The kids couldn't wait to dig in to all that chocolate madness. It was really good!

In other news, later that month Keaton decided to join his team and dye his hair blue for playoffs... not the most becoming look he's ever worn but he had fun with it and hair is always fixable (after playoffs, I hope?!)

Sleepover fun

Jump in the hot tub. Roll around in the snow. Repeat (til' Mom makes you come inside for bed).

Curt, Keaton, Erin and Chloe... best of friends.

Boxing Day. Celebrations Continue.

We spent Boxing Day evening celebrating Christmas with Shaune's side of the family. Lynn and Larry hosted a delicious meal and the kids love getting together and being with their cousins. They are quite the rowdy bunch when they get together and its a nuthouse... but I know they are making memories that will last a lifetime.

 

Christmas 2011

What a whirlwind Christmas always is. It comes and goes in the blink of an eye. It is my favourite time of year and Christmas with kids makes it all the better. I am thankful to get to watch Christmas morning unfold through the eyes of my children.

This year we had Christmas at home. It was our first year without Gram E to celebrate with and it left us all feeling a little sad and nostalgic.  We soldiered on (just as she would of wanted) and made the day a memorable and fun celebration.

The kids got up and the chaos began. Santa was good to them as always. He brought Keaton the Xbox game station he had been hoping for. Chloe lucked out with a new Ipod touch and some Lala Loopsy stuff she was wanting. Meg got a new doll from Vietnam and all kinds of little toys to make her happy. It was a morning full of unwrapping gifts and lots of cheers.

Shaune made us Eggs Benedict and the kids opted for Egg McMuffin sandwiches instead. Then we got busy preparing a Christmas feast at home this year. Its not very often I am in 'charge' of the feast and I think I pulled it off with a lot of help from my mom. I did the turkey and lots of the fixings and she brought a lot of the food with her too. We had a relaxing afternoon and evening with just my Mom, Dad and brother. The kids loved being home and getting to play with their toys and 'stuff' since we usually have a busy day of moving from one family function to another.

At the end of the day, with very full bellies - we crashed hard and looked forward to doing it all again the next day with Shaune's family.

 

Christmas Pageant

Chloe was in the junior choir at school this year, led by Ms. Kelly and performed (oh so adorably) a week before Christmas at the pageant. They got to wear their pajamas and sang a couple really cute songs to entertain the overflowing gymnasium.

It was a great way to kick start the Christmas celebrations ahead...