big white

Although it's now our second winter at home we finally made our first ever trip out to Big White.  Billy's office put on a family day that included tubing, skating, a bonfire and hot chocolate.  It's a much bigger ski hill than I imagined and it was so beautiful coated in fresh, sparkling snow. 

Our drive up was as pretty as could be.  

The closer we got; the whiter the trees became.   

We packed the kids into the sled along with our skates, helmets and snacks and were greeted by one of the skating rinks.

We started out with tubing, kind of .  They called it Mega Snow Coaster Tubing and that pretty much summed it up perfectly.

It was instantly clear that Jake was never getting on one of these tubes and flying down the runs.  The tube park consisted of giant rubber tubes, a lift where one of the attendants attaches your tube and zips you up the hill, and your choice of five groomed runs that are steep and fast.  At the top another attendant gives you a push and will ask you if you want them to spin you (no thanks).  All children must go down on their own tube (!) but you can go beside your child and hold on to their tube.  They spread hay down at the bottom to help slow you down.  It was impressive and intimidating.  Billy and I took turns.  We each only went once - Ha.  

   Next up was skating.  Jake eagerly started out but a runny nose soon had him in tears and that was it.  He was cold and done.  

Look at the beautiful view from the small rink!

At this point Jake was melting down in the sled and firmly said NO to a family portrait. We warmed ourselves by the fire and enjoyed a much needed snack and hot chocolate for Billy and I.  I have no idea why our kids don't like hot chocolate! 

Bill modified the tube ride for Avery.  She wasn't impressed.    

Before heading back, we took the gondola up to the village and shared some pizza and doughnuts.  It took a little to convince these tired (and cold) kids that the gondola was a good idea but it was a definite highlight and the perfect way to end our Big White trip.

playing catch-up

Where to begin, really...

Christmas was wonderful!  We were lucky enough to spend time with both of our families; and Jacob was really excited about Christmas this year.  It was the first time he's had a specific gift request, ever. (Prior to this whenever we asked him what he'd like, he would always think thoughtfully and reply "a present").  This time around he wanted a marble maze and when he opened it he kept exclaiming "this is absolutely what I wanted".  

Good work Santa ;)  

Avery received a baby stroller from Santa and that was a huge hit too.  Both items are still in constant use and we were all absolutely spoiled by our families.  We were shocked and thankful as can be for everyones' kindness!   

  Look at that adorable little pony-tail!

Our snow is all gone (for now) but we were happy to enjoy a little sledding and outdoor hockey in the driveway when we could.

The rest of the time has really flown by; a blur of holiday get-together, play dates and birthday parties.  It finally feels like things are slowing down again.  

We couldn't feel luckier about all the love we felt during this holiday season.  We are so blessed with these sweet kids of ours and all of our family - near and far - who are so, so good to us.  A big thank you to everyone!

vancouver

At the beginning of October, us girls and kids took off for a weekend trip to Vancouver.  Thankfully my Aunt offered to drive while my Mom and I entertained the kids (with the help of Cars 1 and lots of snacks).  We stayed in a beautiful hotel, had great weather, visited with Aunty Kaity, ate amazing dinners, shopped, walked the city, went to the Vancouver Aquarium and a Canucks game.  It was perfect!  And we're al still talking about how much fun we had.

Getting ready to depart.  Loading the car turned out to be the most frustrating part of our trip.  Avery's car seat was not cooperating.  At all.  But look at these two happy-campers.  They didn't mind the delay.

Avery slept for all of about 25 minutes (!?) of the 4 1/2 hour trip and Jake made a lot of bathrooms stops but we made it with no other troubles.

The hotel was a huge highlight for the kids.  Elevators to ride.  A room full of floor-to-ceiling- windows to look out of.  Three beds to try and jump on.  And a long, narrow hallway in our room that turned out to be a perfect place to play soccer and to run back-and-forth at full speed.  Jake was literally bouncing off the walls with excitement.  

And when they needed a little fresh air, we just popped outside and to run around in the green-space out front.

Eating out went off without a hitch.  No highchairs?  No kids menu?  No problem.  Jake ordered the sushi both nights and we pulled the stroller up to the table (and brought the bumbo for night number two.  So smart).  Our food was delicious.  Good company also helped and we were so spoiled by Aunty Brenda.

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The Aquarium was so much fun.  We saw a million different things but some of the big hits were the jellyfish, octopus, starfish, stingrays, belugas and penguins.

And Stanley Park is always so beautiful.  Next time we'll need to devote an entire day to roam the park, it's forested paths, ancient trees and beaches.

Aunty Kaity babysat (and played and played and played) while we did a little shopping.  And funnily enough, Billy was also in Vancouver for a business trip.  Even though he was in a different hotel we were within walking distance, so he met us for a dinner and he and I were able to sneak out and go to the Canuks game.  Such a fun atmosphere and such a treat to sit and watch a game with Billy.  This is only the second time that has ever happened in over eleven years!

Until next time Vancouver.

thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving was full of family and sunshine and food galore. 

My parents hosted and put on a huge feast.  We filled the house with family (all the Wegers, Tucks and great-grandma too) and sat around, knee-to-knee and elbow-to-elbow, to enjoyed all the thanksgiving fixings. 

Jake felt a little under the weather but was a real trooper about it.  He spent the weekend in one of two places: uncharacteristically cuddled-up on the couch under a pile of blankets or playing outside.  

Avery smiled a lot, played shy and gobbled up some delicious apple crisp.    

We spent sometime at the park, strolled under golden-leafed trees and spotted dozen of Sockeyes' heading up river.  A perfect fall family outing.    

On the way to my parents house we quizzed Jake on what he was thankful for, he thought for a while and replied "I'm thankful for lots of people" and? "and thankful for picking cherries and trees and cars".  Well done. 

I'm thankful for lots of people too.  I could write all day long about it, if I had all day long to write ;)  

And I am particularly grateful for this little family of mine who fill my days and nights.  I am thankful to wake-up to these faces and tuck them in a night.  I am thankful for all the hugs and laughs and even the moments when they are driving me crazy.  I am thankful for the richness of their love all the beautiful moments made with them.

puddle jumpers

On a friends' suggestion, we picked Jake up a puddle jumper, and boy, is that thing a huge hit!  It literally changed my tentative, cautious child into a pool-loving-splashing-doggy-paddling-maniac-boy.  This thing led to hours and hours of pool fun and countless lengths of the pool.    

It doesn't throw you off balance like a regular life jacket does and you can easily move around in it.  So Jake loved it!  And it meant that I could take both kids in the pool on my own.

    

I would HIGHLY recommend it for any beginner swimmers, or for anyone who may have their hands full with more than one child at the beach/lake/pool. 

Note:  in order to look extra cool in your puddle jumper, just add wayfarer sunglasses :)    

south

We headed south, across the line into the US for a little grocery shopping in Oroville, Washington.  It's about thirty minutes from my parents house and we were lucky not to have much of a line-up at the border.
  

It was exactly as the sign here says: Oroville; quick stop.

With a population of 1,678 (according to Wikipedia) there isn't a lot of shopping.  There is basically one store - Prince's Foods - and here's what we brought back...  

Zoi greek yogurt in honey and vanilla - yum;  Tillamook pepper jack cheese - my favourtie;  Frosted animal cookies - a big hit!;  Amish Country hand rolled butter - haven't tried this yet but since moving home from Europe I've been on a butter quest and found there is no variety of butter to be found here in Canada;  and Bud Lime-a-rita - hard to find here.

A success.  And a nice little road trip with my dad.

covert farms

While we're nestled in this beautiful Okanagan valley, bursting with lush orchards, the thing to do is go picking.  We went to Covert Organic Farm and pick we did.  We started with blackberries, then moved onto blueberries, then a few strawberries and finished off with some peaches.  Yum and yum. 

We - Jake, Grandma Sandy, Grandpa Egon and myself - filled our big silver pails and taste-tasted as we went.  Plink, plink, plink... into the pail.

Jake was most excited about picking peaches.  He ran through row upon row of peach trees, climbed rickety orchard ladders and took a juicy bite of a perfect peach.  It made for a nice afternoon and we thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of our labour when we returned home.  

And we happily shared with Avery when she woke from her nap and Aunt Kaity who kindly babysat.  Aves quickly devoured a bowl of blackberries and blueberries and had a little purple face to show for it.