Christmas cookies!

What would Christmas be without decorating some Christmas cookies. Last week Kendra and I made the cookies but that was about enough excitement for one day. So, yesterday, while Owen was asleep, we pulled them out of the freezer and did some decorating. I think she actually thought I was joking when I said she could put on the candies! It was quite fun!

Step One: Licking the beaters after Mom made the icing.

















Step Two: Selecting the best candies for the cookie.

































Step Three: Eating them, of course!

A visit with Santa!

Tonight Phantom Screens had their annual Kid's Christmas party. They had crafts, snacks, face painting and presents for all the kids of their employees. After some festive fun, Santa made an appearance and posed for pictures with each child. Last year Kendra was quite scared of Santa so we hoped this year might be better. Not so much! The only way she would get near him was if I came along, and even that was a stretch. Maybe we'll have better luck next year!







Owen, on the other hand, thought he was pretty cool!





He had quite a bit of fun just playing in the sleigh!




























Kendra, not too impressed by the big guy in red!

Owen is ONE year old!!

Our little man turned ONE year old today! I know everyone always says this, but I can't believe how quickly this year has gone. Owen has grown into a loving and happy little guy. He loves to play with his toys and follow his sister around. He is quite a good climber, climbing one to anything he can get up on. He is walking all over the place now, crawling only when he wants to get somewhere really fast!! We have truly been blessed with this miracle!!

Owen opening his present with Daddy this morning.

The box seemed like more fun to climb on than to open!

So, Kendra decided that she would be the big sister and help him open his present!

The birthday cake - Owen is not real big into the whole "eating thing" so the cake was not such a big hit! No pictures of cake smushed all over his face for this 1 year old!!

Weekend in Smithers

I just came back from a weekend trip to Smithers. It was the 5 year anniversay of my Dad's passing away. My sister Sylvia thought it would be nice to go to Smithers and do some remembering with the rest of the family up there. So, Sylvia and me, Kendra and Owen, left the house at 4:45 a.m. on Friday to drive to the airport in Vancouver. We were a bit delayed in leaving, due to some 'iffy' weather in Smithers. By a miracle, the weather cleared just enough for us to land and saved us from having to be diverted to Prince Rupert!

We all had a great weekend together. Lots of visiting, eating, remembering and playing in the snow! Kendra was so excited to see the snow and wanted to make a snowman right away! So after her nap and a trip from Grandma to the thrift store to find some snow boots and snow pants, we were ready! The snow was very wet and heavy - perfect for making a snowman!

Adding some walnuts for a mouth and, of course, a carrot for the nose!

Owen wasn't too impressed with the snow. It was just cold and wet and too hard to move around in. I did sneak a picture of him smiling!

The final product! Kendra was quite excited to tell Owen just "how big" her snowman was!

Fall Pictures

This past weekend we spent a few days out on Mayne Island, visiting with my sister and brother-in-law, Sylvia and Sid. They bought a place there with a beautiful view of the ocean! Life on a small island is very relaxed and it is a great place to unwind. We helped them rake up the leaves in their yard and the kids had fun jumping in the piles we made. Sid took a few family pictures of us - something we don't do very often! Fall just seems to be a good time for pictures!

Of course, I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of just the kids in the leaves!

First Steps!

Our little guy, Owen, took his first steps this week! It is so fun to watch him. He stands up on his own and is so proud of himself. It always amazes me that even at the age of 11 months, they know when they are doing something new! He is still a little wobbly on his own but I'm pretty sure it won't take too long for him to be moving around on his 2 feet!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a nice dinner with Kevin's side of the family on Sunday. We had a very nice service at church this morning. The weather was also much nicer today - a perfect fall day. After all the rain yesterday, I needed to get out today! We went for a walk this afternoon to the park and I managed to take a few pictures of the kids outside. I was hoping to get the 2 of them together on a picture but getting them to both sit still and look at the camera is not quite possible yet!!

Little of this and that

September has now come and is almost gone! Not going back to work as I usually do in September made this one a very calm month. After a fairly busy end of the summer, it was nice to just be at home for a while. We didn't do too much that was very exciting, therefore the lack of blog entries. So, here are just a few snapshots of life at home from the past few weeks!

Bathtime is definitely a favourite activity in our house. They both can't wait until after supper when they can play and spash and be all clean and smelling good before bed!

Owen is wearing a little sweather that Kevin wore when he was a little guy! I almost forgot to take a picture of Owen in it for Oma!

Kendra figured she needed to be in on the picture taking too. Owen doesn't look too impressed!

One of Kendra's lastest favourite things to do - beading. Thanks to Auntie Rosalie for teaching her how to do this at our family reunion! It keeps her busy and it is something Owen can't get into - yet!!

Bridge Lake

The second part of our little holiday was at a last minute family reunion on the Brandsma side up at Bridge Lake (40 min. east of 100 Mile House). We ended up with 33 of the possible 42 members of my family there so it was quite fun. There were a few new additions that family members hadn't met yet so it was nice to finally meet them! The resort was very nice and the weather also cooperated with us. We didn't have too much planned but just all kinda hung out for a few days!

Our little cabin on the lake!

Kendra enjoying a morning on the dock with her Dad.

Auntie Rosalie organized a "Princess Party for Sydney, Kyla and Kendra. They all had tiaras, made bead necklaces, got sprinkles in their hair, had their cheeks painted and got a new umbrella. They all loved it!

The 3 little princesses!!!!!

Owen and his second cousin, Rylan, checking out the newly made necklaces!

Whistler holiday!

We are now back home again after spending a week on holidays. It was so nice to just get away for a few days and hang out as a family. We spent the first 3 days of our holiday in Whistler. We had great weather which is always nice. We spent some time just going for walks, we took the Gondola up the mountain for an afternoon and also spent some time in the pool at our hotel. We spent the last part of our week at Bridge Lake but I'll save that for a different day!

Wow - you need to take a lot of stuff when travelling with 2 kids!!

Standing on top of Whistler Mountain. What a view!

Owen loved riding in the backpack!

Kendra thought the big bear was the coolest thing!

More of my kids!

Here are just a few more shots of my kids. We've had some nice weather finally so have been outside and to the park. Owen loves it in the swing at the park!

He also loves sitting in the "Flinstone car". At first Kendra was a littel miffed that Owen got to sit in "her" car but then she discovered that it was quite fun to push him around in it so all was right in her world once again!

Rock garden

Today we finally finished off the last phase of our lawn. A few months ago we had curbing done on the front and back lawn. Finally today we added the black lava rock to finish it off. Hopefully this will reduce the amount of weeding that needs to be done! It was quite a big job but we are happy with how it looks!

Fort Langley

Yesterday Kevin took the day off and we spent the day out at Fort Langley. The weather was beautiful! After a breakfast at A&W, we headed out to the Fort and were there by about 10:00. It was not very busy yet so we had the run of the place. Kendra had a great time running through the buildings looking at the beaver pelts, sitting in and on barrels and just exploring. Her favourite part was the goats and the cow! We had lunch in the little cafe there and then spent a little while poking through antique shops in the town of Fort Langley. It was a very relaxing and fun day!


Playing "peek-a-boo" in the barrels!


Feeding the goats. They were pretty friendly!


Sitting in the kids' beds in the servant's quarters.


Kendra thought it was more fun to push her stroller than actually sit in it!

My Anniversary Surprise!

Kevin came home from work on Wednesday afternoon and said "Pack a bag for the night - we're goin' somewhere!" At first I didn't believe him but when he actually went and got Kendra out of bed I thought something was up. He said the kids were going to my sister's for the night and we were going somewhere, which of course, he wouldn't tell me where. After a little bit of a crazy packing and writing up some instructions for the kids we were off. (He did admit that maybe next time he should've given me a little more warning as packing for 2 kids requires a little more thought!!)

We began driving out towards Harrison and I thought that was where we were going. However, we turned north towards Hemlock ski resort and then I knew. We drove into the Sandpiper golf course and up to Rowena's Inn on the River. It is beautiful old house that has been converted into a small Victorian style Inn. There are only 5 rooms and it is absolutely gorgeous! We spent the next 24 hours relaxing by the pool, going for walks, reading on our balcony and just enjoying being together. It was a wonderful little surprise get away in celebration of our 6th wedding anniversay that we had on July 21st. I am blessed to have such a great guy for a husband!

"Rowena's Inn on the River". Our room was the middle 2 doors on the top.

What a view from our balcony!

Rain, Cheerios and Puzzles

Yes, it is still raining here! I know this is part of living where we do but I am getting a little tired of it. We are all ready to see the sun again and go for walks, play in the back yard and at the park etc.! However, being inside gives me a little more time to do some scrapbooking and computer stuff! The kids don't seem too affected by all the rain yet. Kendra is really into puzzles and colouring so those are pretty much inside things to do anyway. And Owen is too busy learning new things. He is pulling himself up on everything and moving all over the place. He also learned to eat cheerios last week and thought those were quite fun! We'll see what learning we will do this week!

Owen enjoying his snack of Cheerios!

Owen discovering a whole new world off the floor!

Kendra doing one of many puzzles. Check out the nice hairdo!!