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!!