Sledding

We finally managed a family sledding outing on Saturday. It was the first time Austin has gone sledding in two years! Since he was only 1 1/2 at the time, that tells you how much sledding he did.

 Jason took the girls a couple of weeks ago when Austin was sick. They ended up crash landing at the end, so Karissa was a little hesitant this trip. Austin had the time of his life. After every run down the hill, he'd say, "I love that!" Victoria enjoyed it as well, though it was a different and smaller hill from the one we usually do, so maybe not quite as thrilling for her. Erik just tried to climb up the hill, with no success, and would get frustrated slipping on the snow. He did go down a few times, though I don't think he got a thrill out of it either.

Check out Austin's face compared to Karissa's here...

Victoria always went down without warning, so I never got a good shot of her in motion.

Again, Austin having the time of his life.

Erik, a little hesitant- Daddy, exuberant!

Auto Show

On MLK day, Jason took the three older kids to the auto show. I decided to stay back with Erik since I didn't feel like paying for my ticket to chase him around the place. They all had a great time and Victoria took tons of pictures with her own camera. I'm not very knowledgeable about cars, but here some cool ones that the kids liked.

The mascot for their school is a mustang, so the Mustang was a favorite.

 Erik and I had a relaxing time with no fighting, teasing, pick-ups, or drop-offs to worry about. We didn't even run any errands! I felt like a new mom with just my 1-year-old to take care of. I remember when that was boring, but it was a nice break yesterday!

Karissa's 6th

Karissa celebrated her 6th birthday recently. When in Canada, she got a surprise chocolate cake made by my step-brother.

The day after we returned was her actual birthday. Jason had run to the grocery store when we got back to get the necessities, as well as some pizza and mini cupcakes for Karissa's birthday on that Sunday. I think the best gift to her was being home and playing with all her own toys, but she also enjoyed the stamps she got, a Hello Kitty hoodie, a princess lip gloss and jewelery set, boots, a look-and-find book, and a puppy purse.

For her party, she really wanted a PJ party. So her friends all wore their pjs. We did some dancing games at the beginning (I can't throw a party without dancing!) and a game of pictionary. Then is was off to the girl's room for stories. Victoria wanted to read, so it ended up only being one story, but the kids were so attentive! Next, they decorated pillow cases. For lunch we had pancakes, oranges, and milk, and of course birthday cake. After opening presents they curled up in blankets and watched Sleeping Beauty. It was a fun and very easy party and I got to host it in my pjs!

The funniest thing about Karissa's birthday celebrations is that each time we sang to her and she blew out the candles she blew them out the second we finished singing, not even waiting a second to make a wish or to even suck in her breath. The reason I find this so amusing is that she takes her time with most other things, like getting ready, though she has improved in that area. She's not longer painfully slow to get ready, just slow.

I have to say how proud I am of her. She went into all-day kindergarten from only two days of preschool that was only for 2 hours! She adjusted well and is learning so much! My opinion of all-day kinder has changed. I now think it is great! She went from barely being able to count past 30 one day, to counting to 100 the next day, it seems. And she'll ask anyone if they want to hear her count to 100. She can count by 2's to 100 now too. She's reading the "popcorn" words and sounding out many other words. Watching her run out the door to catch her ride is a hoot. She's still so little and her backpack goes way past her bum... it's so cute! She still loves to sing and dance and draw (which she's getting very good at). Her all-time favorite is still cuddling with whoever will cuddle with her. She has taken to helping me with Erik, something she's pretty good at. I can trust her to keep an eye on him if I leave the room sometimes more than Victoria.

Happy Birthday to my sweet 6-year-old !

In Case You Were Wondering

In case you were wondering if we got our kids any size able gifts for Christmas, other than our vacation to Quebec, each of the older three got one the last Friday before the break.


Victoria got a bike (we used a gift card Jason received from work, so this was free!)

 Karissa got a guitar. This one we knew everyone would like since they all like to be "rock stars". They have done a good job sharing it.

Austin got a train table that I convinced Jason to make for him. Isn't it awesome?! He did such a great job. We got the rug from IKEA. The rug isn't currently on it right now, since the girls have set up their "tiny town" houses on it. It's great b/c it's another gift they can all enjoy. It's a little higher than we thought, but it keeps their toys safe from Erik right now and he can enjoy stuff on the ground. It's very sturdy, so they can just sit on top of it and we can also use it as an extra table for eating!

Quebec Trip

For Christmas this year we thought we would do something different. We took advantage of Jason's time off work and drove up to Quebec City. Driving up there was a cinch. Canadian roads are nice and straight and we kept cutting back minutes from the "arrival time" on our Garmin, which usually never happens! (Driving back was another story with a snow storm, but the kids did great.)

We took two shorter days to drive there, stopping near Kingston for church the Sunday before Christmas. It was a nice little branch with less than 20 pews and they weren't even a 1/3 filled up! Christmas Eve found us at Benjo's Toy Store (one of those really expensive toy stores that you just look and dream and play with the displays). We then hiked, in our snow suits with strollers, up the hill to the "old city" which is still surrounded by walls. It's the only North American city surrounded by walls. Walking up reminded me of Geneva. The city itself reminded me of a combo of different villages and cities in France and Switzerland. Add to the fact that it's French-speaking and our kids felt like they were with us in Europe! Victoria worried about communicating with people, but as I suspected, pretty much everyone speaks English as well. I just approached with my polite, "Par le vous Anglais?" (I'm sure my spelling is very off) and all my questions were answered and problems solved!

Benjo's Toy Store

Stuffed and ready to go! Erik wasn't thrilled!

Included in our day in "old city" was a ride down the slide, a visit to the castle, a very tired and cold-footed Erik, dinner at the creperie, and a walk through the alleys passing all the beautifully decorated shops. The city really enjoys the holidays and it showed- it was beautiful!

The castle (chateau)

 Getting ready to go down the slide

 Enjoying warmth in the castle



We brought some small presents the kids opened Christmas in the hotel, which was not bad being in a hotel on Christmas. I didn't have to worry about cooking or cleaning, just relaxing and playing! We went swimming in the indoor pool, that had a slide, skyped with grandparents, ate a rotisserie chicken heated in our room microwave, then went to Montmorency Falls and for a drive on Ile d' Orleans (Orleans Island in the river).

 Austin just went down the slide here

 The kids loved climbing the "snow mountain"

 The falls are 99 feet taller than Niagra

Our final day in Quebec City we ate at another French restaurant, played on more snow mountains, went to an exhibit at a museum about ancient tribes and animals of Canada (Erik's favorite since he could walk around on the hard, unfrozen ground with no snow clothes on!), and saw the battleground where the English defeated the French.

For the next leg of our trip we drove through a major snow storm (20 inches of snow fell that day!) to get to my step-brother Bob's house in Sherbrooke. The kids enjoyed being tourists, but I think they really liked being at a home with other kids and toys. Bob and Jennifer surprised us with a birthday cake for Karissa's 6th and a delicious lunch and dinner. We enjoyed visiting and the kids enjoyed playing with toys and in lots and lots of snow!

Our last day before the big drive we went down to see Josee, Bob's x-wife, who is still a good friend of mine. We followed Bob as he took his kids. Our kids met her younger three and enjoyed more toys, snow, and food with family. 

We had a great time and we would do it again!