C'est la vie: What we've been up to...

So much for my good intentions. Of blogging on a more regular basis. It was a good thought at the time.

Are you all ready for Christmas? For the most part we are. This week is a very busy week of fun activities. Sooooo..... if things get done they get done and if they don't....we'll still have Christmas and it will still be great!

I love paperwhites/narcissis. They just speak Christmas to me. Maybe because my mom often has them blooming in her windows on Christmas. They are so easy to force. Ridiculously easy. I decided this year to force them to bloom AFTER Christmas. It's so hectic over the holidays and we aren't even home very much to enjoy them anyway. So my strategy this year is to enjoy them in January when things calm down and all the decorations are put away. They're starting to make their appearance...

Last week I joined Max's class on a fieldtrip to Doon Heritage Crossroads. The past few weeks they've been learning about Christmas traditions around the world so this was a fantastic way for them to experience some of them. I have to say, out of all the fieldtrips I've been on....this was my favourite one so far. I think Doon is just fantastic! We started off with a visit to the Blacksmith shop followed by a visit to the old general store...

And then according to Scottish tradition we celebrated Happy Hogmanay (New Years) with very loud yelling and banging of pie plates and a very loud ruckus indeed!

Next we celebrated Christmas at the Martin House (didn't get any photos there) of an Old Order Mennonite Christmas...complete with bowls of nuts and candy and a few rousing games of Button-Button-Be-So-High.

From there we headed over to the German house where we learned about German Christmas traditions and the children coloured their own springerle ornaments.

The last house visit was learning about British customs at Christmas time. Complete with a bite or two of shortbread cookies! :-)

Lots of fun. For a few hours anyway. I figured out that I just wouldn't have made a good pioneer. I really wouldn't have enjoyed life very much back then I don't think.

Thursday brought Pajama Day at school. How cozy and fun is that?!

Friday was the last day before Christmas break. Max and I put together some little treat bags for his class...Christmas ring pops and mini chocolate santas for all. Yes please!

This past weekend included things like....hockey....

Hanging Max's new christmas ornament on the tree...

Our neighbourhood has this great little pond that the kids all skate and play hockey on. Saturday afternoon Keith and Max headed over for some hockey with all Max's little friends. (And the dads too!)

While they were gone, I may have had a impromptu brain wave. To make a batch of popcorn. Which in theory really isn't a bad idea...

Except. How did that happen? It looks caramelized. Yeah. Now that is really not so great an idea. And since there was no one else in the house at the time...I've only got me to blame. Why do I do this to myself? WHY OH WHY?! LOL!

Mr. Rosy red cheeks enjoying a snack after his outdoor hockey afternoon....

And then hunkered down for some blackberry game playing time. Daddy is the best!

Sunday morning before we headed out to church we had a few extra minutes to spare before we left, so snapped our annual dressed up for church pic by the Christmas tree. We've done this for years. So fun to go back and look through previous years. So many different styles of clothing, different houses we've lived in and man! Max is growing up so fast. Slow down buddy!

Sunday evening we went on our annual "Christmas Lights" drive around town to see all the pretty Christmas displays of twinkling lights. We made Max a super-chocolatey-extra-whipped-creamy hot chocolate before we left and stopped at Tim Horton's for coffees for the two adults before driving around looking at the lights. We aren't very extravagant light people. A string across the garage and some twinky lights in a tree. We need to get a bit more creative. Gotta work on that for next year...

We ended our drive at Aunt LeeAnne's house. One of the things that Max has been BEGGING us to do this year is go Christmas carolling. He has big ideas. He was wondering if we could get a special stand so that we could take our piano/keyboard along and he could play outside while we carol. And he wants to carol at people's houses that we don't know. Oh yeah. Soooooo I suggested that we start with some people that we do know and see how it goes first. He agreed. Aunt LeeAnne was our first trial run. We practiced all the way to her house. When she opened her door we burst into a rousing version of "We wish you a merry Christmas." She was quite impressed. Or so she let on. And invited us in. And fed us. Tons of food. All night long. It was all quite a success if you ask me. I think we might be onto something here! LOL! :-)

"Christmas Vacation". Such a classic Christmas movie! I laugh every year when we watch it. It just so happened to be on TV Sunday night so we were watching it and laughing like crazy.

(Incidentally I just want to say that I love all the Christmas movies that they show every night...Did you watch Elf last night? I feel asleep unfortunately. Darn! I have to go and check out what's on tonight. Is it the Nativity Story? Hmmmm...I *think* that's on one of these nights....)

Max serenaded us on LeeAnne's piano with his recital piece "Away in a Manger". He has the whole thing memorized even though he doesn't have to. It's his "go to" piece that he plays everywhere he goes.

And this is what you didn't see in the above picture. A real-life shot... in the days of technology. Keith videotaping him on his blackberry and LeeAnne is taking pictures and videotaping on her camera and I'm taking pictures of them taking pictures. ;-)