Happy 12th Birthday Sedona!

I can't believe Sedona is 12! When I think of my age, I don't feel old, but when I think of her age, I think, "What, how can I have a 12 year old?" This year, we had some of her friends over for pizza, dessert and a movie, and then went out for dinner on her real birthday with her good buddy Gracey.

New Years Day

On New Years Day, Chris and I got out for a ride (much of it in the snow) and then walked down to the beach with the girls. I love that about the coast..... you can be in two completely different climates and ecosystems on the same day.

Happy 43rd Birthday Chris!

You're looking good.... not much different from when I first met you!

Dakota Ridge

We love our days on the local mountains!

Christmas Day

The older the kids get, the more relaxed Christmas becomes! We had a really nice morning, a family bike ride, followed by Christmas dinner at our house. I didn't get many pictures, but here's a few.Our elf on the shelf left us that message on the window- we have such fun with our elf called Zippy! He did all sorts of fun things this year like wrap the toilet in wrapping paper, tape Aja's doorway, so she had to crawl out of her room, eat m&m's that were under the Christmas tree, roll down the stairs in toilet paper, photocopy himself. That Zippy is a troublemaker!

Polar Express

Every year we make steamed milk, listen to Christmas carols, and drive around looking at all the lights. This year, my mom was out for it.

Manning Park

We went to Manning Park for 3 nights just after school ended, and rented a cabin with Ann, Abdrew and the boys. This is the perfect family winter spot! There is an outdoor skating rink, where we played lots of hockey, an indoor swimming pool, cross country ski trails, a tube park (closed when we were there though), a place for sledding, and a ski hill. The kids all did two days of snowboarding and loved it! Chris and Andrew got a day of downhill skiing in and I got out for a really nice solo cross country ski. I could see making this a yearly tradition!

Hummingbird Frenzie

The hummingbirds have been so hungry this winter! We have two feeders side by side, and have counted as many as 17 hummingbirds fighting over the food at one time!

Snow Day

Back at the beginning of December, we had our first snow day. The girls were supposed to be home that day anyway, as it was a professional development day, but Chris and I had to go to work. Chris and I took the girls out for a walk though before we had to work to play in the snow. Just enough time for a snowball fight and to build a snowman! We were supposed to get so much snow this winter, but it keeps missing the coast and hitting Vancouver, so we'll take it when we get it!

Book Club Get Away

Last month, my book club went away to Vancouver for a night. We stayed downtown at the Four Seasons Hotel. Erin and I did the Grouse Grind and that was the first time I've done it. I'm glad I can finally say that I've done it! That night we all went out for an amazing Thai feast and went dancing, which was a blast. The next day we had a nice brunch before heading home. Even Jenn from our club, who recently moved to the island, made it over. It's such a treat to get away with a bunch of girlfriends like that.

Halloween

This year the girls dressed up as a werewolf and a Sugar Skull doll.

Thanksgiving

I can't believe I'm just getting around to posting this, but we were lucky to have my brother, Alli, and James, as well as my Mom, come out for Thanksgiving. It was a beautiful weekend and we spent a lot of the time outside.

Cross Country Running

For the first time since I've been working here (18 years), we have a cross country running team. At the beginning of the year, we were invited by the only other elementary team on the coast for a meet. Sedona did her first race and came 2nd in her age category. Now Aja has also joined the team and will join us for a meet or two in the spring. Every Wednesday morning, Chris and I (now that we are teaching at the same school) take a group of kids out for a 3-4 km run. It's humbling, because even though we are runners, some of these kids are FAST, and I can't even keep up to the top runners!

The Colour Run

Chris, the girls and I went into the city to do a 5 km "Colour Run." There were 6,000 people, and we went in heats of 200. You start with a white shirt, and then along the way, there are colour stations where volunteers spray you with all different colours. It was super fun, and the girls did great!