Christmas Day activities

The princess on her throne!

David and his gift. He and Andrew duct taped Andrew's camera to it and video taped the truck's adventures. (A helmet cam)

Pictures of the Christmas Day ride. It was C-O-L-D. Poor Julia, she wasn't dressed warm enough had a bad ride.

LuAnn and David's visit

We have been having a great time with David and LuAnn. Here are two pictures of us skiing today and getting LOTS of fresh air and excercise. It was great! We all made is back home in one (unbroken) piece, for which we are thankful.

Here are the dogs and their servents (umm, I mean owners) opening their Christmas gifts. More pictures to come.

The Proud Popa (to be)

Odie and Ellie have been bumped up to living in the house lately again due to the very cold weather and snow storm we have had this weekend. They are enjoying to increased attention and playtime. Ellie is sure growing big. Odie is looking very mature (although he doesn't act that way very often. His whining HAS decreased, which is helping with being allowed in the house!)

Today (Sunday) we stayed home from church (which was holding their Christmas play) because of a big snow storm that is trying to bury us! The kids are hoping it will continue well into tomorrow so school will be cancelled.

Yesterday, before the snow storm started, Leah rode Sierra in the Santa Clause parade in St. Clements. She rode with her school friends (and their parents) and Sierra did really well. She is SUCH a great horse with all that commotion going on around her. When the parade was over, they rode around town to see some friends. The weather was SO cold, and I was very glad I was not riding.

I have been working about 1 day a week now, so there is lots of time for me to get ready for the holidays. I am also doing some building for the whelping pen/box for Ellie. I am enjoying learning how to use the power tools (for the most part. . . they still scare me a bit).

The kids have their school Christmas program on Wednesday evening and are busy getting ready for that. We are all looking forward to their time off from school.

We're Expecting. . .

. . . puppies, that is! Ellie May is due to have them the first week in January. We (well, most of us!) are pretty excited about that. We have been busy trying to figure out where we are going to have the whelping box. We decided to put it under the basement steps because it is right by the chimney (which is warm) and is a closed-in area the perfect size for mom and pups. We are currently laying some linoleum and making some sort of bedding box for them. Poor Odie, he will have to learn to live as a bachelor for a few weeks while Ellie is in the house with the pups.

Out with the Old. . . .

. . . and in with the even older! Jim is selling his KTM dirtbike (top photo) and recently bought this Yamaha (bottom photo). He says he is too old for motocross racing and just wants a dirtbike that he can trail ride with. How 'bout that color?? Looks like a bike for me! He wants to change the seat color and racing stickers.

Giving Thanksgiving. . .

. . . .for a day off school. Today was a snow day for the kids due to icy roads and a small snow storm. They were certainly thankful for the day off and we ended up doing some Christmas shopping at the mall. It was hard to remember that it was a BIG holiday in the U.S., and this is the first year I think that I did not make a Thanksgiving meal on the US holiday. I must be adapting pretty well to Canadian life! Jim was a bit disappointed (he LOVES those big meals with gravy and mashed potatoes!) but Andrew (who washes dishes this week) was not! HAPPY THANKSGIVING all you Americans!!!

Birthday Boy

On Saturday, Daniel got to have his "big" birthday party. Each of the kids get to have one big one when they turn 10. Daniel wanted to have his at Kid's Zone, a large indoor play place. He invited 7 friends (one of them being Julia) and they had a great time. The top picture if of all of them going down a surprisingly fast slide. The bottem picture is of the cake they served him in his party room. He said it was his best birthday ever! He also had a smaller, family party on the 18th (Sunday) his real birthday. He got some dirt bike gear from Grandma and Grampa S., A. Jane, and Mom and Dad.