CHRISTMAS 2008

This Christmas was a relaxing one, but we really did have alot of fun:) The two kids put the tree up on on December 22nd since we thought that we would be doing this at the new house, we kinda tried to put it off, but unfortunately there was no Christmas Miracles...lol

The children first put up the tree, then they made a gingerbread house, which we still need to take pictures of before they decided to tear into it...lol

These pictures where taken Christmas Eve. We went out for dinner and then came back to the apartment to watch a Christmas movie. (It's a wonderful Life). The kids decided that they wanted to learn how to knit...so...that is what we did.

We were getting ready for bed and blowing up a mattress for Mitchell, since I have a two bedroom apartment, when Susie and her son Liam dropped in to exchange presents. They are our neighbours and my bestest friend here in Montreal. We always have so much fun when we get together.

Once the children started opening presents..that was it...they couldn't stop!! So our plans for opening the gifts in the morning didn't fly...lol We ended up staying up and opening presents with our company and a bottle of Ouzo...lol

Mitchell almost split a gut when he opened one of his gifts from me, since at dinner he was telling me how much he hated to wear a robe...his gift from me....a ROBE!! lol

Nick was opening his present from Mom and Hubbie, he really liked it and can't wait to use it at the house:) At this time, we would really like to say THANK YOU to everyone who sent presents and had us in their hearts this Christmas...we love you all.

We had Christmas Lunch at Nick's parents...It was lovely with Turkey and all the fixings. We went home and went to bed early for our early morning ski trip. (early wasn't early--9:30 the boys got up) So we ended up skiing at Vallee Bleu from 12-4.

The picture above is of the two kids having their healthy lunch at the lodge...lol The two always seem to be laughing and having fun. Nick and I always say how blessed we are that they get along so well, and Mitchell really watches out for Sarah. I love them both so very much.

The two kids walking to the lift after they had their 10 minute lunch...they don't stop much while they are skiing, we really get our monies worth with them. They only came in after 4. The lift stops at 4 and they squeezed in the last run.

The two of them on the chair lift. We really love this hill. It is family oriented and tucked away behind hills. The runs are not too difficult so we don't have to worry about them.

We decided to stay up north overnight so that we could fit in another day of skiing before Sarah was to be dropped off at her dad until the new year. Nick made meatballs and pasta. Very yummy, it isn't the normal place we stay but it had everything we needed for an over night trip.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to ski the next day since we were having rain. Here are the two kids scraping off the inch of ice on the van.

They were really disappointed, but nothing Guitar Hero didn't solve...hehehe

AUNTIE ROCKS!!!!

Do you remember when you were a kid...there was always your "favorite" gift of Christmas? The gift that you just can't put down? The gift that you just NEED to take with you everywhere? The gift that if it ran out of batteries you would just scream and yell until they give you new ones?
I remember growing up with my two sisters and I have memories of some things that we just enjoyed so much that our Christmas was marked for life:)
For example, I remember getting a Holly Hobby Easy Bake oven. That was the Christmas that stands out for me, as well as the year I got the tape recorder (similiar to our kids getting an Ipod), I also remember my younger sister getting a pair of skates. She was very little and these skates had fur around the top of them...she went to bed with them around her neck that year not wanting to let them go. My older sister recieved a knitter thingy...I remember her wanting to use it and not knowing how...tooo funny. These are memories that will follow us through our lives into adulthood and always put a smile on our faces.
I believe this is what my sister did for my little girl.

Sarah and Mitchell were very excited about getting Guitar Hero for Christmas. They were so excited that first thing in the morning they decided to give it a try.

They played from morning until we left for lunch at 2'ish. But they BEGGED to take it to Nick's parents place so that they could play there! We no longer had lunch down, the two of them flew out of the room to hook up the wii. They played until 9'ish!!

The following morning we were getting ready for our ski trip up north, and behold...they decided they needed to have their fix!! lol But not only did they need their fix, they just couldn't go over night without having their fun.......

....so they begged to take it up north!! So we skied the day and as soon as we entered the hotel room...they began to play ....AGAIN!! Well...I just couldn't understand why they were soooo addicted.....

...so I gave it a whirl...and now I know...WHAT ALOT OF FUN!! Thank you so much Auntie for making our kids Christmas just that much more special:)

TRICK OR TREAT

This year has been a super year for Halloween!! The weather was excellent, the candy plentiful, and the kids had a blast!
This year Sarah-Lou went out as Medusa. She looked so sweet in her costume. She had the company of her friend since pre-K, Cassandra and our long time friend "Auntie Sue's" son Liam.

I ran home to everyone waiting for us...but the makeup job was good anyways;) lol

In our area, there were alot of houses decorated really good!

This brought a tear to my eye, since I have two sisters and we would go out on Halloween and do the same thing when we got home. That was always the major fun of Halloween ...checking out our loot!!

Even the adults had some fun;) lol

These two little goblins were exhausted at 11PM. They had a 1.5KM run that day...Sarah did hers in 8.09 minutes. I am very proud of her since she is on antibiotics and was not breathing well.

ULTIMATE FREEEEZBIE

Sarah is really taking an active part in school this year. She has decided to join everything she can and participate to her fullest. She tried out for the "Ultimate" team and made it on the "A" team. They went to another school to play against other schools in a tournament. They won every game one of which Sarah got 2 touch downs. Her momma was very proud. They ended up winning that game 11-1!!!!!
Sarah has also joined the band at her school and is playing flute, she has signed up for soccer...and it just never ends:)))) But, she is a happy little girl..and that is what is most important to her mom:)

Nick's nephew was also playing...so I took the opportunity to get them both in a photo:)

PS...THE REASON FOR CALLING IT FREEEEZZBIE IS BECAUSE THE KIDS HAD TO RUN AROUND TO KEEP WARM..IT WAS A COLD, DAMP DAY.

LABOUR OF LOVE

From the pictures added to this blog you now can get a bit of an idea what color my floors are going to be;)
Nick was giving pointers to his son on how to install a bull nose...doesn't look like any "bull" I know...hehehehe

Mitchell said on Monday that is wrists were very sore, as well as his knees. I myself, felt great on Monday...mwahhhhhhahhhhehehe (had my chair and supervised;))

Well...last weekend the "boys" were at the house putting down the hardwood floors. They got the three rooms and the hallway done. They started on Saturday-worked alllll day and into the evening...and then again on Sunday, but it did get done:)

This weekend, since both kids are away with their "others", we most likely will be putting in some hard time at the house. I hope you all have a wonderful "HAPPY THANKSGIVING", and you all are in my heart and mind this weekend and always:)))))))

Hey MOM----Look...I cut my hair...just for you...Mwahh

BOATING BABES

Sarah and I had a wonderful time, we were invited to Mardie and Richard's boat. It is docked in the states, about an hour from here. Mardie and I hadn't seen each other all summer so we had alot of catching up to do. We stayed up until 2:30AM talking:) It was a great time!!


Richard had to work so I drove down, and Mardie had her niece with her. It was great, Sarah had a little friend to play with.

Mardie also has a cute little puppy..and Sarah just couldn't let him go!! lol

The kids had to have him eat with them!! lol

The girls getting ready for a little spin in the dingy.

They went in circles...but had fun.

They went for a swim....

While Mardie and I watched on....

And again...they ate...and puppy was watching on...hhehehehe...too funny...

It was a relaxing two days...we all had fun..and it was great too spend time with a dear friend.

FUN PACKED WEEKEND

Our trip to New Brunswick was a fun filled one!! We left here (Montreal), on Thursday and came back Monday. With Nick and Mitchell never before seeing NB I tried to pack in as much as we all could handle. Let the pictures tell the story-- there were others things we did beside this--hopefully I will remember everything and fit it in the story with the pictures.

We left Montreal around 7'ish--arrived in the Miramichi around 6'ish--just in time for supper:) Mom had an extremely packed seafood chowder ready--Nick had about 5 bowls--hehheheee

Since it was Sarah's 11Th Birthday --Nana had an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen for desert. One of Sarah's favorite things...is ice-cream! Nick and Mitchell surprised her with an Ipod!

Another surprise when Sarah arrived was a delivery of flowers from her Auntie Lise, Paden and Uncle Mark. She was very excited that they remembered her.

On Friday morning we all were very tired and had a really good sleep in. We then decided since it was a beautiful day that we would go and do some sight-seeing. We went down to Ritchie's Wharf. While walking the wharf, we notice that they offer boat tours (if you are ever in the area, they offer this for $5.00 per person) We proceed to inquire and we end up with our very own boat and captain.

Mitchell and Sarah had the opportunity to steer the boat. The captain pointed out the buoys to follow as well as local things that peeked alot of questions.

Sarah was alittle more shy then Mitchell...hehehe We got to see the Miramichi from a different view, which is really interesting. We got to see hawks with the help of binoculars provided by the captain.

I couldn't resist taking this picture of my sisters favorite house. while she lived in the Miramichi, my mother and Lise would drive by and drawl. I know why...this is my favorite place also. It is actually for sale...if you have an extra 550, 000. laying around;)

The boat tour was an hour long and we all had a very nice time.

Sarah and I got to cuddle(since she was in the back of a van for 9 hours on her birthday)and we enjoyed the view while having a mother/daughter moment. A lot of changes came this summer for her..and she is my little lady..all grown up.

For lunch we went to Greco Donair. The guys, being Greek got a huge kick out of this. Since, it is called a "donor", not a donair, they just had to try them. We made it a take out and headed over to Frenchport Cove. We arrived just in time to get under a roofed in picnic table and the sky opened up. It gave us enough time to have a couple of games of Uno with the kids. The sun finally came out and we walked around the lake--hearing the kids scream and yell over bugs. (city kids)

Hubert allowed Mitchell to cut his grass using his prized possession;) Mitchell had a blast--with every turn we could see a huge smile on his face.

Nick had a craving for corn, so we ran down to the grocery store and had corn on the BBQ--with steaks tossed in for good measure...lol

Of course the kids had to make a stop at the $ store...and they both had a huge laugh over the NOT so huge inflatable bed Mitchell thought he owned...lol

We woke on Saturday to the sweet smelling scent of Hubie making his amazing blueberry pancakes with sausage no less!!

Saturday we headed off to Bathurst for Rebecca's wedding. The back drop was beautiful, but not as beautiful as the bride. You can also make out Lisa standing behind. It was a lovely day...it rained and stopped just long enough for the happy couple to say "I Do".

Mom and Hubert enjoyed their time. Mom had more then one glass of wine, which made me almost fall right off my chair...hehehe...but the day was a good one:)

We all filled our faces with the home-made salads and dishes. And of course the dessert was a huge hit with Sarah.

The day ended with me driving back to the Miramichi, after of course, dropping into Nana O's and Papa Lou Lou's to say a final good-bye. ( and of course seeing Sr. Pat was great!) We took the long way around to show the guys Youhall beach, where I went to school, and where Dad and Ginette lives.

On Sunday we headed to Shediac. We had a wonderfully-fabulous time!! The weather was great...and the company even better. We sat in the sun all afternoon with a walk in between. The two kids never leaving the water long enough to dry up! hehehe

They had a plan!! The day before while at the $store, they purchased a container and a net. They wanted to catch hermit crabs. They found over 20!

Their lips were blue, but they weren't giving up! The water was extremely cold...but that didn't stop these two.

We arrived at the beach around 1'ish...and at the end of the day (around 5'ish) they both looked like they could use a nap. NOT!!!!

A man came around the camp site selling co-hogs. Nick just can't resist anything being sold, especially if it is food..and he could get a deal!! lol Ginette steamed them up...and melted butter...gosh..they were very good. Good buy indeedy...lol

As you can see by the kids faces..they were not certain about it...lol But once they started eating them...they wanted more and vocalized it.

To add to the appetizers theme, Dad and Ginette treated us to Lobster. The taste was indescribable. I have had my share of lobster, but these were awesome. I am not sure if it was because of eating them outdoors, but...it was an experience that we all will treasure for a very long time.

Mitchell decided that chasing Sarah with one was alot more fun then eating them...hehehe

The kids enjoyed them just as much as the adults did...it was a topic of conversation on our way back to Montreal.

Nick ate everything, including things I am sure you aren't suppose to eat...hehhehe

Long after the "Ladies" had finished up...the guys just couldn't fill their boots enough until the last drop was eaten. hehehe (what is the saying---busy hands....) lol

It was very difficult for all of use to leave NB. We had a very nice time, but it was wayyyy to short, and that was on all of our minds and tongues.

We stopped at Grand Falls Gorge on the way home. There were many times that I had driven past and always wanted to stop but never did. I am glad we stretched our legs here, it was beautiful.

We arrived back here around 7'ish...wishing that we were still in NB...but happy for the safe drive. We all had a wonderful time, and a HUGE thank you to everyone that made it so special for Nick and Mitchell's first trip to NB.