Christmas in Calgary 2009

We actually will not be in Calgary at Christmas time, and neither will Mama Trish & Papa Se, so Christmas in Calgary 2009 came early this year. In the minus -25 degree celcius weather, the 5 of us made our way over to Mama Trish & Papa Se's condo for an evening of fun, food, a few presents and lots of laughs. There's usually a lot of laughs at any family gathering we are at, but at Christmas time, those laughs seem particularly special.

Here's a few shots of the fun we had at our Christmas in Calgary 2009:

Presents under the Christmas tree...
The table is set for dinner...
Keegan, Connolly & Josh go through their gifts...

Smiles all around...(L-R: C, K, J)

Daddy & Mummy...

Time to eat...
After dinner, it was time for the fun to begin...
Fun in the form of Wii Bowling and Tennis...

Connolly admires the reindeer outside...
Josh is giddy about Mama Trish's homemade fudge...
Keegan plays 'dj'... Josh...
Connolly...
Keegan

School Christmas Concert 2009

Keegan, Josh & Connolly were in their first Christmas concert today. They sang a bunch of songs and did so great. They were front & centre, and they didn't seem to mind one bit. Keegan stood up and sang by himself 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' before the concert started to entertain the parents while we waited. A few other kids sang some of their favourite songs as well.

Once the concert started, they sang songs such as 'Jingle Bells', 'I'm a little Snowman', 'Alouette' and 'Frère Jacques'. It was fun 90 minutes of songs and good eats afterwards. Even some of the parents (well, the mom's) got up and sang for the kids and other parents (Mama Trish and I sang 'Deck the Halls').

The Countdown has begun

We booked the trip in March of this year, but that would've made for a really large countdown calendar had we started it then.

Our Countdown Calendar for Mexico 2009 has been up for about 2 weeks now and Keegan, Josh & Connolly insist on marking each day off with a big 'X' as it arrives. We are down to 18 sleeps til we go to Puerto Vallarta. The boys are also excited about the '17 sleeps, which means it's time to stay in the airport hotel. Our flight leaves very early in the morning, so we decided rather than catching a cab from home at 4:00 a.m., we would stay at the airport hotel and walk across the +15 at 4:45 a.m.

Mexico 2009 will be shared with Mama Sherry, Papa Dennis, Auntie Keltie, Uncle Michael, Laurel, Ashley & Heather. Yes, that's 6 kids (5 under 6 yrs old), 6 adults.

This is our second time taking the boys to Puerto Vallarta for Christmas. The first time, in 2006, Keegan, Josh & Connolly were only 19 months old and though it was a lot of fun, it was a very structured schedule for us. The boys napped every day around 2pm and in the evenings, it didn't matter where we were in Puerto Vallarta, Steve, the boys & I were in a cab or walking back to the hotel no later than 8pm. Mexico 2009 will be much more relaxing with no naps (or very few, and unscheduled), no early nights (the boys bedtime at home is 9:30 p.m. and later on weekends sometimes) and Steve/I can finally enjoy swimming in the pool ourselves, without 3 little boys climbing on our backs or wanting to be held for fear their life-jacket won't keep them up.

Keegan, Josh & Connolly, as you know have been in swimming lessons this year. They completed 'Salamandar' and are now in 'Sunfish'. From there, they will become 'Crocodiles'. Along with the lessons and all the swimming we do during camping season, we now have 3 boys who are confident swimmers and have no need for a pesky life jacket any more.

It's not only Steve & I who are going to enjoy Puerto Vallarta a lot more this time around. Keegan, Josh & Connolly will too. And I will definitely remember not to order a clubhouse sandwich this time around.


For a look back at our trip in 2006, go HERE.

A little bit of Holiday Cheer

A little bit of Holiday Cheer as we approach another Christmas Season and the end of another Year!

The Singing Gambles

The HipHopping Gambles

Why not have a little dancing fun with yourself & your family for the holidays. Elf Yourself!!!!

First School Pictures

*These are just the proofs so the quality might look a bit off on the pictures*

More Live Action Footage

To add to the videos posted below of Keegan, Josh & Connolly, here are a few more. Some are from their most recent skating class (Oct. 31/09) and some are from July/August '09 when they were out for walks or riding their bikes.

Sugar High Eve 2009 (aka Halloween)

The Mini Flames with their #1 Fans...

Trick or Treat...

Some of the houses on our street go all out...
Not too bad a stash for only 'trick 'r treating' half our street...


The Mini Flames with Mama Trish Witch and Papa Se Witch...

It's that time of year again

Keegan, Josh & Connolly went to school this past week in their halloween costumes - The #1 line for the Calgary Flames! Their junior kindergarten class paraded themselves over to the senior's residence close to the preschool and had cookies & juice with the residents.

More pictures & some videos from Keegan, Josh & Connolly's pre-halloween visit with Mama Sherry & Papa Dennis.

Skating lessons at the Olympic Oval...

Josh & Connolly playing with their train set...

The 2nd Annual 'Pre-Halloween'

This is the 2nd year in a row where Mama Sherry & Papa Dennis came for a pre-halloween visit. Keegan, Josh & Connolly get dressed up in what will be their costumes for Oct. 31st and go 'door to door' in the house yelling 'Trick or Treat'. This year, they even got a special surprise when the door was opened.

Pumpkins from their pumpkin hunt @ Butterfield Acres Farm, their very first field trip for school
The 'scary' pumpkin to terrify the trick or treaters on Halloween
2009 Costumes - Dressed up as the Sutter Brothers

A quick game before going downstairs to trick or treat

Keegan takes a rest on the 'bench'
Keegan, Connolly on the other 'bench'
Josh rests on his own 'bench'
Keegan

Josh

Connolly

The surprise when trick or treating...Mama Sherry & Papa Dennis had their own costumes to reveal
Josh, Connolly, Keegan
Helping Mama & Papa with their departure back to Winnipeg
See you soon
T-shirts from Egypt, courtesy of Mama Sherry & Papa Dennis's recent trip there