A Whirlwind Christmas

What's better than spending Christmas with your family? How about six Christmases with six different families?? And of course a meal at almost every single one of them.

We began our whirlwind tour with a day at Granny and Papa's in Central Butte. Everyone but Uncle Mike, who had to work, was able to make it out for the day.









Travis and I snuck out that afternoon to visit Grandma Hart who was a lot more spunky than the last time we stopped by. No picture to show you, she opted not to as her hairdresser wasn't coming out until the next day. We'll snag a picture next time.

The next morning was present time with Mom Rehbein and Larald (thanks for the loot!) and then we were off again to Larald's brother's home for supper with the Shaw's.

After a lazy morning and a quick family photo op.
We ran across town to Uncle Dennis's place for the Hart Christmas. We had a chance to sit down with Dad and Linda Hart, and of course Vikki and Scott. The Christmas Poker game was squeezed in right before dinner and Travis walked away with........$4!!! (buy in was $2)

We said goodbye and shot across town again.

Tired yet? Wait, there's still more!!

This time to Tim and Liz's home where the Ulrich family was getting together. Well, a portion of the Ulrich family was getting together...

And who of all people should swing by but Rachel Driedger who I haven't seen for at least two years. So glad you called!!

Much, much later that night after a lot of singing, scrabble, dutch blitz..... we crawled into bed to rest up for the sixth and final Christmas get together.

Boxing day morning we met at Benjamin's new place for the Fehr Christmas. Even though he's in the middle of renos, Benjamin played a super host and even managed to sneak Steph out for a bit of a visit.




And that was our whirlwind Christmas. Dizzy yet? Try doing it on a continuously full stomach! For those of you we didn't make it out to see, we're sorry. We tried, really we did. I hope you had a great Christmas, and maybe we'll see you sooner then you think!

Christmas Warm-ups

It's officially time for stretchy pants, and we're still a week and a half away from Christmas!
Last Friday Travis and I attended our church's annual Christmas banquet, where for the price of $3/person and 2L of pickles, we were able to eat ham & turkey till our hearts were content and our pants pulled at their seams. It was wonderfully laid back. No fancy programs or games this year. Just a chance to eat good food with some really good friends.

Fast forward to Saturday, our apartment building had a Christmas supper. So once again, we bellied up to the table and stuffed ourselves with more turkey.

Sunday we took the day nice and slow and met up with a group of friends at the Stoker's new place in Round Hill. And of course, ate more food. Travis and I are the only couple out of the 10 of us without kids, and so naturally, they fascinate me. And surprisingly, I don't terrify them!

This is Saraphina. Her dad, Adam, was baptized the same day Travis was. Saraphina is nothing but sunshine and giggles. At one point she was topless and sitting in a box she had just emptied.

This is Avery, you've seen pictures of his older brother Darien in a previous post. Avery decided he wanted to wear Travis's sweater. And how can you refuse that face? And yes, you're seeing things correctly. The pastor's son is sucking on a cross.

This is Serri. We play volleyball with Matt and Alissa on Monday's, and after a year of living in the same town we finally got together!

So now we're spending the week digesting, going for long walks and getting ready for yet another weekend full of Christmas warm-ups. We're doing our part to get ready for Christmas, what are you doing?

November - A Long Overdue Update

Where did November go? I try to remember what we've done and where we've been, but it's all a blur of school, work, essay proofing, trying to decide what to make for supper, forgetting to make supper.... I realize it's been a long time since we last updated this page, but in all honesty, other than a few special days, not a whole lot has happened. Well, nothing anyone really wants to read about. That being said, here's what happened to us last month.....

That same weekend Cindy and Larald came out for a visit. It was great to see them again, it's been a long time. And Larald gave us the honor of taking him on his first trip to the West Edmonton Mall. And boy did we choose a terrible day to go! Wall-to-wall people, and it wasn't even December yet! Unfortunately, I forgot the camera and we have no pictures for Larald to remember his big day by. Sorry Larald. But we'll think of you every time Travis puts on his flashy new shoes.

We said goodbye early Monday morning. I went to work, Travis to school, and Cindy & Larald back to Swift. Not even an hour after we had said goodbye, a friendly Sherwood park Nissan kissed our bumper. A perfect start to a freezing cold day. And no, it's still not fixed.

Fast forward to the weekend. I had big plans that included Christmas decorations and cookies. Well, I fought the tree up just in time to shower and race off to the Ulrich Cattle Liner Christmas party. It looks kind of funny. The tree that is. All the lights are on the inside. And sadly, there are still no Christmas cookies.

That Sunday Travis and I were accepted as members at the church we've been attending for the last year. A big step, but we're glad we finally made it.

After the service we went to Sherwood park with Murray & Sharron for dinner and I was finally able to see the Petro plant that Travis worked at all summer. The very tall tower in the center is what he was painting all those months. Pretty impressive.

And that was November. Thrilling I know. We like to live life on the edge when we can.

We hope your month was a little more interesting than ours was and we can't wait to hear about it when we see you in a couple of weeks.

And finally, Cindy, I thought I'd add this just for you.....