Christmas is Coming the Goose is Getting Fat

 We LOVE these families! 

It's so fun to have friends that when we spend time together, we feel totally at home. All three families we stayed with on this trip have 6 kids too so that makes 12 kids with us- hello instant party! That's what I try to tell myself most days, 6 kids is like a 24/7 party, it's wild and fun, all the time...

 This year as part of creating Christmas magic I bought a fun popcorn machine. I was picturing spending the evenings reading in front of the tree and munching on popcorn. We actually use it every single day. Lunch time, bedtime snack, dessert... We pop it with coconut oil and then drizzle maple syrup over it with some sea salt. It's amazing. Ezra asks for it the most, he calls it Pop pop pop.

 Jane had a fancy shmancy cello concert at the Legislature building. It was neat to go see the lights and listen. It put me in a Christmasy mood.

Jenny and Eli are awesome about coming to our recitals and other things. I wish I could explain how much it means to the kids but you have to be here to understand. My whole family comes whenever they can and that's really been the beauty of living here again.

The Royal Alberta Museum is my favorite fieldtrip still. I love that place. It's an amazing museum. They took a rocks and minerals class for the morning and then we had the rest of the day to explore.

Grammy came with us. She floats in like a fairy godmother and sprinkles love everywhere she goes :)

I loved Ez in his museum-esque suit jacket, taking notes on the pertinent information.

 Scarlet got WAY into the class. She wanted to do it all even though she wasn't officially taking the class.

We took Grammy to see the Nutcracker at the Jubilee. It was so so awesome!

 Charlie had a piano recital and he won second place for most practice sessions- go Charlie! Afterwards, we got to go celebrate Uncle Eli's birthday. I love going over to their house and seeing Jenny in action- she's a homemaking genius. Beautiful tree, and home, delicious cake, happy kids... Tim and I always feel like we learn a lot about life after we hang out with them.

 The kids spend warm afternoons at the rink by our house. It's great for them to get some winter exercise. I'm always amazed that Scarlet stays out with them.

 This is the giant baby.

This is the tiny baby.

This poor baby gets dragged all over town. We LOVE her! A. LOT.