The last few days in pictures...

My precious wee man, so very tired at the end of each day, glad to hit the tub with some "bubbles" (aka Scooby Doo bath foam) before bed...

evenings of candlelight before and after kids are tucked into bed...games are much funner played in the soft light...such a calming way to end the day....

our hungry Blue Jay who is a daily visitor along with his friends...love the corn still in his beak...

Claire would like everyone to know that she "won" our last game of Scrabble... the games have not stopped since Christmas morning, and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

LET IT SNOW.....

Catching Up....

Sam the "angel". This shot was taken just before the next row of kids came on stage and blocked our view of him completely!

Claire one of many decked out in hats and scarves....rather toasty I should think under the lights!

Sam and Annie enjoying their meal together at a Christmas potluck...do you suppose the boy likes shrimp at all?

Enjoying last weekend's snow. I have not got any pics of this weekend's storm although know that the backyard is considerably deeper even with all of the rain that came after....

It has been a crazy few weeks with concerts and shopping and wrapping and knitting and Hud being away and myself being away, mailing of parcels and picking up of parcels, evenings spent with friends and family...it seems to never end.

Sam has been having a rough go trying to solve problems in an appropriate way. He seems to have knee jerk reactions to things that end up landing him in trouble. We are hoping that this will pass, but our hearts are tired trying to help him cope with frustration. Either way, we are looking forward to some down time starting on Thursday afternoon when we can just enjoy being together, with no schedule to speak of really.

Claire and I have been baking, and stocking the freezer. It would never do not to have tons to snack on during this season!

Daniel is so glad that we seem to be headed for a real winter and is hoping to spend lots of time at the hill. I think he's ready for a break as well...

Here's hoping that the rest of you are enjoying the prep time, and the SNOW!!!!!

busy busy busy...

'Tis the season for crazy days. Hud is away for the weekend in Boston for a football game. He left super early this morning, and of course I couldn't sleep through his prep time. Today has been spent running around trying to get things so I can finish up a few christmas gifts and get them in the mail. Thankfully we have a bit of snow which has occupied the kids nicely. Snowboardning down our "hill", snowball fights with the neighbours over the fence, throwing snow for the dog to catch, all make for well exercised hooligans who should look forward to their beds as much as I am.

I find myself needing to slow down and focus on the season for what it is rather than the busy rush. Time to breathe....in and out, with a hot cup of tea.

Evey...I hope you don't head to Hud's hotel and boobytrap his room for cheering on the "wrong" team!!!!

It's Thursday night...

just so you know....

Winter is here...

Nancy, Hoop , and Karen after shopping and lunch at Historic Properties. Hoop wins the prize for getting the most accomplished! The weather changed to winter overnight and it was a gloriously festive feeling to have the snow swirling around us.

The gingerbread church outside the restaurant in the Hotel...

The weekend was a wonderful time full of MUCH laughter as usual, almost wet pants in the hallways of the hotel, being followed by strange men speaking french to us on their way to a party while we were wearing our bathrobes on the way back to the room after a time at the pool, (seems that is a regular occurance in one form or another), feeling awkward on the elevator full of other people as we stifle fits of laughter, waiting forty-five minutes to get into the thai restaurant for supper because we all know it is the best, almost falling asleep at the table waiting for our food as it was past our bedtimes, sitting in the piano bar not listening to the piano because it was so late but feeling like we should at least have a glass of wine, managing just barely to keep our heads off the table, hanging out in our jammies while having super "deep" conversations, watching home reno shows on tv wondering why people spend so much on fixer uppers, enjoying the highest pressured exfoliating shower ever, laughing over attempted chopstick use while eating Japanese food, Nancy finally giving up and me retrieving her a fork, scamming leftover desserts from the christmas party at the church for a snack that didn't get eaten until we got up this morning, wine in our jammies in bed, getting lost looking for Dartmouth Crossing but feeling so fabulous when we got it all sorted out, wondering what the big deal is about the Crossing afterall, snow, snow, and more snow, burning ourselves in the hot tub, getting crowded out of the hot tub by a huge family, a wonderful last breakfast together this morning, and hugs as we said good-bye.

On the road again....

It's that glorious time of year when the valley girls head my way and we step away from reality for a couple of days. The hotel is calling us, Thai food awaits us, christmas gifts so much more fun to shop for together. Tomorrow I shall be whisked away to spend two glorious nights with my friends. The kids all have sleepovers to go to so they can't wait for me to leave the scene, Hud will enjoy some quiet downtime, and I hope to return home on Sunday rejuvenated and ready for the rest of the season's rush.

Happy Birthday Morgan!

Because Morgan is a Newfie and it was his birthday, we decided that November's gathering should be Newfie night. For alot of us we were preparing things for the first time as is often the case at our themed dinner nights. This time however most of us had never even eaten what we were endeavoring to prepare. Cooking with salt meats, codfish, pork fat etc were things that we had never done. We were not daunted though as we each set out on our own to make it a true Newfie night. The end result was fabulous. So much wonderful food and laughter that never seemed to die out, even on the way home. In fact I think our van load laughed the whole way home, leaving me with a very sore ribcage. There were moments we were gasping for air, first due to the laughter and second thanks to Jonathan continuously feeling the need to open the lid of the pot that held the last of the Jiggs dinner; the aroma of cabbage and turnip filling the van...need I say more?!? What a night!

Morgan's newfoundland flagged cake that we had before dinner so that his kids could have some before bed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORGAN!!!!!

Lisa and Susan chopping the pork fat for scrunchins....

bacon has nothing on this as far as fat goes!

smelling heavenly if a bit smokey!

Newfoundland Screech... cheap jamaican rum traded for cheap Newfoundland fish becomes a Newfoundland tradition...we saved this 'til the end up the night...one shot was plenty for each of us. YIKES!

mmm...frying bologna....

birthday boy in charge of the bologna...

oh how tasty...

Darrel and Terrance sharing the love!

Todd loading up on the Jiggs dinner...I would make it again anytime!

looks great Todd!

fish and brewis...gotta love the scrunchins and fat poured over top!

cod au gratin...

mmmmm....fishcakes!

Morgan and Vaughn giving us some Newfie music to tap our feet to....

Hudson post screech...not so sure he loved it!

Shelly is Screeched! YIKES!!!!

Home again....

Our weekend started out like any of our other weekends, with the exception of Yolanda coming late. She came bearing margarita mix, and champagne...we had much to celebrate as she and Paul had gotten engaged the night before. There was much shrieking and many happy tears when they arrived and we discovered what had transpired. Some of you may remember that two and a half years ago I mentioned a man in our church who had lost his wife suddenly. This past spring he and Yolanda started a beautiful friendship and now they are getting married. All of their girls are thrilled, and we are so happy for all of them. Some of us have had this couple on our hearts for a long time, and it is soooo wonderful to see how it has all worked together... Our getaway turned into a celebration, one I was so happy to be part of.

Beautiful Yolanda with our champagne that we didn't get into until breakfast this morning!

Good morning sunshine.....Paul came to pick her up this morning so they could share the news at church together...Emma is Paul's daughter...doesn't she looked thrilled?!?

Paul does not wear pink himself...just so you know....

Off I go with the girls for an overnight adventure...what shall we get ourselves into this time I wonder....

NOEL....

...and I don't mean the Christmas kind. The rains are here and the wind is blowing. The hatches if we had them would be battened down, the deck furniture is all put away, and now we just wait and see what comes. We are in for a doozie! Daniel left for the valley last night with Karen and told us that he would be safer than us as he was headed to the Holy land! What a nut! He will be thrilled if he is not able to come home tomorrow and ends up staying a few extra days. Me, I'm just content to curl up with the rest of the family here watching movies and eating popcorn unless the power goes out. Board games by candlelight is always an exciting option...

black cat cookies thanks to Tee's recipe...

a pre trick or treating visit to Grandmother's... Daniel's tie not quite right' but we got it sorted before he went out for real...he is supposed to be a wind blown man...

Craig and "Harry", the family witch and pirate...jake felt the need to get in on the action...

Counting up the stash before Claire decided that she needed to head out again. Sam had brought them home early as he was eager to partake of the goods.