Chrtismas with the Whitmore's

We had a photo shoot with the grand kids outside. What fun. Russell and Chloe really liked having Reid and Haeli around to play with.

Getting ready to dig in.

We also set up the camera and took some family pictures. The last time they had a family photo done was when Haeli was a baby. So that means no Reid, Lana, Russell, Chloe or me. It was past due.

Wes and Lana stuck a quick kiss in there!
Uncle Alvin shoveled off part of a slough so the kids could skate. The weather was beautiful and Chloe had a ball with the hockey stick. Uncle Alvin showed her how to have a face off. The ice was fairly smooth as well.

We are heading home in the morning. We have a had a great holiday and have enjoyed visiting with lots of family near and far. When we asked the kids about the whole Christmas experience, they replied it was getting to play with their cousins and skate outside.

Christmas #1 and #2

We started the Christmas festivities at Mom and Dad's on Christmas Eve. Curtis did not move too far from this chair the whole evening. He sat there and snacked.
Russell and Chloe both received these beautiful Nathan Green paintings from Grandma and Grandpa to hang in their room. Both kids love to look at the things on their walls when they go to bed and get up. These paintings are very special.




Russell has wanted a house coat for a long time and finally has one. Now he does not need to wear PJ's to bed since he has something to wrap up in in the morning. He is a very hot person and sweats during the night. We have tried to convince him to just wear underwear to bed but have not succeeded until now.
On Christmas morning, we opened some presents are our house before the rest of the company came over. Because the kids opened presents the night before, they were not that anxious to open first thing in the morning. I had a chance to get the turkey in a finished preparing the rest of the food for lunch before we opened gifts. Sunday we are heading to Curtis' parents to have Christmas with them, his sister and her family, and his brother and his wife. We will be there for the week.

Winter Fun at the Whitmore's

Briana was over on Thursday for a visit without her parents. Russell and Chloe could not wait to take her outside. She does not look overly impressed here because Chloe tried to get her in the calf sleigh by sending her face first. She was centered at her waist and was balancing there. Once she got going she had fun.
Russell ended up doing most of the work. Russell got her out of the sleigh and she walked around in the snow and tried to keep up. Soon she will be going down the slide and able to run in the snow. The temperature was around 0 degrees and beautiful. Chloe and Russell got their exercise from pushing and pulling the sleigh and Briana got hers from trying to walk in the snow.

These pictures are when it was a little colder but still fun to play outside. Russell and Chloe love to pose for the camera.

Basement Finishing

This is Curtis' right hand man. He operates the drill and all.
A tall guy that works at John Deere came over for a day and helped do the ceiling in my craft room. All we are doing right now is a bedroom for Russell, craft room and bathroom. Uncle Jeff will come over and set get the water in the bathroom. Russell is very excited to move downstairs. So Chloe will move into his room and I will move my massage table into her room. So this all means lots more painting for the winter.

Russell and Chloe Skating

Today was the first time that Russell and Chloe were on ice skates. The home school group in Grande Prairie rents the rink in Sexsmith every Friday for 1 hour. Chloe and I are free and Russell costs $25 for the season. Pretty cheap in my mind. They were both very excited to go. Towards the end of the hour they could hardly hold their legs together. Their legs felt like Jello. Chloe only skated with the support for a little bit. Then she saw what the other kids were doing and did not want it. She did quite good and is determined to skate faster. Russell on the other had is more timid and did not want to let go of the support. Anyway, they are ready to go again and want to continue for the winter.

A Little Bit of Everything

The church had a fun night at Winston's Gym with popcorn, snacks and a good workout. Marcia, the lady here who also works at the gym, did a workout with me. She has no mercy.

Mom and Dad doing a workout with the professional.
That night, Chloe was playing on some equipment, and cut her lip. We were not going to take her to the hospital but there were 2 nurses there at the gym and said she needed stitches. Chloe was nervous about going and the needle. The Dr. gave her some medicine through her nose so she would not remember it and relax. She did relax and acted like she was drunk, slurring her words, not making sense, couldn't walk. It was kind of funny. The Dr. and nurse were fantastic and doted on Chloe big time! She is very proud of her stitches and her lip is healing great.
On Sunday, friends came over and Curtis and Ryan got some drywall up in my craft room. I am very excited. The bedroom next to it will be done as well now. That is Russell's room and he is looking forward to moving downstairs. He sleeps downstairs at Grandma's by himself and likes it. Uncle Jeff will come and hook up the shower and get the bathroom ready. Little by little the basement is getting done.

Chloe used some of her harvest money to buy a yo-yo and this hat. She could not spend anymore because then there would not be much left. It is hard for her to part with the money. She has had quite a bit of money since the end of September and has just spent some now.
I gave Chloe a hair cut this morning. Her hair is starting to lose it's curl which makes it harder to cut. One of these days I will have to take her to a pro to get it done.

Curtis' 36 Birthday Party

We went to Dawson Creek this afternoon for Curtis' birthday, even though it is not until Wednesday. Briana and Kim were still not feeling all that well but Briana still liked the warm water.
Uncle Jeff and Auntie Marta came and played. Grandma and Grandpa were there as well but by the time the camera came out, they were getting changed.


Here comes Chloe. She loves the water slide.

Here comes Curtis. The kids love to splash him with water when he gets out!

Ryan and Holly Layton joined the fun. Ryan works with Curtis at John Deere and they live not too far from our house.

Curtis wanted an ice cream cake for his birthday but there was no way of keeping it frozen. So carrot cake was the next best thing.


There is a room in the lobby of the pool that we could have snacks in. It turned out to be more like a supper because Holly brought sandwiches, Mom brought tortilla roll ups, and there was lots of other food. It was a nice change instead of going out to eat. Curtis has had about 10 days of birthday surprises. So after November 4, I am done!! He likes to have a month of birthday surprises but with harvest still on the go in October, that never happened. The kids enjoyed giving him something every few days. He does not get a month of Christmas. That he has to wait for till the time is right!