Well, it is about time I update this blog. Life is so good! The first weekend in December we went down to Camellia and Dougs and went up to the mountains to get a tree. This is a tradition that I love and we have not done this since the first Christmas Chris and I were married so I was super excited to do this again. I hope to go at least every other year. We had a hot dog roast and rode the snowmobiles and I haven't had a thrill like that in a while.
We were into the brick house the beginning of second weekend in December. Chris and I started moving furniture in on the Friday and then I took a quick trip down to Cardston for our ward Temple day on Saturday. It was a scary drive as the roads were icy but I made it back in time for date night with Chris to the Brandly's for crazy rook. Out of the 30 people there I was the worst player but oh well, I have to be a good sport about it. Our neighbor Lilly watched the kids and Mom and Dad watched Selman.
We had our Smith family Christmas party the 3rd weekend in December, on Friday December 15th and the Champion ward Christmas party on December 16th and then a yummy Smith Turkey dinner at the brick house on the Sunday before Camellia and Doug and family went home. It was lovely spending time with family. I love my Smith family so much. And how wonderful to be able to live in Grandma Smith's house. Someone needs to love and take care of that place and we certainly do love this place.
Thursday December 20th was the kids last day of school before Christmas break. They had a Turkey dinner at the Champion Hall and then class party's so of course they wanted to go to school that day. We picked them up around 3:30 and headed to Calgary and then on through a blizzard at Banff and on to Golden where we stayed in a hotel that night. We got up in the morning, had breakfast, swam in the hotel pool and continued on to the Ferry's and then to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Victoria. I must say, our kids are very good travelers. But guess who was the best traveler this trip. Selman! And this was his first time. I think he only cried once and not for long! It helped to have a big stash of rice crackers to hand to him.
We had a great 2 weeks in Victoria. We had a yummy Turkey Christmas eve supper with the Watters family (except Kurt and Miranda - we missed them). It is so good to be around family! Christmas day was simple. The kids got a few gifts but we have been saving for Disneyland for the past few years and Santa got them Disney tickets which we plan to do to celebrate when Chris graduates. Caeleb got a Harry Potter Griffindor house and Harry Potter wand and the girls got a horse stable and some Spirit show horses to go in it. Grandma and Grandpa got the kids their traditional Christmas tree ornament made by Grandma and some clothes and treats. Nana and Papa got them skates. Chris gave me some puzzles and I gave him and his dad a Gift certificate to the keg to go out for a meal together. Elva ended up getting the flu this Christmas (like she did last Christmas) and woke up quite ill on boxing day so she stay home with Grandma instead of coming with us to Aunt Mary's house in Nanaimo for a visit. It is tradition to do this every boxing day in the Watters family. We took her to the doctors a couple of days after that and she got some antibiotics for an ear infection. Selman also got the flu this holiday and we spent several nights rocking him and trying to get him to settle.
We had a girls luncheon one day (missed Miranda for that one as well) and the boys were able to get out for supper one day. We had Kurt and Miranda come over on New Years eve and we played a game we got for Christmas called code names Disney version. We also watched the Emporers New Groove and Flight of the Navigator and Caeleb almost made it till midnight.
We were able to get to the beach a couple of times this trip and I sure love going to the beach with the kids. The smell and sound of the ocean is very therapeutic. We left on Thursday January 3rd and ended up staying at a hotel in Salmon Arm as the weather was not good and the highway was closed around Revelstoke and Chris and I both had the flu. So we had nice relaxing baths in the hotel room and we went for supper in the Restaurant there and we went to bed early. It was a nice little vacation even if we not feeling the greatest.
Chris went back to school Monday January 7th and was in Calgary for 6 weeks (came home for the weekends of course). It was a very busy and stressful time for him but he did well in his classes and even got a $1000 scholarship for doing well. We are grateful for the Wiggs for letting him stay there again even though he paid them $750 to do so. I think I did okay single Momming it for that time. I was able to stay on top of most things and I think I am getting better at not letting it show to the kids when I am stressed out. And I won't lie, it is stressful being a mom sometimes. Trying to get kids to do their chores, and get off to the bus on time and brush hair and clean up and not fight and go to bed. It is not easy but it is making me stronger! I can feel it.
I took the kids to Calgary on a Saturday the beginning of February to get the door fixed on the van and for the kids friend Sebastian's baptism. It was a special moment for his family. Elva was also able to meet up with an old friend from Copperfield school. Elva and Ellie played at Tommy K play for a while and it was so good to be able to reconnect with old friends that day!
Chris had February 18-22 off of school but he was busy writing lesson plans and going to teachers convention in Lethbridge on the Thursday and Friday of that week. We did go skating in Vulcan for family day on that Monday and Chris and I did get to go to the temple on the Thursday while Camellia watched the kids. While I was visiting Camellia, it was bitterly cold out, so we took the kids swimming in the inside pool in Waterton. It was lots of fun!
Oh, guess who finally started crawling. Thursday February 22 at the Nelson home was the day! Camellia saw him crawl first. We think he was trying to get to baby Evelyn so he could claw her face off. All it takes is something to motivate you right !! Selman really is the sweetest baby though. He hardly cries - everyone says he is so good. He loves to cuddle and be held. And since crawling, (and even before as he was doing the mystery turning baby moves to get places for the longest time) he is starting starting to get into cupboads and things. He is such a sweet little boy. He has an adorable smile!
So, for the Month of February Camellia and I did a Whole 30 food challenge where we did not eat grains, legumes, milk products or sugars and artificial sweeteners. We pretty much lived on almond and raisins, fruits, veggies and meat. We didn't even have sweets for Valentines day. I lost about 5 pounds (but have since probably gained it back) and I felt so good doing this so I think we will try again every year or more even.
It has been a Cold Winter! The longest stretch of extreme cold that we have seen in my life time I believe. In January, the main floor of the brick house was hard to heat and it would not get much past 14 degrees. But then we turned the boiler heat up and it hasn't been a problem since. Though we do need to save for new windows. As for water, it has fozen on us several times but as long as we leave a trickle of water on constantly, we have water. We are adjusting well to farm life.
Last Friday March 3rd, I took the kids (Well, Mary stayed with Nana and Papa) to Lethbridge to get their passports as we are preparing for a family vacation in April to celebrate Chris being done school. Stay tuned for more on that at a future time. I wanted to do something with the kids and took them to see Wreck in Ralf 2 at the movie mill. It was really cute. Then on Sunday March 3rd, after Stake Conference, Elva had her Kindergarten supper. Us moms worked hard that Saturday and Sunday pulling this off. Normally, I would not do this sort of thing on a Sunday but we need to support our private Kindergarten and I felt totally fine helping with it. It was $20 for supper and then there was an auction. The kids also sang a song about Dr. Suess and they did a really good job. They each said what they wanted to be when they grew up and Elva said "A Nurse like my Mom." Awwww. What a special little girl. There are 8 kids in the Champion kindergarten class and since it is privately funded, we have to have fund raisers and meetings every month or so to plan them. It is busy but we have a great Mom President of the Kindergarten association and other great Mom members. Between fundraising and some government funding, we only pay $200 a year per kid and that isn't bad.
Well, it is 1:43 in the morning. We have been sick with the stomach flu the last day (Caeleb, Selman and I so far) and so I had a nap today and feel awake right now. I will go to bed soon but will post this and then post a little about my new adventures in the life of being a working Mom.
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