Ella's Gymnastics

Ella has been at Twisters since we moved to BC in August. She's doing an amazing job- we couldn't be more proud of her! These videos were from a Christmas (internal) meet they had just before we left to come home. All the parents came to watch... but I think we were the loudest "cheerers!"

the BM

I think they're starting to recognize me at the Bibles for Missions Thrift Store (or as we have shortened it to, the BM). I go there often as it's about the only store in town in my price range. Today I went in for a look around and came out with this little gem.

So, Aidan said " I need this Mom" and being the frugile one that I am... I bought it. There's a reason I bought it- and it's not because I thought it would go perfectly next to my fireplace. Both Tristan and Ella have special little fakey Christmas trees that we put up every year (in addition to our big real family tree). The trees proudly display the ornaments that have been given to them by their grandparents or the ones they've made at school. Aidan doesn't have his own tree yet. He's a few months shy of three and I haven't bought him a tree yet. I feel so guilty. So, after Christmas (THIS year), I'm going to buy him a little tree. Until then he NEEDED something special of his own to put up in our house. And the winner is.... the Noel candle.

the poo grinder

Since moving to Chilliwack, the kids and I have been enlightened as to all things "farmy." We have a 20 minute drive (one way) to school and on our route we pass many fields and farms. During the weeks when the pooh was being liberally applied to the fields we would drive with our hands over our mouths in an attempt to block out the smell. It didn't work.

The kids didn't know what a manure spreader was, so I explained the concept to them (you know, me with my big farm background and all!) Ella said, "You mean a poo grinder, Mom?" Yes, that's exactly what I mean.. and the phrase stuck. We have all become poo grinder experts.

We've also been keeping track of all the "wildlife" we see on our route. So far, we have seen: cows, horses, donkeys, chickens, sheep, eagles, and of course, there's a dog that runs across the road every morning just before we pass by. I'm sure I'm forgetting something on the list. Needless to say, it is quite a different experience from our 2 minute drive to Edison last year, where, if we were lucky, we saw a few squirrels.

So, now that's it's December, I think it's safe to assume that it's too cold to spread the manure, right? A few months of good clean air. Ahh, life in the boonies.

Thanksgiving

We spent a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend in Bellevue with our good friends Matt & Gail and

their little girl, Anna. It was a wonderful time- much needed. We are so thankful for our friends

Matt & Gail have a cool bridge in their backyard- of course I had to take some pictures :)

Fall 2010

We like to use repeat costumes.... the little bear is Tristan's costume

from 8 years ago and Ella has been the elephant for at least 2 years now!

Only Tristan is a new character- Harry Potter.

While Tristan plays soccer, Ella and Aidan

have their own game on the sideline...
Ella is very into her skinny jeans, tall boots,
and her leopard print jacket ... six going on sixteen.

Hair

We went from this to....
Ella donated 10 inches of her hair to Locks of Love

short and sassy :)

and Tristan got quite the chop too...

the buzz

Aidan's sticking with the little boy cut for now.

Grammy's visit

My Mom came out for 2 weeks to visit - we had a wonderful time. Here are some of the fun things we did... when it wasn't raining (which was about 75% of the time!)

We visited EVERY farm in the area. This one had chickens and Aidan was thrilled. Did I

mention that I live in farmsville now? Quite something.

We hiked up to Bridal Veil Falls, an easy hike compared to Tea Pot Hill.

Granville Island

Stanley Park

pics from fort collins

Our family traveled out to Fort Collins to take Mel to grad school.

We were able to spend a week together exploring the area

and seeing where Mel will be living for the next 2 years

fun at Fort Fun- even Aidan loves mini golf
the AWESOME cafeteria at CSU
Tristan ate so much that he almost popped- he visited the mexican station,
the asian station, the italian station, dessert bar, and drink bar

Mt. Evans- our first "14er"
We had a great day with Liz, Rory, and their kids

Old Town in Fort Collins

Old Town

Recovered Painting in Old Town

a great park in Fort Collins

marathon

I skated my first inline marathon this morning. It was an amazing experience and I'm glad I did it, but boy am I glad it's over! And the best part... I won the raffle! I get to pick out any pair of K2 skates that I want! Not bad.

pre-skate pic with uncle steve & auntie linda

at this point i had 1 more 8.7 mile loop to go!

my cheering section!

all done- relief.

oh, and i finished in under 2 hours- my exact time was 1 hour 58 minutes.

not bad for the first time.

mitty

The kids have been so blessed to have their Auntie Mitty in their lives! They adore her and will miss her terribly when we move- it's going to be hard on all of us. This picture was taken just a few weeks ago when Mitty took Tristan and Ella bowling- and spoiled them rotten!

spring soccer

Grandpa Contant was able to see Tristan play soccer while he was here last weekend!
Way to go, Tristan!

John was the coach this spring- he did an awesome job.

..and here's what Ella does to keep herself occupied during the game!

field trip

The boys and I took a trip to the Legoland Discovery Center. I think they both had a good time- the best part for Tristan was buying a silver stormtrooper lego guy from the store on our way out! Aidan loved throwing the big foam lego blocks!

the past 6 months

Well, if anyone is still checking our blog, here's what we've been up to the past six months...

a lot of GROWING!

Tristan will be 10 this summer and is still my right hand man. He is a tender hearted,

compassionate boy who loves his family. His favorite thing to do is to be home, wearing comfy

clothes, eating Chinese and watching a movie with his family. I hope this lasts a long time!

Tristan is doing well with his piano lesson, art class, and soccer (John is the coach this year!).
Tristan is a great big brother and is adored by Aidan and Ella.

Ella is our sweet six year old, who is almost done with kindergarten! She is extremely

competetive and gives her brothers a run for their money! Ella loves gymnastics and singing

in the church choir. She is also the social butterfly at school, going to every birthday party

and playdate that she's invited to! Ella and John love to dance and listen to music- and her

current favorite tune (with all lyrics memorized) is U2's "Sexy Boots." Thank you, John.

Aidan is a big 2 year old now! He is the funny guy in the house and

loves a good joke! He talks a lot and we can pretty much understand what he's

trying to communicate most of the time. He LOVES any type of ball and has a wicked

throw and can kick the ball pretty well, too! He keeps us on our toes. And yes, the

"nunni" (a.k.a pacifier) is still a dear friend!