Christmas 2010 (Part 2)

After Christmas, we went to visit Ben's family for a couple of days. Here are some photos:

Like Grandfather like granddaughter. Olivia loved Gwenn's "Toddler Flashcards" game on the iphone:



Gwenn and Dennis with the Fantastic Four:

Gwenn reading Chloe some stories:

Olivia loves dogs! She LOVED playing with big Riley, and he was ever so gentle with her. She loved to climb on his back and bounce up and down, much to his dismay. Even then, though, he was extremely patient with her:

It was great to see family. Here is a shot with the Johnston cousins. It is not a great one, but the only one I have:

We also saw the Marusiaks and went sledding with them. Here are Abbey and Olivia:

Emma and Lily out sledding:

Olivia and I before her first run down the hill. She loved it!

Here is Ben with the girls, pre break. Yes, pre BREAK. He actually broke his ankle and leg going down this very hill. Boo. And his leg just barely healed from the last accident. :( It unfortunately cut our visit short, and so we never got to spend time with the Tanners or the Greeps.

Here he is a few days later on New Year's Eve, with his casted leg and all. He ended up having to get surgery for one screw in his ankle. It should heal in 6-8 weeks time. So he is back to using crutches for a while....

Izzy and I having a ginger ale drink on New Year's:

Happy New Year 2011!

Merry Christmas 2010 (Part 1)

Christmas Eve day we went sledding for a short time. Lily went down this huge hill on her new sled:

Before, I took the older three girls to see "Tangled" in the theater. They loved it! So did I, it was a cute movie. Here they are with their 3D glasses:

Later that evening, we all went out to dinner at a restaurant called Buzzards. The food was really good, the company was great!

This is after at Nana and Grandpa's house. Here are all the kids in their new matching PJ's. This was taken with the camera on the iphone, and so everybody has the white flash eyes:

Here are some of the kids playing Just Dance Kids on the Wii. They loved it:

Before the PJ's we went the the Nativity Pageant. We were very early and so we got good, front row seats, we didn't have to wait in line at all, and we got to have a few photos taken in front of the sheep and scenery first. The weather was great too.

Earlier that day, we gave the girls a couple of early gifts. The first were these googly eyed stuffed animals they have wanted forever, and the second were these scarves I made for them, which they loved!

Group hug!

And here is Christmas morning at our house:

The girls love their Webkinz, thank you Eklunds!

Izzy with a little purple guitar:

Chloe got a little cleaning set, and it came with a vacuum that really works. She loves it. I am training her early :)

Olivia loves to push her dolls in her little car-cart:

All of the girls LOVE their American Girl dolls and Lalaloopsy dolls. Thank you Nana and Grandpa!

They all came with matching PJ's:

Lily loves her skateboard, especially just sitting on it and rolling around. She loves that it has her middle name on it too:

Olivia loves her own Bitty Baby that looks like her:

More Pre Christmas

I am having trouble uploading the videos of their Irish dance and piano, and so until I get them up all I have are the photos I took of the kids before we left. Here they are before Izzy and Lily's piano recital:



Before their Irish dance party:



And this one is just for fun. I had Izzy and Lily once wear these matching Christmas dresses many years ago, and now they fit Chloe and Olivia!

Pre Christmas Stuff

We have been so busy with Christmas concerts, piano recitals, and an Irish dance party.

Lily was asked to have a "speaking part" in her kindergarten school Christmas concert. She was one of six out of the whole class asked. She did a great job with her lines! We are very proud of her. Isabelle did a great job at her concert too. Her class did a cute Spanish dance. I couldn't believe how grown up and almost teenage-like she looked!

Last night was their piano recital. They both did a great job! Isabelle played "Silent Night" and "The Music Box Dancer." The last one was one she has been working on tirelessly since September. It is the hardest and longest song she has ever learned. She did great. Lily played "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" and "Mary's Rockin' Pets", which is a version of Mary had a Little Lamb. She too has been practising these songs non-stop, whenever she walks past the piano. I am so happy she loves the piano and wants to learn more.

The Irish dance party was a lot of fun too. It is fun to see what the girls have learned so far and to see them enjoy the dancing. At the end of all of them showing us what they have learned, they were allowed to have their parents and family join in on the fun. Chloe joined in with Lily, Ben was nice enough to join in with Isabelle. I was nice enough to get it on video! Izzy was happy to have a "real gentleman" as she said to dance with. Because they are all girls in the class, they always have to take turns being the gentleman. I have tried to upload the video of it below, but I think there are errors or problems occurring. Hopefully I will get it working soon, it is a cute one!

We Loved You Dearly Grandma Herget

My Grandma Herget passed away last night. She had led a full, long life. Her warm smile and kind voice will indeed be missed. I have so many wonderful memories of her. Here are some most recent photos I have of her:


Here she is with Olivia on her blessing day. She made the trip up to Calgary for it, even though travelling was so hard for her. Even in her very old age she was still strong enough to hold her and play with her.

This is the most recent photo I have of her. It was taken last Christmas at the lodge she lived in, in her room. She is again holding Olivia, and is so warm and bright as usual.

This was in the summer of 2009, at her 85th Birthday celebration. I love the pictures of her with the girls:

Here she is with all 5 of her children:

and with our family....

Here is an older one I found of her and Chloe in the summer of 2007:

You will be greatly missed Grandma! We will love you forever!