Christmas 2013

Josh arrived in Nova Scotia on Saturday, Dec 21 after a long icy drive. He and a friend he was travelling with spent Friday night in Bangor and then headed the rest of the way on Saturday. It was still a very long day. We're so thankful he was able to come home, and he brought some goodies for the rest of us. Gaëlle is THRILLED with this sparkly purple dress.

I was very late getting any Christmas baking done. On Monday night, I finally got my act together and made some of the traditional treats. Robin and Gaëlle were all about helping. And sampling. It passed the taste test.

Josh helped me with the peanut butter cups. They've been a Christmas staple for many years now. 

Christmas Eve after the early service, we had our snack/meal. I didn't get a picture, but Peter pretty much single handedly finished off an entire tray of shrimp. We had the lobster sandwiches. And other snacks and sweets.

Josh rocking the red plaid shirt.

Robin rocking the 30 year old red socks that only come out at Christmas time.

Christmas morning and the girls are ready to go.

Robin is reading the Bible to start off our day.

Stockings under the tree.

It's always interesting to see how the kids will do with Christmas. It takes a few reminders of how we are supposed to act. But the younger kids did well. I was proud of them for handling such an emotional anxiety inducing day so well.

The kids draw names for each other and Josh had Gaëlle. He got her an iPod shuffle so she  can listen to music. He had it inscribed on the back with, "ROCK ON GAELLE". She loved it.

Peter didn't have a lot of toys or things to play with this year but he seemed pleased with the way the day went.

Gaëlle surprised me this year when she asked for an American Girl Doll. She mentioned it several times so I was quite pleased to order one for her. She loved it. More on that in another post.

Peter was also pretty single minded this year. He wanted a scooter that does tricks. So, that's what we got him. Now he has to wait until the snow clears up a bit to use it. 

Kaylin is still strong in the veggie eating camp, so we got her a juicer and mini food processor. She seems ready to put it to good use. 

Emily is in her last year of university and she her computer has been dying. She is afraid it will crash at any moment, so we decided to get her graduation gift early. Then for graduation, we'll get her a Christmas present. She was THRILLED. Now at least she just has to worry about her studies and not her computer.

Josh is a die hard Ottawa Senators hockey fan and so we got him a jersey. He wore it most of the day.

Snickers wasn't left out. She had a bone to chew on. She's still working on it. It's huge for her.

The kids hanging out on the couch figuring out the laptops.

Peter trying out his scooter and wishing we had an unfinished basement.

Kaylin tried out her juicer and the kids stood back in amazement.

First try and the grapefruit was a little overpowering. But it looks pretty.

Our Christmas meal was also traditional. Nothing new. However Kaylin made a vegan dish with acorn squash and quinoa. It looked good.

Last year when Robin and I were on our 25th anniversary weekend away we went for a beach walk and found this driftwood - old crate piece on the beach. We brought it home and this Christmas Robin fixed it up a bit and place a mirror in it. I love it.

At night, Val and Vashti came over for some games. We introduced them to the card game SCUM. It's such a fun game to play when there's a large crowd. 

Peter and Gaëlle love to be included so they were able to play.

The 2 high scorers of the evening. All in all, we had a wonderful day. Kids were able to control themselves and keep themselves regulated. Nobody was rushed and we just had fun together. Merry Christmas.