Boxing Day

The day the staff got to celebrate Christmas, being sent home with boxes of things? Or something like that? Also known as the day that you hang out and chill after the Christmas fun!

Fiona played with her new toys!

Ken and Alice started Ken's puzzle.

Fiona experimented with Alice's inflatable lounger thing. I've been calling it the banana boat.

Fiona lives!

Ken still working on the puzzle.

Alice enjoying her lounger and lounge wear. 

Not really a different day for the dog...

Kate playing computer games.

Fiona playing with new toys in her bedroom.

And then the whole family went to the mall, and the rest of the universe too. There were some gift certificates and cash to spend and some discounts not to be missed out on.

Ken was back at his puzzle.

And I blogged!!! YAY!

Fiona and Her Little People

I've posted about this before, when Kate was little. I love Little People, Fisher Price Little People. I generally love toys, but since I was a little kid, I've loved Little People. I loved setting up a town, and setting up families in the houses. Kate and Fiona are my toy people. Alice not so much, she enjoys different play activities. We have a lot of Little People houses and I love that Fiona is still enjoying them.

When Suzanne and I were little we'd set up a circular town with all of the houses facing open into the middle of the circle. We'd fight over who was who and who made up our families, and who'd get each building. But we'd play. I know memory does weird things, and what we think of as authentic memories are distorted over time. But I do remember not wanting to grow up. I loved playing with toys for I think much longer than most kids my age. I'm glad I was the oldest of four, that I got to play for longer with my younger siblings.

Fiona does a good job playing by herself. She wishes her sisters would play with her, but that doesn't really happen. This morning Fiona was feeling worried that she was too old and that someone would make fun of her - specifically because I picked out a new Little People toy for her from Grandma for Christmas. She actually shed a tear at the thought of someone making fun of her, of thinking she was too old for these toys. 

Fiona is 9.5 this Christmas. I hope she has a few more years of toys, because she has a lifetime ahead of "not" toy time. I think I got this when I was a kid. I didn't want to grow up, I didn't want to outgrow my toys. I remember crying when I had outgrown the kids area at Ontario Place the summer I was 12. I wasn't ready to grow up. Finding joy at different ages and stages of our lives can be very challenging. Today I'm so very grateful for my little person that still loves her Little People.

Christmas

The girls swear they didn't remember me saying 7:30 and came in excitedly at 7:00, which really isn't that early. The last few years I haven't gotten up to watch them do stockings - they take lots of pictures and I come down after. This year I really wanted to be there, so they patiently waiting until 7:30 and then it was stocking time!

After stockings they each opened one present.

Fiona opened Jeff. (She had a plastic squeaky banana that she named Jeff. She loved Jeff and then Milo ate him. Ken found a banana stuffy online and so Jeff lives again!)

Alice opened her two by two rubick's cube.

And Kate found her squirrel.

The girls helped Milo open his squeaky toy.

Then Ken made pancakes for the girls, made dough for rolls, and printed off his talk, while I took Milo for a walk. The sun was bright and beautiful, but it was cold!

We had one hour of church today and it was pretty perfect! There was lots of singing, one musical number - the bishopric sang Far Far Away on Judea's Plains, and three brief talks, Ken was the concluding speaker. He spoke about the gift of Jesus.

After church we came home and took a family picture in front of the tree. I love this pic, it's PERFECT!

We all changed into comfy clothes, Ken shaped the dough into rolls and then it was present time. I actually took pics of everyone opening everything. Part of me wants to post every picture! But I know that's ridiculous, so I will control myself.

I think what I loved most about the present opening was the time. Each present was opened one by one. Each was admired, and enjoyed one by one. Everyone was excited for everyone. It felt really, really lovely!

Ken's Presents: A puzzle, two pairs of comfy pants, and a book "A History of Canada in Ten Maps".
Wendy's Presents: Aveda shampoo and conditioner and Fruitfuls. (The girls dressing in matching jammies for Christmas morning!)

Kate's Presents: Pajamas, Indigo gift card, Corgi butt warming bag, Periwinkle (squishmallow), blanket - one from Mom and Dad and one from Auntie Suzanne, Luna's wand, two books, money for clothes from Grandma, squirrel plush, two soft decorative pillos, snowball maker, and a hooded sweatshirt.

Alice's Presents: An inflatable lounge chair thing, a book, pajamas, stretch bands, a yoga matt, a two by two rubik's cube, popit game, big huge hooded sweatshirt, sleep mask, puffy sticker kit, a water bottle, money for clothes from Grandma, and a blanket from Auntie Suzanne.

Fiona's Presents: Our Generation bed and picnic food, Magical Minis - Hogwarts castle and characters, Harry Potter Lego, pajamas, a book, warm pants, banana plush and bunny plush, $25 Robux, Rock climbing gift card, fruitfuls, a blanket from Auntie Suzanne and a Little People barbie dreamhouse from Grandma.

After the present opening there was much enjoying of the presents! Andrew came over around 2:30 and food preparation went into high gear. Andrew and Ken made everything. I cleaned off the table, under the table, and I set the table. And I did laundry lol. 

The missionaries came over around 5 and I made them sit and take pics so I could post them on Facebook for their Mamas. Elder Finch on the left is from Tennessee, and Elder King on the right is from Idaho. 

Then we feasted! For Christmas dinner we had: Turkey, roasted sweet potato and Brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, mashed carrot and turnip, rolls, cauliflower and cheese sauce, and for dessert apple crisp and ice cream. To drink there was apple cider, pomegranate soda and root beer. The foot was amazing, and almost entirely allergy safe, rolls and cheese sauce aside! Ken and Andrew are an amazing team in the kitchen.

After dinner the missionaries shared a spiritual thought, Alice played a bit with Fiona and then it was done.

Alice: Take my picture Mom.

We had a very, very happy Christmas. It was cozy and fun and full of happy voices. You could feel the love. If all good things come from God, which they do, then today was the fulfillment of all Christmas should be. It was happy time spent with family enjoying each other. I'm so thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I'm so thankful for His birth and His death. I'm thankful for the joy and beauty of Christmas.

An Adventure Walk

I love, love, LOVE going on walks in my neighbourhood. But I don't like doing the same walk over and over again, so I have a few different walks that I do. This morning, with Ken still not fully feeling better from his cold, I asked Fiona to go on a walk with me. I wanted to see where this new path that I found in the dark the other night went to. I was up for an adventure.

It is also Dad day today. Four years ago, having left my phone on during the night, I was awakened to the news that my Daddy had passed away. I like doing something to honour Dad Day. I have worn one of the goofy sweatshirts the past three years. Last year I ate ice cream wearing a bacon sweatshirt. 

I don't really ever remember going on a walk with my Dad. We didn't go on family hikes. It wasn't something we did. Dad liked to walk somewhere. The last few years of his life it was walking to the Hasty Market across from his building, or Wimpy's around the corner for a snack. A five km walk wouldn't be my Dad's idea of a good time lol. But I sure had fun on our adventure walk this morning. And my Dad would have loved Milo, so he maybe would go on a little walk with me?! It feels goofy wishing that my Dad could have met my dog.

An Adventure Walk - Wendy, Fiona and Milo

Fiona and I set off around just after nine. 

 We quickly made it to the new path I found two nights ago.

Although pretty, it didn't go anywhere.

We walked along the crescent and then down the next one to see if perhaps there might be another path. We found a path between streets, and thought maybe we might have found something.

There were posted signs "conservation lands" but no paths, and a fence. So on we went.

A little bit further north in the same subdivision, we found some kind of utility building, and another little pond. 

From here we walked west, the majority of our walk we were headed north. When we got out to Pickering Beach road, Fiona was able to get her bearings.

I thought she'd want to turn back towards home, but she didn't. So we walked north again to Bayly and then we headed east along Bayly.

Fiona was super excited to find a sign that said Carruther's Creek, because she kept thinking that every pond was Carruther's Creek.

This willow tree is at the corner of Bayly and Shoal Point and Fiona really wanted to take a pic by it, so we crossed Bayly to take a pic, and then crossed right back.

Then we walked south on Shoal Point.

This was when Fiona said "I can't, I've walked too far".

I knew though, that it wasn't too much further to walk home, so I told her, let's look on maps and see. So we looked on maps and it said that it was a 20 minute walk to home. So this is the face of, I can do twenty more minutes!

This is at the end of Callander Court. I knew exactly where we were, but Fiona still had no clue. 

We walked down the path from Callander, and when she recognized the Pooh Sticks bridge, she was so excited! 

I wish we'd taken a pic of the two of us (three including the dog) hiding behind my car in the driveway waiting for Ken to come out to get us, but I didn't. I had been messaging him on our walk and he had offered to come get us. I thought it would be funny to call him and ask him to come get us and then hide in the driveway. Fiona had so much fun being sneaky with me, and Ken laughed just like I said he would. 

I hope my girls will happily remember our crazy adventure walks! I love my girls. I love Saturday walks. I love my neighbourhood. I love my Dad. I love goofy sweatshirts. And I love my Ken who's almost better and making me pulled pork because I asked him to. I feel so extraordinarily blessed.