Our first full day in BC. A few weeks before, I had contacted my cousins to see if they could all get together one day while we were here. I hadn’t seen them since last summer! Saturday worked the best for most people, and we had a lovely time catching up.
For the next days’ post, click the link below this post.
Our friends, Anna and Karl, who recently moved from Victoria to Regina, drove in to visit this past weekend. Aside from family, I have to say that they are the people who our boys receive the most loving from. And we love them too!
I won’t bore you with the details, but in general, the weekend was full of games being played, balls being kicked, coffee being made, and food being eaten.
Thanks for coming!
Between Tim’s last few vacation days, overtime hours, and stat days, we were able to have 2 full weeks back in BC with our families for Christmas. And a full 2 weeks they were! Here is what we all got up to.
December 20
Travel day. It took 19 hours from our house to Tim’s parents’ house in Nanaimo.
Calvin was way too wound up during our ferry ride, for it being 10 pm.
December 21
In the afternoon we left the kids with the grandparents and went to do a little last minute gift buying and had a leisurely walk by the water. In the evening, we went to see Tim’s sister, Catherine, in the last performance of a Christmas production she was in.
Tim, Tim Hortons, and west coast drizzle. Great afternoon!
December 22
This was Sunday so there was church in the morning of course. We decided to do the Sevenhuysen Christmas that day instead of the 25th because Jordan and Amy needed to be in Abbotsford on the 24th. So we had our turkey dinner, played games and music, then opened gifts once the boys were in bed.
Auntie Lisa and Calvin dueting.
Turkey leg! Om nom nom!
December 23
We played with the puppy, Amber, and went for a walk.
Calvin wasn’t scared of her, but wasn’t super in to the puppy as much as she was in to him.
At the Nanaimo harbour.
December 24
Calvin helped Grandpa with chores in the barn and had fun chasing the alpacas around. We then went to the Christmas Eve service.
Here, piggy piggy piggy!
Vroom!
Handsome boys, all ready for church.
December 25
We woke up and after breakfast, the boys (well, mainly Calvin) got to open their gifts. Calvin wasn’t too interested, but rips some paper anyway. I’m kind of glad this kid is still not so in to presents. In the afternoon we went for a walk at Piper’s Lagoon. That evening we ferried back to the mainland and headed to my parents’ in Langley.
What’s inside? Clothes? Yay!
Family photo by the water.
A west coast beach.
December 26
This was the day of the Thiessen gathering. All my siblings and their children, with the exception of Isaac who was with his mom’s family for his birthday, came to my parents’ place and we had a wonderful day exchanging gifts, hanging out and eating our BBQ. Kate even dropped by on her way to Abbotsford from Vancouver!
Uncle Nathan and Victor exchanging grins.
Cul-de-sac hockey. Look! Remnants of snow!
Hi Kate!
December 27
I got together with two of my best friends, Carleigh (who left for a trip to Benin the next day) and Megan (who is due with their first baby in a couple weeks!). It is always so good to catch up with them.
The old trio, together again!
December 28
According to my lack of photos from this day, and a blank space on my calendar, nothing happened this day.
December 29
This was our Visit the Great Grandparents day! We went to Abbotsford and saw all of our grandparents who live there.
Calvin makes Opa smile.
Nana loves the babies!
My Oma and her husband (Uncle Abe) of a couple years. Love them!
December 30
My sister-in-law had a few of our cousins over to hang out with our babies. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…all the cute babies are in our family!
Piper (3 months), Victor (2 months), and Anna (5 months).
December 31
The boys (not including Victor because he is needy) stayed home and watched hockey while I went shopping with Megan for baby things. In the evening my parents went to some friends’ house, so we put the boys to bed at 8 and partied until 10pm.
There was a lot of hockey watching between Canucks and the World Juniors. This was the scene in the family room a lot of the time a lot of the days.
January 1
I got to see my friend Christine! In the afternoon we were going to hang out with my brother and his family, but that was unfortunately cancelled due to sickness.
High school buddies.
January 2
This was a full day! Our friends Anna and Karl graciously made the trip over from the island just to hang out with us for a few hours! Then we had dinner at a family friend’s place (whose daughter is a friend of mine and also has a young baby), followed by another trip to Abbotsford for an engagement party for Jordan and Amy.
Hi, friends!
The two cuties, watching while we ate.
January 3
We had brunch at Cora (it’s so hard not to put a “‘s” on the end of that) with all of Tim’s siblings who were on the mainland for various events. In the afternoon Tim’s friends from school back in Nanaimo who now live in Richmond, came over with their boys. This visit was cut short, again due to sickness. And we didn’t get any pictures. Sad. In the evening there was an extended family gathering of Tim’s side, you guessed it, in Abbotsford.
At Cora, they give the impatient children stamps and Cheerios.
January 4
We went to my sister and brother-in-law’s place for lunch then headed to Stanley Park with the entire family for a ride on the train. It was a really lovely day with all my siblings and nieces and nephews.
Boy cousins!
I’ve seen the new bridge a couple times now, but it still looks so beautiful and majestic next to the old, dinky orange one.
Oma, Grandpa, and all the grandchildren.
Let’s go training!
January 5
Travel day back to Edmonton. I could’ve done a separate post and called it “A Moose, Two Poops, and an Oops”, in which I tell the story of seeing a moose closer than I ever have, changing two super poops on my lap, and watching a car behind us spin out and slide into the meridian. But I decided to fit it all into its own sentence instead.
It was a full and lovely vacation. I was so glad to fit in visits with so many people. Normally I can only squeeze in one or two. When I think of how we originally were not going to plan on going back home for Christmas, I think we must have been crazy!
One year ago, on Thanksgiving weekend, is when we moved to Edmonton. That weekend we were invited to two different dinners! This year, I got to make my own, and I was so excited to do it!
We had Jordan and Amy over, as well as our tenant. A nice, small gathering. The perfect size for our kitchen.Â
I had no idea what to expect regarding how much work was going to be needed to make this meal, but I was ready to do it! I was surprised to find it was less work than everybody says it is. Probably because I use stuffing from a box.Â
I seasoned the turkey and put it in the oven around 12:30. Jordan and Amy then came over and we had a small lunch, then we peeled potatoes for mashing, yams for a casserole, and apples for dessert. Everything was prepped and ready to be turned on at the correct time an hour or two later, so then we got to sit down and play a game.
Having things prepped is probably my biggest tip for making a big dinner like this. That and cleaning/rinsing dishes as you go and keeping the counters clear in between working times.Â
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Here’s my “first time roasting a turkey” story:
This bird barely squeezed into our largest roasting pan, so I knew the lid wouldn’t fit. After letting it brown without the lid, I then poured water over it and covered with tin foil. I guess I didn’t count on the meal losing even more liquid into the pan because at one point it started to over flow and spilled all over the bottom of the oven and the smoke started! There was actually quite a bit of smoke. So we took the turkey out, I grabbed an old towel and mopped up the juice that wasn’t burned on, then put the turkey back in with a pan on the rack underneath. Disaster averted, and we had really delicious, moist meat. Yum!
(I blame the new iOS7 camera for the uncentered photo.)
Calvin only kind of enjoyed the meal. He has one bite of stuffing, then some cranberry jelly and then more cranberry jelly. Then some more jelly. He didn’t want anything else after having that! He normally doesn’t like meat anyway. But he sure does love his fruit!
I am so glad we got to spend the day with at least a little bit of family. I will take what I can get! Meanwhile, my extended family back in BC was doing this. Missed you all!
Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy your own birds and family!
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A bonus of our trip to BC was to meet a handful of babies that friends and family members have had in the past couple months! There were also a couple yet-to-be-born babies to “see”.
I already mentioned meeting my oldest brother’s baby girl, Anna, who is my third niece.
Anna and our little one will be the closest in age of the Thiessen cousins so far, only 3 months apart.
Also in Langley was my friend Amy and her three-month-old, Jonah. Amy and I have known eachother since we were children, with our families attending the same church.
I then got to hang out with one of my best friends, Megan, who just recently announced she is due with their first in January! I am very glad we had an opportunity to get a belly photo of the two of us. We have known each other for always. Our mothers went to church and school together when they were growing up. I hope our kids will grow up as friends as well.
Then on Tuesday, Tim, Calvin and I made a whirlwind trip to Victoria to see some friends and more babies! Mostly Calvin just wanted to see Anna.
But we also went to a park to hang out with the girls and their kids too.
Chavon could have her second any day now!
Raya, the newest baby in the group.
It was nice to have a baby girl after the last three (who were also the first three) were boys.
One of the last times Calvin and Ethan (in the middle) saw each other, they looked like this:
On the way back to my parents’ place from the ferry, we stopped in to visit with my cousins, Andrew and Naomi, who had their baby girl just three days before my sister-in-law had Anna!
This is a little dark, but it was so cute! Mackenzie was sleeping in her swing and Calvin was just crouched there, watching her go back and forth. Then he decided he wanted to swing her himself.
Calvin was actually really gentle with all the babies he met. He mostly pet their heads and made cute little sounds like “doodle doodle doodle”. The only trouble was if he had a wooden hammer in his hands. Because of course you are allowed to bang on anything if you are wielding a wooden hammer (don’t worry…no babies were hurt). So I am hopeful that he will be the same way with our newborn.
It is interesting thinking of all my different friends, in Langley, Victoria, and now Edmonton, and how my relationships with them all are different. My Edmonton friends I know only as parents. I don’t know much of their background or who they were as teenagers. I feel like I am learning from them, since the majority have children older than mine. My Victoria friends I got to know as they were students in college, becoming newlyweds and recently parents. I got to learn alongside of them. I have known my Langley friends through all stages of life, and it’s fun to watch them become parents now, continuing the circle. I wish I was closer to them to see this next stage more first hand, but I am content with the special little visits I get here and there.
And that concludes the baby tour! Besides Chavon, there are two people on my pregnant people list (yes, I actually have a list of my friends’ due dates because there are so many to keep track of) due, and then it’s my turn! Only two more months, which is kind of crazy. And seeing all these newborns didn’t help prepare me for my own in the least. Good thing I know first hand that the knowledge comes naturally. I’m excited!
Our official summer holiday. Of course it means going back west to visit with family. What other kind of holiday is there?
Early Saturday morning we packed up the car and hit the Yellowhead. I am going to dedicate one sentence to brag about Calvin: he went the first 10 hours without a single complaint or cry, completely content with toys, books, snacks, and being able to see mountains rise into his view through the window.
All happy and ready for the long trip ahead.
Mandatory pit stop at Mt. Robson. Not too clear of a day.
We left Edmonton early enough to be in Langley for supper time. And then we met our new niece, Anna for the first time!
Calvin also met a new friend who didn’t end up being so friendly. He bit Calvin pretty good but as soon as the bleeding stopped, he went back to the box to pet it again. This is something we have been learning about Calvin’s personality lately…he doesn’t become afraid of things that bite him, so to speak. He also fell down a short flight of stairs at my parents, in a complete backwards somersault, cried for a minute maybe, then went right back to climbing them. He’s a tough kid.
Being more gentle to the rodent than the rodent was to him.
On Sunday, the whole family came to my parents to spend the day together (with the exception of our nephew, Isaac). We enjoyed a yummy waffle lunch, had naps, then went to the Fort in Fort Langley, then came back for some BBQ. I really only have photos of our time at the Fort, and most of them are of Calvin, but here they are for your enjoyment anyway.
Calvin tried out furs…
…and blankets.
He patrolled the walls.
And spend some quality time with aunts and uncles.
All the kids (my mom’s photo).
Other than that day, we had a relaxing time with my parents who enjoyed having a special little boy around for a while.
Cuddles with Oma.
Helping Grandpa water the flowers.
Then we were off on the next leg!
This past weekend, Our little family made a trip that I have made countless times in my life. We drove out to Winkler, Manitoba where my extended family on my dad’s side is. Neither Tim nor I are strangers to a road trip, and it is actually one of our preferred types of vacations! I will write a separate post on how Calvin did on the road.
So on Wednesday, I packed up the car, picked Tim up from work, and hit the road.
We stopped about an hour outside of town for some supper and for Calvin to stretch his little legs.
It just so happened that I have a cousin from my mom’s side living just outside of Saskatoon, almost halfway between home and our destination, so it worked out that we could spend Wednesday night with them, have a little visit in the morning, then head to Winkler. It was great to see them, and also to be able to split our drive up into two parts.
My cousin’s daughter graciously shared her blueberries.
After losing a bit of time having to turn around to retrieve Tim’s wallet, we were back on the road, and arrived at my cousin’s place in Winkler late Thursday evening. We stayed with Warren and Liane, my oldest cousin on that side, who have two children who loved having Calvin around to play with. Calvin had no problems making fast friends.
Having a tea party in the playroom.
Splashing in the water on the porch.
One evening we went to Warky’s (a local ice cream place) to meet up with a bunch of the family. Yummy ice cream, and good company!
Calvin enjoyed Tim’s milkshake.
The reason we picked the weekend we did to visit is that there were a couple family get togethers this weekend. The first was on Saturday where we all went to my aunt and uncle’s property in the Pembina Valley. It was fun to visit with all the family together, but who invited the mosquitoes?
Calvin helped thaw the meat.
And he also enjoyed his first taste of rollkucken.
After supper, a game of baseball was started in the field.
Calvin practiced getting the ball into the glove on the sidelines.
The next day was an official Thiessen family reunion, with the families of all my grandpa’s siblings.
Calvin wanted to nap more than visit.
But then he woke up and got in some good baby rocking practice with my cousin’s 2.5 month old.
What better way to visit than in a circle of camping chairs?
There was no shortage of places for Calvin to play, people to entertain and to entertain him, and rocks to put in his mouth.
Being a goof with Uncle Ken.
It was fun to see my cousin, Heather, who is the closest in age to me, pregnant with her fourth and due only a day before myself!
It was a weekend full of fun, food and family, and I am glad we had the opportunity to go! This trip also confirmed a couple things about Calvin: he loves to wander and adventure, and is not even a little bit afraid of strangers. Potential recipe for disaster? Sure, but I like that he is comfortable learning and exploring on his own without needing me by his side all the time.
How Calvin felt about the fact that we had to leave all his new friends.
A 7am Manitoba sky.