Boxing Day

Boxing Day we went out to the acreage for a day of fun in the snow. All the snow was shoveled off of the pond so the kids could do some skating.

Christmas Night

Christmas night we went to my Grandpa & Grandma Vanderveen's. We had a delicious turkey dinner, the kids exchanged gifts (they trade names) and then the adults did our annual white elephant/yankee swap gift exchange.

Christmas Morning Pictures

After church Christmas morning we went to my mom and dad's house. We had a delicious breakfast and then opened presents and stockings. We definately missed Robyn & Brian though!

Logan "Skating" on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Pictures

We spent Christmas Eve with the Wiens side. Unfortauntely, I don't have many pictures. I tend to rely on my sister-in-laws, who are much better at taking photos than me, to take lots and share - hint hint :) We went skating in the afternoon, played games, went to the Christmas Eve service at Dalhousie and opened presents.

Logan's Sunday School Program

Today was Logan's Sunday School "Program". I say program loosely, as it was only 4 or 5 songs. Mark and I had been practicing with Logan for a couple weeks... but a lot of good that did us. Here are clips from the service...

Jesus Loves Me

We actually didn't know the kids were going to sing this song, I think it was a last minute addition. Logan loves the action for "they are weak, but He is strong" - hence him staying like that for half the song. He then got distracted by the little girl beside him and started talking with her and making faces at her. Not one of Mark and I's proudest moments as Logan's parents.

King Forever

When they sent the words home for all of the songs, neither Mark and I had ever heard of this one, so we had no clue how the tune went. So poor Logan got no instruction from us on this one. And as you can see he inherited his sense of timing/rythum from me. He couldn't figure out when he was supposed to clap, and was always behind. He was then also very concerned about his buddy Cameron who couldn't seem to find his way up on stage.

Mary Had a Baby

Again, Mark and I let Logan down on this song. After seeing the words we both assumed we knew which song it was and taught Logan the completely wrong tune. He managed to fumble his way through it however.

Joy to the World

We REALLY practiced this one at home, and Logan knows probably 95% of the words.. but, it seems he got stage fright and decided to just sway back and forth instead of sing. He and Kaleb then get into some sort of heated discussion - I'm surprised the two of them didn't get into any trouble!

I've got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, JOY!

Cameron kind of steals the show here, what with his finger up his nose and his sweet dance moves. Logan's kinda lame with his hands in his pockets. Until he decides to give clapping a try.. again, major Mandee fail here.

Snow Fun

A combination of two things have made this week really fun for the kids a) the weather has been really nice and warm and b) Mark has been home from work early each day to enjoy it!

Yesterday we took the kids to Turtle Hill to do some sledding. It was the first time this year that Logan's been out on the hill, and Katie's first time period. Logan was absolutely fearless and loved going down the steepest part of the hill (until he and Mark hit an unseen jump at the bottom of the hill). Katie on the other hand, went down the hill twice and decided she had enough. She would then scream if you got her anywhere near the sled.

Mark and both kids going down the hill

Mark & Logan's wipe out on the GT

Mark and I both decided that sledding isn't as fun when you're the adult and the one who has to pull/carry the kids AND the sleds up the hill.

Logan has been begging us ever since it first snowed to go outside and build a snowman. Today we finally gave in, and during Katie's nap all 3 of us went outside.

Logan and Mark then proceeded to have a "snowball fight" - Mark pelted Logan with snowballs and Logan stood there pretty much defenceless.

And then Logan was Logan and was just being plain goofy playing in the snow. Who knows what he was doing here.

What I LOVE about my new car..

Well, the day we all hoped and prayed for has finally arrived... the woody wagon has FINALLY died! Don't get me wrong, the jeep served us well over the past 4 and a half years. It was reliable, durable, pretty much an indestructable tank. But the time has come to say good bye to our old friend.

When the woody wagon's transmission started to go early last week we started looking for vehicles right away. We test drove an old lincoln navigator, trailblazers and probably about 10 durangos. We had only two pieces of criteria when looking at cars, it had to have four wheel drive and a third row. After looking and looking and looking we were starting to get pretty frustrated. When we found a vehicle we liked it was either sold already or way too much money. It came to the point where I almost had Mark settled on a minivan when my uncle Jeff came over and showed us some cars that were for sale at the online auction. And voila! Our new car.. A 2004 Chrysler Pacifica.

Here are a few things I LOVE about my new car...

The Color.

Because of our price range, I knew I couldn't afford to be picky when it came to color. We test drove white cars, burgandy cars, purple cars and red cars with lighting bolts painted down both sides (seriously!) So when we bought this car, I was THRILLED with the color. They call it "green". It is a very, very, very light green. Almost a silverish green. I like the color because a) it hides dirt well b) its not a very common color, so there won't be 6 of my same car driving around my neighborhood and c) its not wood panelling.

The Layout.

The pacifica is layed out as so.. two captain seats in the front (with middle console), two captain seats in the middle (with middle console) and a bench seat in the back. I love that each of our kids get their own seat and accessible cupholders. The back bench gives additional seating room, but also folds down flat, so there is TONS of cargo space. But, what I think is really cool is that the back bench is also split, so you can fold down just one side, and leave the other side up.

The Seats.

First of all, I LOVE that the seats are leather. With our kids and our dog they are so much easier to keep clean than cloth seats. The front two seats and the middle two seats are also heated. HEATED!! So nice and cozy and warm! They are also all power seats. The driver's seat also has two memory presets, so at the touch of a button the seat and mirrors will change to my liking, and at the push of the other button, to Mark's.

The CD player/Radio.


After four and a half years of only AM radio, it is such a treat to have not only FM radio, but a CD player as well. I have 5 of my favorite radio stations preset and 6 of my favorite CD's loaded into the dash. The steering wheel has controls to turn it on and off, volume up and down and change the stations/tracks. Now, I just have to remember to turn it on!

The Keyless Entry.

I could only open my jeep from the driver side. The passenger side lock had been pulled out by some punks a couple years before we bought the jeep - leaving what looked like a giant bullet hole. It was sometimes a pain to have to walk all the way around the car to unlock it, and then all the way back around to the other side to strap Logan into his car seat. But now... now I have keyless entry. I can unlock my car from INSIDE my house! I can pop open the back hatch remotely! As dorky as this sounds, I think this might be my favorite feature of my new car!

The Remote Start.

I never once had any difficulty getting the jeep to start in cold weather. However, I did have to run out in freezing temperatures and start it, scrap the frost off the windows, and let it run for at least 15 minutes before it even started to get remotely warm. But again, now I can start my car from INSIDE my house! How spoiled am I? This will really come in handy this winter when I'm working late nights at Westjet.

The All Wheel Drive.

Not much different about this all wheel drive from the jeep's all wheel drive. I just love all wheel drive. I love not having to worry about getting stuck in the snow.

The DVD Player.

So now I'm reeeeeally spoiled! The pacifica has a DVD player in the back! Not that we'll use it at all in the city, but when we do go on long road trips.... thats when it will come in handy!! We made the mistake of checking if it works while our kids were in the car. Now Logan begs me, "Mom! Lets drive to the grocery store so we can watch TV in our new car!" We've tried explaining, but I have a feeling that the DVD player is going to be "broken" for a while.

So yeah.. that's my new car! I am just so happy with it!