Our carriage awaits

To all of the friends and family who have been waiting to see our new vehicle - the wait is over!

Meet the Mazda5!

After our accident a few weeks ago in which we lost our wonderful CRV, we have all been a little down. Even the purchase of a new Mazda5 last weekend didn't perk us right up because we loved our last car so much. This week I kept thinking... right choice? right choice?

But we picked up our shiny new vehicle tonight (my dad even made them go back and wash the engine block...as it was not up to snuff apparently!) and it IS cool. And wonder of wonders, the dynamic duo really like it too! 

The Mazda5 is considered a mini mini van - smaller than a full size van, bigger than some cars, not quite the space of an SUV, but with sliding doors and a third row of seats that can collapse for almost the amount of storage found in our old Honda. And because it is a little smaller than the SUV and has the sliding rear doors - we now have more space in the garage!

So there we are - our new black charger ...soon to ride into a town near you soon! 

totally stealing this post

For those of you who read my sister's blog, I am admitting straight out that this post is a complete rip off of her idea. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and all but there is another reason too...more on that in a moment.

First...shoes...yes, she posted her shoes - she does that a lot and her pics always look amazing, whereas this is the first photo of my foot apparel that I have blogged about. I thought the theme of the photo was a good one, as was the quote, considering that we have received more than 10 cm of snow in the last hour and it is still falling!

As to the other reason...my sister gave me a heads up this week that you can check stats on sites that are directing hits to your blog. Off I happily went to check that out and nodded and smiled as I recognized most of them. But imagine my horror when I clicked on one and found that it was NOT a nice site at all - I mean, not at ALL. So I am taking a tip from my sister and moving my previous post and photos away from the top of the page. While I am not linking to my sister's blog here (those of you who know her know where to find her), I am directly quoting because she said it perfectly:

...there have been some icky sites I've been getting a lot of unwelcome hits from this week, and I wanted to get Sweetpea (and the dynamic duo) off the top third of the page. Shoe fetishes I can deal with and understand but if you come here to look at my kid(s) this site is going private. Go elsewhere for your kicks.

Also, to my regular readers and my family, thank you for visiting. Those of you who don't usually comment, please feel free to say hello so that I can be assured of your good will to this blog's author and contents. Thank you.

So there it is in a nutshell. The internet is an amazing place that brings us all closer together but it can also let others who are not so nice into our world no matter how careful we are.

What a shame.

piano girl

Bryanna's music lessons continue..she is so much more focused than I was at this age! She has been taking the lessons for one year now and in that time has completed the beginner level, passed her grade 1 Royal Conservatory exam and is now working on Grade 2.

Brya was chosen to be one of the children to play a piece at the school's 25th anniversary this past weekend and she was wonderful! Seemingly poised and calm, she played the short piece (Study in C+) without a hitch and then zoomed away from the piano and back to her seat. hee hee

I missed the first few notes as I tried to get my camera focused - sorry, Auntie Kim!

Mom, dad, Auntie June, Cassidy and I cheered very loudly - for an evening of classical music, the audience was very enthusiastic!

I'm so proud of this girl.

Watching others perform.

just because...

...the snow is so pretty tonight ...

...with the snowflakes caught in the flash!

the longest Christmas post ever

Every December I reflect back on the preceding 12 months in my annual Christmas letter and meditate on my favourite time of the year through a series of detailed blog posts. Those posts are mainly for the benefit of my sister and her family who live a continent away on the west coast... so that they can share in our family happenings from afar. But it was a crazily busy month AND this year (hurray!) K and family flew home on the 22nd and we delighted in anticipating and celebrating this special time of year together.

Thus the reason that my Christmas posts were non-existent till this moment. But now, for the benefit of all my friends who did not receive our annual update with our Christmas card (too busy!), you can find here several weeks of adventures all rolled into this one lo-o-ong post...mainly photos, a little narrative.

So grab a coffee before continuing...this might be the longest single blog post you have ever read!

***

This year, my friend Vanessa and I coordinated the St. Matthew's Church pageant. Lots of work, but the kids were amazing and we had a huge turnout that Sunday.

B, speaking her part in the pageant!

My little king!

Later the same day after a brunch at home with friends, we headed off to another Christmas celebration with more good friends...

Then my sister, brother-in-law and niece arrived - woohoo!

Unfortunately Cass came down with a fever at the same time and spent the day quietly at home with Nanny and Papa while the rest of us visited the AGO. I was told off for taking a photo in one of the galleries (not allowed...not allowed!) of one of the paintings I liked. Taking one of my sister and the architecture was fine though. Hmmph.

My sister did sneak in one photo of a painting. You can tell by my expression my how I felt about it.

The next day, I stayed with Cassidy while the others went downtown to see the Christmas windows at the Bay and the once-a-day indoor snow flurries at the Eaton Centre. By all accounts, very beautiful (but very very cold outside on the streets!)

Photo, thanks to my talented sister.

And then, Christmas....as always, moments of peace and beauty... reminding me of the meaning behind all the celebration.

Next day, after presents (and more presents!) we threw that turkey in the oven and headed to our neighbourhood pond. Cold temps but little snow in our area made this the best skating year ever...the whole pond was pretty much open and the kids had a blast.

Video clip!

After all the turkey and trimmings yesterday, we had a quiet morning ....but then decided to head north to the snow. The terrific trio were delighted.

When we reached Newmarket we stopped to see our little Maelyn (and Jan and Paul!) - unfortunately none of my pics turned out of that happy meeting!

Then with texted instructions from friend Anne Marie who was out of town, we broke into her garage, borrowed snow tubes and saucers and headed for the hills.

Thank you, AM and Julia, for the loan - we put everything back in place after our snowy fun. AM's texted instructions also included how to get to Tim Horton's afterward for hot chocolate - who could ask for more!

So Christmas Day is past but the wonder continues. I am looking forward to more time with loved ones, and as I take advantage of the break from work and the every day I feel so grateful for health and our family and friends.

I wish you and yours the same...

See you in 2011!

***

For those who are blogging fans and would like to take a short blog hop over to read my sister's funny (and shorter!) take on the holidays, click here.

snow party!

The girls and I always look forward to our Christmas reunion with Bryanna's China Group 70 and today was the day! We packed the car and headed to London for a fantabulous day at the Ramundos.

Our seven girls laughed and talked and talked and ate and talked and opened gifts and played in the snow (yes, more on THAT in a minute) and talked and giggled, while the adults drank wine and talked and feasted and talked and drank more wine and talked. Glorious!

While the bigger girls chatted and snacked, the two youngest staked out the Wii set...

Back to the weather - we had left Toronto in sunshine and had a great (dry) drive to London, but within half an hour of arrival, the snow dropped! And so out they all trooped for some snow fun...

They came in happy with rosy cheeks and smiles...

Then a wonderful lunch - the table for the younger crew...

And an elegant and festive table for the mature group...

Crafts and presents and more time to catch up ...

And then it was time to face the trip home. Nick dug us out of the driveway (thanks Nick!) and we were on our way. My normal 1 hour 40 minute drive took 2 and half. Wow!

When we reached home I breathed a sigh of relief. I looked around our neighbourhood of dry roads and lawns still showing green and just shook my head.

But even with the first real blast of Winter, it was an amazing day.

All because of our amazing girls.

On this day

Today is Kim's birthday...she won't mind me sharing that tidbit as she is SO much younger than me. ;-) She may mind this photo...but what can I say...it's all her!

Through the years she has been by my side through all the momentous times and the everyday ones.

To this brilliant thinker, inspired photographer and artist, loving and thoughtful mom and wife...and sister extraordinaire - happy birthday, my friend.

Love you!

Wicked!

It's been a challenging few weeks. Not even going to go into that here but enough to say that on Thursday evening, a long awaited excursion downtown to see the musical Wicked (with good friend Shauna) did not come a moment too soon.

Photo thanks to Shauna's iPhone!

I rushed home from work, grabbed the babysitter for the dynamic duo and we set out for downtown TO...I haven't been on Yonge Street at Christmas time in years and both Shauna and I were like little kids looking at the lights and people. We met Janet for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and I loved the amazing food and gazing at Yonge Dundas Square where the enormous Christmas tree made of lighted spheres was the focal point.

After a relaxing hour, we bid farewell to Janet (wished she could have joined us) and then off we went to the show. I love the Canon Theatre (previously the Pantages where Phantom of the Opera played) - it is just gorgeous.

I've read the Wicked books...love how the story was turned upside down to show a different side of the witches of Oz. However, the books did depress me...after capturing the reader's imagination and encouraging an understanding and love of Elphaba (the wicked witch), the poor woman never seemed to catch a break. That same passion and melancholy is captured in the Broadway show but the musical does deliver a slightly happier ending and so I was much more satisfied.

Shauna and I left the building 3 hours later and though it was raining, we were grinning ear to ear. A wondeful show and an evening away from our respective responsibilities -- what more could we ask! I've since downloaded a number of the musical numbers to my iPod (I believe Shauna has done the same) and even my girls are singing along and asking to see clips of the show on YouTube.

We (okay, me) are now slightly obsessed with Elphaba and her mantra to defy gravity (listen here as Idina Menzel sings). So much so that we have made the change to green!

What a great night - hope the show returns so I can take the girls one day!

picture fall - the recap

As mentioned a few weeks ago, my sister signed me up for the Picture Fall online photography workshop as part of my birthday gift...the 31 day program ended yesterday on Halloween.

I have to say that I had a wonderful time despite my hesitation when Kim first suggested it. Initially I felt overwhelmed when viewing some of the amazing photographers who took part, but in the end I enjoyed the challenge of every day's themed prompt and, with help from my talented sister, actually ended up with a few good shots. Another bonus... the supportive comments of this group was a lift to the spirit on a daily basis.

So, here is a look back...28 days of photos because I missed 3 due to crazy schedules!

Learned how to do this from Kim!

And if you are thinking of developing (hah! no pun intended!) your own photographic self, the next course starts on December 1 - check here for more details... Picture the Holidays