Christmas in Revy

On the 27th we packed up our car and headed to Revelstoke to spend our last Christmas of the year with the Blommesteins. We got off to a very late start (10:45am) and were very worried that we'd be arriving in Revelstoke well after dark. The last part of the drive from Salmon Arm to Revy is especially yucky with many turns and a single lane highway. We decided to just stop at Subway for lunch and that saved us a lot of time. Putting Ethan in a night time diaper and Maddy's iron bladder also meant that the stop for sandwiches and one quick pee/get more gas break was all that we needed. The kids did really well considering we were in the car for just short of 6 hours. This is definitely a record for us in our "after having the kids" era.

There wasn't much snow in Revelstoke this year, but we didn't let that stop us from heading out to play. In the craziness of Christmas, hosting dinner and packing, I forgot to pull the packed bag of our snow gear out of the closet. Oopps! We didn't even realize this until right before getting ready to play in the snow. Luckily Auntie Kim was able to find some of Kaes' old gear and we improvised with the rest. We had a great time in the backyard. Josh and Pascal made an awesome "snow Mr. and Mrs. Claus" complete with sack full of toys.

Kim and Kaes

All Ethan wanted to do was to help Oma clean the deck.

We celebrated Christmas that evening with a full turkey dinner made by Pascal. I'm still thinking about those awesome veggies Pascal. Thanks for cooking. After dinner we opened presents for the kids and then played our traditional present game.

This is Pascal before dinner...

...and here he is after dinner.

Getting ready to open presents.

Kaes did a great job reading the name tags and handing out the gifts this year.

Lucky boy!

The rest of the week went by in a flash. We went swimming at the pool, sledding on the golf course and had lots of cousin time. Maddy's favourite activity was spending time in Oma's new craft room. She's already asked Josh if she can have a craft room one day. I told her to get in line. :) You and I can share one Maddy! On new year's eve Oma made Oli Bolle and this year Maddy and Ethan got to help Oma with the dough. The kids loved it! Almost as much as they loved eating them.

I was asked by Maddy to leave the craft room. I certainly had a lot more time to relax this year. Gotta love independence!

Lego was a big hit with all three kids this year.

Pure joy on Ethan's face!

The drive home was just as fast thanks again to Subway and good road conditions. Thank you to the Blommestein clan, we had an awesome time. Now that the holidays are over, we look forward to whatever the new year may bring. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas we wish you all a happy and healthy 2012!