holiday set up

I love all holidays BUT hands down the merriment of Christmas wins out as my favourite.  Graham is going on an unplanned shutdown which will last through all of December and likely some of January, boo!  So it has just been us ladies digging through the bins and decorating (I should mention he had the tree up for me when I returned from my cruise).  I LOVE LOVE LOVE that the ladies are old enough to be such great helpers and they love Christmas just as much as I do.  We finished off the evening of decorating and Christmas music with some hot chocolate, sure love these girls. I am good with putting photos onto instagram for our chatbooks and facebook as a second saving place but I really want to keep up with our family blog....so many special things I want to preserve here!

Merry Christmas 

~ Momma P

Cruisin with Gma Hinko

Grandma Hinko loves cruising!  She has gone with Leslie, our couisn Beth and had planned to go with Alyson to Alaska in July but sadly ended up in the hospital instead.  When she decided to reschedule for the fall she invited me and I was absolutely thrilled to be able to join them. 

I just love this picture of Gma looking out from the ship's deck, so beautiful!

It was so special to get to be with Grandma!!!  We had matching shirts and then we found some pretty cool charms so we could have special jewellery.

The hurricanes this fall left the islands we visited greatly devastated. It was heartbreaking but also good to be there as tourism is the economic staple in many Caribbean islands.   In St.Thomas half of the island was still without power and so much of the island was badly damaged. Graham and I had been there a few times and had swam at Megan's Bay but seeing the damage, how the trees were just wiped away, gosh it was so sad.

Getting to see Grandma smile and laugh and enjoy the cruise, such a special trip.

~ Mrs. P

Banff with our little fam jam

This dad of daughters is a good man! Pony tails and bracelets and smiles from all three. We took off to the mountains just a week after my surgery and Mr. P took the lead with the children.  We love staying at the Douglas Fir Resort with it's cabins and rustic charm. The little kitchen allows us to eat there and really hang out at our cabin, the pool and play place are wonderful too.  Deer run around and walked right by our car as we parked the one day. The mountains are an absolutely awesome place to be!

 

Lots of snuggling and cuddling and hanging out.  We love to hit up the 'Old Spaghetti Factory' and couldn't help but stop at Chapters (we love our books).  These folks are my favourites. 
 

Amelia and Mr. P took the Gondola up the mountain to enjoy the views.  What an adventurous girl!  Stella asked to stay with me so we watched a movie and organized family pictures on the computer (organizing photos was a post surgery goal). Stella said she wanted to make sure I was ok, so opted to stay with me. What a caring girl! Having special one on one time with each of our girls is a privilege and we cherish it, the opportunity to build up our relationships....we are so lucky to have these little women. We know we are blessed and thank our Heavenly Father in every prayer for them.  Eight years into parenting and we are still keenly aware that it is a privilege to be parents, particularly after this surgery as we wrap up that phase of life we are lucky to have the two of them and our babe in heaven.

My cuties below admiring the view from our room, just hanging out on the deck. They also took the toboggan down the hill behind our room and the video I got was pretty great.

Part of the reason we like the Douglas Fir is the indoor play place, so perfect when you've been outside already but still have energy to burn.

My cuties shopping downtown, gosh I love those faces!!!!!

On our last day we all ventured out together, AKA I actually left the room! It was beautiful out there!!!!!! We were pretty bundled and the view was stunning.  

 

 

There is something about being in the mountains that brings peace to the soul, definitely one of my happy places - I know it is for Graham too so it is nice to sneak to Banff or Jasper a few times a year. Grateful to Mr. P for booking it and doing all of the heavy lifting so our family could enjoy it together.

~ Mrs. P

Graham turns 38

Celebrating our Mr. P on November 5th is always special but this year it was extra special for him, he spent the day with us and the Oilers!!!!

The man woke up to donuts, gifts and a homemake birthday banner, party hats are always mandatory.  He is so adored and his smiles are just the best.

We sure love this guy...

Happy 38th Birthday

 

We spent our morning at church and then headed to Rogers Place (I joked with Graham that we hit up both of his places of worship) it was a really lovely day together as a family. Graham had received a call a few weeks earlier with an invitation to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame Room at Rogers Place and the enthusiasm was through the ceiling. We were there early and Graham was so excited, it was awesome.

Just a quick birthday photo with Wayne before we went in!

 The 'Moose' and Jari Kurri, perhaps a few favourites of our family.

A highlight was walking into the room and getting to meet Glen Anderson!!!!! We had been at Rexall 10 years earlier when his number was retired and he was added to the Oilers Legend, so special for Graham to be able to ask questions and hear stories, so rad.

Our family date continued and although the Oilers lost it was still such a tremendous day!

Lots of smiles!

I am so cheesy but my legends in front of the wall of Oilers Legends. Love these three!! 

Happy Birthday Mr. P

~ Mrs. P