Christmas photos: Jackson Christmas

We spent the Jackson Christmas in Bobcaygeon: a beautiful winter wonderland!!Mom and Dad show off their tree (with lots of presents for the grandkids!!)
Janet and Dave explore the frozen lake with the boys
Cuddling with Nadine

Merry Christmas to all...

We've had a busy but really fun few days of visiting here in Ontario:

First, we spent a few days in Burlington with Dave's sister Tara and her family: husband Jay, daughter Chloe, and two "step-daughters" Ellie and Hannah, as well as Mom and Dad Brewin (of course). It was our first time spending more than a few hours with the girls (Hannah and Ellie) and we had a great time getting to know each other--very lovely, sweet, well-behaved and quick-to-warm-up kids!! Chloe is getting bigger all the time, and seems to just get cuter as she grows! Tara and Jay have a wonderful home and were gracious enough to host all of us from the 21-26th. I managed to fit in a brief visit with my oldest and dearest friends: Skye, Lara and Lindsey while we were in Burlington. It's amazing to see how much our lives have changed over the years, yet we are still able to maintain such an easy and fun friendship.

We headed up to Bobcaygeon on the 26th for some time with the Jackson/Marchildon clans--our nephews Malcolm, Charlie and Westley, and nieces Nadine and Kaiya, as well as all of the adults (Joel and Janet, Amy and Jay and Mom and Dad Jackson). It has been so fun watching the children delight in the magic of Christmas: opening presents, playing in the snow, and playing with each other and Uncle Dave!! While we don't get to see them often enough, our visits always feel special and fun (although busy!).

We will be celebrating New Year's with our old "Toronto" friends at Karen and Blair's home in Toronto. We are looking forward to some time to catch up and enjoy our old "stomping grounds".

We are also excited to announce that we are expecting another little Baby Brewin in the end of May--we just had an ultrasound last week that confirmed she is a girl, and we are in the process of talking about names and nurseries, and all the fun that goes along with planning for a baby. Since we've been through some of these early stages already, we are taking things slow and "cautiously", but are hopeful and optimistic that this will be an entirely different experience. Luckily we have many friends and family members with new babies (girls too!) so we are looking forward to hand-me-downs and words of wisdom from the "experts".

We hope this season finds you happy and healthy as well, and enjoying time with family and friends in the true spirit of the season.

Merry Christmas to all...(... and to all a Good night!)

Christmas photos: Brewin Christmas

"Granddad" Barrie with Ellie
Uncle Dave with baby Chloe
Granny and Granddad Brewin

Banff Birthday

We spent my birthday in Banff for the day: brunch at the Fairmont Banff Springs, followed by a crisp but beautiful walk around Johnson Lake. It's always so great to get into the mountains, especially this time of year when everything is so beautiful!! :)

Dave's Birthday

For Dave's Birthday, we were joined by friends for a day of Laser Tag, followed by a sushi dinner and then cake and UFC back at our house. Thanks everyone for helping to make Dave's birthday so special! :)

The Garage

Dave's latest project has been finishing the ceiling in our garage: since we've moved in, it has been a bit of a mess of old insulation, poorly put together roof tressles/joists, and just generally a bit of an eyesore. Here is the finished product--all cleaned up, and with "attic access" for storage--nice job! :)

So much SNOW!!

This past week, we've had crazy amounts of snow in Calgary! It has been snowing for almost 5 days straight! The new road clearing system seems to be doing a good job of keeping the roads clear this year, but driving anywhere is still pretty slow and sometimes treacherous--one of the downfalls of working in an "Outreach" job where a lot of my day is spent on the road!!

Nonetheless, there are still many great things about the snow--it sure looks beautiful, especially at night, and there is something so peaceful about the soft crunching of snow under your feet, when the rest of the city's sounds are muffled by the blanket of snow covering everything!

And of course, the ski/snowboard crowd are all getting excited--I think we will wait a few more weeks before we head out to the mountains!

Visit with KT and Blair

Our good friends Karen and Blair Schultz spent the weekend in Calgary, enjoying a visit that involved lots of chatting, eating (!!) and a beautiful hike in Kananaskis Country. Thanks for the great visit--can't wait to see you again over the holidays!!

Happy Hallowe'en!

Here's Greyson exploring our pumpkin.

Hope you all had a very Happy Hallowe'en!! :)

Anniversary photo shoot

http://juliewilliamsphotography.ca/blog/?p=6896

For our 5 year Anniversary this year, Dave and I had some professional photos done with a photographer recommended by a friend: http://juliewilliamsphotography.ca/blog

She did an absolutely incredible job, and we are so pleased with the results.

We were so happy to have such a beautiful keepsake as a reminder of our last 5 wonderful years together...

Baby Harman

Congratulations to Shandra and Dave on the birth of their baby girl, Alexandra Joli Harman on September 30th.

Tara and Jay's Wedding

Tara and Jay had a beautiful intimate wedding in Burlington on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend. We are so happy for them, and looking forward to sharing in their new life together--Congratulations!!Proud parents!
Beautiful Bride and Groom

Thanksgiving in Ontario

Being in Ontario for Tara and Jay's wedding was also a great opportunity to enjoy Thanksgiving with both sides of the family! We celebrated at Tara and Jay's in Burlington, as well as at Joel and Janet's in Milton.Uncle Dave and Baby Chloe
Jay carves the turkey with assistance/supervision from Dave
The twins explore Joel and Janet's yard
Breakfast at Cora's with the Jacksons and Brewins
Jackson family photo

Beth's 10Ks

One of my goals now that I've been feeling healthier and more energetic was to get back to running. I used to love the feeling after going for a nice long run, and it was such an easy way to stay in shape wherever we were: the only equipment required was a good pair of shoes!! My flexible work schedule over the summer also allowed me to take some time over lunch-hours to go for a quick 5-7km run, and our vacation schedule this summer was also great for fitting in runs.

To keep myself motivated, I registered for two organized 10km "races" in September: one in Canmore (Sept 12th) and one in Calgary (Sept 19th). Both were supporting good causes, and promised nice routes with beautiful views. I was super excited during the first race to realize that I was actually exceeding my goal time of 1 hr, and by pushing myself to the finish, I ended up with a time of 54:39 (placing 28th out of 163 women in my age group)!! By the second race, I wasn't sure if I would be able to beat that time, but ended up with just over 53 minutes (no official chip times were taken). I was very pleased with both of these results, and hope to continue running until the weather cools down.

http://www.raceheadquarters.com/results/2010/run/RockyMountain201010kAG.html

ABOVE: Running in the rain in Bowness Park--Sept 19th Allies for Autism race...

BELOW: Crossing the bridge (and handing off my jacket!) in Canmore: Sept 12th CAUSE Canada race.

Mike and Mel visit

Lucy has a lot of experience posing for the camera!
The whole gang
The "Wrigs"
The Hollidays

We've had a few great visits with Mike and Mel Wrigglesworth since they've been in town this summer. While we didn't get photos of many visits, here are a few of a hike Shandra and I took with the Hollidays and the Wrigglesworths, a few weeks ago...

We definitely miss having you guys in town, but sure are thrilled that you make so much effort to spend time together when you're here! See you in January!

Montana Weekend

We often get (envious) comments about how many weekends we get out of the city: the truth is, we are lucky to have many friends who also enjoy getting out of the city, several of whom have cabins and vacation properties in great locations, and are generous enough to invite us along for a visit!

This past weekend, we spent the weekend with Joe and Natasha Macfarlane at their cabin in Montana. They have built a great home, and are also surrounded by friends and family who also have similar vacation properties close by. All in all, it makes for a great spot to spend the weekend (or the summer!)