Christmas with the Brewins...(Amherstburg)

We spent Christmas again this year in Amherstburg with the Brewins: Mom and Dad, Dave's sister Tara and her fiance Joe, as well as a brief visit with Uncle Mark, Aunt Kathy, and cousins Ryan and Kyle.
No "White Christmas" this year, but the house was festive and beautifully decorated as always, with many "Canadian Living"-worthy meals! It was such a nice visit--such a nice way to spend Christmas. We look forward to many more "family" Christmases to come!

Visiting Ines and Millar (and the belly!)

It seems like this is turning into a "baby" Christmas this year: lots of news about babies on the way (Janet and Joel, Ines and Jamie, Amy and Jay, Desiree and Frank), as well as many friends celebrating their first Christmases with new babies (Lori and Chris, J.K and Jen, Downey and Steph, Greg and Krista)!

My friend Ines is now 27 weeks, and looking ever-so-cute with her little belly--I feel like she makes it look like a fashionable accessory!

We're sorry we won't be around to welcome this little one in the end of March, but hopefully we will be back for a visit sooner rather than later!

Congrats to all of you--this is such an exciting stage of our lives!!

Our new cousin: Madeline Christina

Our newest family member was born on my birthday: December 18th--Madeline Christina, a baby girl born to my cousin Lori and her partner Chris.
Here is my Aunt Judy--proud Grandma with her first grandchild. Congratulations!!!
We were lucky enough to visit this new family on the 22nd--when Maddy was just 4 days old!

Out and about in Toronto...

Our first night in Toronto, we spent with friends at a bar on Queen West (Lot 16): celebrating Christmas and my birthday. It was a great turnout, and a great night--thanks to all who made it out!!

Zoo-lites!

Our first visit to the Calgary Zoo...

Pre-bday celebrations in Banff!!

Shandra, Harman, Dave (my Dave!) and I spent a great weekend in the mountains in early celebration of my 30th (yikes!) birthday tomorrow! We snowboarded at Lake Louise yesterday--another great day on the mountain, and I am finally feeling mostly comfortable making it through the day with no major mishaps--then headed to Banff for an amazing dinner and night out on the town (note the "appropriate" choice of wine?!). Dave and enjoyed being pampered with massages at the spa today, while Harman and Shan took in a movie. A great way to feel like we've had a real "vacation" by just getting away for a night. Plans for this week include visiting the Calgary "Zoo Lights" tomorrow night (http://www.calgaryzoo.org/PlanYourVisit/CalendarofEvents/index.htm), then our "Winter Concert" at school on Tues and Wed nights. We fly "home" on Thursday night to Toronto! For anyone in town on Friday (Dec 22), we are meeting at Lot 16 on King Street at 7pm so that we can have a chance to visit friends before heading to Amherstburg and Bobcaygeon. Send us an email for more details.
Hope Holiday preparations are going well for everyone--only 8 more sleeps until Christmas and Santa comes!!
:)
B&D

Santa comes to Providence!

"My" kids were so excited about Santa's visit to Providence on Thursday:

2nd Snowboarding day: Sunshine Village (Banff) with Tannis and Jenn

I made it through my second day of snowboarding in the Rockies--Tannis and Jenn (friends of Shandra's...and mine too I guess!) were kind enough to let me tag along on a day at Sunshine Village in Banff (about a 1hr drive from us). It was a great day--sunny and cool, but not too cold. And with Tannis skiing, Jenn telemarking and me on a snowboard, we pretty much covered the gammit of snowsports...although I did have to get pulled along a few of the flat sections--a little harder when you're strapped into a snowboard! Here are some photos...





I

All Decorated for Christmas--and a work "party"

Here I am with a few work friends in our newly decorated living room...


and here's our little Christmas tree!

Finally: a nice picture of Jim

(Apparently I haven't been careful enough at posting "flattering photos" of Jim...here is my favourite from this past weekend in Ottawa--hope you like it Jimmer!)

Go Flames Go!!

One of Dave's bday gifts was tickets to the Flames game with Shandra and Harman. It was a great time: they won again (vs. Carolina), although I think Shan and Harman are much better at paying attention to what goes on on the ice than Dave and I!

Beth's action-packed trip to Montreal and Ottawa!

I had a great "break" last week: attended a conference/workshop on "Floortime" (a play therapy approach for kids with autism) in Montreal which was really informative and a great place to make connections; the best part was the food: fresh croissants for breakfast every day!
Then I made my way to Ottawa (through the Eastern Ontario snow/ice storm) for a visit with Aunt Joan, Uncle Fred, Gillian, Warren, Grandpa and a surprise visit with Mom and Dad (Joel and Janet and Amy were also planning on coming down for a surprise, but unfortunately the weather "foiled" their plans--such a nice idea though!). Later that night, I was able to share in the celebrations for Glen Briscoe's 30th Birthday with the usual crew: Andrea and Jim, Blair and KT, Budi, Bodden, Dempster and Jamie Peterson. It was a fun--although late--night. So great to see so many close friends and family in one short weekend!