Christmas Blog Part 2: Picture Time, I mean Christmas Time in Canada!

B and Logan on the plane

LOVE this pic. These two are best friends.

Caroline and Cadrien

Hockey on Christmas Day

All the kids in the bunch

Hockey!!!!Flames, Havs, we honored both

!

FACES OF THE HARKER CHRISTMAS

This holiday proved to be busy during part 1 of the holiday. Parties, school activities, decorating, church programs, all had to get done (see part 1 of the Christmas blog fest:)) But part 2 of the holiday season was quite the opposite! Peaceful, relaxing, and cozy is how I would describe part 2/ Canada. However, getting to the North Pole was an ADVENTURE! Now getting there.... that was another story. I'll try to highlight the holiday, along with the travel upset, and cram in as many pics as possible!!! Now, we know that all passengers flying/driving to CA are required to have passports. But the good law makes an exception for babies under the age of 1, and children who are entering Canada with a parent who is a Canadian citizen. So as we checked out the possibilities for little Aussie, we were feeling pretty good. Then, we called the airline the night before travel just to be safe. They said that ther was no way we would get on the plane without a passport for an infant. Next morning, vital stats for copy of birth cert, walgreens for photo, City office for application, airport. We overnighted the app to a San Fran agency just in case we weren't aloud on the plane....we weren't aloud on the plane. We even had the Canadian consulate and immigration office give the airline permission to let us fly. No go. So we all stay overnight at the.... I can't remember where we stayed. Brad returned to the airport 3 times that night in hopes to persuade the oh-so-coy Ron Burgundy-looking dude at the counter. When the manager lady got up in Brad's face, he reitred his efforts for the night. The next day being the 23rd, we needed to send Logan and Brad on up. Austin and I then moved to the Tropicanna (which we didn't know was in the middle of a remodel) for the rest of the evening. What a special memory- 2 suitcases, a stroller, a carseat, and a diaper bag with no ramps built anywhere in the hotel. Thank goodness that I met a sweet man that next morning who just so happened to own a new attraction about the history of the mafia in Vegas. He whistled for a crew in the lobby and all 4 italian men helped me get to their car. Thanks to Tony and his mafia men!

Meanwhile, the Harkers carried on in their traditional Christmas Eve party. Everyone participated in the bell-ringing, the nativity re-inacting and the soup-eating. But this time, they all looked like Jews as Val brought in many influences that she had aquired while visiting the Holy Land. The star of david flag hung in the kitchen the entire trip. We love you Val! We arrived late, late that night and were all prepped for Christmas morning. The only problem was that some goofball had mistaken my bag for his, and taken my luggage. No biggie, I was only missing all of the relatives' presents and my laptop. This part of the story ends good.... I got my luggage back unscathed. The neatest part of Christmas day was to finally be with everyone and see that the entire family was happy and healthy and together. Not only were we all healthy, but I had an awesome Christmas suprise to learn that Caroline is pregnant!!!!! What a neat suprise that was. And Orin had built the coolest skating rink ever made!! Thank the heavens that Santa made another trip to grandma's house, leaving full pads for Logan so that he and Cam could check themselves to the ground without leaving 1 scratch! All the guys worked without stopping for the entire vacation to Zamboni, water, and shovel that rink. What an amazing source of entertainment. Little Cadrien liked her make-up set and made sure that she spent all of her time making everyone look "beauful". Val spent a lot of time in the kitchen making meals. In fact, we didn't leave the house to eat once. What a nice break to stay inside that cozy house. Lucky us, poor Val! We played games, shared our annual family home evening night, and had photography lessons daily from Mikey. Toph made the most AMAZING FAMILY VIDEO to re-cap 2010. What a sweet and selfless gift he gave us. Watching it was totally priceless. Ben and Brad played a hockey game in town last night, and they both scored amazing goals. THeir sons were beamingly proud. Brad also took Logan to a Flames game one night. I found myself better-slept and more relaxed then i've been since Aussie was born. The boys gave up their rooms for my crew, so that I could enjoy sleeping in bed with Austin right by me every night. He was such a joy to have with me over the holiday. I felt so blessed to be with my boys and know that I have 3 of them. The flight home was something to remember. It was New Years Eve, and we had parked our car at the Tropicanna. The taxi driver couldn't get us to the hotel because Vegas is INSANE on New Years Eve! So by the time we had walked to the parking lot, it was 11:57 and we were just in PERFECT time to see a miraculous firework show that had the appearance of Vegas blowing up from every angle! Wow, it was a sight to behold. All in all, the best Canada trip yet. I miss it. I missed my family too. It was the first year of my life that I had not seen my fam over the holidays. But I know they all had a special holiday filled with babies and eachother. I love my families!!!

Val's influence from her trip to the Holy Land

Best Friends and Best Cousins (and just a little competitive!!)

What the other family was up to.....