Harker Canada Christmas '11

Why do they love to jump on my tummy?!

We spent our Christmas in Idaho with the entire family, and then as is customary, busted it up to Canada as fast as we could on boxing day. We were able to stop in Lethbridge to see Grandma Harker in the hospital, and then head over to Carmen's house for a yummy dinner with the Brewertons. Other than that, we drove fast, the roads were bare,  and Logan got good at 10 second side-of-the-road stops. Seriously. That boy has a bladder the size of a penny. I love him anyway. I look so forward to our time in both Idaho and Calgary every Christmas. I can't fathom not doing this every year for the rest of our lives. It's a lot of work, but 1000% worth all of the hustle and bustle. Living so far from family, I have grown accustomed to counting greatly on friendships to fill the voids of being away from everyday family life. I am so grateful for friends that are good, strong people. After coming home from the holidays and missing family sorely for several weeks after the new year, my appreciation for my friends has deepened. I realize more than ever, how truly precious time with family is. Christmas is undoubtedly our family's favorite time of the year, and I hope that we will always be so lucky to be able to travel to see both families every Christmas.

Mikey, Chris, Brad. Where's Ben?

Charades with zeal

Grandma Harker in the hospital with Braddo

Love my baby cesalen!!

Ben with baby Cesa

Love my Chris

Can you say "all partied out"?!!

I needed a pink fix!

Popsicles, snow, and lighting off rockets. Perfect!

Aussie LOVES wearing grandma's shoes

Here are the highlights from the holiday that I hope to never forget:

Cadrien couldn't quite make it through the 1:00 am Family Home Evening!

Thanks for the help dude!

Only Caroline can rock this.

Who invited the russians?

Cam and Logan can't hold still long enough for a focused picture.

Magic trick numero uno

Magic trick numero dos of quatro!

And he wasn't even trying to get money out of grandma!

Oh, if you could only here his voice as he proudly read this entire book without making one bit of sense!

Go Cam!

My favorite girl

A humungous woody fan

• Spending time with Val and Orin, two of my favorite people on the planet. Being in their home always feels very magical at Christmas. In fact, I think it is. There is a special potion in the air that makes you want to sleep, and sleep, and sleep!
• Watching Orin entertain the boys with his creative activities. Props to Grandpa this year for being a fantastic entertainer and referee at the same time! He took Cam and Logan on lots of rides on their little four-wheelers. He took them out to lunch. He had a new magic trick for them every day. He gave them Lego City cars and planes that they all built together. 
• Meeting baby Cesalen for the first time. What a precious little girl, I miss her. 
• Watching Brad build and launch 4 rockets, none of which ever came back down. Bummer!
• Also watching Brad live in the basement and in front of a scanner while he dug up, organized, and scanned in every picture that Val took between the years 1979-2000. The numbers were in the thousands. And now Val can free up about 1,00 sq. feet in her home :-)
• Spending a lot of time playing catch-up with my long-lost Caroline, Ben, Cadrien, and Camden after not seeing them for an entire YEAR! That can never happen again.
• Kickin' it with Chris and Mike while hearing about their Vancouver and Edmonton journeys. The boys ditched us for 2 days to attend Nathan's wedding in San Fransisco.
• Watching the guys work on the ice rink that never, ever froze. Darn it! Orin worked so tirelessly, but there is no beating those Chinook winds. The weather felt like October. 
• Watching the new Chipmunk movie with Caroline all the kids, while the other adults watched a real movie in the Imax.
• Opening presents! Let's be honest, it's kind of fun to feel like a surprised kid at Christmas. I love watching the kids' reactions to their gifts. I got a very special gift from Val- a marble statue of Christ that is now in our home, reminding me every day that the rest of the year can still feel a little like Christmas. Austin's favorite gift was his Woody pajamas! Logan was just over-gifted just like at mom's house. I hope that the grandparents will stop spoiling the kids sometime soon.