Hello, lets try and catch up on what has been going of for the last few months. I think I left of at halloween. Sean had his 34th birthday this year, and it was really fun to plan with the kids. We didn't do much because he had a game that day, but we made a cake and lunch for him, and I let the kids pick him out his presents. It was really funny, maya wanted to get him florescent pink socks! Rylan picked him a ring and a shirt, and Maya picked out a scarf and bracelet. It was really sweet.
The day after Sean's birthday the team had a four day break, so we went to Bolzano, Italy to a family hotel. They are really great hotels, with so many fun things for kids. They have a big play centre, where you can leave your kids for an hour or two and go and use the spa. So Sean and I went for massages while the kids played in the play centre. We went with a few other families so the kids had lots of english speaking friends to play with too. We also took the kids to the spa. Maya had a princess treatment, they painted her nails, curled her hair and did her make up. Sean took Rylan for a massage and to the meditation room and steam room. Both kids thought it was really cool.
Going out for dinner....
Also at the hotel they had an indoor/outdoor pool, it was really cool because we were so high up in the mountains and it snowed. So the kids were loving catching snowflakes on their tongue while they went swimming.
Here they are with their friends Anna and Carly...
When we got back from our trip the kids had a lantern night at their kindergarten. It is called St. Martin's day and all the kids walk around with their lantern. The lantern was made by Sean, all the dad's have to go for an evening to the school to make them. Sean had to make two this year, but the kids loved them, especially because he drew a heart on it for them.
Another exciting thing in November was that we got a bunny! Sean's teammate knew someone who wanted to get rid of their bunny, so we took it. We already have a home for the bunny (someone here we know) when we come back to Canada, so it worked out good. The kids named her Lucky, and Maya has claimed that the bunny is hers. She feeds it everyday and snuggles it, and then cries when it scratches her!
Just a funny picture...this is what our kids look like when they come to our bed in the night, keep in mind that they both come like this almost every night! (pillows, blankets, and about four stuffies!)
The last week of November there was so much snow here, it was awesome! The kids loved it, we played outside and made a snowman. Sean was on a road trip to Hungary, so we spent the afternoon outside in the snow.
MOVING ON TO DECEMBER......
December was a magical month for us, especially now with a 5 and 3 year old in the house. Every day is about christmas and when it is coming, questions about Santa, and just pure joy. We did many christmas crafts, baking, parties and activities. Here is a preview of them.
Starting on December 1st, I decided this year to tackle the task of making homemade advent calendars. At the time I didn't realize that with two kids this meant buying, wrapping, labelling and hanging 48 gifts. It took a lot longer than I expected. I just used branches from outside in the trees, and hung all the presents on them. It was well worth it, every morning the kids were so excited and appreciated all the little treasures.
At the beginning of December we went to a St. Nikolas party at our friends house. In Austria, St. Nikolas comes on December 5th to visit at your house.
Maya with her friend Vivien,
And Rylan with his friend Winston,
Of course we also made gingerbread houses. This year I actually made the gingerbread house from scratch, it was a first time for me because usually we use a kit. It was a great experience, definitely something you need when tackling a task like this! Sean ended up getting involved too, which helped tons, we spent a whole night just putting them together and then decorated them the next day. I think the kids ate most of the toppings before they were on the house! They turned out awesome and the best part of homemade gingerbread was that the whole house smelt so good!
Rylan's and Mommy's!
Maya's and Daddy's!
I also had my 29th birthday on December 12th. Sean had an away game that day, but we were still able to go for lunch that day before he had to leave. He also made a cake for me with the kids, it was very nicely decorated, I think mostly by Maya! The kids had fun and were really excited to give me my gifts. Maya told me everything before I opened them and then her and Rylan opened them all anyways! She was really excited and kept telling me she got me "paaarfuuuum!" So funny...
Also in December Sean made an outdoor rink in our backyard. It is a lot harder to do here, because the temperatures are a lot more mild than in Canada, but he worked hard at getting it together and it turned out so good. On night he was up almost every three hours watering the rink! The kids used it so much and it was really nice and festive for December. It has melted quite a bit now, but the water is still in there, so if it freezes it will be good again. Last week was all in the plus so we will see.
He even painted a KAC logo on the rink!
