Fun in the Snow

We woke up this morning to about 5 inches of new snow on the ground. I came downstairs, opened the curtains, looked outside and just saw the most beautiful sight. The entire neighborhood was blanketed in fresh new snow, it was just so beautiful and exciting! I said to Wendy, isn't it beautiful, and she said it was 5 months ago, I was taking pictures and Mike was outside shoveling the front porch, I told him to look up and smile, and he just grumbled at me. It was so funny, no matter what Canadian you talk to these days, they will all tell you, enough with the snow already, we want Spring. I'm happy winter waited around for us to enjoy a little.

We spent an easy day at home. Wendy made us Aebelskevers for breakfast (their are ball-like Danish pancakes). Then we all bundled up and took a stroll (can you do that in the snow) a few blocks to their favorite coffee shop Tim Hortons and had a cup of coffee, then for something for for Josh to do, we walked across the way to an Asian grocery store that has live fish and crustaceans. Josh thought that was pretty cool. When we got home we played in the front yard trying to make a snow man, but apparently the snow wasn't quite the right texture, so instead papa built snow choo choo trains for Josh. Thomas, Gordon, Percy and Mavis....so cute!

Wendy, her little neighbor friend Jacob (he's 3), and Josh and I went out later in the afternoon and took a short walk to a park that's just at the end of the block and we tried to make a snow man again, but the snow still wasn't right, so we made a snow bunny instead. We also put the kids in the swing for awhile and then we walked home. By now most of the snow had melted, but on all the pine trees in the neighborhood, as the snow melted, made icicles hanging from the branches, it was so beautiful too! So I had to take some pictures of those too.

Mike and Rico and Kyle helped Wendy make home made apple pie and she also made homemade turkey soup for dinner. We enjoyed that about 6:00 p.m. and it was a perfect meal to end a wonderful day. Cousin Carrie came over for a quick visit this evening for some apple pie and to hold little Katie for a few minutes. It's now 9:00, Josh crashed a little bit ago (no nap) and Katie is on her papa's lap just now falling asleep...another nice day coming to a close.

Tomorrow the Rockies....

The Californians

Mom, Linda, Rico, Joshua, Sue, Tara, Todd

Aunt Gerry and Katie

The Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren

I'm not sure I know aaallll their names. The smallest ones are the great-grandchildren. Not everyone is in this picture, there are people missing...wow...now that's a big group.

The "Outlaws"

Top row: Peter, Chuck, Ross, Gordon

Bottow row: Lynn, Wendy, Louise, Lisa, Sonia

Birthday girl

The Cousins

Top Row: Patty, Mike, Duane, Gerry, Mae Louise, Kathy, Linda

Bottom Row: Ron, Harriet, Aunt Gerry, Rob

Geraldine Nadon's Family

Geraldine Mary Nadon

Born April 8, 1929

Mother of 10:

Harriet (& Peter (Nikki & Carrie)

Rob (& Louise (Laura)

Ron (& Lynn (Andrew)

Linda (& Gordon (Tina & Shawna) (each married with 5 children between them)

Mae Louise (& Ross (Erin & Heather)

Michael (& Wendy (Jason, Eric & Kyle)

Kathy (& Chuck (Jeremy & Sean)

Patty (& Ralph (Jennifer & Amanda)

Duane (& Lisa (Tara & Davis) (one grand-daughter)

Gerry (& Sonia)

Grandmother of 19

Great-Grandmother of 10

Sister of 1 (Gladys (my mom)

Aunt Gerry's 80th Birthday Party

Saturday afternoon around 3:00 we all bundled ourselves up and piled in our huge Expedition and drove to the community hall where the party was held. We arrived a couple hours early to help with all the setting up. There were a few people there already bustling around getting ready. Over the next two hours people started showing up, all these familiar people, all with older faces. It has been 12 years since I have seen most of my cousins, so it was almost like a high school reunion. Most of my cousins' children were teenagers the last time I saw them, now they are all young adults and it was just so surreal to see them all.

Auntie arrived around 5:30. Her son Ron and his family picked her up and she thought that the party was a wedding shower for her granddaughter Jennifer. When they pulled up, my mom, my sister and her family, me and my family, and her cousins who had come in from out of town all hid in a back room. So when she walked in and the whole family yelled "surprise" she was so surprised and so happy that she started to cry, then we all come out of the back room and say "surprise" again, and she just couldn't believe it...it was so sweet to see how emotional she was to see her sister and her family all the way from California. So needless to say, my Aunt Gerry was very surprised and overwhelmed and excited. So over the next few hours Auntie visited with all her guests, about 80 people, 2/3's of them her family. She seemed to have a really nice time.. It was amazing to see a room full of all these people and know that one lady was responsible for all of them, truly amazing.

Rico and I were wondering how Josh would do with all the people, we assumed he would be clingy, but he actually befriended one of his 2 year old cousins and he was running around the room like he owned the place, it was really neat to see, we were quite happy.

Katie, of course, was the life of the party. All the ladies loved her, even a few of the guys...she was passed around from one person to the next, and she slept most of the time. The room was very loud, but it didn't affect Katie at all. As for Josh, after a few hours of serious playing and running around the room, he fell asleep on his papa's shoulder and he was out for at least 2 hours.

At about 7:30 Rico had had just about enough of all the noise and commotion, I think he was more overwhelmed with the whole day than the two kids were. Mike and Wendy were ready to go home too, it was time to bundle ourselves up again and drive home. If it were just me, I would have stayed longer, but I was out - numbered, but I didn't mind.

So we decided that the party was a success, Auntie was truly surprised and she had a great time.

Gently Falling Snow...

It's 10:30 a.m., it's about 32 degrees with gentle falling snow. It's a winter wonderland outside and it is truly gorgeous. Rico and I are enjoying the weather, while my cousins Mike and Wendy are so very tired of it all. Wendy said this has been one of the coldest and snowiest winters ever and now that it is the end of March, they are so ready for the Spring, but Rico and I are happy Spring has not yet arrived. We're about to bundle Josh up a little and take him outside on the back deck to play in the snow. I'll take some pictures and post them later.

My auntie's party is at 3:00 today. About 80+ people will be there today, 2/3 of them are all my cousins, it will be lots of fun and probably a little overwhelming especially for Rico. We decided that each first cousin (there are 10 of them) should have a colored name tag and each member of their family should wear that color with their name on it so we can tell who goes with who. I think that's a great idea.

Our trip yesterday was surprising easy. Aside from lugging tons of luggage, two babies, a stroller and two carseats, it all went surprisingly smooth. Our plane ride was smooth, we had two isles to ourselves, so Katie was able to stretch her legs, and our seats had plenty of leg room too. On top of all that, both kids slept most of the way, so it was really quite plesant. Mike and Wendy met us at the airport, we rented our 4 wheel drive Ford Expedition and took our 5 minute drive to their house. After a little wine and cheese, we are all off to bed, and now here we are. Josh has befriended Wendy and Mike has befriended Katie, so Rico and I find ourselves both in a recliner in the living room with the tv on and our hands free, watching the snow fall gently outside...so I must say...life is very good....more later....

On the Road Again

April 2009
Calgary, Alberta
Banff and Lake Louise
Victoria, BC
Vancouver, BC

It's time again, it's time for the Rico's next great adventure. This time it's to Calgary, Alberta, Banff and Lake Louise, Victoria and Vancouver, BC. We're all very excited. This will be Katie's first trip, and Joshua is already a seasoned traveller.

It's still very cold up north, so we're packing all our warmest clothes, buying a few things, borrowing some from our friends (thank you Christy!) and whatever we don't have, our cousins will fill in the rest.

Our first weekend there will include a big family party celebrating my aunt's 80th birthday. She has a huge family, 10 kids, 18 grand kids and several great-grandchildren and they are throwing her a surprise party. It will be fun and overwhelming to see all my cousins all at once. It's been 12 years since I have been to Calgary and Rico hasn't met any of them, so he's a little nervous about meeting them all at once. They are all very casual and very easy going and fun, so I know we will all have a great time.

Right now I am trying to figure out everything that we will be needing. The smaller the child, the more stuff they need. So for the next 10 days I will be figuring out and organizing our things...double stroller, 2 car seats, diapers (2 sizes), formula, bottles, sippy cups, cameras, lap top (so Rico can do some work and I can up date the blog)...the list goes on...I hope we can carry it all....stay tuned...